Message posted on Stardate 06050.3 at 1610 hours
Posted by Fleet Admiral Jen Herr (President).
Edict #22
Fleet Command and Other Mundane Matters (FCOMM 3.6)
- Supercedence of Previous Edicts
Edicts Garfield #22, Bourdaa #27, Wyers #8, and Lackie #22 are hereby rescinded and superceded by this Edict.
- Fleet Structure and Command
A. Definition
A Fleet is a collection of one or more Role-Playing Ships under the command of a Fleet Commander independent from other Fleets. A Fleet may include non-RPG ships in addition to Role-Playing ships.
B. Creating & Decommissioning
A Fleet may be created by Presidential Edict. A Fleet must be filled with at least one Role-Playing Ship and a have a Fleet Commander appointed promptly. A Fleet may be decommissioned by Presidential Edict provided any ships within the Fleet are simultaneously decommissioned or moved to other Fleets. If a Fleet is decommissioned, the related Fleet Commander and Assistant Fleet Commander positions are eliminated.
C. Fleet Commander
All Fleets are commanded by a Fleet Commander who is appointed by the President. The Fleet Commander is considered a member of the Cabinet and is equal in power to all other cabinet members. Generally, the Fleet Commander is charged with seeing to the proper functioning of the Fleet under his or her command and the administration of related COs, XOs, and other Ship Administrators. The Fleet Commander is responsible for the outward image of the Fleet, for reporting to the President and working with the President on matters of Fleet business, and other duties as specified in this and other Edicts.
Specifically, the Fleet Commander is responsible for ensuring that the Ships under his or her command are healthy and properly functioning role playing environments, that the internal and external pages under his or her jurisdiction are maintained, and that fleet reports which detail the current status of each ship under his or her command are submitted to the President. The President is responsible for dictating in policy how and when Fleet Reports should be submitted.
In the event that a ship’s CO and XO go AWOL, eLOA, or iLOA simultaneously, the Fleet Commander may appoint an aCO and aXO. They must notify the President of such action and relay their recommendation on whether replacing the CO permanently is necessary or not.
D. Assistant Fleet Commander
Each Fleet Commander is required to appoint a single Assistant Fleet Commander. The Assistant Fleet Commander’s primary responsibility is to take over as acting Fleet Commander should the Fleet Commander declare a LOA. An Assistant Fleet Commander may declare the Fleet Commander AWOL with the consent of the President and assume the position of acting Fleet Commander until such time as the President appoints a new Fleet Commander. Additional duties may be assigned to the Assistant Fleet Commander at the discretion of the Fleet Commander. The Assistant Fleet Commander is considered a member of Command, but is not a member of the Cabinet.
E. Restrictions
The Fleet Commander and Assistant Fleet Commander must be a current or former CO, or the equivalent of CO in an alt-RPG, of the Fleet in question. Acting CO does not count. No individual may be the Fleet Commander or Assistant Fleet Commander of more than one Fleet at a time, nor may any individual be Fleet Commander of one Fleet and Assistant Fleet Commander of another Fleet at the same time. The President may not be the Fleet Commander or Assistant Fleet Commander of any Fleet. Acting holder of a position does not count towards these restrictions.
- Ships
A. Standard Ships
A Standard Ship is any self-contained RPG Starship or Starbase, commanded by a CO, on which regular RPGs take place under the administration of the GameMaster Department and the Fleet Commander. All Standard Ships must reside in a Fleet and be Starfleet vessels. Additionally, all Standard Ships are set approximately 376 years after the current modern year. That is, the year 2000 real time corresponds to the year 2376 In Character time, and one-year real time corresponds to approximately one year RPG time.
B. OOC Ships
An OOC Ship is a starship, starbase, or other similar division that is present in a Fleet but is not staffed by a crew and is not the site of an actual RPG. OOC Ships are intended for Out of Character interaction between STF members, but may contain IC role-playing at the discretion of the ship manager. OOC Ships are established and managed by the Fleet Commander when in a Fleet, the Department Head when in a department, and the President when not in either a Department or a Fleet.
