Federation Space Constitution

The Federation Space Constitution serves as the rulebook for the site. By becoming a FedSpace member, you agree to abide by terms outlined below.

NOTE: Any rules or guidelines posted in RED ALERT on the main Federation Space Game Board supercede and trump whatever is posted here. If you have a question as to a rules interpretation, please contact your FO, CO, FC, or the CinC or VP. - Admiral Thomas Grayson, Fedspace VP.

SECTION 1 - GENERAL GUIDELINES

1.1	Definition: Federation Space is a play-by-forum Star Trek role-playing simulation set 35+ years after the events portrayed in Star Trek: The Next Generation (ST:TNG), Star Trek: Deep Space 9 (ST:DS9) and Star Trek: Voyager (ST:V). Members of the site assume the identities of Star Fleet Officers through the use of expository fiction.
1.2	Goals: The goal of Federation Space is to bring together a diverse community of writers with a common interest in Star Trek, friendship, mutual respect, and the art of writing.
1.3	Membership Guidelines: Any individual thirteen years and older, applying to become a member of Federation Space, shall be accepted under the following conditions:
1.3.1	All applicants must demonstrate knowledge of basic writing techniques. Every attempt will be made to accommodate writers whose first language is not English.
1.3.2	All applicants, regardless of previous experience, are required to attend Star Fleet Academy. Graduation from Star Fleet Academy is completely dependent upon the applicant’s ability to write and learn the formatting rules of Federation Space.
1.3.3	Academy graduates holding a rank of below Ensign (Midshipman/Cadet) participate on Federation Space as probationary members. During the probationary period, the applicant may be ordered back to the Academy or removed from the game for gross rule violations or by demonstrating a lack of understanding of basic game play mechanics. The President (Pres), Vice President (VP), Commander-in-Chief (CINC), and the Superintendent of Star Fleet Academy (SUPT) may recommend and enforce this provision.
1.3.4	All applicants/members must agree to make at least two story oriented posts a week. Out Of Context (OOC) posts do not count towards this total. The two post minimum is meant to move main-plot lines forward.
1.3.5	All applicants/members must agree to obey the rules and regulations of Federation Space as they are presented in this document as well as future rules and regulations dispensed by the chain of command.

SECTION 2 – POSITIONS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Definition of Leadership Positions

2.1.1	The term "Senior Administrators" refers to the President (Pres), Vice President (VP) and Commander in Chief (CinC).
2.1.2	The term "Senior Leadership" refers to Senior Administrators plus Fleet Commanders (FCs), the Superintendent of the Academy (SUPT) and the Content Manager (CM).
2.1.3	In the event of the absence of more than 14 days (planned or otherwise) of any of the members of the Senior Administrators team, the other two members may, if mutually agreed, take necessary actions to ensure site continuity and operation.

President (Pres)

2.2.1	Acts as the overall administrative, operational, and creative head of Federation Space.
2.2.2	Acts as final approval/appeal authority on all, site wide, decisions.
2.2.3	Establishes policies and procedures for Federation Space, in collaboration with the VP and CINC.
2.2.4	Acts as domain/forum administrator.
2.2.5	Creates new, player operated ships when necessary and in collaboration with the VP and CINC.
2.2.6	Distributes new ships within fleets in collaboration with the VP and CINC.
2.2.7	Acts as point of contact with other web sites when needed.
2.2.8	The President may waive any requirements/prerequisites to hold a position in order to facilitate game balance.
2.2.9	Appoints Senior Administrators and Senior Leadership positions as required.

Vice President (VP)

2.3.1	Works with the President on overall creative direction and guides the Creative Director in realizing the overall creative direction of the site.
2.3.1.1	Manages the creative direction of the site, oversees all creative operations and is directly responsible for the actions of the Creative Director and creative team.
2.3.1.2	Works with the Creative Director on all major plot decisions.
2.3.2	Advises the CINC regarding Commanding Officer selection.
2.3.3	Reports to the President.
2.3.4	The VP is a Senior Administrator position.

