November 2001

This newsletter is coming out later than the old release date of July 4th for two reasons.

1) The newsletter has been bumped back to allow individual captains who are interested to release their own ship newsletters on or around the 4th of each month. The USS Liberty was the first ship to launch its own newletter and the Washington has followed with their own newsletter, the Washingtonian.

This will also allow the ship newsletters (where extant) to contain the nominees and the fleet newsletter to reveal the winners.

2) The second reason the newsletter is late is because Seldon, the editor, lacked the motivation to meet the new release date of the 15th. Look for the December issue to be out on time though.

AWARDS

Due to the suffled release date of the newsletter this issue will quickly re-cap and recognize the September award winners along with the October champions.

September:

Best Post - Gorath, USS Liberty, Post #205
Funniest Post - Reah Santiago, USS Sunfire, Post #418
Most Posts - Tavik, USS Liberty, 17 Posts
MVP - Tavik, USS Liberty
Recruiter - Sutak, USS Avalon

October:

The year's tenth month saw the introduction of two new award categories, Rookie of the Month and Most Improved.

The fleet's first ever Rookie of the Month Award went to the USS Washington's James Mirtoh. He posted 9 times in October despite joining the mission late. He also wasted no time writing timid, "I hope I don't mess things up" posts. All of Mirtoh's posts dealt with the mission and involved many characters.

The first Most Improved Award was earned by Rebecca Dax of the Avalon. She posted more frequently in October than previously and, much more importantly, increased the quality factor of her posts as well.

October's best post was written by the USS Liberty's Wil Parks. His Post #275 was very long and extremely well developed. Parks obviously thought out his post beforehand and put a lot of effort into executing it.

Funniest post for October was awarded to Richard "Dick" Phelps of the USS Avalon. Dick had been nominated for this category on more than one prior occassion but had not been able to bring home the award for the Big A until now. His Post #195 was found to be highly ammusing.

Most Posts and MVP both went to the same member, Shawn Edwards of the USS Washington. He posted 20 times during the Month of October, was nominated by the Washington's CO, Seldon, for funniest post, and did a great job of writing well thought out story advancements that involved the immediate mission. RAdm Seldon said "I'm glad that Edwards has chosen to SIM with us, he's one of the W's best people."

The Goldeneye brought home her first award in October due to the recruitment efforts of Leeta Lyng. The Goldeneye is still looking for some more members but with more efforts like Lyng's Capt. Ashley will have a full roster in no time.

JOINT MISSION(S)

The Washington-Potomac SIM, the fleet's first, began and ended in October. Both crews greatly enjoyed the fast paced mission and the addition of a second ship opened up some new possibilities.

Seldon and Krol, the two involved Captains, were able to surmount the technical problems of archiving all posts and allowing all members the ability to post to all other members of both ships. They were also able to come up with a way of numbering the posts to prevent confusion and double-counting of posts (each post was given 2 numbers).

The Washington-Potomac SIM has helped encourage Capt. Sutak, who has recently replaced VAdm Star as the Avalon's commander, and Capt. Ace Decade of the Liberty to put into effect their plans for a joint mission. Currently the Avalon and Liberty are engaged in the fleet's second such mission.

Capt Decade of the Liberty says, "The Liberty and Avalon Joint Mission is going great! the Avalon are a good crew with a good Captain. it is an honor to serve with them."

NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

VAdm Star has announced a launch date of Dec. 1st for the USS George W. Bush, the fleet's newest vessel. He's busy putting together a crew for the ship, NCC-2004, which will use the Script Posting format.

In the first issue of the Washingtonian, RAdm Seldon announced a new program for his ship: Character Fiction. All members of his ship's crew will be encouraged to write short stories utilizing their own character to develope their past history and to better depict their personality. Seldon plans to launch the program, a fleet first, on Dec. 1st and hopes to have a dedicated page on the Washington's website ready within the next few days.

The Fleet has added a convinient Join form to the IDFleet website that, with the help of Capt. Ashley of the Goldeneye/Ashla Bogan of the Sunfire, really works now! Of course, anyone can still join up simply by e-mailing the captain of the ship they'd like to join as well. But this gives interested people another, easy option to use. Adm West hopes that this will help increase the number of people who decide to join the fleet.

