RT9904- P99.01.02

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Proposal P99.01.02
Title:  ASR Charter
Author:  Jeffrey Jenkins

Proposal:  The administration shall set out to adopt a concensus charter
for the newsgroup.

Rationale:  A Charter lends validity to the club and to our attempts to
regulate non-RPG-related posting on the Alt.StarFleet.RPG newsgroup.

              alt.starfleet.rpg (ASR) Consensus Charter (draft)

                         Ver. 0.0.5 - March 26, 1999

  ------------------------------------------------------------------------

CONTENTS

0.0  Administration
0.1  Revision Log
0.2  Abbreviations, Acronyms And Definitions Used In This Consensus Charter
0.3  Rationale For This Consensus Charter

1.0  ASR Overview
1.1  General Overview
1.2  The Role Playing Game
1.3  The Usenet Newsgroup

2.0  Newsgroup Posting Guidelines
2.1  Acceptable Posts
2.2  Unacceptable Posts
2.3  Expected Formats
2.4  Participants Agree To Abide By These Guidelines

3.0  The ASR Consensus Charter
3.1  This Document
3.2  Hierarchy Of ASR Documents
3.3  Maintenance Of The Consensus Charter

4.0  Modifying The Consensus Charter
4.1  Original Creation Of This Consensus Charter
4.2  Procedures For Changing This Document
4.3  Non-Consequential Changes
4.4  Revisions
4.5  Version Numbers

5.0  Enforcement Of This Consensus Charter
5.1  ASR Members' Responsibilities
5.2  Unit, Task Force And Fleet Commanders
5.3  COMPA
5.4  Actions Against Offenders

6.0  Other References
6.1  The Official Web Site
6.2  Contact Information
6.3  Documents Referenced By This Consensus Charter

7.0  Legal Notices
7.1  Copyrights
7.2  Disclaimer

  ------------------------------------------------------------------------

0.0   Administration

0.1   Revision Log

 VersionDate        Vote Author     Comments
 0.0.0  11-Aug-1997 N/A  H. Iha     Original outline draft created.
 0.0.1  15-Dec-1997 N/A  H. Iha     Rough draft submitted to CINCSF for
                                    informal review.
 0.0.2  22-Jan-1998 N/A  H. Iha     First draft submitted to CINCSF for
                                    formal review.
 0.0.3  19-Feb-1998 N/A  H. Iha     Revised first draft posted on
                                    unofficial web site.
 0.0.4  15-Mar-1998 N/A  H. Iha     Final first draft submitted to COMPA.
 0.0.5  26-Mar-1999 N/A  J. Jenkins Revision by CINCSF

0.2   Abbreviations, Acronyms And Definitions Used In This Consensus Charter

The following abbreviations and acronyms are used in this document:


  Article     See Message.

  ASR         alt.starfleet.rpg a.k.a. Alt.Starfleet.Rpg - This refers to
              the Usenet newsgroup in the alt.* hierarchy,
              alt.starfleet.rpg. It also refers to the interactive/role
              playing game conducted in the Usenet newsgroup of the same
              name.

  CINCSF      Commander in Chief, Star Fleet - ASR's highest ranking
              official. This may refer to either the PC or the RL person
              who owns the PC.

  COMPA       Commander, Public Affairs - The PC or RL person assigned as
              the liaison between ASR and the general public. Maintenance
              and enforcement of this Consensus Charter is the
              responsibility of COMPA.

  CSFO        Chief of Star Fleet Operations - ASR's second highest
              ranking official. This may refer to either the PC or the RL
              person who owns the PC.

  Fleet       Fleet is the highest organizational level for RP units
              within ASR. Fleets are comprised of task forces and/or
              individual ASR units. Fleets generally contain one to three
              task forces with four to 10 units. Each fleet has a
              commander which oversees the operations of the fleet, its
              task forces and the units within the fleet.

  Message     Usenet newsgroup message - A file submitted for distribution
              to one or more Usenet newsgroups. In this document, the
              terms "Article" and "Post" are synonymous with "Message".

  ISP         Internet Service Provider - A generic term used here to
              identify the company or organization that provides internet
              access, including e-mail and Usenet access.

  NRPG        Non Role Playing Game - A newsgroup article, or section of
              an article, which contains information that is not part of a
              RPG story. NRPG sections are usually notes or instructions
              to players.

