ASR Player's Manual Appendix B: Recruitment Guidelines
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Introduction
This document contains guidelines regarding the recruitment of players to fill positions which have fallen vacant. Details may vary from fleet to fleet, and every CO should contact his or her Task Force or Fleet Commander in order to make sure that he or she knows the relevant rules for their fleet before taking any action. Please note that in some fleets, it is the Fleet Commander who will take care of the whole matter rather than the COs.
Vacancies
If a vacancy occurs in any unit in ASR, the CO has two options of filling it. One of those is to request a new player from ALB (via the TFC or FC in charge of the unit). It is possible to either ask for a specific player currently in training, or just to announce the position as vacant. The other option is to ask a veteran player to join the ship.
Players from ALB
Every CO in ASR (with the exception of some of the Free Thread units) may request a particular player currently undergoing training at ALB. Again, the proper procedure is to pass such a request on to the TFC or FC in question who will let the CSFO know about it. Under no circumstances is it permissible for anybody but the CSFO to contact a new player about placement. Any CO who receives a request to join his or her unit from a player currently in training should forward that message to the CSFO.
The CSFO will note the request, and, when the player in question reports for assignment, check it against the player's wishes. If the request is incompatible with those, the CSFO will disregard it. The reason for this is not to put new players under undue pressure, under the mistaken assumption that they must accommodate the club by changing their conception of their character. The ultimate aim of ASR is for the players to enjoy themselves, and such an approach would be counterproductive.
In the case where a match is possible, or where the desired positions are not available, the CSFO will usually either just assign the player to the unit who made the request (if it is a good fit), or contact the player to inquire whether such an offer would be acceptable. This may go as far as asking the player to change the bio to make the desired billeting more plausible.
In exceptional cases, a request might still be disregarded if the needs of another unit are deemed to be paramount -- usually, that is the case if there are a large number of vacancies (more than two) on same, and there does not appear to be a chance to fill some of those otherwise within an acceptable time limit.
Veteran players
When this option is chosen, the CO will have some idea for a player whom he or she would like to take the billet in question. First of all, this should be tested for feasibility: How many characters does the desired player have already? Do posts reflect that he or she is already having problems with fulfilling current obligations? Please note that in some fleets, it is the FC who will carry out all the steps described below.
Current practice has shown that many factors contribute to a player's ability to maintain appropriate posting speed, frequency, and quality, including factors which may not be readily apparent in RP posts which appear on the newsgroup. The FC or CO conducting the search is strongly recommended to contact the player's current CO(s) for problems or issues not obviously visible. This step is not required as long as the billet to be filled is not a command-level billet.
It is permissible to approach a player at this stage to find out whether he or she is actually interested to take on the position in question. However, at this point, no official offer may be extended. The FC or unit CO conducting the search is strongly recommended to make clear that this initial approach to gauge interest is informal, and is not an official offer of billet.
It should be noted that it is not deemed acceptable for a player to leave one of his current units to take up an invitation to join another. There are only two exceptions to this. One is if the player leaves to take up a command position (see below). The other is if the player wants to leave the unit in any case due to not enjoying play there, and an offer happened to be extended to him or her before the transfer process was initiated.
The next step is to ask all the COs and FCs of the player in question whether they authorize the creation of an additional character. Once all these permissions have been obtained, an official offer may be extended to the player, who can then start creating a PC for the spot.
Reasons for denying authorization
In keeping with the idea that the enjoyment of the players is the main purpose of the club, it is the players who are ultimately responsible for their actions, and who make most decisions themselves, including the creation of additional characters.
We do recognize, however, that it is sometimes difficult to turn down offers to join a unit, not least because this is a sign that the player is considered desirable to write with. It has happened numerous times that people have taken on more than they could possibly handle.
In order to protect the units a player is currently part of, any CO can refuse to authorize the creation of an additional character if it is obvious that the player is already struggling, or if there is otherwise doubt regarding his or her commitment to the unit in question.
Again, there are two exceptions: If the player to be recruited holds the position of CO somewhere in ASR, he or she has sole authority over the number and kinds of characters he or she wants to play. Alternatively, if the position to be filled by the recruitment is a command one, different rules apply (see below). (It should be noted that this does not restrict in any way the rights of players to ask for a transfer in case of discontent with the current unit, nor transfers that are conducted with all COs, FCs, and players concerned approving of the move(s).)
