RT9904- P99.01.01

Proposal 99.01.01

Name: ASR Bylaws 

Author: Andrea Schalk and D'Maris Coffman

Summary: This document covers the basic outline and rules of the club 
	 known as ASR, or alt.starfleet.rpg. 

Rationale: The 'ASR Charter' as passed by the last RT contradicted 
	   existing rules as developed over years by the Flag 
	   Council, and tacitly accepted by the RT. Contrary to 
	   claims at the time, this conflict has been used by 
	   individuals to bypass existing rules. The charter should 
           therefore be rewritten in a way consistent with pre-existing 
	   rules. This new document attempts to list responsibilities 
	   as well as 'rights', making it more balanced as well as 
	   addressing a wider scope of issues. If passed, it will 
	   replace the existing 'ASR Charter' in its entirety. The name 
           'Bylaws' was chosen to avoid confusion with any newsgroup
           charter.



ASR Bylaws
==========


ASR is an email role-playing club based on the internet; the stories 
thus authored are published on the Usenet newsgroup alt.starfleet.rpg.
ASR is non-commercial, and participation is free.

The club is governed by the institution known as the 'Round Table', 
or 'RT', consisting of all the leaders of the role-playing units in 
the game, known as 'COs'. The RT meets twice a year, thus fulfilling 
its role as supervisory body for the 'administration'. (For further 
information, see the document 'ASR RT Procedures'*)

'The administration' in the widest sense are all the players who 
voluntarily have undertaken to help with the running of the club. It 
is their task to teach new members the basics and find role-playing 
units to participate for those as well as returning members or 
players who wish to transfer/start a new character. Further, the 
administration makes sure that all units are well-run, and develops
supporting documentation.

The administration endeavours to answer all requests, questions, and 
concerns in a courteous and timely manner. Individual administrators 
may pass same on to somebody else, be it that time constraints demand 
this course of action to ensure a timely reply, or be it that 
somebody else is more competent to answer the query. It is 
recommended therefore that all confidential mails be marked as same. 

In the case that a ruling has been made, appeals can be directed to 
the direct superior of the administrator making the ruling. (For a 
description of the responsibilities of the various administrative 
positions, see the document 'ASR Admin Billet Descriptions'*.) The 
ultimate authority over all matters is held by the RT.

The administration strives to assign each character to a role-playing 
unit suiting the player in question. Players are, however, free to 
leave units which they don't enjoy, and if they so wish, the 
administration will try to find more suitable places for them. 
Players who wish to leave for a longer period, or entirely, are asked 
to inform their COs of their intentions.

The creation of new characters and the transfer of existing ones are 
governed by the 'ASR Recruitment Guide'*, and all members are asked 
to comply with same. Players who wish to create additional characters 
should consult the 'ASR 2nd Character FAQ'* and consult with their 
Fleet Commander and/or the CSFO.

Players may not use other people's characters, especially those on 
other units, without the controlling player's consent. On many ships, 
this consent is tacitly granted within certain bounds to facilitate 
interactive storytelling. COs should make new players familiar with 
what is considered appropriate for their units. Since a character's 
controlling player is to be considered the ultimate authority on that 
character's behaviour, said player can demand material to be 
withdrawn if others strayed too far in their portrayals. It is 
therefore recommended that in doubtful cases, the controlling player 
should be consulted before posting.

All material written within the club is understood to be the 
intellectual property of its authors. It is understood that 
everything placed among the ASR resources (branch webpages or other 
documents) may be freely used by any member of the club unless the 
original author has expressly denied that.

The unit COs are responsible for the role-playing of the group 
assigned to them. As such, they control the content within the 
limitations placed upon them by their Fleet Commander (administrator 
responsible for a 'fleet', ie, a group of role-playing units) and by 
the rules of the club. They report any vacancies to their FC, and are 
authorized to label players as 'missing' if they have been absent for 
a considerable time, in which case the CO can ask for a replacement.

Units can change fleets at the request of the CO, provided that the 
receiving FC has agreed to it, and the matter has been discussed with 
the current FC and the CSFO. Furthermore, the members of the unit 
have to agree - if they do not, they can petition the current FC to 
remain, and the matter will be handed to the CSFO for mediation.

The FCs are responsible for all the units in their fleet, supporting 
the COs by helping them staff their units, passing on personnel 
requests to BUPERS, and helping with the creation of campaign 
material. FCs are authorized to relieve command personnel of units in 
their charge who have been absent without making arrangements, or are 
otherwise not fulfilling their role satisfactorily. Players should 
bring such matters to the attention of their FC.

For information about further administrative positions, their 
responsibilities and duties, see 'ASR Admin Billet Descriptions'.