  PBEM        Play By E-Mail - A game where participants communicate with
              each other using electronic mail.

  PC          Player Character - A fictional character, created by a
              participant in ASR, for the purpose of participating in ASR.

  Post        See Message.

  RL          Real Life - Reality, as opposed to the fictional universe in
              which ASR is conducted.

  RP          Role Play or Role Playing - Describes actions or attributes
              which refer to RPG characters, elements or articles.

  RPG         Role Playing Game - A game where players take personae of
              characters they have created, and through those characters,
              interact with other players.

  RT          The ASR Round Table - The governing body of ASR, composed of
              games leaders and administrators. The Round Table is the
              body of the club that establishes procedures and guidelines
              for ASR.

  Task Force  Task Force is the second highest level of organization for
              units within ASR. Task forces are composed of two or more
              individual ASR units. Units within a task force are often
              assigned joint missions or similar duties to perform. Each
              task force has a commander which oversees the operations of
              the task force and the units within it.

  Unit        Unit is the third highest level of organization within ASR.
              A unit is an independent operating entity which is able to
              perform assigned duties, missions and roles in ASR. Most
              units are ships or space stations/outposts. Each unit has a
              command structure and hierarchy which are filled by players
              in the ASR.

0.3   Rationale For This Consensus Charter

The Usenet newsgroup alt.starfleet.rpg (ASR) was created circa November,
1993. It was created to provide a new forum for people participating in an
existing on-line role playing game (RPG) set in the Star Trek Universe. As
an "alt" newsgroup, a Usenet charter was not required, and none was created.

In March, 1999, ASR is still intact and active. The newsgroup has a
consistent posting rate of 100 or more on-topic articles a week. The RPG has
grown to include over 100 participants, consisting of more than 30 RP units
organized into six groups/fleets.

In the Spring of 1997, an alarming trend began in ASR. A large number of
inappropriate articles began appearing in the newsgroup. These articles,
mostly commercial ads for web sites or phone services and/or binary files,
began cluttering the newsgroup, adversely affecting participants in the RPG.

Fearing the day commercial ads and spam would overrun the newsgroup, several
players and game administrators agreed to create a consensus charter (this
document) to define the audience and appropriate post topics in ASR. It was
hoped that a consensus charter would legitimize the newsgroup (as much as
possible for an alt.* group) in the eyes of news administrators in our
efforts to stop off-topic articles from overrunning the newsgroup.

This Consensus Charter is the official charter for the unmoderated Usenet
newsgroup alt.starfleet.rpg. It has been voted upon and approved by the
current participants in ASR, who are collectively recognized as the sole
group for whom the ASR newsgroup exists. It defines the target audience and
topics applicable to the ASR newsgroup, and defines the role of the ASR
newsgroup within ASR.
  ------------------------------------------------------------------------

1.0   ASR Overview

1.1   General Overview

ASR is a forum for people with a common interest in Star Trek, interactive
fiction, and role playing to interact. At its basic level, it is an on-line
game. At a higher level of organization, it is a club, where people who
share common interests meet on-line and exchange stories and ideas.

Participants in ASR write fictional accounts of their characters' actions.
Most of these stories involve interaction with characters created by other
participants, and generally advance a collective plot. These stories are
created in the fictional universe of Star Trek, approximately 40 years after
the events depicted in the Paramount Pictures television series, Star Trek:
The Next Generation.

Although the RPG is based on Star Trek, there are some differences between
ASR and the television series. These differences are present to facilitate
effective story writing in ASR, and to accommodate the diverse interests of
its members. An overview and introduction to ASR can be found in the
documents, ASR FAQ and ASR Ensign's Primer.

1.2   The Role Playing Game

The game, or club, is open to all members of the on-line community.  ASR has
well-defined rules for participation and instructions for new players to get
started. Most of these documents can be found at The Official Web Site (see
Section 6.1).

Policies for ASR are set by the club's governing body during semi-annual
meetings. This governing body is called "The ASR Round Table" (RT), and
their operating guidelines are defined in the document, Rules and Procedures
for the ASR Round Table.

