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The Big Rule:

Write.

Tesla's Guidelines

Posting Guidelines

Never limit yourself. Write, that's all we want. We want you to find your inner writer.

Want to be active, part of the fun? The best way to get recognized and included in more joint posts and subplots is to be active and post a LOT. Oh, and we love subplots. Boy howdy do we ever! Our minimum posting requirement is at least four times a month but if you're active, four posts is a drop in the bucket. If that's not possible for some reason post an LOA.

We prefer you to write in narrative third person form. Past or present tense is fine. At least 300 words please. Less is a cheat.

Star Trek isn't real, it falls into the realm of magical realism. I mean come on, transporters? However, we do like to keep it realistic. With that in mind, no superhero antics (unless you have permission and you would know if you did -- sense a theme here?).

Thanks to a friend this is added: No matter how good of an idea it seems at the time - DO NOT POST WHILST DRINKING OR DRUNK. You'll regret it in the morning :P

Sim Rating: 18+

What does 18+ mean?

May contain violence, offensive language, non-explicit sexual references, nudity, drug use, horrific themes and antisocial behavior. Must be over 18 to participate in this SIM.

What sort of rule should I follow?

Overall Conduct: Regardless of our age limit, posting language must, at all times, be proper and polite and respectful of other Tesla members. Exercise good judgment about what is acceptable. Under no circumstances will pornographic or gratuitously violent material be allowed. If in doubt, a player should err on the side of caution.

What does this mean to me?

No penetration! Nein! No graphic descriptions of sexual acts. Period. No graphic violence -- I don't want an up close on someone's head plus brains and further details. Frankly I'm squeamish. If you don't see it in an R movie then you don't play it here. i.e. Sex is portrayed but you don't see the close ups of genitalia or actors coming in direct contact with said parts. Implied and suggestive content is acceptable within a storyline. After all, your CO's nickname was once Bubbles...

AND

If you think it's ok but aren't really 100% -- come to the CO. PM, IRC, whatever, find the CO or XO. Discuss any edits if needed. We don't want to have to edit it after the fact. . We're all adults, you know what should and should not be public even with a warning on our front door.

What seems like a long time ago, this is what I wrote to our former Fleet Command when requesting our increase. This will give you a specific idea of why I went for this rating and what quality I expect.

We want a SIM that will allow us to explore themes of a mature nature and complexity. Death, Abortion, Rape, The Definition of Life, Raising family, Sexuality, The darker nature of "humanity", thematic horror--these are not black and white or for the inexperienced-a depth of understanding is required. My crew and I would like to explore difficult situations that a mature mind will be comfortable with discussing. We want to feel free to explore more adult themes without fear of recrimination or offending others.

The overarching storyline for Galileo (our original SIM) is about surveying an area of space heretofore uncatalogued. The true mission of Starfleet: seeking out new life in peace is integral to our mindset. Because of that mission, I feel there will very likely come storylines of a horrific, sexual, or violent nature as we encounter situations that are unknown. I still prefer that all crew use discretion and maturity in these Role Plays. I don't believe that profanity is a useful tool so while I am asking for an 18+ rating I will be asking the crew to limit profanity to extreme situations and to still behave like Starfleet officers on duty.

Writing Our Characters (PC)

We have our own characters called Playing Characters (PC), which are the sole property of the player who created them. You write your own character. If you want your character to interact with another PC then contact the other player and write a joint post (JP) together. Otherwise ask their permission if you can use their character in your post. But remember, JPs are our friends and friends are fun.

The same applies to Secondary Playing Characters (SPCs).

Get the Template

Secondary Playing Characters (SPC)

Secondary Playing Characters (SPC) are unique to Tesla. We do not limit ourselves to one playing character. In tabletop they'd be called backups or henchmen or an entourage. Here, we simply do not limit ourselves. Writers of novels write all the characters in the novels, we find no difference in that here.

For most SPCs, bios do not have to be as detailed as your PC but it is recommended that if you play that SPC a lot, you make your bio reflect all of what you've included for consistency sake. So, if you find yourself using that SPC a lot, you'll find you will need a more full bio. Makes sense, right?

Get the Template

Non Playing Characters (NPC) are rarely needed with the dynamic of SPCs but if you do need to use one, those should be on a one time basis and do not need bios but you are free to fill out an NPC template for posterity.

Get the Template

Department Head Positions

We ask more of our Department Heads (DH) than most sims do, but we also give more back.