However, we also often find that COs are so protective of their units that they are unwilling to have their players add to their obligations. It should be stressed that this is only permissible if there is evidence that the player has reached his or her limit already. Players are not the properties of the COs; they should be accorded the respect to which independent individuals are entitled, and allowed to decide for themselves.
Appealing against a decision
If a player is refused permission to create an additional character, he or she and/or the FC/CO who initiated the recruitment can appeal against the decision to the CSFO. The CSFO will examine the evidence that led to the denial of the request and render a decision as to whether it was justified according to the rules outlined above. Either side can appeal against the CSFO's decision to the CINCSF.
Traditionally, the CINCSF will only entertain appeals of the CSFO's rulings on the basis of evidence of procedural impropriety (conflict of interest) or unconscionable disregard for player interests. Any appeal must assert grounds for questioning the judgment involved, and should not simply reflect disagreement with the outcome.
Recruiting command players
In all fleets, the recruitment of command players must be authorized by the FC, who is responsible for the suitability of the candidates. The positions that fall under 'command' are Operations (depending on the fleet), XO, and CO (in increasing order).
It is vital that command positions are filled by those members best suited to the task. In recognition of that fact, the rules change in such a case. It is more important that a command position is taken up on some unit than that the player continue in a lesser capacity elsewhere. Such a policy is obviously advantageous for the club as a whole. It also ensures that players who do not wish to play more than one PC can move on to command status. Therefore, it is perfectly acceptable for a player to leave one unit in order to take a higher position elsewhere. The player's COs cannot veto the transfer/creation of an additional character for a command-level billet.
As with the recruitment of veteran players for regular billets, many factors contribute to a player's ability to maintain appropriate posting speed, frequency, and quality. In addition, a command level billet requires the player to have initiative, leadership potential, and the ability to work cooperatively with others. While not every player is expected to have these qualities, a lack of them in a command-level player may have detrimental effects on the unit to which he or she is assigned.
Therefore, before the recruiting FC or CO approaches the player, the recruiter is required to contact the player's current CO(s) and his or her FC for problems or issues not obviously seen. This also serves as notification of intent to recruit for a command-level billet.
Upon receiving this information, the player's current FC and/or CO may recommend for or against the player's recruitment for the command-level billet, and give appropriate reasons for either recommendation. These recommendations are considered advisory only, and neither the FC or the CO may prevent the offer from being made.
If the recruiting FC or CO is satisfied with the player's suitability for the command-level billet, the recruiter may gauge the interest of the player in question by writing the player directly. The FC or unit CO conducting the search is strongly recommended to make clear that this initial approach to gauge interest is not an official offer of the command billet. Only when the player shows interest may an official offer of the command-level billet be made.
Recruiters are strongly advised not to recruit players for a command billet if the player in question already holds a CO or XO position, unless offering a CO billet to a player serving as an XO somewhere else. This is not a hard and fast rule, but it is a guideline; the administrative and creative burden on such players is sufficient to limit the number of these billets held concurrent for most people.
Where to direct questions
If you have questions regarding the process, please put them to your Task Force Commander. If need be, the TFC can pass them on to the FC, who may approach the CSFO if he or she requires clarification of any particular point.
Document History:
Ver Date Author/Adaptor - Changes
- 1.0 25 October 1997 Andrea Schalk
- Created and distributed document
- 2.0 6 July 1998 Takako Nagumo
- minor changes in wording- added recommendation to recruiting FC/CO to contact the current FC/COs of candidate for non-command-level billet positions for his/her fitness; added requirement for recruiting FC/CO to contact the current FC/COs of candidate for command-level billet positions (CO, XO, OPS) for his/her fitness
- 2.1 28 August 1998 Takako Nagumo
- minor changes in wording- added version numbers, recorded document history
- 2.2 27 September 2001 Margaret Kipp
- minor changes in wording
- 3.0 03 October 2004 Scott Lusby
- addition of command billet limitations concerning number of billets held concurrently