1.3   The Usenet Newsgroup

The newsgroup, alt.starfleet.rpg, is the forum participants in ASR use to
communicate with each other and the on-line community. It is the approved
venue to post ASR stories. As a Usenet newsgroup, it also serves as a public
showcase of the members' talents and creativity. Finally, the articles in
the newsgroup establish an introduction and examples of the RPG to Usenet
readers who may not be familiar with the game.

By approval of this Consensus Charter, the members of ASR, and Usenet
readers in general, recognize that the unmoderated Usenet newsgroup,
alt.starfleet.rpg, exists solely for the benefit of ASR.
  ------------------------------------------------------------------------

2.0   Newsgroup Posting Guidelines

2.1   Acceptable Posts

Only articles with the following topics are allowed in the ASR newsgroup:

  1. RPG Posts - RP posts of an approved unit in ASR.
  2. Inquiries - Posts from individuals requesting information about ASR.
  3. Approved Announcements - Announcements targeted for all ASR
     participants and approved by CINCSF or CSFO.
  4. ASR Documents - Periodic posts of official ASR documents and manuals.

2.2   Unacceptable Posts

Any article that does not fall under the classification of an acceptable
post, as defined in Section 2.1, is not permitted. Specific examples of
unacceptable articles include, but are not limited to, the following:

  1. Commercial Advertisements
        o Advertisements or announcements of goods or products for sale or
          services offered are prohibited.
        o Required footers appended to articles by on-line services/ISP's
          are acceptable.
        o Signature lines advertising businesses or services are acceptable
          if they are included at the end of an acceptable article, as
          defined in Section 2.1. Such signatures are limited to four lines,
          with a maximum of 80 characters per line.
  2. Solicitations/Announcements - Other groups, organizations, games or
     individuals may not announce their existence or solicit members,
     participants or visitors in alt.starfleet.rpg. Examples of these groups
     include, but are not limited to, the following:
        o MU* sites - i.e., MUD, MUSH, MUCK, etc.
        o WWW sites
        o IRC channels or chat groups
        o Usenet newsgroups
        o PBEM games
        o Mailing lists
  3. Excessive Multiple Posting (EMP)/Spam - is not permitted. Except for
     periodic posts of ASR documents, any two or more articles with
     identical (or nearly identical) contents may be considered EMP. COMPA,
     or his/her designee, shall be the sole determiner of EMP.
  4. Excessive Cross Posting (ECP)/Velveeta
        o RPG articles may not be cross posted to any other newsgroup.
        o Inquiries may not be cross posted to any other newsgroup.
        o Approved Announcements and Approved Documents may be cross posted
          to other appropriate newsgroups. Appropriate newsgroups are
          determined by either COMPA, CINCSF or CSFO.
  5. Requests For Help - Articles requesting assistance with Star Trek
     computer, card or board adventure games, simulations, etc., are
     inappropriate in the ASR newsgroup.
  6. General Star Trek Questions - Posts regarding the various series,
     movies, conventions, etc. are inappropriate in the ASR newsgroup. Posts
     regarding the United Paramount Network (UPN), UPN affiliates or
     syndicated broadcasters of the various series are also inappropriate.
     There is a Usenet hierarchy, rec.arts.startrek.* where these posts are
     appropriate.
  7. Binary Files - Under no circumstance shall a binary file be posted to
     the ASR newsgroup.
  8. Tests - Verifying that posts are being propagated by posting a test
     message in the ASR newsgroup is not allowed. There are other
     appropriate newsgroups which are better suited to this purpose. The
     appropriate alt.* newsgroup is alt.test. Contact your ISP for further
     assistance.
  9. Trolls and Flames - Articles that purposely offend or attempt to goad
     ASR participants (trolls) and articles that contain public arguments,
     insults and/or attacks on others (flames) are prohibited in ASR.
 10. Public Service Posts - Articles which claim to offer benefit, services
     or goodwill to the general public are prohibited. Examples of this type
     of article include, but are not limited to, the following:
        o Chain Letters
        o Make Money Fast (MMF) Opportunities
        o Cookie Recipes
        o Virus Alerts
        o Government Legislation Alerts
 11. NRPG Posts - Messages containing only NRPG information must not be
     posted to the ASR newsgroup. These messages should be e-mailed to the
     appropriate parties.

