Message posted on Stardate 04041.3 at 1208 hours
Posted by Pamela Dugan (President).
During the end of the last President’s term, through the election, and carrying over to the begining of my term, there has been much discussion about the Engineering Department, mostly centering around improvements that can be made, including but not limited to, the way ship designs are submitted and handled through to design approval.
The purpose of this edict is to outline how approval of newly submitted ship designs will be maintained in the newly commissioned Engineering Fleet, and its headquarters, Starfleet R&D. For the most part, the approval process remains the same, with the Starfleet R&Ddir holding final approval authority, and in his absence, the assistant Starfleet R&Ddir.
Edict 23
- SUPERCENDENCE OF PRIOR EDICTS
Edict Robison #33 is hereby rescinded and superceded by this Edict.
- DESIGNER CLASSIFICATION
The original member who posts a design for a ship specification or technology, collectively known as “designs”, in Starfleet R&D will be recognized as Primary Designer, unless prior permission from the Starfleet R&D Director has been obtained for another member to post said design.
The Primary Designer may name other members as either Primary Designers or Contributing Designers. A member who has contributed roughly the same amount to a design as any Primary Designer is eligible to be named a Primary Designer. Other members who have made substantial contributions to a design are eligible to be named Contributing Designers.
Any action taken by or required of the Primary Designer(s) will require unanimous action on their part, including but not limited to the appointment of Primary and/or Contributing Designers.
The first recognized Primary Designer of a design will be recognized as Maintainer, should the design be approved. Another Primary Designer may be named Maintainer upon notification of Starfleet R&D after a unanimous vote of all Primary Designers. The Maintainer is responsible for any later upgrades to the design and for other maintenance duties as required by Starfleet R&D.
A designer may relinquish ownership of a design at any time by notifying Starfleet R&D of said intent.
Upon relinquishing of ownership of a design, that design becomes the property of Starfleet R&D, and Starfleet R&D will be named maintainer, and given specific rights to the design. This includes updates to the design as required by canon conflicts, approving new names and registration numbers for ships commissioned with this design, and approving a license to create a revised successor to the design.
- DESIGN SUBMISSIONS, TESTINGS, AND APPROVALS
All designs submitted to Starfleet R&D will remain the copyright of the Primary Designer(s). By submitting a design to Starfleet R&D, the Primary Designers agree that should it be approved, STF will be granted a full, perpetual license to utilize, including, but not limited to, commissioning ships of that design. Designers may incorporate already approved technologies into their designs provided that proper credit is given to the original designer. Neither STF nor other designers receive license to create a revised successor to the design without the prior permission of the Primary Designer(s).
Starfleet R&D is granted authority to make non-substantive changes to the official copy of an approved design. Starfleet R&D is not granted authority to make substantive changes to the official copy of an approved design without the prior express consent of all Primary Designers.
Designs may be run through a preliminary test sim, to determine the soundness and simability of said design. if it is determined necessary by the R&Ddir, the ship will be assigned to a shipyard (in the event that there are several, a specific name will be given) to undergo this testing. The testing parameters will be determined by the R&Ddir, by departmental edict, and can only be revised in such a way, or by someone with proper mandate authority.
The Starfleet R&D Director shall set approval criteria by departmental edict and shall serve as the approving authority.
Should the Starfleet R&D Director submit a design for approval, the Assistant Starfleet R&D Director shall be the approving authority.
- DESIGN UPGRADE
In the event that a Primary Designer wishes to supplant a design already approved with a revised version, the revised version must be approved by Starfleet R&D as any other design. Should the revised version be approved, the previous version will automatically be removed from the approved design list. The consent of all Primary Designers is necessary for a revised version to be submitted.
A design shall be considered a revised version when substantial changes, determined by the Starfleet R&D Director, have been made to a design. If non-substantial changes have been made, the Starfleet R&D Director is empowered to pass the design without a review period.
- DESIGN INHERITANCE
Should the Maintainer leave STF(without relinquishing ownership of their design), the remaining Primary Designers shall decide amongst themselves which of them will be recognized as Maintainer.
Should there be no Primary Designers remaining in STF, the Contributing Designers shall decide amongst themselves which of them will be recognized as Primary Designer and Maintainer.
Should there be no Contributing Designers remaining in STF, Starfleet R&D shall assume provisional Maintainer authority over the design. Starfleet R&D is not authorized to make substantive changes to a design over which it has provisional Maintainer power.
Should a design be under the provisional Maintainer authority of Starfleet R&D and not retired and one of the Primary Designers returns to STF, he will resume full Primary Designer and Maintainer status on the design. Should the design have been retired, the design shall remain retired.
- DESIGN TERMINATION
Starfleet R&D may retire from service any design over which it has provisional Maintainer authority. Starfleet R&D may retire from service any design upon 90 day notification of the Maintainer and public post in Starfleet R&D should the design meet the following criteria:
- The design becomes directly contradicted by canonical sources, and
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The design is not updated in a timely manner.
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CANON SOURCES
Primary Sources
The following shall be considered canon primary sources for use by Starfleet R&D and Designers:
- Any episode of Star Trek, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space 9, Star Trek: Voyager, or Enterprise
- All Star Trek Movies
- Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual
- Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Technical Manual
- Star Trek Encyclopedia: A Reference Guide to the Future
- Star Trek Chronology: The History of the Future
- Any other source approved by the Starfleet R&D Director
Secondary Sources
The following shall be considered canon secondary sources to be used as a supplement to, or as a reference point for the above primary sources:
-
Paramount website episode library (http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/library/episodes/index.html)
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DESIGN GUIDELINES
Starfleet R&D shall serve as a technical guide and reference to both members and designers, including the establishment of canon-based reference material and design standards, which are not design specific. All designers may contribute to and must adhere to these standards.
- DISPUTES
Should a dispute arise as to the status of a design or designer, the dispute shall be mediated by the President. The decision of the President shall be considered final.
- IMPLEMENTATION
These regulations shall take effect immediately for all designs not currently approved for use in STF.
Should the designers of a design currently approved by Starfleet R&D not be willing to accept these terms, they may request that their design be retired from service and removed from STF, provided that 90-day notification is given to Starfleet R&D and the President. This notice must be provided within 30-days of ratification of this Edict.