Monthly Update - August 2016

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Alex
Pegasus Fleet CO
Pegasus Fleet CO
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Monthly Update - August 2016

Post by Alex » Sun Aug 14, 2016 6:18 pm

Hello everyone,

I hope everyone has been well. It’s been a very busy month for the PFA, especially this past couple of weeks, but I’ll get to more on that in a moment. First I want to welcome some new sims to the Fleet. Since the last update, we’ve been joined by Dr. Allyson Isley and Oberon Base, Commander Alexis Applewood of the USS Icarus, and Captain Peter Gardner of the USS Excelsior. All three of our new commanding officers have also passed our commanding officer course with flying colors. Congratulations, and a warm welcome to you and your crews.

Last month during the monthly meeting we talked about a few items that we have in the works. One of them we are still working on and aren’t able to get into just yet. The other was a proposal for a monthly IRC roleplay session. These monthly sessions would allow us to take our characters away from their normal sims and work through a one-off mission through chat. These sessions would be considered non-canon for our sims. Admiral Collins has been working on the proposal, though it has been delayed due to other PFA matters. But based on the conversation last month, there seems to be a lot of interest in this. As we know more about this opportunity, we’ll be sure to keep everyone posted.

I've mentioned a couple of times now that the PFA has been busy lately. We are always looking for ways to improve the fleet, either by offering new ways for the community to interact, clarifying and updating our Fleet rules, and looking for ways to improve the quality of our sims and help us grow. One change that we have made, and have put into practice the last couple of months, is changing the process for CO applications. Unfortunately all too often we have had prospective commanding officers apply for command and be given a site and permission to start recruiting, only to have the prospective commanding officer fail to complete the Command Academy course. This does impact the fleet since high turnover of new sims could influence prospective players or sims that may be interested in transferring into the fleet. We don’t want to see any sim fail, and we try to give new COs every tool that they need to succeed. In order to stop this problem before it develops, new COs will be sent through the Academy prior to being approved for command. Since we have implemented this new process we have had great results. Oberon Base and the USS Icarus are already off to a fantastic start, with Oberon Base earning top marks as July’s Gold Sim of the Month. The USS Excelsior is just getting set up, but based on the way Captain Gardner flew through the course, I expect to see another great sim taking off soon.

Another policy that has been getting some attention for some time is our disciplinary policy. Recent events and inappropriate comments made in the IRC channels unfortunately led to a restoration of a previously lifted ban. The deep dive into this incident revealed that the old system of enforcing Fleet rules was outdated, and only applied to COs and Fleet staff members. The strike system consisted of warnings and strikes issued through the chain of command, with the associated penalties being a reduction in rank. For the majority of our players that do not hold a command or a staff position, there was no sufficient way to enforce our rules, rules that exist so that we can maintain a safe and enjoyable simming environment for all of our players.

To remedy this oversight in the old system, strikes have been replaced with a system of demerits. These demerits fall into three levels based on the severity of the offense, and are given following a review by the PFA. Like strikes, demerits will expire after a set amount of time, so occasional minor rule violations will likely end up with no long term effects. But more severe rule violations, like sexual or racial harassment will not be tolerated, and carry much heavier punishments. The full policy is too long to duplicate here, but I encourage everyone to check out the new policy, which can be found on the Pegasus Fleet wiki here. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask me or any other member of the PFA.

The other major change that has been discussed by the PFA is a minimum activity rule for sims. Along with the handful of sims that don’t make it past the Academy stage, another potential issue that could turn away potential players is low activity in the existing sims. There was a long discussion between the members of the PFA, and it was ultimately decided that the ideal level of posting is a minimum of 2.0 posts per player each month. This breaks down to one post per player every 15 days, which under most conditions is considered reasonable. There are a number of factors that would influence the post per player average, and we are aware that there are often extenuating circumstances. But there are a number of sims that have consistently lower posting rates. The reason for a minimum activity requirement is to help these sims grow and improve, and as a result, provided a greater level of activity across the fleet. Most of our sims have had no problems reaching this level of activity regularly, and many of those that haven’t are close. The intention is that a sim that fails to reach the 2.0 posts per player minimum will be reviewed by the PFA, and suggestions will be provided to the CO on how they can improve the sim’s posting activity. As long as appropriate action is taken by the CO over the course of the next month to improve the level of activity, then no disciplinary action will be taken. However, if no effort is made by the CO to improve the level of activity, then demerits will be assigned as detailed in the new activity rules. There are provisions in the new posting requirement rules that will allow a small number of sims to be designated as “low-paced” sims. This designation is at the discretion of the PFA, and would allow a sim that promotes itself as a lower paced sim to maintain a post per player average of 1.00 to 1.99. Sims that wish to be designated as “low-paced” sims must submit an application to the PFA.

Because this change will affect the Pegasus Fleet Constitution, it will require approval by the Fleet’s commanding officers. It has already passed through the PFA. I imagine that this will be a significant portion of this month’s Fleet Meeting, so I encourage you to attend this month, as I do every month, so that your voice can be heard. The PFA wants to make sure that everyone fully understands the reasoning behind this rule and what it will mean for the sims and the Fleet. I will also be posting the rule change into the CO subforum so that the conversation can continue there.

This month’s fleet meeting will be held on Sunday, August 14, and will start at 7:00 pm UTC. This time can be found on the main Fleet site for reference. As usual, the meeting will be held in the #PegasusFleet channel on the AceIRC server. This channel can be accessed through any IRC client, or through the built-in client on the Pegasus Fleet site, as found here. The meeting is open to all members of the fleet as well as anyone that is interested in joining. Next month’s meeting will be on Sunday, September 11.

As always, Live Long and Prosper
Fleet Admiral Emily Quinn
Commanding Officer
11th 'Pegasus' Fleet

Fleet Captain Liarra Von
Commanding Officer
Starbase 332

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