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Frequently Asked Questions

Character Questions

Q: What rank will I start at?
A: Every new applicant begins at the rank of Crewman Recruit or Private, except in rare special cases that require explicit permission from the Admiralty.

Q: I have several years of simming experience. Can I receive advanced rank?
A: You may wish to submit a request to the STF Admiralty about this (see the Contacts page), but most likely not. However, your experience will give you an advantage over your less experienced counterparts, and if you apply that experience, you will most likely shine when it's time to review you for promotions (thus gaining the advanced rank you desire).

Q: I'm a (insert rank here) in (insert fleet here). Can I receive advanced rank?
A: No. For more information, please see the section farther down the page labelled "Questions about Intergroup Relations."

Q: I was a (insert rank here) in the old STF. Can I receive advanced rank?
A: This is being done in special cases only, since the STF has been restarted for quite some time now. Please send a request to the STF Admiralty (see the Contacts page) about this if you want to pursue the matter.

Q: When will I be promoted?
A: Enlisted members (those ranked Crewman Recruit - Master Chief Petty Officer or Private - Sergeant Major) are to be considered for promotion every two sims, while officers (Ensign JG - Lt. Commander or 3rd Lieutenant - Major) are considered every four sims. Every Commanding Officer has his own system of deciding how to give promotions, so asking your CO once you are accepted would be the easiest way to learn about promotion standards. Officers ranked Commander/Lt. Colonel or higher may only be promoted by the Admiralty. Promotions that allow a member to skip rank must be approved by the Admiralty.

Q: I'm completely new at this. Do you have an academy where I can learn how to sim?
A: No, but one is currently in the planning stages. Until then, we have other resources available: our Simming Basics Guide can tell the new simmer everything he or she needs to know about the STF's style of simming. If there are any questions, any of our superior officers will be glad to help you when they can.

Q: Can I be Will Riker/Ezri Dax/Harry Kim/etc.?
A: No. We accept only original characters that have not been shown on any episode of Star Trek. This is both for our protection (Paramount owns the copyrights on all of those characters, and is indeed quite gracious just to allow us to use the Star Trek universe as a basis for our group) and meant to foster creativity among our members. If everyone played a character we've already seen so much of, it wouldn't be nearly as fun as it is.

Q: How about a character's relative, like B'Elanna Torres's or Ben Sisko's brother?
A: That's okay, but for the reasons stated above, we'd really rather you crate a completely original character if you can. Not everyone can be related to someone famous.

Q: Can I be a Q/Species 8472/Hirogen/Ocampa/Ex-Borg/etc.?
A: Currently, the races of Q, Borg, Founder (Changeling), and Jem'Hadar are off-limits. Ex-Borg will be allowed only in special cases, with express permission from the STF Admiralty. In addition, Gamma and Delta quadrant races will require a little bit of "extra explanation." We know the whole new sets of races is very interesting, but the USS Voyager and the USS Equinox needed a major catastrophe to end up in the Delta Quadrant. It's not realistic (within the Star Trek world) that members of those races conveniently find their way to Starfleet HQ. The Gamma Quadrant is a little more realstic, but it would still help if there was a bit more background there.

Q: I'm confused. So what kind of character should I be?
A: We have a guide up to help those who need it, although it is currently only about 1/4 of the way completed. Check here to acccess our character creation guide.

Fleet Questions

Q: What time are your sims, and what class ships are they?
A: (All times given are US Eastern Daylight Time/GMT-4) We have the Achilles class USS Premonition on Fridays at 10:30, the modified Sovereign class USS Avalon on Saturdays and Tuesdays at 8:00, the Pathfinder class USS Incursion on Sundays at 7:00, and the ground ops 54th Starfleet Marine Expeditionary Unit on Sundays at 11:00.

Q: Who are the superior officers in this group?
A: The Flag officers are Fleet Admiral Sioned Gwynne, General Robert Staf, Vice Admiral Evets Kelemvor, and Commodore Alexander Swift. The Commanding officers are Fleet Captain Nick Sharp, Fleet Captain Alexander Hunter, Captain Nanashi, and Marine Captain Jack Rostof. The Executive officers are Commander John Etti, Lt. Commander Jack, and Lt. Commander Anita Swift.

Q: What's it like working with those people?
A: Since it would be biased of me to answer that question myself, I asked one of our members, Lt. Cordova, to do so with the understanding that I would quote her for this page. Her exact words follow: "my opinion on my superiors are they are all nice and friendly and are willing to help you when you need it. i love working with captains swift and nanashi. the first officers Sharp and jack are always there to to help if you have questions when it comes to trying to figure out how you need something said in the sim."

Q: How long has the STF been around?
A: The STF was started several years ago. However, it collapsed for some time and was restarted in February of 2004 by the current flag officers. For this reason, people view us at varying ages, from several years to only a few months. It very much depends on how you view the situation, but rest assured that the superior officers have years of experience behind them.

Questions about Intergroup Relations

Q: I am a (insert rank here) in (insert fleet here). How does that affect my relations with your group?
A: The STF does not acknowledge any other group's ranks, nor do we claim that our ranks should have any bearing on any other group. You are either a member of the STF under the rank your STF character holds or you are a non-member. We don't ask that any other groups' members go to attention for our flag officers, and we don't accept other groups' flag officers wielding power over our members.

Q: I am a (insert rank here) in (insert fleet here). Can I get advanced rank when joining your group?
A: No. Since we do not acknowledge other groups' ranks, that leaves us with no reason to allow a person to enter at a higher rank. We feel that this policy should match the policy of those who have a great deal of experience, even if they are not currently a member of any group.

Q: A member of the STF has disrupted (insert fleet here)'s recruiting room, or has harassed on of (insert fleet here)'s members.
A: Respect for other groups is mandated in our Directives. Please send a log of the encounter to the members of the STF Admiralty (see the Contacts page) so that we may review it and take the appropriate action. However, if the STF member is also a member of the group that was violated, please be aware we will most likely consider it an internal conflict unless the member claimed to be acting on the STF's behalf.

Q: I'd like to propose an alliance between the STF and (insert fleet here).
A: We maintain a policy of strict isolationism in relations with other simming groups. We do not form intergroup alliances or particpate in intergroup wars. There is no exception to this policy.

Q: Okay, then do you have a banner exchange program?
A: No such program exists, and there are no current plans to implement one.