Below are the rules and guidelines for participating in the USS Cherokee simulation. Any questions about posting requirements, character interaction, or post formatting should be found below. If you have any questions, send an email to the GM.

1. Posting Length
Posts should be a minimum of four paragraphs. In general, you can't really say much in just a couple paragraphs. A lot of times, not much can be said in only four paragraphs.

There are times when a post will seem to take on a life of its own, and soon you find yourself with a 40, 60, or 80kb post. When a post begins to grow larger than 20kb, it should be split into parts. On one hand, this is because of limitations in the mail server software and will reject any messages larger than 40kb. On the other, it is much easier to read a large post broken into two parts than a single post that goes on and on and on.

2. Paragraph Format
Paragraphs should NOT be indented. Additionally, a blank space should be left between all paragraphs.

Because posts are sent in plain text formatting, there is no way to emphasize text. So, in those instances when you would like to have text emphasized in some way, use the following:

• To indicate text that would be italicized, use * on either side of what you are trying to emphasize. Such as: Captain King narrowed her eyes. "Now," her said, "I think it's time that *you* gave us the answers we were looking for."
• To indicate thoughts, you will want to use * around whatever is being thought. For example, *I know there has to be a particle flux generator around here, but where is it,* Ensign Briggs thought as he went over the design schematic one more time.
• To indicate telepathic contact, you will want to use ~ around the thoughts being sent. For example, ~I do not believe my injury is severe,~ the Betazoid counselor thought to his companion.
• NEW - When indicating conversations happening though ship's communications or personal communicators, either use * to indicate the other side of the conversation, or use standard quotations. Do not use communicator symbols, such as =/\=.

With most email programs capable of sending out posts using rich text and HTML formatting, it may be tempting to send your posts using that format so that you can use some of the features of those styles. Don't.

Not all email programs are created equal, and not all email programs interpret rich text in the same way. What looks great on your computer may look like garbage on someone else's. So, please avoid sending in any format but Plain Text.

If you are uncertain how to change the settings in your email, let me know.

Additionally, if you use Microsoft Word to format your posts, be very careful. By default, it is designed to change certain text combinations and punctuation to a format that is not readily viewable or translatable in Plain Text. If you use Word (or any other editor that makes these automatic changes), we strongly recommend that you either disable that feature or change to a different editor.

Attachments should never be sent to the Cherokee mailing list. Not only do most computer viruses travel as attachments, but they're difficult to work with due to differing file formats. So, when sending messages to the list, make sure you're not sending attachments. If you've written your post in a different program, just copy and paste the text from the other program into your email message.

3. Narrative Format
Posts should be written in third-person, past tense.

Example: Captain Michelle King sat forward in her chair as the Romulan Warbird decloaked on the main viewer. They'd known that the Romulans had been patrolling this sector, but they hadn't expected such an overt display. Something tugged at the back of Michelle's mind as a part of her began to think there was more going on here than it seemed.

4. Punctuation, Capitalization, and Spelling
Every attempt should be made to use punctuation and capitalization in your posts. In a sim that allows global membership with such widely varying levels of skill with the English language, perfect English won't be required. However, it is much easier to read a post with punctuation and capitalization in the proper places. Also, be certain to spell-check your posts.

5. Member Posting
All members of the sim are expected to submit at least one in-character post every two weeks - backposts excluded. If you find you are unable to maintain this posting frequency, you should contact the GM and discuss a means to keep yourself active in the sim.

Any member of the sim who fails to either submit a post to the listserver or notify the GM of an inability to meet the posting requirements for a period of one month will be removed from the sim as inactive.

Backposting
Throughout the progression of each mission, a Stardate will be set beyond which players may not post so that the story will not progress too quickly. Although players may set the date of their posts prior to the established Stardate, but any posts dated more than two days behind the current Stardate will not be counted towards a player's one post minimum.

A corollary to this is that players should be careful when composing posts that exceed the current Stardate.  Many players enjoy writing a large number of posts in anticipation of the next time shift, but this can lead to the content of their posts conflicting with what may be established during the current date.  If their posts are mission related, or refer to anything that is, and their content conflicts, the player is required to rewrite in order to maintain continuity with the rest of the sim.

6. Joint Posts and Character Interaction
Whenever your character interacts with another player's character in the sim, you should contact the other character for a joint post. There are many methods for crafting a joint post. Typically, the post is sent back and forth off-list until it reaches a conclusion, and is then posted to the Cherokee listserver.

Any interaction between characters should be contained within a single, completed post (or more if the post is very large), not spread out over a dozen small posts. Do not end your post tagging another to pick up in a conversation.

Your character should never injure or harm another player's character without that player's consent. If your character and another character get into a fight, and neither you nor the other player can decide who wins the fight, the fight should end in a draw.

7. Joint Post Process
Working on joint posts can be very tricky business. There are many different methods, and not everyone likes working under each method.

The preferred method for proceeding with a joint post on the Cherokee is the Open-Ended Tag method. This style of post involves bouncing the post back and forth, with each contributor adding their character's responses and returning it to the other contributors.

The following is an example:

Another very common method for creating a Joint Post is the Focused Tag method. That one looks something like this:

The Focused Tag method is not preferred because if you're playing Lyrr in the above example, you may start feeling very boxed in by the direction King is focusing the post. In Lyrr's second response, she's forced to not only ask a question, but to figure out what question she's actually supposed to be asking. In her third response, what happens if she's having a lousy day and says so?

