USS ELYSIUM RULES AND REGULATIONS

"We know what we are, but know not what we may be" - William Shakespeare

The Crew of the USS Elysium is considered one of the best in the fleet, and it is the command crew’s desire to keep it that way. Thus, this information has been put forth for you, the player or prospective player to read.

1. General Posting Rules

We split these into two groups: General players and Senior Officer players.

General Posting Information:

All posts must contain proper English spelling, grammar, and punctuation. Post lengths are expected to be upheld. A solo post is to be no less than 500 words. We have a word count mod to assist with this A joint post is to be no less than 500 words per character EG. If there are three characters in the post it should be a minimum of 1500 words. A joint post counts as a full post for all authors involved, as long as they have contributed more than two sentences to it. If not, then the others will gain recognition for the post and the player will still require to post a solo post to meet the posting requirements. You must not, under any circumstances, write using another player's character or NPC without their consent. This may ONLY be done by the CO or XO if a player suddenly becomes inactive or is unable to be located and a response on that character's behalf is required to move the plot along. LOAs are granted for periods of two weeks and ELOAs for two weeks to a month. Over that you need to speak to a member of the command staff. Repeatedly going on LOA for extended periods is harmful to the sim and will be looked at by the command staff. Joint Posts: If there has been no reply within 7 days from your last response you may PM and nudge the other player/s. If after that, there is nothing in 5 days, then you may post the post as is. Maintain Good Player etiquette: There are a number of things that can be considered good, or bad, player etiquette. The most infamous of this, is akin to putting words in someone else's mouth. What this is referring to, is taking charge of another player's character, and having him/her/it act, or say, things that the owner of the character didn't approve. Etiquette requires those who create a character, the authority to dictate their actions. Included in this, is also that of the creation of NPCs - Non-Playing Characters. While their use is, for the most part, allowed by all aboard the ship, their creation is a little more restricted. It is generally accepted as good etiquette to not create an NPC in a department, other than your own. Treat others as you wish to be treated. Do not slander, bad mouth or attack other players either in your posts or on Social media. IC issues should be handled IC and not taken over to OOC.

General players – Assistant chiefs and below

All players, regardless of their position in the game are required to compose one post a fortnight unless otherwise cleared by the CO or XO or an LOA (leave of absence) or ELOA (extended leave of absence) form is submitted. While special consideration can be given if you have a condition or event that limits your posting, I am not telepathic, nor Betazoid; so I can't read minds. It is your job to email the Command Staff or Message us via discord.

You post regularly without being reminded by the command staff – Minimum of one 500 word post per 14 days. You adhere to the posting rules Inform the Command team or your department head of any issues hindering you from adhering to the posting requirements

Senior Officer Roles and Postings

So, you have applied for and been accepted into a Senior Staff Role. These roles are important to our game and by applying and being accepted, you are expected to lead by example. Senior Staff positions are positions of great responsibility. Do not abuse that responsibility. Show you have what it takes.

As a senior Staff Member it is expected that:

You post regularly without being reminded by the command staff You adhere to the posting rules Keep the Command Staff informed about developments in your department and your ability to post Co-ordinate with your department players and involve them in the missions It is your responsibility to inform the Command Staff of any LOA’s you need to take. We are a community of writers, and we are open to open communication, and we expect it from all senior staff.

2. Character rules

Due to Fleet policies, no character can be related, either by blood or marriage, to any of the canon Star Trek characters (Picard, Sisko, Worf, etc.). Also, no character can be close friends with a canon character. You can have served on Deep Space Nine as an Ensign in operations, but you cannot have been Asst, Chief of Operations and regularly have had lunch with Bashir and O'Brien. You also cannot be Picard after his retirement. This is a breach of copyright laws and we'd rather not get sued, thanks.

I don’t care if you have played your applying character on several other Obsidian Fleet ships as is, we expect all characters to be well written and unique. You may transfer characters over, but they must be legitimate transfers as I will not accept your character being a carbon copy of 5 others in the fleet.