• Job Description:

• • Post at least once a week, because you are essential to every mission
  • Responsible for players in your department (mentoring and encouraging activity)
  • Organize and run department wide subplots (or inter-departmental as required)
  • Responsible for your department’s wiki page
  • Communicate your department needs (and wishlist) to the Command Team

What do we give you? Think of it as mini CO experience. Tbieng a DH is an excellent way to get a taste of what a real command might be like. To help make this as real as possible the Command Team will ask for your advice and opinion on missions that might affect your department, run all applicants for your department past you and also offer you the opportunity to command one of our two support vessels.

If at any stage you find that you can’t keep up with the posting requirement, real life is taking centre stage, or you’re struggling with your responsibilities as Department Head then please contact the Command Team ASAP. It might be that some responsibilities can be delegated or put on hold for a short time or it might be best for you to step down as Department Head so the position can be filled by someone with a bit more time to spare.

Meta-Arcs, Missions & Subplots

Missions on Tesla tend to run at least a few months OOC. This is usually because they are multi-facted sub-plots in a main arc. So think of a Mission as a season for a TV series like 24. The Commanding Officer will start and end the mission.

Subplots are have two meanings on Tesla.

Mission Subplots are part of the meta-arc or mission as a facet of these. Some examples of subplots are our Akkadia project, Away Team work, etc. They are all plots within the meta which affects it dynamically, like a novel.

Personal Subplots, and these are encouraged strongly, are those where your character is exploring some facet of their personal world. Examples of personal subplots are romances, rivalries, family matters. Remember though, if your personal subplot will impact or affect anything or anyone other than your own character then please run this past your Department Head or the Command Team. If you want to run a mission subplot, recommend it to the CO.

Occasionally subplots will come to the fore as main plots. Remember this when you develop your subplots and run them accordingly. That is to say, it's not always that a romance subplot will become the main plot of the station but you never know...

Problems, Questions, Feedback, Nominations, Concerns and Complaints

If you have any of the above (nominations being who you feel is worthy of an award), please contact your Department Head or Command Team, preferably in private. We can then deal with it from there.

Awards & Promotions

Awards will be lauded upon those who are deemed worthy at the end of each mission.

Promotions will be made based on the recommendations from your Department Head, also in part due to your character’s age and experience and if there is a need on the station. This is the same for your character’s initial starting rank, so please consider realism (or whatever passes for it in Star Trek) when first creating your character.

Leave of Absence (LOA) or Resignation

Holiday? Can't get online from home? Just need to get away from everyone for a few days? Please post a Leave of Absence (LOA) on the SMS and as an additional courtesy, you may choose to post the same on the OOC list. It helps us know who's around for subplots and JPs - especially if you can tell us when you'll be back. We also like it if you keep in touch with us while you're away if possible. ELOA is a "special" situation and only the CO can approve one.

If for whatever reason you need to resign from the SIM we will be very sad to see you go. People change, SIMs change, life gets in the way. Please, don't leave us in the lurch, it's polite to contact Commanding Officer and let them know. This is just so we don't all start to worry that something has happened to you. It's also good to not burn any bridges in case you're able and want to come back later.

• Leave of Absence covers a period of 1-30 days. Obviously, a two day weekend holiday isn't going to kill us if you're not posted as LOA but it doesnt hurt to click the button anyway. Or in the very least, send an email to the OOC list and be sure to let anyone you are currently RPing with know that you won't be available. IT's more about courtesy than anything else. The thing to remember is that anything longer than 3-4 days requires you to formalize your LOA.

• Extended Leave of Absence covers a period of 30-90 days. Because that's a LONG time to wait, the staff of Tesla really does need to be informed of and "approve" it. It's not like we're going ot say "NO, you can't go away!" but if your character is integral to the plot, and you know you're going away for a while, communicating that change in your status is necessary to the community story. If we need to have that storyline continue, and your position that you occupy is necessary, then it may be a situation of replacing the position for the good of the order. If you have been an active and creative member of Tesla and need to have some time off, then your leave will be worked out so that you can keep your position. Just another reason to be a reliable player!

• Partial Activity Member is something we have been doing a while here and marking the crewmember as ELOA. One of our community members runs another extremely active SIM and another is working on her Ph.d thesis. We have had some folks sent overseas for work or war. We needed something that wasn't ELOA but encompassed community participation. We're not in an org and we don't like to lose family. It's a matter of communicating the need and just participating occasionally in the community as a whole. Maybe your participation isn't as a writer anymore (you had to have been an active member in good standing to get this status) but if you still enjoy the read and like the OOC chatter in IRC or email, then there is no reason why we can't come up with a way for you to continue being part of the community. The way that we do this is by putting you into a position that is not a place others would want to or need to occupy. In essence then, the only ELOAs longer than three months that will be considered will be in cases of partial activity, where a player feels they will still be able to contribute but are unsure of how much or how often.