C. Non-Crewed Ships
A Non-Crewed Ship is a Starship or Starbase that is considered part of a Fleet for RPG purposes but is not actively commissioned nor staffed by Player Characters. Non-Crewed ships assigned to a Fleet are available for use by GMs for RPG purposes, and if destroyed are recycled.
D. Alternative RPG Areas
I. Definition
Alternate RPG Areas are those areas where RPGs take place that do not meet one or more of the characteristics for Standard Ships. By edict, the President may establish a charter for an Alternative RPG Area within a given Fleet, with the consent of the applicable Fleet Commander. If nothing is specified for a given parameter of the RPG environment, it is assumed to be the same as a Standard RPG Area. For example, if no time frame is specified, the Alternate RPG Area is assumed to operate in the same time as Standard RPG Areas.
II. Leadership
Alternative RPG Areas will have a Leader or Administrator who is responsible for seeing to the well being of the Area. Their specific functions, including their specific title, will be specified by the chartering Edict if they differ from those of a standard ship. The Alternative RPG Area charter must also specify whether the Leader or Administrator position counts as an XO or CO position for purposes of XO and CO restrictions, and any special rules or circumstances regarding the naming of the Leader or Administrator. If not specified, the Leader or Administrator is called the Commanding Officer (CO), is appointed by the President in the same fashion as a Standard Ship CO, and will count towards a CO position as on a Standard Ship.
III. Charter
In addition to the above requirements, the Alternative RPG Area charter must also specify whether or not RPG ranks in the Area count towards a member’s Member Rank or not and whether the environment is a Second Character Only environment or not. The Personnel Department may only assign new members to an Alt RPG if the new member specifically requests that assignment and the ship is chartered or marked as able to accept new members who request such an assignment.
- Ship Management
A. Commissioning of Standard Ships
All Standard Ships in a Fleet are commissioned by Presidential Edict, with the prior consent the Fleet Commander. The Fleet Commander must choose a ship name and an Engineering Department approved class prior to commissioning. Starbases must have Engineering Department approved specs prior to commissioning as well. If the ship class as approved by the Engineering Department includes a list of ship names, the name must come from that list, but the list may be added to with the maintainer’s consent. No two ships in STF may be of the same name simultaneously.
B. Relocation
Any Role Playing Area may be moved from one Fleet to another by Presidential Edict with the consent of the related Fleet Commanders.
C. Rechristening
A Standard Ship in service in a Fleet may be rechristened to a new name and/or class by Presidential Edict with the consent of the Fleet Commander and the ship’s CO. A ship may be destroyed and automatically replaced with a new vessel of the same name and class with prior consent of the Fleet Commander and CO. Both events may occur simultaneously with the approval of all those listed above. Should a ship be rechristened with the same name as it held previously, either due to a change of class or destruction, it shall incur a one-letter suffix increment.
D. Decommissioning
Standard Ships and Alternate RPG Areas may be decommissioned by Presidential Edict. If a ship is decommissioned, all positions relating to that Ship are eliminated.
E. Commanding Officer (CO)
The CO of a RPG Ship serves as the ship’s Administrator and In-Character commanding officer. A CO is appointed by Presidential Edict, with the advice and consent of the Fleet Commander. A CO may be removed by the Fleet Commander with the consent of the President. The removal is then made official by the Presidential Edict that replaces the CO.
I. Responsibilities
In addition to acting as the In Character Commanding Officer, the CO is responsible for ensuring that the crew stays active; managing personnel, recruiting personnel, and enforcing AWOL policies on the ship; ensuring that new members are given adequate assistance as needed; maintaining the ship’s MOTD; optionally maintaining a Ship or Captain’s Log; submitting reports to the Fleet Commander as mandated; and further duties as assigned by the Fleet Commander or established by Edict. The CO is responsible for ensuring the completion of his or her duties, even if they are delegated to someone else.