Commander in Chief (CINC)

2.4.1	Appointed by the President.
2.4.2	Acts as operational and administrative head of Star Fleet.
2.4.3	Reviews monthly point tables and posts them not later than the first day of each month.
2.4.4	Ensures Fleet Commanders (FC) are performing their duties according to section 2.8 of this document.
2.4.5	Assists the President and the Creative Director in guiding the overall creative direction of the site.
2.4.6	Appoints Commanding Officers (CO's) in accordance with provision 3.1 and upon advisement of the President, VP and FCs.
2.4.7	Acts as final approval authority on transfer requests.
2.4.8	Adjudicates disciplinary matters on the site in accordance with section 3.7.
2.4.9	The CINC is a Senior Administrator position.

Creative Director (CD)

2.5.1	Appointed by the Vice President.
2.5.2	Manages the Game Moderators(GM's) and site story arcs.
2.5.3	Acts as approval authority on all mission plot lines.
2.5.4	Ensures quality of the GMs by working with the Fleet Commanders (FC) and the CINC to resolve discrepancies.

GM Administrator (GM Admin)

2.6.1	Maintains a GM roster.
2.6.2	Posts a listing of all GMs in the Commanding Officer's topic by the 21st of each month to facilitate CO's completing their points tables.
2.6.3	Hires new GMs/staff as required.
2.6.4	Assigns GM’s to ships, and removes them or reassigns them as needed.
2.6.5	Reports to the Creative Director.

Superintendent, Star Fleet Academy (SUPT)

2.7.1	Appointed by the Senior Administrators.
2.7.2	Acts as administrative and operational head of Star Fleet Academy.
2.7.3	Develops a curriculum for new students that include: Biography development, posting procedures, creative development, chain of command use and plot/sub-plot development.
2.7.4	Appoints/relieves Academy Instructors (AIs) as necessary.
2.7.5	Ensures new students are assigned instructors in a timely manner.
2.7.6	Acts as point of contact for all Academy classes.
2.7.7	Acts as the “First Contact” for new applicants.
2.7.8	Maintains a roster of AIs.
2.7.9	Assigns new players to ships based on manning requirements.
2.7.10	Takes manning requests from COs or Fleet Commanders.
2.7.11	Ensures manning is managed in a balanced manner.
2.7.12	Directs/appoints a faculty of Deans for Testing, Bio Evaluation, and Holodeck Assignment. Faculty members each receive 200 points per month and report to the Superintendent. Faculty duties are assigned by the Superintendent.
2.7.13	SUPT is a Senior Leadership position.
2.7.14	Posts a listing of all AIs in the Captain's Table topic by the 21st of each month to facilitate CO's completing their points tables.
2.7.15	Reports to the CINC.

Fleet Commanders (FC)

2.8.1	Appointed by CINC upon collaboration with President and VP.
2.8.2	Ensures Commanding Officers (CO) in their assigned fleet are performing their duties according to section 2.11 of this document.
2.8.3	Adjudicates disciplinary issues within their assigned fleet per section 3.7 of this document.
2.8.4	Audits the point tables for their ships in their fleet verifying completeness and accuracy. Forwards audited point tables to the CINC by the 27th of each month.
2.8.5	Gives input to the CINC and Creative Director about the creative direction of their assigned fleet.
2.8.6	Approves and coordinates transfer requests within their assigned fleet.
2.8.7	Works with the Superintendent of Star Fleet Academy in assigning new players to ships within their fleet. Welcomes new players and works with COs and FOs on placing those players on a specific ship.
2.8.8	Approves/Awards medals/citations, within their assigned fleet, as necessary.
2.8.9	Reports to the CINC.
2.8.10	Fleet Commander is a Senior Leadership position.

Content Manager (CM)

2.9.1	Appointed by the President and must have proven knowledge of wiki and webpage creation/management.
2.9.2	Manages web/wiki pages in support of Federation Space.
2.9.3	Appoints and manages Division Commanders.
2.9.4	Maintains a roster of Division Commanders on the chain of command/personnel page.
2.9.5	Content Manager is a Senior Leadership Position
2.9.6	Reports to the President.

