Rules

Characters and Applications

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2. 1. You must be 17 or older to join the USS Astrea.
   
   
3. 2. Characters must not have any god-like super powers. No members of the Q continuum, changelings, etc. All characters must have believable weaknesses and limitations.
   
   
4. 3. Original, non-canon races may be allowed subject to command staff approval. Canon races applying to be a crew member must align with canon, and that race's relationship with the Federation/Starfleet in 2389.
   
   
5. 4. Characters must not have had any direct contact with canon events. A character may have served as a low ranking officer on the USS Titan or USS Verity, but would not have been senior staff or working directly with Captain Riker or Admiral Picard.
   
   
6. 5. Characters must be your own original creation.
   
   
7. 6. No player may use another player's character, whether primary or a non-primary character without that character's express permission.
   
   
8. 7. We encourage celebrity face claims or live action avatars, but have no rule on what type of avatar you use. Animated avatars are welcome, as are any uniform style and/or civilian attire.
   
   
9. 8. No AI in written form. Your writing should be your own work. (This does not apply to avatars, other visual items you may wish to contribute to the game.)

Posting and Leaves of Absence

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2. 1. Posts are written in past tense.
   
   
3. 2. The sim is rated 2-2-2. Trigger warnings should be used for any sensitive subjects like suicide or sexual violence. Our sim rating indicates these may not be written in detail. Please see our discord channel for more guidance on Astrea's interpretation of 2-2-2.
   
   
4. 3. Each player should contribute to a minimum of one post per month, preferably two posts per month or more. Department Heads should be contributing to more than the bare minimum, and should be generating posts for others to participate in. Failure to participate in a post for two consecutive months without notifying Command Staff of a Leave of Action will result in a removal from the sim.
   
   
5. 4. Tags regarding the main mission action should be answered within 3 days. If a tag is outstanding for longer than five days a member of Command Staff may remove your character's tag or their scene may be written out of the post in order to keep the story moving.
   1. a) Note: If necessary, your character may be hijacked if a tag is not answered, and your character is ingrained in a scene and the tag cannot be written out. This will be minimal and only done by Command Staff, and is a last resort. You will be given reminders to tag in before this measure is taken. This is to keep the story moving, and to keep the sim fun for other players
   
   
6. 5. Character building side posts can move at your own desired pace, but please be courteous to other writers on pacing and being responsive to tags.
   
   
7. 6. Write for your own character(s) only. Let the other players write for their characters. If you feel that your character is being hijacked (outside of exceptions noted in Rule 4, if you are not comfortable talking to other player about it, feel free to reach out to anyone in the Command Staff. Assume it's not intentional, cooperative writing is a learned art, and some writers have different boundaries than others. We will do our best to coach and help other writers understand your boundaries. See the example below as a guideline. Note how the option in line b provides the other writer an opportunity for their character to react and respond.
   1. a) Not: Gleason pulled his fist back and punched Landry in the face.
   2. b) Instead: Gleason pulled his fist back and swung at Landry.
   
   
8. 7. Posts must NOT include ANY canon characters from Star Trek or related franchises. Copyright infringement on these characters is a serious offense
   
   
9. 8. Our leave of absence policy is very liberal as long as you communicate. Please let the command staff know if you are going to be absent from the game for FIVE or more days. If you are unexpectedly absent from the game and command staff is unable to reach you for two weeks or longer, your status may be moved to pending. If command staff is unable to make contact with you for one month or longer you may be removed from the game and have to reapply if you wish to rejoin.
   
   
10. 9. No AI in written form. Your writing should be your own work. (This does not apply to avatars, other visual items you may wish to contribute to the game.)

Department Heads

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2. 1. You are the leaders in this simming community. Make new players feel welcome, and help them become engaged by inviting them to write in joint posts, assisting with tags, and directing them to command staff if needed.
   
   
3. 2. Start at least one (1) joint post a month. This can be done in conjunction with other department heads. (Eight department heads do not need eight separate joint posts.) Also, multi-part stories count as separate posts, and this is a law of averages, not a calendar month count. The point is to be actively engaged creating posts and involving others, and not just passive participants. Your Command Staff are happy to give you ideas and be involved in these posts. You are not here to write alone. (Though that is permissible)
   
   
4. 3. There is no rule that NPCs for departments must be screened through the Department Heads. We encourage the development of characters, and NPCs are approved through command staff. If you do have a problem with a character in your department, please talk to Command, and we will try to work out any issues.
   
   
5. 4. Passive participation or lack of participation by a Department Head may result in demotion to an Assistant Chief spot, or regular character to make room for players who will be more active writers.

Code of Conduct

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2. 1. Be respectful both in and out of character. This is an LGBTQ+ friendly game. Racist, sexist, and other intolerant language or behavior is not allowed
   
   
3. 2. Problems should be reported to your command staff. This is the Captain, First Officer, Second Officer, and Chief of the Boat. These four individuals work together to moderate any issues within the game or among players.
   
   
4. 3. Problematic behavior will be dealt with by the command team.
   
   
5. 4. Blatantly rude, offensive, and/or antagonistic behavior in or out of character may result in immediate removal from the sim depending on the severity of the offense.