RT0404- CINCSF Report

Assembled Delegates:

Before I begin with my official report, I would like to take a
moment to recognize Greg Rickards, who unexpectedly passed away
ealier in March. Greg Rickards was an energetic poster who was able
to infuse others with a similar enthusiasm for writing in ASR and
for role-playing in general. More importantly, however, Greg had an
open mailbox and a big heart. ASR, role-playing in general, and all
that knew him are diminished with his absence. Godspeed, Greg
Rickards.

**pause**

Over the past 6 months, ASR has undergone a more visible change
than the 1st 6 months of my tenure as CINCSF. We have a redesigned
web site as well as a brand-new web hosting service. These two
changes have made a significant impact on ALB already by bringing
in more new players; it is only a matter of time, as a result, until
these new players begin seeping into the fleet.

As usual, however, the past 6 months was not without its
administrative changes. Since the changes were detailed in the
monthly CINCSF letters, I will simply list the players who have
joined the ASR Administrative team, in what capacity, and when:

- Kimberly Huff- MEDCOM (October 2003)
(replaced Edward Bell, who resigned in August 2003)
- Stefan Wiedner- COMPA (October 2003)
(replaced Kimberly Huff, who took over SFMED)
- Johann Ortiz- COMJAG (December 2003)
(replaced D'Maris Coffman, who resigned in October
2002)
- Markku Herd- COMREC (December 2003)
(replaced Margaret Kipp, who resigned in September
2003)
- Burce Summa- CoS/CSFO (January 2004)
(vacant billet)

At the last Round Table, I had alluded to the significant changes
that have since occured, the most noticable being the newly-
redesigned web site. Its aesthetically and thematically pleasing
appearance gives ASR a more vibrant web presence; this fact,
combined with the wonderful new hosting agreement we have, has
brought about a dramatic increase in traffic into ALB.

Below are some figures that bear this out. On the left side are the
number of posts making it to the asr-join Yahoo! Groups site for
September, October and November, 2003- the three months immediately
before the move to the new host service and the switchover to the
new web site. On the right are the posting numbers to the same
Yahoo! Group for the months of December 2003 and January and
February, 2004- the three months immediately after the switch:

September 2003: 27 December 2003: 78
October 2003: 36 January 2004: 85
November 2003: 16 February 2004: 142
(all-time low) (all-time high)

Now, admitedly, along with a more visible web presence comes the
nuisance of increased SPAM and virus-laden e-mails to the group.
However, there is also an increase of "real" traffic into ALB itself
as a result- at this moment, there are currently 25 Viable
Applicants (those that seem to be serious enough to give ASR a try)
in various stages of initial biofile revision or training. As of
the end of November, we had 7, and no new applicants for that month.

No one is saying that ALL 25 of these players will make it through
and into the fleet. However, if even half of these players see
their way through, that will represent the largest single jump in
player numbers in a long, LONG time in ASR. Given the relative
stability of our core players and administrators, this is a very
encouraging sign.

In general, the perception of the club is one of growth now- so much
so that we have recently opened our first new unit in quite some
time- TASK FORCE SIERRA, the intelligence operations unit based in
GOLD. There are also plans being finalized as we speak to open a
second new unit in three months- TASK FORCE TANGO, a Marine fighter
wing which will be attached to the RP unit USS KRONSTADT (which will
replace USS THUNDERCHILD), in GREEN Fleet. As mentioned, these two
units represent the first completley new units ASR has opened in at
least a couple of years. Again, encouraging signs for our club's
long-term health.

Finally, the desire to build, create and expand has reached the
administration as well. Currently, two new sub-branches are being
developed: The Federation News Network (FNN), which is being
developed and will be administered by Stefan Wiedner as part of the
Public Affairs branch; and The Starfleet Security and Investigative
Services (SECIS), being developed and administered by Noah Rains and
his OSFI team. FNN will be a part of the "metathread" equation,
helping to bring continuity to the fleet and unit threads from the
point of view of the civilian news desk; SECIS will bring an edgier
feel to internal investigations.

With regards to the "MetaPost" concept- a post that serves
to show the patterns and connections of the various fleet and unit
storylines to the group as a whole- it is progressing, and should be
out by the end of this Round Table. Hopefully, this will give the
players yearning for that "esprit de corps" within ASR something
upon which to build that spirit.

All in all, the changes in ASR over the past 6 months (though the
previous 6 months of work laid the groundwork for this) have helped
to bring about this creative growth in the club. However, I should
point something out here: NONE (and I do mean NONE) of these
changes and fits of creative growth would have worked without the
hard work and, MOST importantly, the wonderful dedication and
steadfast vision of the administrators and CO's of this club. I
thank you all for your efforts, and commend you personnaly for them.

It has be my pleasure to serve you as CINCSF over the past year, and
I would be honored to serve you again for another year if it comes
to pass. However, regardless of what happens from here, I look
forward to serving you further in whatever way I can.

See you "out there!"

Most Respectfully,

-Scott Lusby
=^= ADM Conrad Veld
Commander-in-Chief, Star Fleet
cincsf[at]alt-starfleet-rpg[dot]org
Chair, April 2004 ASR Round Table