RT0404- CINCSF Report
From StarFleet Bureau of Information
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