Division Commanders

2.10.1	Division Commanders will hold the position of Department Head or higher and act as the point of contact for their area of specialty.
2.10.2	Division Commanders are individual positions, occupied by Federation Space members, whose primary task is to generate wiki content for their area of responsibility.
2.10.3	The Following positions are considered Division Commands: Star Fleet Chief of Engineers (COE), Commandant of the Star Fleet Marine Corps (MCCOM), Commander of the Special Forces (SFORCOM), Star Fleet Surgeon General (SURGEN), Commander of the Star Fleet Science Institute (SCICOM), Commander of Star Fleet Tactical (TACCOM), Commander of Star Fleet Intelligence (INTCOM), and the Commander of Star Fleet Security (SECCOM).
2.10.4	All Division Commanders report to the Content Manager to generate content. New content will become official once approved by the CM and/or President.
2.10.5	Division Commanders collaborate with the CM.

Commanding Officer (CO)

2.11.1	Prerequisites: Rank of Lieutenant Commander or higher and prior experience as a First Officer.
2.11.2	Acts as creative, administrative and operational head of their assigned starship.
2.11.3	Coordinates plot development with assigned GMs.
2.11.4	Submit a monthly point total roster including participation points, medals, RPGer of the Month and crew allocation requests to their assigned FC not later than the 24th of each month.
2.11.5	Works with the First Officer (FO) to generate monthly points and recommendations for RPGer of the Month.
2.11.6	Acts as disciplinary head on assigned starship.
2.11.7	Responsible for upkeeping their ship's homepage.
2.11.8	Assures GMs are keeping the main plot moving and everyone involved on their assigned ship.
2.11.9	Mentors First Officers as future Commanding Officers.
2.11.10	COs are required to regularly post Captain's Logs as their mission progresses. These log entries will be added to the starship's wiki page at mission completion so that a history can be established for each starship.
2.11.10.1	COs have 15 days after mission completion to make their final log entry. New missions will not be started until the final log entry is completed.
2.11.10.2	Alternately, a CO may create, upon mission completion, a full log entry summarizing the entire mission in one post and transfer that to the wiki.
2.11.11	Appoints Department Heads and the position of First Officer.
2.11.12	Recommends and awards medals/citations to the assigned FC.
2.11.13	Commanding Officers report to their assigned FC.

Game Moderator (GM)

2.12.1	Prerequisites: No rank requirement. However a GM candidate must show a history of running well defined sub-plots and gain a recommendation from their CO before being assigned as a GM. Prospective GM must also be willing to post in a consistent manner. Final GM appointment is at the discretion of the CD.
2.12.2	Reviews mission outlines and turns in any changes for review by the CD 7 days prior to mission start.
2.12.3	Strives to involve all crew members in a mission.
2.12.4	Works with assigned CO to implement the mission outline.
2.12.5	A GM who holds a position other than CO will not GM their own ship.
2.12.6	GMs will limit their posts to their own areas of responsibility, as assigned by the CD.
2.12.7	Must follow all rules and guidelines outlined in the Game Moderator Manual.
2.12.8	Game Moderators report to the CD.

First Officer (FO)

2.13.1	Prerequisites: Rank of Lieutenant or higher and must have been a Department Head.
2.13.2	Commands away team missions at CO's discretion.
2.13.3	Ensures department heads are performing their duties outlined in section 2.13 in this document.
2.13.4	Assumes command during a CO’s planned absence. In the event of an unplanned CO absence, if a CO hasn't posted in five days, and their absence is holding up the ship/mission, FOs have permission to step in on that fifth day and make any decisions required for moving the mission along. FOs may hijack their CO to accomplish this if necessary.
2.13.5	Greets new players and works diligently to get them involved in the mission as soon as possible, at the CO's discretion.
2.13.6	Aggressively works to develop sub-plots centered on crew members that are not actively involved in the main plot.
2.13.7	Acts as the primary advisor to the CO.
2.13.8	Learns administrative, creative and personnel management skills from the CO.
2.13.9	Provides participation point recommendations for department heads to the CO by the 21st of each month.
2.13.10	First Officers report to their assigned CO.

Department Head (DH)

2.14.1	Prerequisites: Rank of Lieutenant Junior Grade or higher.
2.14.2	Acts as the first link in the chain of command.
2.14.3	Works with the FO to ensure all their department members are involved in a mission, whether it is in the main plot or a customized sub-plot.
2.14.4	Provides participation point totals for assigned department members to the FO by the 18th of each month.
2.14.5	Advises the CO/FO on issues concerning their department.
2.14.6	Receives 100 points each month for executing the duties of this position.
2.14.7	Department Heads report to their assigned FO.