INTERVIEW

This month's interview is the first with a non-command fleet member. We sat down several days ago with a member who plays Reah Santiago on the Sunfire, Marina O'Roarke on the Griffin, and Cynthia Andreas on the Potomac.

Interviewer: Thank you for taking some time out of your busy schedule to sit down with us. You have several characters in the fleet, don't you?

Santiago/O’Roarke/Andreas: Yes. I am a counselor on the Sunfire, a doctor on the Griffin and Tactical officer on the Potomac. All three are great ships.

Interviewer: What differences are there between the different ships you serve on, if any?

S/O/A: Well, the Griffin is an Ordered sim, so you have to wait your turn to post. And the Potomac is right now on a joint sim with the Washington. The Sunfire is just wrapping up her last mission. There are diffrences in command, and there are diffrences in how the crews interact, although everyone is nice.

Interviewer: Is it ever frustrating on the Griffin when you have to wait several days before being able to post?

S/O/A: Not really. I am sure that it might be eventually, but you can always contact the person whose turn it is and ask them to write something for you.

Interviewer: What can you tell us about the Washington-Potomac joint SIM?

S/O/A: It is very fast paced, and a little wild. I have to play catch up everyday to figure out what has happened. Everyone writes the Klignons so hilariously, it is a riot. [The mission] is great.

Interviewer: Do you think that this first ever joint mission for the fleet will encourage other ships to participate in shared missions?

S/O/A: Probably. I know it was pretty hard for Captain Krol and Rear Adm. Seldon to work out all the loose ends, but they did a good job. It just takes patience, but it is very much worth it.

Interviewer: Of the three characters you have, which is your favorite?

S/O/A: I really dont know. Reah is very emotional, and she is my oldest character, so I feel very close to her. Marina, my character on the Griffin, is a Doctor, there fore she has a God complex, and Cynthia, my character on the Potomac, is just wild. Everything wild in me is in her. But because of all the friends I have made through her, and because of how she is my oldest character, I would have to say Reah is my favorite, although not by much over the others.

Interviewer: What do you think makes a really good post?

S/O/A: It is a diffrent thing for diffrent people. Some people like action, others like character conflict. A good post is one the writer enjoys writing, mostly, and one that people enjoy reading.

Interviewer: Do you like the addition of the fleet forum?

S/O/A: Yes. It is a good way for everyone to share their thoughts, and it is fun. Although it suprised me that someone did the Diva contest thing. I looked at it and I was like, "Oy vey" It was a bemusing surprise to see that, because I have to deal with stuff like that from my brothers, I didn't expect to find it in the forum. It was funny though.

Interviewer: Do you ever find it hard to put in the time and effort needed to develop and be active with three different characters?

S/O/A: Some times, and sometimes I just find it hard to figure out what they should do, either because I am unsure how they would react, or because the situation is difficult for me to figure out. But this is something I really enjoy, so I work hard to get it together for all of my characters.

Interviewer: Do you ever start writing a post on the Potomac with Reah in it or one on the Griffin with Andreas?

S/O/A: No, although sometimes I have to sit there and think, "Who am I?" I once even had to look up my Griffin characters profile because we were just getting started and I hadn't written as her yet, but I had just written the profile for Cynthia Andreas. It was a little bit of a panic, but now I think it was funny. I joke that it was an identity crisis.

Interviewer: How much time, would you estimate, you spend SIMing each weak between your three characters?

S/O/A: This is embarrassing. I have no life. I live so far out in the country, that the only way to escape my family is to get on the computer. I SIM probably about 20 hours a week, more when I cant sleep. I am an insomniac, so it gives me something to do. [pause] Gosh, I guess I really am a nerd. Oh well.

Interviewer: Having seen three of them in action, what do you think it takes to make a good Captain?

S/O/A: Strength and Trust. Strength to lead the crew and to get out of tough situations. Trust that you know your crew will do the right thing, and that they won't let you down. Attitude doesn't hurt, and neither does a sense of humor.

Interviewer: Well, we appreciate your unique insight into SIMing. And thanks again for taking time out of your schedule to speak with us.

Santiago/O’Roarke/Andreas: You are welcome, It has been nice talking to you.

OFF

Well, the editorial staff still hasn't decided on a name for the newsletter yet. Please keep submitting your ideas. Look for the December issue on Dec. 15th!

... Seldon


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