2.3   Expected Formats

  1. Article Format
        o Articles posted in ASR should be plain, ASCII text.
        o Lines should be limited to 72-80 characters in length.
        o Carriage returns (new lines) should terminate each line.
        o Word processing codes, page layout codes, HTML tags and similar
          formatting instructions should be removed from posted articles.
        o MIME extensions, attachments, document compression, etc. are to be
          avoided in posted articles.
  2. Subject - The subject of a RPG article should have the following
     format:
     [Unit]: [Title]
     Where [Unit] is the ASR Unit depicted in the article, and [Title] is
     the name of the article. [Title] usually refers to a description of the
     article, or the scene in which the article takes place. Some units have
     different conventions for subject formatting; those conventions should
     be used.
  3. Signature - Each article should include information on the character,
     player and unit for easy identification. The preferred location for
     this is at the end of the text in the form of a Signature. Signatures
     should include:
        o Player's Name
        o Player's E-mail Address(es)
        o Character's Name
        o Character's Rank
        o Character's Billet
        o ASR Unit
        o ASR Unit's WWW or Post Archive Site (if available)
  4. Inquiry Posts - As described in the document, What is this? (And how
     can you join?), the subject of an inquiry post should be:
     ASR Information
  5. Netiquette - Standard Usenet netiquette practices should be observed.
     Information on netiquette is posted periodically in the newsgroups
     news.newusers.questions and news.announce.newusers.

2.4   Participants Agree To Abide By These Guidelines

By participating in ASR, individuals agree to abide by the rules and
guidelines established by the club. The guidelines are defined in the
various documents created for ASR, including this Consensus Charter.

By posting in the ASR newsgroup, individuals are presumed to be
participating in ASR. This presumption includes individuals requesting
information on ASR. Posts to the ASR newsgroup must follow the guidelines
defined in Section 2.
  ------------------------------------------------------------------------

3.0   The ASR Consensus Charter

3.1   This Document

This document is the official charter for the unmoderated Usenet newsgroup
alt.starfleet.rpg.

This is a Consensus Charter, not an "official charter" as defined in the
news.* hierarchy for Usenet newsgroups in the "Big 8" hierarchies. This
document serves the same purpose as an "official charter" for the Usenet
newsgroup alt.starfleet.rpg.

This Consensus Charter defines the target audience and topics applicable to
the ASR newsgroup. It also defines whom the ASR newsgroup serves, who is
eligible to vote on changes in this document, and the process of proposing
and voting upon changes to this document.

3.2   Hierarchy Of ASR Documents

ASR has a collection of many documents. These documents cover introductions
to ASR, procedures and various other topics. The ASR Consensus Charter is
but one of these documents. Although it addresses several areas of ASR, its
main focus is to serve as the official charter for the ASR newsgroup.

In matters referring to the newsgroup, the ASR Consensus Charter shall have
priority over all other ASR documents, should differences or contradictions
exist. In matters referring to RPG policies, procedures and rules, the ASR
Consensus Charter shall have subordinate priority to all other ASR
documents, should differences or contradictions exist.

3.3   Maintenance Of The Consensus Charter

The official version of The ASR Consensus Charter shall be composed in
English, using HTML 4.0 language for document layout. It shall reside on a
single server/site, as determined by CINCSF.

Translations of the ASR Consensus Charter into plain ASCII text shall be
available. In the event of discrepancies between the HTML 4.0 and text
versions of the documents, the HTML 4.0 version shall have priority over the
text version.

Annotations, comments, notes, revisions and revision history shall be
included and preserved with the document.

An archive of this Consensus Charter shall be maintained. The latest
revision of each version of this document shall be kept on the same
server/site as the current version. Those archived revisions shall retain
annotations, comments, notes, revisions and revision history. Proposed
versions of this Consensus Charter which fail to be ratified by a vote shall
likewise be archived. Existence of these failed versions shall be reflected
in the Consensus Charter Revision Log.

Whenever a new version of this Consensus Charter is created, annotations,
comments, notes and revisions from the previous version shall be removed
from the new version of this document.
  ------------------------------------------------------------------------

4.0   Modifying The Consensus Charter

4.1   Original Creation Of This Consensus Charter

Initial ratification of this Consensus Charter shall be open to all Usenet
readers. The process of approval shall be modeled after the formal process
used in the Big 8 newsgroup hierarchies. Information on procedures and
standards can be found in news.groups.

