Posted by Ben Z in Questions for Candidates - Sarah/Robert - Decommissioning

Posted by Rear Admiral Sarah Hemenway (Presidential Candidate) in Questions for Candidates - Sarah/Robert - Decommissioning

Posted by Ben Z in Questions for Candidates - Sarah/Robert - Decommissioning
Hello Sarah and Robert,

This question is mostly for Sarah. During the last presidential term in which you were Vice President, three ships were decommissioned from the club. Those ships being Starbase Magellan, USS Endeavor, and USS Olympic (as per presidential edicts #10, #12, and #14, respectively). It concerns me as a player that a ship that I enjoy writing on could be unilaterally axed by a future administration. What is your thought process for decommissioning ships? Do you anticipate continuing to decommission ships with your executive powers? How can players feel confident that their favorite writing environments won’t be on the chopping block during your term?

Ben Z

Hi Ben,

That’s a really great question. Decommissioning ships is never something that an Executive sets out to do unilaterally. Right now, we’re facing a shortage of GMs in STF and that has led to Steve and I making some difficult decisions about the future of various areas. STF is also a much smaller club than it was several years ago and the number of areas has not been decreased as a result (you can see this pictured here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vRXaw6Bx9hxhV0_oWr87KKFmA9IWxTKrmu__BdUppBtnM0UuXDBu9cLYCQkGAm9tMbN12lPgDx1TZnR/pubchart?oid=152092092&format=image). We’ve tried to be very cognizant of not removing an environment that is active and engaged; I saw this happen before I was President and it’s really a recipe for disaster and negative feelings among the club.

• Sarah

Hi Sarah,

Thank you for the prompt response to my question. I’ve seen you talk a lot about history in the other posts on the election ship, and I know most ships have a long and vibrant history, even if they might be in a lull at the moment. Decommissioning ships seems to be the end of a lineage, with implications for the club that go beyond the here and now circumstances. I know ships can return, but from what you’re saying, this also seems unlikely anytime soon.

I suppose the second part of my question, then, is if you are happy with the ratio of RP areas to members (or GMs) right now. Are you anticipating that more areas will need to be cut during the next presidential term? Do you think the three cuts the past administration made are enough, or are you looking into more decommissions?

Ben Z

Honestly, I need more information than I have right now to feel comfortable answering that question. There are a few changes already in play to try to ease the GM shortage and we’ll need to see what happens there to see how it affects the overall picture of STF, as well as any further changes next term. I’d really like to see a solid assessment of current GM workload; when we faced an apparent GM shortage while I was GMDir, such a survey actually informed us that there wasn’t one!

As much as the data can tell us that the ship-to-member ratio was different 10 years ago than it is now, there’s more nuance to the situation that’s hard to quantify. I can say that we truly hope that we don’t need to decommission any more ships, but that if it comes down to keeping the club vibrant and healthy, we will make those difficult decisions.

I do want to point out that, for as heartbreaking as decommissioning three ships is, this term saw the addition of the Sentinel. When Rob and I speak about unique, this is one of the things that comes to mind: the climate in STF may be changing such that 15-20 “Standard” Ships aren’t the right any idea anymore and players may want to have more options such as the TOS Show vs. TOS Movie vs. other timelines and situations. I don’t have an answer to that right now, but it’s something we will be going into the term with an interest in investigating.

• Sarah