Be unique in your writing. If a player wishes to be a Cardassian diplomat, or a Reman bartender, that would be acceptable. Exchange officers such as those found in the Klingon Officer Exchange Program in Next Generation are subject to approval and will be given a provisional rank.

No shape shifters of any kind will be allowed on this SIM. Non-canon species are subject to approval by the Commanding Officer. There will be no monkeys with collapsing skeletons or androids that trans-mutate into robotic dogs or floating dolphins. No application will be accepted that includes Yodas, wookies, werewolves, Harry Potter centaurs, vampires, goa'uld, Jaffa, Asgard, Frankenstein monsters, Holograms or "Jar Jar Binx", robotic animals, talking rocks, or imaginary friends. No application will be accepted if they are named for a character in any other franchise. NO, I will not approve Hermione Granger as an Operations officer, nor will Samantha Carter be approved. Nor Kara Thrace or Gaius Baltar. MARY SUE’s are strictly forbidden: Our Mary Sue Policy

A player character is not permitted to be one the races listed below. Additions or subtraction to this list may be made by Joint Fleet Command.

Non-Humanoid Races (big rock creatures, Tribbles, etc.) Q, Iconians, Dowd Breen Androids Borg in the Collective Jem-Hadar Vorta Shapeshifters Suliban Indigenous Delta Quadrant Races Species 8472

There will be no superhero characters such as Qs, genetic engineered humans,10f6" Klingons, or uber-Marines. There will also be no Mr. Uber Telepathic Men on board. As a whole, the members of this sim do not want Q, Q's mom, Q's Dad, or Q's little sister board this sim and we certainly don't want any Q2's or Lady Q's here. We all want to be special, but let's stay realistic within the realm of the races as they were played in the TV shows. While Star Trek books are good to read, and I have read many of them they are not generally accepted as canon.

No god modding or superhero syndrome will be accepted. You cannot be alone and unarmed and surrounded by million Borg and magically incapacitate them all with the Vulcan nerve pinch. It wouldn't happen in the series and it's not going to happen here. Also, you cannot solve the entire mission by yourself and leave nothing for anyone else to do. This is a joint writing effort and everyone deserves their time in the limelight. Also, one writer cannot tell another how to play their character nor can one player tell another how to play their department. Each player has their own PC, NPCs, and department and cannot make demands on how others should play theirs. This is called god modding and will not be tolerated.

In regards to god modding, no telepathic character can effect another member of the simm without their express written consent. This is considering a violation of respect and will be dealt with.

Please keep in mind that what you do in character can affect your character both in good ways and bad ways. If you are going to do something stupid in character, please be prepared for your character to suffer the consequences of it. If your character decides to show up for duty drunk, unshaven, with a bottle of whiskey in his hand then you need to be ready to deal with his superiors giving him a talking to IC. No one would get away with it in the series and no one’s going to get away with it here. For more information, please read our policy on Military Protocol and Customs. Section 2.3

All players are to limit themselves to 3 images per PC and 2 image per LINKED NPC and 1 image per NON linked NPC - this is non negotiable and anyone found breaching this rule after the 1/1/2021 will be issued with a strike

3. Player rules

Respect. Everyone here deserves RESPECT. Failure to respect other players on this game will result in you being warned and if it is sever enough, you will be given a strike. The right to be promoted within the game within reason. The sim’s Commanding Officer will determine the initial rank of a new player character. Promotions are at the discretion of the sim’s Commanding Officer. Players have the right to a moving game. This means that all players must abide by the posting requirements and contribute to the game. The right to a safe and happy writing environment. We here on the USS Elysium have a ZERO Tolerance to online bullying and harassment. Should a problem come up, either with another character, or another player, or the story line, or a question etc. please contact your Department Head, the XO or CO, (as appropriate to your query), to sort it out. We encourage *constructive* feedback to logs, or even a simple 'well done, I loved it' to the writer if you feel something you've read is especially good, but under no circumstances start flaming people, on or off list, it's something that shan't be tolerated. All players are required to follow the game’s Rules and Regulations Plagiarism in any form will not be tolerated.