The vote taker shall be a person designated by CINCSF. This person is not
required to be a member of Usenet Volunteer Votetakers (UVV), nor is (s)he
required to be a neutral third party.

The process for ratifying this Consensus Charter shall be:

  1. Request for discussion (RFD)
        o A formal announcement of ASR's intention to ratify this Consensus
          Charter shall be placed in the newsgroups alt.config and
          alt.starfleet.rpg.
        o The first official draft of this document, Ver. 0.1.0, shall be
          posted in the ASR newsgroup and a web site authorized by COMPA to
          give Usenet readers an opportunity to review the document.
        o All discussions regarding the proposed Consensus Charter shall be
          posted in alt.config only.
        o New drafts of the Consensus Charter may be created, based on
          feedback from alt.config. They will be posted in the ASR newsgroup
          and published on the web site.
  2. Call for votes (CFV)
        o When the discussion period appears to have answered all questions
          and resolved all problems, but not less than 21 days from the RFD,
          Ver. 1.0.0 of this document will created from the latest draft
          version and presented for ratification in the ASR newsgroup and
          the web site.
        o The voting period shall be 21 days.
        o An announcement of the CFV will be placed in alt.config and
          alt.starfleet.rpg on day 1 of the voting period. A second
          announcement will be placed in the same two newsgroups on or about
          day 15.
        o The official ballot will be posted only in alt.starfleet.rpg. As
          per voting guidelines, ballots may not be forwarded by e-mail or
          cross posted to other newsgroups. Ballots shall be available by
          request through e-mail from the vote taker.
        o Instructions for voting shall be placed on the ballot. These
          instructions must be followed exactly. Ballots that do not
          completely follow the listed instructions will not count toward
          the vote.
        o Voting fraud shall not be tolerated. Ballots that appear to be
          fraudulent shall not count toward the vote. Efforts to validate
          apparently fraudulent votes may be taken by the vote taker during
          the voting period. Ballots not validated by the close of the
          voting period shall not be counted.
  3. Compile the votes
        o Ratification of this Consensus Charter requires:
            1. twice as many 'yes' votes as 'no' votes (2/3 majority)
            2. 100 or more 'yes' votes than 'no' votes
        o All ballots will be listed with the voter's name, e-mail address,
          and vote. If a ballot was invalidated, the reason for invalidation
          shall be listed.
        o This list of results shall be archived with this Consensus Charter
          on the web site.
  4. Announce the results of the vote
        o The results will be posted in alt.config and alt.starfleet.rpg.
        o There shall be a five (5) day discussion period where questions of
          voting irregularities may be discussed.
        o If no serious allegations of voting irregularities are raised
          within this discussion period, the vote will stand as presented.
        o If voting irregularities are apparently present, the vote taker
          will invalidate the ballots in question and recompile the votes.
          The results of this recompilation will be final. Alternatively,
          the vote taker has the option of declaring the entire vote null
          and void, which has the same effect as failure to ratify this
          Consensus Charter.
  5. Election results
        o If this Consensus Charter is ratified and the vote is not
          overturned during the discussion period, this Consensus Charter
          shall become the official charter for the Usenet newsgroup
          alt.starfleet.rpg. This Consensus Charter shall also become an
          official document within ASR.
        o If this Consensus Charter is not ratified, it shall have no status
          within the ASR newsgroup or ASR. A new vote to ratify this or a
          revised version of this Consensus Charter may be called again, but
          no sooner than six (6) months from the closing date for voting.

4.2   Procedures For Changing This Document

Except for non-consequential changes, as described in Section 4.3, and
revision updates, as described in Section 4.4, the steps required to make
changes to this Consensus Charter shall be:

  1. COMPA, or his/her designee, shall submit proposed changes to the RT as
     an action item to be placed on the RT agenda. The proposed changes
     shall be recommended by COMPA based on his/her monitoring of the ASR
     newsgroup, or upon the request of five or more ASR participants.
  2. The proposed changes shall be accepted, rejected, or modified by the
     RT.
  3. If accepted or modified, COMPA shall post a notice of the proposed
     changes in alt.starfleet.rpg. The proposed new version of the ASR
     Consensus Charter shall be posted in alt.starfleet.rpg and published on
     the web site approved by COMPA. The official proposed version (as
     published on the web site) shall:
        o identify the Version Number of the proposed new version.
        o identify it as a proposed version, with the text "proposed" after
          each instance of the proposed new version number.
        o identify additions to the document by underlining the added text.
        o identify deletions from the document by overstriking the deleted
          text.
        o identify the additions and deletions with a distinct color, which
          shall be reflected in the Revision Log.
  4. ASR members, as identified in unit rosters, will be asked to vote to
     ratify the new version of the Consensus Charter. A member may vote only
     once, even if he or she is listed in multiple unit rosters.
  5. The vote shall be conducted by COMPA or his/her designee.
  6. A simple majority vote (50% + 1 of cast ballots) is required to ratify
     changes.
  7. A 2/3 majority vote shall be required if the proposed change is to
     abolish this Consensus Charter.
  8. The voting results shall be inserted into the Revision Log in Section
     0.1.
  9. Proposed versions that are ratified shall be edited by COMPA or his/her
     designee to remove the text "proposed" as it refers to the Version
     Number.
 10. Proposed versions that are ratified shall be edited by COMPA or his/her
     designee to remove the underlines, overstrikes and color used to
     identify additions and deletions to the newly ratified Consensus
     Charter.

4.3   Non-Consequential Changes

Changes to the Consensus Charter that do not alter the meaning of the
document may be made without a vote of the membership. These changes may be
made by COMPA or his/her designee with the approval of CINCSF or CSFO.
Changes of this nature must be reflected in the document by an increment in
the revision number of the document. Changes of this nature include, and are
limited to, the following:

  1. Spelling errors
  2. Grammatical errors
  3. Document formatting errors
  4. Update of COMPA contacts in Section 6.2

4.4   Revisions

Changes in the revision log, or edits to annotations, comments, notes or
revisions which do not modify the text, meaning or layout of this Consensus
Charter may be made at any time by COMPA or his/her designee. Changes of
this nature are described in Section 3.3 and Section 4.2, and do not require
a change in version or revision number of this document. Changes of this
nature include, and are limited to, the following:

  1. Correction of stale links
  2. Updates of the revision log in Section 0.1
  3. Modifications, updates or deletions of comments and formatting aides,
     as described in Section 4.2
  4. Updates of HTML code required by the server/site
  5. Updates of CGI/SSI/Java/Javascript code/arguments embedded in the
     document as required by the server/site

4.5   Version Numbers

  1. The full version number of the Consensus Charter shall consist of the
     version number and revision number of the document. These two values
     shall be represented in three fields. These fields shall be populated
     with positive integers and/or zero (0), each separated by a period (.).
     The first field shall represent the major version number of the
     document; the second field shall represent the minor version number of
     the document; the third field shall represent the revision number of
     the current version.
  2. Changes to the version number are limited to an incremental increase of
     the number in any single field. Changes to either the major or minor
     version field require that the field(s) to its right is (are) set to
     zero (0).
  3. A change in the major version number shall occur when there is a
     significant change in the document. Determinations of a change
     warranting a change in the major version number shall be made by COMPA
     or his/her designee. A significant change may include, but is not
     limited to, the following:
        o A change in the policies or philosophy of ASR
        o A change in the nature of the ASR newsgroup
        o The addition or deletion of an entire section of this document
        o A major reorganization of this document
  4. A change in the minor version number shall occur when there is a
     material change in the document that does not warrant a change in the
     major version number. A material change is one that adds, deletes or
     modifies the content and/or meaning of this document.
  5. A change in the revision field shall occur when there is a
     non-consequential change, as listed in Section 4.3, in the document
     that does not affect the content and meaning of the document.
  6. No change in version or revision number will be made for changes in the
     Revision Log (Section 0.1) or for other revisions, notes, or comments
     as described in Section 4.4.
  7. These specifications apply to approved Versions 1.0.0 and above.
     Versions below 1.0.0 are unofficial drafts and are not subject to the
     provisions in this section.

  ------------------------------------------------------------------------

5.0   Enforcement Of This Consensus Charter

5.1   ASR Members' Responsibilities

Guidelines in this document are part of the guidelines for ASR in general.
Club members are expected to follow all club rules, to the extent practical.