If you prefer to write your Joint Posts using the Focused Tag method, make certain your partner does as well. If you are writing with someone who doesn't wish to write in that style, you should use the Open-ended Tag.

8. Post Headings
Make sure your posts all contain the proper heading. It should include a title and all the player characters involved. If you write a post with several NPCs, do not list the NPCs in the heading unless they have a significant contribution to the post. Character occupations are not necessary, and are optional for the header.

When the posts are archived, they are archived by date. Because of this, including a date in the headers of a post is very important. If you send out a post without a date, expect a message from either the GM or AGM.

Headers should follow the following format:

"Title"
by (name) - (occupation)
Location: (location)
Stardate (current stardate), (ship's time)

A normal post written by one author should look like this:

"Seeking the Unknown"
by Captain Michelle J. King - Commanding Officer
Location: USS Cherokee, Bridge
Stardate 57906.18, 22h20

A joint post written by two authors should look like this:

"To Boldly Go"
by Captain Michelle J. King - Commanding Officer
and Commander Owen Savage - Executive Officer
Location: Starbase 1, Promenade
Stardate 57906.18, 10h51

The use of "by" and "and" may be eliminated for the header if you wish. But, the other information should be included.

In a joint post where one player writes for a player character and another writes for an NPC, use the following format:

"Captain Proton and the Damsels of Peril"
by Captain Michelle J. King - Commanding Officer
and Lt. jg Grixble Flummus - Engineer
Location: USS Cherokee, Holodeck 1
Stardate 57906.21, 15h32

9. Stardates
For the USS Cherokee, a stardate is constructed in the following manner:
The first number is an indicator for the century. The 24th century (2301-2400) uses the indicator 5. The next two numbers are the current year. Currently, that will be 79. The next four numbers are the month, then the date separated by a decimal point. So, to indicate June 18, 2379, the stardate would be 57906.18.

The current stardate on the sim will be determined in posts by the GMs. You will want to use their posts as a point of reference, and follow the pace that they are setting.

10. These are the voyages...
The USS Cherokee takes place in the universe of Star Trek. As such, effort should be taken to make sure the things that appear in posts come from that genre. Away Team members should be carrying phasers and communicators. Food is generally prepared in a replicator, and EPS conduits power the ship.

11. Promotions and Advancement
Starfleet, being a pseudo-military organization, has a rank structure. Characters aboard the Cherokee will be able to, during the course of their career, have the opportunities to gain more rank and responsponsibility. To help players on the sim know what they will need to do for their characters to advance, we have created a page that explains exactly that.

Please view our Promotions page for all the details on getting your character promoted up through the chain of command.

12. Telepaths
1. Your character shall not read the minds of another character unless you have cleared it with that character's player before/during the post.

2. Your character may not read another character's thoughts, then use the knowledge gained unless cleared with that player first; as a corollary if your character reads another character's thoughts/emotions, your character may verbalize that knowledge only if cleared with the other player.

3. You may not insert telepathic thoughts into another character's head unless first cleared with the other player.

4. If someone complains that your character has "invaded" their character's thoughts, or used knowledge gained by telepathic probing, or the picking up of "stray" thoughts , or any of the above against their wishes, you will be given a warning. After the first warning, you will be given two strikes. If you receive two more complaints, and therefore two strikes, you will be asked to remove your character from the sim.

All this means is that those playing telepathic characters must get permission in regards to the use of telepathy between characters. This can happen in an OOC message at the start of the post, or it can be the subject of a post itself (such as the telepath invades the mental privacy of another character, and the other character reacts to the invasion)...as long as some agreement is established.

13. Player vs. Character Information
In simming, there is a tendency for players to, advertently or inadvertently, take information supplied by posts and use it, even if there is no possible way for one's character to acquire such information. This includes plucking thoughts from other character's heads - and we don't mean telepaths - or reading other posts your character was not involved in, and somehow knowing what went on or what was said, then using this information in your own posts. Players can get frustrated or upset if this happens, so please try to avoid doing this.

As a special note, anything that is said or happens in a staff meeting should be considered confidential unless otherwise stated. Only those with proper clearance (ie: Department Heads) will have access to this information.

14. Language and Setting
The Cherokee sim is intended to simulate an episode of Star Trek. As such, the language of the characters of the sim should be what you would expect to find on a weekly episode of any of the Star Trek series. This includes profanity, with the few exceptions of those words you do find on Star Trek. It also includes language that sounds too modern.

The sim takes place in the Star Trek universe. Players should make certain their posts reflect that, from the laungage, actions, and situations to the props, locations and other items featured in their posts. A good rule of thumb is to think of a Star Trek episode and imagine if you could see whatever you're including in your post on the show.

Also, players should refrain from referencing real world religions, political organizations, etc in their posts. Star Trek has always steered away from those issues, first because the nature of those sorts of topics can lead to very inflammatory arguments, and second, the more real world references (religious, political, social, etc) enter into the sim, the less distance the 24th century will have from the 21st. If a moral or ethical dilemma is needed, 24th century analogues should be created. While some may argue that such 20th century organizations etc. may live into the 24th century, we still wish to keep the distance between today and tomorrow.

15. The Point of It All
The point of simming is to have fun. These rules and guidelines are to help everyone have a fun time on the Cherokee, and yet still maintain some order in the sim. If you have any questions, contact me.

Main | Manifest | Guests | Personnel | Technical Specs

Logs | Star Fleet Awards | Sim Manual | Other

Join | Back