RT0410- CINCSF Report

Assembled Delegates:

Let me take a moment, before getting into the meat of my speech, to
thank everyone here for taking the time to represent his or unit in
the bi-annual Round Table. This speaks highly of your committment
to the game, something for which I am immensely grateful.

We stand together (figuratively, of course) today, smaller in size
than we were at the last few Round Table sessions. However, number-
wise, we are stronger for it- we have almost exactly the same number
of active players on the books now than we did before the
contraction. This means each of our units is now, on the whole,
stronger in terms of numbers. This can only be a good thing.

This does NOT, however, mean our work is finished.

Last RT, upon being re-elected as CINCSF, I said that I would focus
on helping ALB become more efficient in retaining players who
submitted bios and in streamlining its training process. This has
largely worked; though the numbers of players being retained after
bio submission has not increased as I had hoped (through no fault of
their own, as disappearing players are routinely contacted), the
amount of time spent in training has shrunk to around the four-week
goal. ALB has therefore become more efficient in its task, and Mr.
Mayberry and his staff should be acknowledged for their hard work
over the past six months to stay this course.

Yet, despite a more efficient ALB, despite a more visible web site
that has received something on the order of 50,000 hits since
January, our numbers are NOT increasing- and that is disturbing,
given the possible answers.

One possible reason is that we are experiencing one of those waves
of 'RL Committment' coming back our way, thereby dragging veteran
players away. This is probably a contributing factor...but it is
not the whole answer.

There are players and command players alike in the game, at this
moment, who are bored, frustrated and/or tired of ASR. We can do
little about those who are tired of ASR- everyone of us reaches a
point where the game just does not do anything for us anymore. That
is natural, and it is a fact of life here in ASR.

But the bored and frustrated...well, they can be addressed.

I would like to once again issue a challenge to the unit commanders
of ASR: find a way to spice up your units. This is something I've
mentioned before, on more than one occassion. While some have taken
me up on this challenge, such as the delegate from CONSTELLATAION
and one Mr. Harry Iha, others have not. And, as a result, there
have been rumblings from the rank-and-file that ASR, as a club,
is 'stuck in a rut.'

Unit commanders have the power in this club- you have the most
direct control over mission content and development, which is the
key bone of contention. Change things up- change the mission
profile to something less militaristic (Mr. Gene Roddenberry's
original view of Starfleet was NOT military, after all, but
explorative); take a page from The delegate of the CONSTELLATION's
book and rotate the person in charge of mission development and
guidance. Even trade in your unit for a different kind of ship or
even trade crews with another unit.

Another idea that has merit is the joint mission. In the past, it
had been suggested that perhaps running an ASR-wide common mission
would be helpful as well; this idea was rejected simply because of
the logistical nightmare attemtping to run a thread on such a grand
scale would be. However, applying this idea to a smaller scale is
not out of the question- unit commanders have always had the option
of running joint missions between two or three units, if all parties
involved wanted to do so. Such missions can be very rewarding, and
also serve to expose writers to others with whom they would not
normally have a chance to create.

Any and all of these would offer players the chance to do something
different and feel like a meaningful part of the crew and the game
as a whole. We owe it to our players to provide that kind of
atmosphere for them, and I believe the time to address this is now.

There has been more than one person over the past 6 months who has
suggested that perhaps ASR is dying, that we are perhaps witnessing
the final death-throes of this club. I disagree completely- we're
not dead. We are very much alive, with a vibrant fire burning at
our core. However, I do believe it is time to stoke that fire. I
urge you to do just that- stoke the creative fires of your unit and
let diversity become your new mantra. Use the aforementioned
suggestions as your inspiration and a jumping-off point for your own
fresh ideas. If you do this- if you work with your units to create
more diverse storylines and more creative involvement from the rank-
and-file- your unit and this club as a whole will surely benefit.

However, if enough of you ignore this challenge- if we are forced to
watch more veteran players leave us frustrated and bored- it is only
a matter of time before we contract again. And, at SOME point, we
will reach a point where we can't contract any more without our
cohesion as a unified entity being compromised. When that time will
be is anyone's guess...but it could be sooner than you think if we
don't begin to address the issues now. It's time for us, the unit
commanders, to take our jobs as unit leaders seriously and do the
job tasked to us by our crews.

I would kindly ask that, if you did come up with a new idea in an
effort to spice things up some, to please pass it along to me so I
may share it with the rest of the Flag Council and the other unit
commanders. The creative successes you achieve should be recognized.

I thank you for your patience in bearing with me- now, I will
quickly run down the administrative changes over the past year.

- In April, Chris Hatch assumed the duties of DEPCINCGOLD, filling
the position left void upon Greg Rickards' passing.

- In June, Andy Catterick retired from ASR; Karen Fainges
subsequently replaced him as CINCSILVER.

_ Yoni Levanoni replaced Karen Fainges as SILVERXO upon Ms. Fainges'
aforementioned promotion.

- In August, Melanie Pocknall retired from ASR; Marco Mueller
subsequently replaced her as GREENXO.

- In September, Lena Rose filled the vacated MEDCOM billet. Also in
September, Alan Rogers vacated the DIRSFCOU billet.

This will be the last RT I will be chairing for its entirety; at the
end of my term in April, I do not plan to seek re-election to the
office of CINCSF. My reason for this has nothing to do with my
enjoyment of the job; I have found serving as your elected head to
be a wholly rewarding and fulfilling experience, and am honored and
humbled to have done so. However, I believe that it is time for
someone else's vision and ingenuity to guide this club into what is
sure to be, with our hard work, a future full of promise and
opportunity. My vision has, however, reached its limits at this
time, I fear. This does not mean I would never consider or accept
nomination to this job again in the future; however, I think the
club has benefitted nearly all it can from my abilities. I will
most assuredly serve out my term to the best of my abilities,
regardless of my decision. That is my promise to the club as a
whole.

It has been my honor to serve you for the past 18 months, and I look
forward to a productive final 6 months.

As always, my mailbox is always open for comments, suggestions,
complaints, or general venting. :)

Thank you again for your time, patience, and, most especially, your
continued hard work and dedication to the club.

Most Respectfully,

-Scott Lusby
=^= ADM Conrad Veld
Commander-in-Chief, Star Fleet
cincsf[at]alt-starfleet-rpg[dot]org
--
Chair, October 2004 ASR Round Table