All Members

2.15.1	Treat all members of the site with respect and courtesy.
2.15.2	Post at least 2 times a week.
2.15.3	Notify your CO when you are going to be absent for more than a 2 weeks.
2.15.4	Respect the chain of command and those in a position of authority over you.
2.15.5	Will not post on another player's account.
2.15.6	The provisions of this document cover all mediums of communication to include, but not limited to: Email, Instant Messaging, verbal communication, and chat.

SECTION 3 - POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

Appointment of Commanding Officers

3.1.1	Who may be appointed: Any member that meets the requirements for becoming a CO or will meet the requirements by the time they assume the position of CO.
3.1.2	Who may recommend candidates: President, VP, CINC or FC.
3.1.3	Procedure: The President, VP and CINC will review the potential candidates and come to a consensus. The selected candidate will not become a CO until they actually take command of their ship.
3.1.4	There will always be a CO selected, waiting for promotion to full CO status. This is to assist any transition in case of a CO’s sudden departure or a recruiting boom.
3.1.5	A CO select appointed to command a newly commissioned ship has the privilege of choosing any named ship of its class off the Fleet's roster to command. Every attempt will be made to allow the CO select to gain command of that vessel.
3.1.6	If a newly selected CO assumes command of an established ship, they forfeit the privilege above in favor of preserving ship heritage. Starships will not be decommissioned for the sole purpose of allowing a CO select to choose their own ship name.

Appointment of First Officer

3.2.1	FOs will be selected based on several criteria, but most importantly their potential as a future CO.
3.2.2	When a CO seeks to hire a new FO, they will compile a list of prospective candidates and forward this list to their assigned FC for review.
3.2.3	The FC assists in the vetting process by evaluating the player's suitability to be an FO and a future CO. This will, at a minimum, include a discussion with the FC of the player's PC.
3.2.4	If both FCs agree that the person is suitable, then the FC notifies the CO of the candidate's eligibility, at which time the hiring CO approaches the CO of the player they wish to hire. This entire process should be copied to both FCs. The losing CO may either approve the transfer or reject it with cause. If the transfer is denied, it may be reviewed by the FCs and overridden, provided there is good reason and cause to do so.
3.2.5	At this time the CO may approach the desired FO candidate and offer them the position, with the knowledge that the losing CO and relevant command staff are all aware of and approve of the promotion of this player to FO (and as a result a CO candidate).

Fleet Expansion

3.3.1

New Ship Creation: New ships are created at the discretion of the President under advisement of the CinC and VP.

Transfer Requests

3.4.1	If a player wishes to transfer to another vessel, the player must first email the CO of the ship that they wish to transfer TO, requesting the transfer.
3.4.2	The receiving CO, if they plan to accept, will then email their FC requesting approval for the transfer.
3.4.3	The FC then contacts the FC of the losing ship to request approval of the transfer.
3.4.4	The FC of the losing ship then contacts the CO of the losing ship for their approval.
3.4.5	If the losing CO and FC approve the transfer, the losing FC then notifies the receiving FC.
3.4.6	The receiving FC then notifies the player and relevant parties (FC's and CO's) of the approval in email.
3.4.7	If the player wishes to appeal a transfer rejected from the losing CO, then they may do so by emailing the CINC. The CINC acts as the final approval authority on transfer requests.
3.4.8	If a gaining CO or FC disapproves a transfer request, there is no appeal process.

Recruiting/Advertising Guidelines

3.5.1	New recruits may be drawn from family, friends, chat rooms, newsgroups or any other viable source.
3.5.2	No recruiting will be done from other Star Trek role-playing game sites.
3.5.3	Members may place Federation Space banners on Star Trek role-playing sites, with their written permission. Please forward said permission to the President for record keeping purposes.
3.5.4	Reciprocating links are highly encouraged.
3.5.5	No Federation Space banners or links will be placed on politically affiliated sites or those that condone violence, adult only content, hatred, racism or discrimination of any form.
3.5.6	Primarily, Federation Space banners and links should be placed on Star Trek oriented sites.