II. Powers
The CO has the power to promote members of his or her crew up to and including the rank of Lieutenant Commander. The CO may promote members of his or her crew to the rank of Commander with the consent of the Fleet Commander.
The CO has the power to administrate their roster in whichever way they deem most appropriate, which includes adding character types such as Marines, Fighter Pilots and second rostered player characters.
The CO also has the power to dismiss members of their crews if they determine that such action is necessary to preserve or restore the ability of the ship to function effectively. A member dismissed from a ship may appeal the decision to the FComm (or AFComm if the CO in question is FComm). The ruling of the FComm (or AFComm) in this matter is final and may not be appealed further. Other powers may be specified by Edict or by the Fleet Commander.
III. Restrictions
No individual may hold more than one CO position simultaneously. Acting CO does not count towards this limit.
Second Player Characters are restricted to JOs and below. That means that no player may hold two DH positions on a single ship at once, or a Command position and a DH position on a single ship at once. Acting DH, Acting XO and Acting CO do not apply to these restrictions.
COs are encouraged to use strict discretion when allowing non-canon positions, character types, and second player characters so that their ship maintains a healthy and fun role playing environment. Reference Section G, Character Restrictions.
F. Executive Officer (XO)
In addition to RPG duties, the XO is responsible for assisting other members of the ship as needed. The CO may enlist the aid of his XO in fulfilling his or her ship management duties, but the CO will remain ultimately responsible for them. The XO’s primary responsibility is to take over as acting CO (aCO) should the CO declare an LOA. An XO may declare the CO AWOL with the consent of the Fleet Commander and assume the position of acting CO until such time as the President appoints a new CO. A CO may appoint his or her own XO with the consent of the Fleet Commander, should the Fleet Commander choose to exercise such authority.
No individual may hold more than one XO position simultaneously. The XO of Academy Training Ships does not count towards this limit. Acting XO does not count towards this limit. When choosing an XO, preference should be given to members who do not currently have a CO position if possible.
G. Character Restrictions
All Player Characters should be Federation Members or Allied species. Each must have an adequate and believable reason for joining Starfleet that does not violate canon, unless that character is a civilian. Civilian characters must still have an adequate and believable reason for being allowed to serve on a starship or starbase. Characters played on Alt RPGs may violate these rules only if such violations are specified and explained in the Alt RPG charter.
The following character types and species are prohibited:
- God-mode/Super Characters: Borg, Species 8472, Q, Changeling (founders)
- Delta Quadrant: All
- Gama Quadrant: All
- Alpha and Beta Quadrant: Gorn, Breen, Orion, Packled
The following character types are allowed with caution:
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Non-Federation members: El-Aurians, Klingons, Romulans, Cardassians, Ferengi
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Other: Mixed species characters are allowed with caution. Each species must be compatible with the other, and may not exceed three different species mixes. (ex. A half tribble half Klingon would not be acceptable, or a part Human, Bajoran, Cardassian, Vulcan, Betazoid.) Special attention should be given to such a character’s abilities so that they are still balanced and do not become super characters.
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Species from other times or universes are allowed with caution. An adequate and believable back-story that does not violate canon is required.
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Custom character species are allowed with caution. The character and species must have an adequate and believable back-story that explains why that character would be in Starfleet, and why that species would be a Federation member or ally. God-moding / super-characters are strictly forbidden. If the custom character class is created by someone other than the player, the player must have the creator’s permission to play that character species. If the creator cannot be reached, the species may only be played if the information given about it is publicly accessible and not restricted.
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Any character types not explicitly or implicitly mentioned here may be played at the discretion of the CO, with any disputes going to the FComm. The FComm’s decision will be final.
I. Implementation
Any characters in violation of these rules are grandfathered and may not be forced to change. If the player leaves the ship for any reason, including AWOL, eLOA, or iLOA, the character’s grandfathered status is forfeited and the player must choose a valid character type when rejoining or creating a new character.
Jen