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Cptn Moose

Tips From The Moose

One balmy summer, River City, Iowa had trouble.  Trouble with a capital "T" that rhymed with "P" that stood for pool.  And even if you've only seen "The Music Man" once, who can forget the mayor's wife and her gaggle of girlfriends in the Ladies Auxilary, singing and chirping all the town's gossip.

 

"Pick a little, talk a little, pick a little, talk a little"

"Pick, pick, pick, talk a lot pick a little now..."

 

As you may recall, the ladies were horrible at spotting con men.  But they had an excellent understanding of the chain of command.  Poor Marion the Librarian couldn't even kiss a man at the foot bridge without one of them skipping back to report to Mrs. Shinn.  She, in turn, ran to tell her husband, the Mayor.  And the next morning she'd be back with the girls sharing everything he had to say with them.

 

A sim should work like the Ladies Auxilary.

 

The GMs are always reminding players to follow the chain of command, but no one really seems to have a clear idea of what that means.  Simply put, the chain of command states that only the bridge crew and department heads should talk to the Captain, and that department assistants should only talk to the department chief.  This sounds like the ultimate ego trip, and as a result, everyone wants to play the chief and no one wants to play the assistant.  "Give me a good post," everyone asks.  The truth is, a game with more than six players can not function without this rule.

 

The chain of command is vital because it narrows each player's focus in the room.  It enables people to play without having to read every word typed by the other players.  Each assistant only needs to see what's typed by members of their department.  In addition, each chief only needs to follow the Captain, and the First Officer.  The Captain only needs to follow the chiefs and the bridge crew.  This gives the Captain and the First Officer more free time to observe the cadets, and possibly graduate someone.

 

In order to make this work, the Chief needs to play the mayor's wife.  Everything said by the Captain needs to be shared with the assistants.  And everything done by the assistants needs to be shared with the Captain.  If there's a First Officer playing, go through them, and the Xo will share all with the Captain.

 

CEng> Captain, Cadet Hill just reconfigured the warp core.  We're back online.

Co> Acknowledged.  Now, activate the deflector dish.

CEng> Hill, the Captain needs power for the deflectors.

AEng> I've diverted the power, but now life support is failing.

CEng> Captain, the deflectors are online, but life support has failed.

 

Is the Captain being a snob?  Are you beneath notice if you have too low a rank?  Of course not.  But the Captain is mortal, like most humanoids in our game.  And the Captain can get overwhelmed in a crowded chat room just like the rest of us.

 

The other benefit of the chain of command is repetition.  The more times a key fact is typed to the screen, the better chance there is that people will see it.  More often than not, statements that are key to the plot get ignored because too many people were looking down at their keyboards as they hit the screen.  The busier the room, the more chance there is of this happening.  When statements are repeated, everyone gets a second and possibly third chance to get with the program.

 

Often times, one department needs to work with another, but if they're focused on the chain of command, they probably won't notice you.  What do you do?  Well, people will usually spot their name where ever it appears.  So use it.

 

Hill: Moose> Can you divert power to the Bussard Collector?

Moose: +taps+ Shinn, we need more power.

Shinn: +Moose+ We'll have to shut down the holodecks.

Moose: Hill> Holodecks are coming down.  You'll have your power shortly.

 

Be prepared to create new chains on the fly.  Your department is really the group of players involved in your scene, not just those related to your post.  If you leave your department to go get your physical, then you join the Medical department chain as long as you're there.

 

Away Teams become their own department.  One member becomes the team leader.  They communicate with the ship through the Ops station and relay information from the ship to the other members of the team.

 

Remember to keep an eye out for ACTION statements.  Those apply to everyone regardless of department.

 

Not since a Klingon burst from the cornfields pursued by the Suliban has the Midwest had such an impact on simming.  Like any rule, the chain of command has to be followed in order to work.  So if you want to be a department chief, you have to do the work.  It's your job to gather information from the department, pass it on to the Captain, and then inform the troops what the Captain said.  It's your job to be a "Pick-a-little" lady.

 

Tip From The Moose #4 - Pick a little, talk a lot.

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Moose, That Avatar does not do your sim-wisdom justice.  It is too small.

 

Keep the columns going...I have simmed quite a bit in the academies since I graduated and find them quite useful, even in advanced sims.

 

Precip

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I dunno... I think I took my own academy lessons from Harold Hill...  :(

 

And I *am* trouble.  With a capital T that rhymes with D that stands for donuts.

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:: sigh :: Greattt, now I've got all these songs in my head and I have to go back and watch that movie.

 

Anyways, I have a question actually.

 

Before each Academy sim when a GM posts rules, one of the rules states to "Follow the Chain of Command". In these block, it says that Dept. Heads report to the XO, whom reports to the CO. But in your info here it says Dept. Heads report to the CO, not to the XO. Jw.

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yeah, these tips are great! before you started making 'em moosy i had to use the writing on the back of a head 'n shoulders shampoo bottle as my game playing guide!

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Whether the bridge officers and department chiefs report to the CO or XO really depends on the CO and XO.  I always reported my information or asked my questions to whomever asked for the information or whomever had the authority to make a decision.  This is usually the CO, although not always.  It doesn't make sense for, say, OPS to talk with the XO who then talks with the CO if all 3 of them are on the bridge.  

 

When I play one of the "lower deck" chiefs I just report to the bridge and whomever is in charge of the bridge will handle it.

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If there's a First Officer playing, go through them, and the Xo will share all with the Captain.

To answer Garnoopy's question, I didn't realize it at the time, but I used the term "Captain" pretty generically.  It depends on if the Xo is actually playing or not.  And if they are, are they on the bridge, leading an away team, or off at an unspecified location?  For that matter, is the Co an active participant?  Or have they handed the action off to the Xo or someone else?

 

I think Dumbass clarified it well.  When in doubt, Dept Heads report to the person running the bridge.

 

Moose

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When I play one of the "lower deck" chiefs I just report to the bridge and whomever is in charge of the bridge will handle it.

 

Yes, and it also might matter if the CO is just sitting in the Command Chair waching the stars zip by on the viewscreen or deep in a conversation/process with someone else.  I think the bottom line is to be "flexible" to which Command Officer the Dept Heads report.  However, you clearly do not have an AENG try and start a dialogue with the CO (unless it is in response to a request for info from the CO directly {Agggh, another exception to the rule, nooooooo}).

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When I play one of Yes, and it also might matter if the CO is just sitting in the Command Chair waching the stars zip by on the viewscreen or deep in a conversation/process with someone else.  

Well even if the Captain is just sitting back watching the stars, don't disrupt him!! That's very hard work!

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However, you clearly do not have an AENG try and start a dialogue with the CO...

Now here I disagree - not with the standard procedure but with making the standard procedure absolute with no exceptions.  There are times when seconds matter and following the chain of command (AENG=> CENG=> Whoever has the bridge=> XO=> CO) uses up precious time you don't have in an emergency and split-second decisions have to be made.  If I was the CO I would WANT to be contacted by whomever had the critical information I needed, chain of command be hecked.

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There is ALWAYS an exception to the rule SOMEWHERE or another.  LOL

 

But in GENERAL....  98 percent of the time the AENG has no reason to be contacting the CO immediately.  Usually if the AENG spots something critial anyway (like the warp core about to go boom), he would immediately start fixing it, dealing with it, and calling for backup.  

 

We can always argue there will be an occasional extreme situation, but that's not the purpose of these teachings.  These are to introduce folks to how in most "normal" situations things should play out.  :( :)

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These are to introduce folks to how in most "normal" situations things should play out.  :( :)

You mean normal things like tidal waves, engineering sealent being confused with ketchup, and other cadet deaths?  :laugh:

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There are times when seconds matter and following the chain of command (AENG=> CENG=> Whoever has the bridge=> XO=> CO) uses up precious time you don't have in an emergency and split-second decisions have to be made.  If I was the CO I would WANT to be contacted by whomever had the critical information I needed, chain of command be hecked.

I was going to let this thread die, but I just couldn't leave it here.

 

First of all, the warp core isn't going to blow until the CO tells it to.  In addition to Action statements, the GM gets to speed up or slow down the clock.

 

So what's the hurry?

 

The chain of command is an ooc structural rule; a guideline for player behavior.  No "in character" plot device is going to justify bypassing it.

 

Where is the CEng in the quoted example?

 

If they're actively involved in your scene, then you don't get to ignore them to save time.  That's like skipping the player with the most money in a Monopoly game so that it ends sooner.  Many otherwise ready cadets have had graduations postponed because they thought their idea was too urgent to share with anyone but the Captain.

 

If the CEng is unconscious, on the Away Team, dead, missing, or otherwise not involved in your scene, then you get to become Acting Chief and talk directly to the bridge.  That isn't bypassing the chain of command, that's working within the structure of the game.  But if so, make sure you also become Acting Pick-a-little Lady with the other Assistants.  Pass the information on and let them play too.

 

Don't worry, the Gm will keep the ship in one piece so that everyone gets a turn.  :nod:

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...make sure you also become Acting Pick-a-little Lady with the other Assistants...

Acting Pick-a-little lady, just what I've always wanted!  :( Now I'm going to have to decide if I want to be that or Cheif Janitor next sim.

 

Seriously though, great tip Moose. Keep them coming!  :cool:

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I dunno... I think I took my own academy lessons from Harold Hill...  ;)

 

And I *am* trouble.  With a capital T that rhymes with D that stands for donuts.

ARGGGG Mental overload!!! cause: donuts and captain huff's avatar ARGG. *static*

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One balmy summer, River City, Iowa had trouble. Trouble with a capital "T" that rhymed with "P" that stood for pool.

Your Honor, I object. Pool is not trouble...

 

I have seen that movie on a number of occasions, I admire it, quite frankly, but it has always upset my chemical imbalence....(yes, imbalence)

 

perhaps this is because my Terran host family sells and repairs pool tables to support the family including my entrance into the academy.

 

 

I sincerely hope that my first ship assignment will have a holodeck program for pool.

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