Copyrights

3.6.1	Any image/text taken from another site and posted on Federation Space or any other site in representation of Federation Space will contain the proper credits.
3.6.2	Any image/text found in violation of this policy will be removed.
3.6.3	If a member is hosting the image/text on their own site, the President will personally ask that member to either remove the image or post the image with the proper credits.
3.6.4	If the member refuses, their membership will be revoked.
3.6.5	If the author/artist is unknown, the text/image will contain the following words, in a highly visible place: “Author/Artist unknown” Below that will appear the web site address where the image/text was found.
3.6.6	Exceptions: Public domain graphics/texts are exceptions to this rule.
3.6.7	Questions regarding Public Domain graphics/texts should be routed to the CM or President.
3.6.8	Members wishing to use copyrighted material from Federation Space, (this includes graphics, layouts, designs, and all intellectual property) must obtain the permission of the President, in writing. Members who use copyrighted material, specific to Federation Space, without permission will be asked to remove such material. If the material is not removed, that player will have their membership revoked.

Disciplinary Measures

3.7.1	Disciplinary measures are established to enforce the rules and regulations of Federation Space and include the following measures:
3.7.2	Reprimand
3.7.2.1	Issued by the CO or above upon approval of the FC.
3.7.2.2	Reprimands are basically a slap on the wrist and should be the primary means of correcting minor rules infractions.
3.7.2.3	Recipients of a reprimand will lose (500 points/one month of time earned) per reprimand. (These points/The time lost) will be deducted when (points/time charts) are computed at the end of each month.
3.7.3	Court Martial
3.7.3.1	Issued by the FC.
3.7.3.2	Issued for major rules infractions or to members who accumulate three reprimands within a one year period.
3.7.3.3	Affected member will drop one full rank, (with the minimum points necessary to hold the new rank/with minimum time earned to reflect the new rank).
3.7.4	Membership revocation
3.7.4.1	Issued by the CINC upon review by the FCs.
3.7.4.2	Issued for gross violations or for mulitple rules infractions.
3.7.4.3	Members that have their membership revoked will not be allowed to participate in any future functions of Federation Space (Term-lengths will be specified by the CINC).
3.7.5	Appeals
3.7.5.1	Reprimands and Court Martials may be appealed to the CINC.
3.7.5.8	Membership revocation may be appealed to the President.

Returning Players/Character Death

3.8.1	A member whose character dies as part of an approved plot, with no intention of leaving the site, will suffer no penalties either in rank or points. If said character is to die a permanent death, the member may create a new character with the same position, rank and points. Such plots require the written approval of the VP.
3.8.2	Members that arbitrarily kill their characters with the intention of leaving Federation Space only to return at a later date forfeit their rank and points. A member that returns after such an event must obtain the written permission of the CINC and create a new character.
3.8.3	Players who don't post for 30 consecutive days, without any notification of absence, will have their characters declared "Abandoned".
3.8.4	Members that leave Federation Space via character abandonment, or leave in a manner not previously described, and then return will suffer the following penalty: One reduction in rank per month away from the site. The returning member's points will be reduced to the minimum amount of points necessary to hold their new rank. Players returning in this fashion must obtain the written permission of the CINC before returning to the game.
3.8.5	Any returning player issue not covered above will be adjudicated by the CINC in written format.

Non-Player Character (NPC) Guidelines

3.9.1	All NPCs must be approved by the PC's CO.
3.9.2	The term 'Registered NPC' refers to an NPC that has its own account in the user manager. 'Unregistered NPCs' refer to those NPCs that appear as OOC remarks at the top of a post. (I.E. == Ensign John Smith - NPC ==).
3.9.3	Only members whose rated character holds the rank of Lieutenant Junior Grade or higher may create registered NPCs.
3.9.4	Members of any rank may make unregistered NPCs, with CO permission.
3.9.5	A registered NPC that has not been used for over 90 days is subject to deletion without notice. (al.)
3.9.6	An NPC can only be one rank higher than its controller's rated character. (i.e., A Lieutenant could control a NPC no higher than Lieutenant Commander.) Exceptions to this provision must be approved by the President, VP, or CINC.
3.9.7	An NPC with the rank of Captain or higher must be approved by the President, VP, or CinC.
3.9.8	The correct display of registered NPCs is: NPC Rank/Name {Member's primary PC character name}, e.g.: “Lt Smith {Jones}.”
3.9.8.1	A civilian NPC is represented as NPC LastName/NPC First Name {Member’s Primary PC character name}, e.g.: “Jones, John {Smith}”.
3.9.9	An NPC may be displayed: NPC Name only with the written permission of the President, VP, or CINC.

