The Etiquette of Email Simming

Having explained the mechanics of the E-mail Sim, I'd now like to go into the more difficult concepts of E-mail sim etiquette.

In a true live action role playing game, all of the players get together to participate in a fantasy game, and one person, the Game Master (GM) takes on the role of referee. The GM (Or in the case of the Wraith, CO - Commading Officer) oversees who takes a turn and when, and what is allowed and not allowed. In an E-mail Sim, the burden of what is allowed and not allowed is somewhat shifted to each of the players. When you post your creative writing effort, and submit your story to the Sim group by clicking on the "send" button of your mailer, YOU are the GM at that point. And being a referee on a role playing game you should ask yourself a few questions about your submission.

"Given my character's biography and established game play thus far, would my character do this?"

"Given the Star Trek universe in which we are gaming, would this possibly happen?"

"Will this entry greatly affect another player's character, or disrupt a storyline they are currently pursuing?"

"Have I used this player's character in a way that is consistant with their biography and established game play?"

"Will my post in any way alter the true Star Trek universe in which we are gaming?"

Basically there are two things you have to look out for. The first is that you do not write anything in your story entry that will drastically alter the current "story arc" established by the Commander's Logs. If you have doubts about an entry, you can always feel free to send a copy to the GM/CO for approval before posting it to the group. I do intend to have certain story arcs (episodes) center around different crew members to ensure that everyone gets to be "the star" on occasion. When this happens to your character, you will be in the spot light so to speak, and the other player's character entries will take a secondary, or background role. Likewise, when another character has the spotlight, it is important that you still post into the Sim, but in a way that supports the storyline, and the other players.

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