5.2   Unit, Task Force And Fleet Commanders

Violations of this Consensus Charter by club members should be addressed by
that member's Unit Commander. Unit Commanders have the responsibility of
guiding and reminding players in their units to follow the provisions in
this document.

In the event that Unit Commanders are unaware of breaches of this Consensus
Charter or fail to take appropriate actions to address those breaches, Task
Force and/or Fleet Commanders should counsel both the player and the Unit
Commander on the guidelines contained in this document.

5.3   COMPA

Violations of this Consensus Charter by non-club members shall be monitored
and addressed by COMPA.

COMPA is responsible for monitoring the state of ASR and Usenet and
proposing changes to this Consensus Charter to keep the newsgroup's purpose
and target audience intact.

5.4   Actions Against Offenders

Violations of this Consensus Charter shall not be tolerated. Club members
who violate the guidelines in this Consensus Charter are subject to
disciplinary action, as described in ASR club rules and guidelines.

Violations of this Consensus Charter by non-club members shall be handled by
COMPA or his/her designee using his/her best discretion. In handling
non-club member violations, COMPA or his/her designee shall only employ
accepted on-line recourses and Usenet practices. At no time shall any
members of ASR engage in illegal, immoral or abusive practices in response
to ASR Consensus Charter violations.

Acceptable actions to be taken against violators of this Consensus Charter
may include, but are not limited to, the following:

  1. Notifying the poster, via e-mail, of his violation and requesting
     cessation of the offending action(s).
  2. Notifying the administrator and/or abuse account(s) of the poster's ISP
     detailing the violation(s) and requesting that action be taken by the
     ISP to prevent future violations.
  3. Notifying the ISP's upstream provider detailing the violation(s) and
     requesting that action be taken by the upstream provider to prevent
     future violations.
  4. Notifying administrators and/or abuse accounts of any other ISP's that
     are directly or indirectly involved with the distribution, contents, or
     organization of the article in violation of this Consensus Charter, and
     requesting that action by taken to prevent future violations.
  5. Posting article(s) detailing the violation(s) in
     news.admin.net-abuse.sightings.

Actions that SHALL NOT be taken against violators include:

  1. Flames in the ASR newsgroup or other Usenet newsgroups
  2. Mailbombing the poster's e-mail account
  3. Harrassment of the violator
  4. Rogue Usenet article cancellations
  5. Illegal denial of service attacks

Club members who engage in prohibited responses to violators are subject to
disciplinary action as defined in club rules and guidelines and/or being
referred to their ISP's.
  ------------------------------------------------------------------------

6.0   Other References

6.1   The Official Web Site

The definitive source of information for ASR is at its official web site.
You may visit the site at:

   * The Official Site
     http://www.gator.net/~psy342/asr/
   * EU Mirror
     http://www.cc.tut.fi/~jarim/asr
   * US Mirror Site 1 (Princeton, NJ, USA)
     http://baudelaire.princeton.edu/asr
   * US Mirror Site 2 (Boise, ID, USA)
     http://www.cyberhighway.net/~nitefitr/asr/asr

For fastest access, select the site above closest to your geographic
location.

6.2   Contact Information

The Commander, Public Affairs, or his/her designee, may be contacted for
information regarding all aspects of ASR or the newsgroup. Please direct
your questions to Scott Lusby.

6.3   Documents Referenced By This Consensus Charter

   * ASR Consensus Charter Index and Archives
   * ASR FAQ
   * ASR Ensign's Primer
   * Rules and Procedures for the ASR Round Table
   * What is this? (And how can you join?)

  ------------------------------------------------------------------------

7.0   Legal Notices

7.1   Copyrights

RPG articles posted in ASR are original works of fiction. Authors retain
copyright control over their work, whether or not their articles include a
copyright notice. Please do not repost or redistribute articles in
alt.starfleet.rpg to other newsgroups, on-line sites, e-mail lists, etc.
without the permission of the author(s). Standards of fair usage are
expected when quoting information from ASR.

Articles posted in ASR may contain references to items that are trademarks
(TM) of, registered trademarks ® of, and/or copyright © by Paramount
Pictures.

7.2   Disclaimer

This section is not intended to provide legal advice. Laws and standards may
vary by jurisdiction. Please contact your legal counsel if you have
questions regarding legal issues in this section and/or document.