Creation of ALT Characters

3.10.1	Players at the rank of Lt[JG] or above may create a second rated PC (ALT) with the approval of their CO and the approval of the CO of the ship on which they wish to place the ALT.
3.10.2	Bios of newly-created ALT characters must be approved by the CO and FC of the ship on which the ALT will be placed.
3.10.3	A newly-created ALT character begins with 1,500 points at the rank of Ensign.
3.10.3.1	No new ALT may start with more than 1,500 points without approval from the President, VP or CINC.
3.10.3.2	On approval of the President, VP or CINC, an ALT may be allowed to possess the rank of Lieutenant Junior Grade, in order to fulfill the requirements to be a DH. ALTs granted that approval, however, will still begin with 1,500 points and must earn their way to the next rank through normal methods.
3.10.4	Any pre-existing NPC, which existed prior to May 1, 2010, or Star Date 21005.01, may be converted to an ALT and retain their in-game rank, up to one rank below their current primary PC rank. They will, however, start at zero points, and must earn their way to the next rank.
3.10.5	The CINC may waive 3.10.4 in certain instances.
3.10.6	ALTs may not hold command level positions above DH.

Rank Cap Guidelines

3.11.1	Members are capped at Ensign (Ens) until they create a fully completed and approved character bio.
3.11.2	A player is capped at Lieutenant (Lt) until two things happen:
3.11.2.1	They are offered a DH position.
3.11.2.2	They complete an in-game command training scenario.
3.11.2.3	Lt can be FO of a ES, SC, FF, DD with approval of FC as per FO guidelines.
3.11.3	Players are capped at Lieutenant Commander (LCdr) until one of the following conditions are met:
3.11.3.1	They are offered and accept an FO position as per FO guidelines, or
3.11.3.2	An exception is made by their FC *AND* they are aboard a Capital ship (BB, CV).
3.11.3.3	LCdr can be FO of any class ship up to BC.
3.11.3.4	LCdr can be CO of ES, SC, FF.
3.11.4	A player is capped at Commander (Cdr) until one of the following conditions is met:
3.11.4.1	Given command of a ship by site admins, or
3.11.4.2	Made FO of a capital (BB, CV) ship which has a Commodore or higher CO, AND approved for override by Senior Administrators.
3.11.4.3	Cdr can be FO of any class ship.
3.11.4.4	Cdr can be CO of ES, SC, FF, DD.
3.11.5	A player is capped at Captain (Capt) until one of the following conditions is met:
3.11.5.1	Becomes a Group Commander in game (Fleet Commander out of game) and commands a CA, BC, BB, CV;
3.11.5.2	Commands a BC, BB, CV and is granted a promotion by site admin approval.
3.11.5.3	A Captain can be FO of a BC, BB, CV with a CO of Commodore or higher and approval by site admins.
3.11.5.4	A Captain can command any ship up to a BC.
3.11.6	Commodore (Cmdr) and other flag ranks are granted to the following:
3.11.6.1	Group and Fleet Commanders
3.11.6.2	Commanders of flagships or heavy cruisers who are deemed to have earned exceptional merit by Senior Administartors.
3.11.6.3	Flag Officers may command any ship or station larger than a CL.

Leaves of Absence

3.12.1	In recognition of the fact that real life sometimes takes precedence over our sci-fi existence, the following leave of absence guidelines are established:
3.12.2	An approved absence of two weeks to two months is considered a Leave of Absence (LOA). A date must be provided for an estimated return to play.
3.12.3	An approved absence of two months to four months is considered an Extended Leave of Absence (ELOA). A date must be provided for an estimated return to play.
3.12.4	An approved absence greater than four months is considered a Special Leave of Absence (SLOA). A player may ask for an extension if they make contact with the site within six months or otherwise they risk forfeiting their site membership. No return day need be specified.
3.12.5	LOA's are approved by CO's. ELOA's are approved by FCs. SLOA's are approved by the CINC, VP or President.
3.12.6	In the event that the player does not return at the end of the points cycle follwing the one which the return date occurs in, the character is to be considered abandoned.

SECTION 4 - AMENDMENTS

4.1	Amendments and updates may be made to the Constitution by agreement of two Senior Administrators.