4. Strikes and Removal

The USS Elysium Command Staff have a three-strike policy. The Command staff reserve the right to Strike or remove a character without prior/notice or strikes. The Command Staff also reserve the right to issue more than one strike if necessary.

A player’s strike listing is kept private by the command staff

Personally I hate having to have this policy, having to lay it out there for all crew. But because the world is what it is, here we go.

1) The Three-strike policy is a disciplinary process that consists of following:

a) First Strike: A formal warning via e-mail. - This email is written by the command team and sent via the site’s Private message function. b) Second Strike: A demotion by one rank and put on a moderation status. Notified by email. - This email is written by the command team and sent via the site’s Private message function. . c) Third Strike: Removal from sim, regardless of rank or position. Notified by email. - This email is written by the command team and sent via the site’s Private message function

2) Strikes are issued at the result of one or more of the following actions:

a) Failure to meet posting requirements. b) Failure to respond to posts. c) Failure to obey sim rules. d) Abuse of LOA system. e) Any infraction deemed by the sim’s CO. f) Misbehaviour on the Sim’s discord.

3) Strikes “clear” at a rate of one strike per 2 months from the date of the last strike received. For example, if you get your first strike on January 10, you have to be clean for 2 months (or until March 10) before that strike clears.

4) A member's strike record is kept private and is not viewable by any other players on the sim, except members of the Command Staff.

5) Rule on Sudden Resignations and Player Neglect

We have had a number of examples of Sudden Resignation, Player vanishing without notification and Player Neglect. It is not our favourite thing, but it must be detailed.

What we define as Sudden Resignation, Player vanishing without notification and Player Neglect

Any player that joins the USS Elysium and then resigns within one month of joining, posting less than five OF Standard Posts or any player that fails to maintain contact with the Command Staff and allows his/her character to go inactive. Sporadically* maintaining contact to avoid a strike then neglecting contact Constantly having to be reminded to post and constantly being in abeyance of the posting rules Any player who rages indiscriminately against other players or the command staff in public without reason. A player who just vanishes sans explanation. And then suddenly returns without explanation after the 2-week posting limit

The ramifications for the above have 3 different levels.

Level 2:

Loss of current rank, and position. Placed on Moderation for 3 months. Reduction of NPCS down to a limit of 2 for 3 months and NPCs must clear the Command staff. Please note that these players will not be allowed to be a Senior officer for their 3 months moderation and will only be considered for a chief post if one is available and if it suites their character’s background, IE: if you have no training in medical you will not be granted CMO if it is available

Level 1:

The player will be banned from the Elysium for a period of six months. The player will forfeit the privilege of any Senior Staff Positions or Department Heads. The player cannot apply in the future as a Commissioned Officer for another Six Month Period. Placed on Moderation for 6 months after their return. Allowed 1 NPC for a period of 6 months, and NPC must clear the Command staff.

Should player continually be guilty of sudden resignation or abandonment; the Command staff reserve the right to initiate an Omega level Ban on the player. - This means full ban from the USS Elysium with no return possible.

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Level Omega Ban

An Omega level ban, is not something the Command crew of this ship take lightly. It is an extreme measure and one which is done only as a final resort. Reasons for an Omega Level Ban:

Constant infractions in the Sims Discord Channel and or the Fleet discord channels which has resulted in warnings or strikes. Any player found guilty of continuous Sudden Resignation or Abandonment. Abusing other players and/or striking out at the command team. Arguing with the Command staff in public, or taking things public, over their decisions and fostering an uncomfortable atmosphere in the sim’s discord and in OCC chats

Determination of the level of ramification is determined by a command staff vote

*Sporadically is defined as inactivity for length of the set posting requirements, then logging in to post no more than five posts or personal logs in order to avoid a strike for inactivity and then neglecting contact for another period of inactivity without a LOA or ELOA.

5. Promotions

Promotions are worked out based on several criteria: