ASR Administration
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The administration of alt.starfleet.rpg is conducted by two separate bodies. The Roundtable is composed of a representative from each role playing unit, as well as those admirals who are seated on the Flag Council. The Roundtable is responsible for electing the CINCSF, confirming the CINCSF's nominations for CSFO and Roundtable Secretary, and ultimately sets the course for the whole club.
The RT has two sessions a year--one in April, another in October. While the CINCSF is responsible to the RT for the club's affairs, the RT has traditionally declined to interfere in day to day operations. Those are handled by the admiralty, who meet regularly at the standing Flag Council.
As of this date (1998), the Flag Council consists of the CINCSF (ASR's highest ranking admin, could be compared with the president of a club), the CSFO (responsible for overseeing the Fleet Commanders, ALB, and all personnel assignments), COMLOG (in charge of the branch heads, who create background material for the campaign), the Fleet Commanders (currently CINCGOLD, CINCGREEN, CINCSAPPHIRE, and CINCSILVER), and COMALB (head of ALB, where new members learn the ropes). (For a more detailed description of these positions, see the ASR Player's Manual Appendix C: Administrative Billet Descriptions.)
The chain of command in the Flag Council is as follows: The CINCSF directly oversees COMANC, and COMLOG and the CSFO both report to the CINCSF as well. If the position of CINCSF is vacated, then the CSFO automatically becomes Acting CINCSF until a successor has been appointed. The CINCFLEETs report to the CSFO, as does COMALB. Outside the Flag Council, the various COs are responsible to their fleet commander, while the branch heads are supervised by COMLOG.
The members of the Flag Council are responsible for the day-to-day running of the club. They make the decisions that come up all the time: where to assign a new player, whom to place in a command position, whom to hire as a new instructor at ALB - in short, the small things which make the whole work. Within their own sphere, these people are free to handle matters as they see fit (the Fleet Commanders, for example, are free to administrate their fleet however they like, which is where some of the difference in flavour between the various 'colours' comes from), but they are responsible for the outcome along the chain of command.
Collectively, the members of the Flag Council make decisions which affect the club as a whole: adopting certain administrative structures (the creation of COMLOG may serve as an example) or campaign-related material (the ranks and ratings document, eg), or replacing members of the Flag Council who have retired. There has to be a mechanism in place which ensures that such things are taken care of in a timely manner, and it is hardly desirable to have a larger committee in charge of them.
However, while the Flag Council is the highest tier of the executive, it is accountable for its conduct to the membership as a whole. To this end, the Round Table was created. Basically, it consists of the members of the Flag Council and all the COs. For more details, the reader is referred to the ASR RT Rules.
The RT is in charge of selecting (and removing) the CINCSF as well as reviewing the decisions the Flag Council made since the Round Table last convened (usually six months previously). Apart from that, it defines the rules that govern its sessions and deliberates on such matters as are brought before it by its members.
The RT may be viewed as a safety-valve for the case that the top tier of the administration is ever at odds with the general membership. As such, it can remove the CINCSF from office - the one person in overall charge. Furthermore, a recent rule change limits the term of office for the CINCSF so that the RT will exercise its supervising powers more immediately in the future - the CINCSF's term was limited to one year, thus demanding an election for said office at least once every twelve months, usually in April (see 'Term Limits' Proposal).
Also, the RT can revisit any decision the Flag Council has made and reverse it. This gives the members as represented there overall control over anything that occurs in the club.
In the past, the RT has used these powers sparingly - certainly, removal of the CINCSF is a fairly drastic measure. It is likely to result in conflict, and only worthwhile if the issue under contention is of great importance.
Experience shows that the RT is inclined to only seriously consider matters which are of some significance to all. While the body was still relatively new, some of its members were tempted to put their pet ideas or peeves onto its agenda (typically minor administrative changes, or making some particular campaign material obligatory for all), but it seems that the delegates are not interested in such minor matters, and so far all such proposals have failed to passed the RT.
This is understandable, given that most people are in ASR for the writing and the interaction that goes with it. While some of them are happy to volunteer for administrative duties (and serving as a delegate to the RT is one of those), most become somewhat impatient if they perceive their time to be wasted on trivialities, time which could be spend more productively by contributing to their units.
Nevertheless, this does not denigrate the importance of this body, as well as the need for people who accept their duty as delegates. If everything is running fine, RT activity can be kept to a minimum (the session in October '97 only lasted for ten days), and not much time is lost. However, if there are serious matters to be discussed, the conduct of the CINCSF is in doubt, or if a new CINCSF is to be selected to hold the reins for the next year, then it is vital that the RT functions in its intended capacity so that the members of the club are represented adequately.
The opinions expressed herein are those of the author alone. They do not necessarily reflect those of ASR administration as a whole, nor should they be construed as such.
Andrea Schalk, ADM H.A.E. Fairweather (Ret.) formerly Chief of Star Fleet Operations (CSFO) Star Fleet Command, SB ALPHA
(Please address questions, comments and suggestions regarding this document to the current CINCSF.)
Document History:
Ver Date Author/Adaptor - Changes
2.0 09 April 2005 Scott Lusby
- updated current FC makeup
1.0 23 March 1998 Andrea Schalk (w/ assistance from D'Maris Coffman)
- Created
