Abstract
In a game such as Frontier Fleet, the rules in the posting guide are of course of primary importance. But even when following the rules to the letter, you can be asked to revise, or people could get mad at you; there is a lot of room within the rules of the posting guide, but that doesn't mean that one should always make use of that room. This document examines this room between the rules and explains what is and what is not appreciated. Due to the very broad nature of the term 'etiquette', there will invariably be some overlap with the posting guide and the game rules.
Forcing yourself into a subplot or discussion
In real life, when two people are discussing or arguing about something, it is not considered polite to simply force yourself into that conversation just to have something to do. The same goes for your character in-game. When two people are talking about something, it can be considered rude if you have your character walk to those people and join the discussion. Just because it says (Reply [insert character here], any), it does not mean that you should barge into the conversation. Of course it is possible that the players of the conversing characters wouldn't mind your character joining the conversation, but this is not always the case and it can be pretty annoying to have a conversation interrupted by a third party. Similarly for a subplot: two characters having a romantic dinner in the mess hall would hate to be interrupted by a third character. There, too, the age-old adagio "better safe than sorry" comes into play: when planning on having your character join a subplot or a discussion, always ask the player or players whose characters your character will be interrupting.
Replying Out of Context
Another way to really annoy a fellow player is to make a character look bad or stupid or dumb by replying in such a way that the answer that was already given, looks out of context. For example, when you have this post to reply to:
"I need to get that plasma leak sealed, Paul said to the ACEO. "See what you can do about it."
(Reply Your Character)
"Agreed. You do that. Carry on."
(Reply Your Character)
It won't be appreciated if you respond to that post with something like this:
"I need to get that plasma leak sealed," Paul said to the ACEO. "See what you can do about it."
"Whatever you say, sir. While I'm at it, I'll tell everyone about your personal trauma down at Ylos VI. Oh, would you mind if I told everyone that you're a major pain in the backside? That wouldn't cause too much trouble for you, would it, sir?"
"Agreed. You do that. Carry on."
"Thank you, sir. Have a nice day."
I am sure everyone can see why this isn't appreciated. It makes the character who asked the reply requests look silly at best. Formally, there is nothing in the posting guide that prevents this behaviour, but if you were to post something like this, there is a good chance that you'd have to revise.
Copy/Pasting
Copy/pasting is the activity where you simply copy someone else's post and put your own answers where the reply requests for your characters used to be. Not only is this not from your character's perspective, but it also takes the fun out of reading posts. When you write a post where your character replies to a previous post, it is more fun to write from your own character's point of view instead of simply copying text from another person's post. Also, writing your own post (instead of copying parts or even the whole post) will increase the quality of your post and thus will get you promoted faster.
So basically the bottom line is: a post with a lot of copied text in it is not fun to write or read, and should be avoided. To clarify, this does not include the text that is spoken by others; you do not need to paraphrase what someone else is saying.
Using (Reply none) and (Reply any)
As a general rule, (Reply none) should be avoided in a post. In a game that relies on reply requests for its very existence, a (Reply none) is best used by the command team of a dutystation to tie up loose ends. In all other situations, (Reply any) should be used at the end of the post, to allow all other players to participate. (But only if it fits in with the timeline and the locations, of course).
Note: (Reply none) and (Reply any) can never ever be used in the same post! When you want no one to reply, you cannot invite everyone to reply. The two are mutually exclusive.
Asking Replies
First of all, Frontier Fleet is a multiplayer game. In this game, we read each other's posts and reply to them. However, uninvited replies (i.e. when I enter a discussion where no replies have been asked of my character) will often lead to annoyance and should be avoided (see the subchapter about forcing yourself into a discussion). But there is another side to that particular problem. As said, the point of this game is to ask replies from each other and to post about your character interacting with others. That means that reply requests have to be asked. A post with a (Reply none) makes it impossible to reply to it. We are a multiplayer game, where we post and ask replies from others. We did not join this game to read each other's fanfic.
As said earlier, (Reply none) should be avoided. Posts with only a (Reply any) at the end are permitted, but such posts should not be written regularly, since this is passive participation. This way you are waiting for other people to participate in your story. There is nothing wrong with doing so, however, experience has learned us that active participation works far better. Write yourself into the plot so you can ask others for reply requests. Actively seeking out others who are not in the plot yet is also recommended and applauded. Keep in mind, though, what has been said before about interrupting or forcing yourself into a discussion or a plot.
Secondly, also concerning reply requests, there is a fine line between asking reply requests the right way and doing it the wrong way. It is quite easy to assume too much when asking reply requests. Since we're working with multiple reply requests here, this can easily happen. It is thus important to read the biography of the character you're asking replies of, otherwise you run the risk of assuming too much. The following example illustrates this:
"I have to get main power back on line," Paul informed his ACEO. "Do you think we should use this antiquated, good for nothing battery, or this highly advanced generator?"
(Reply ACEO)
"No, I think we should go for the advanced generator. I don't know why I ever made you ACEO." said Paul. "Now, why don't you go run along and fetch me that generator?"
(Reply ACEO)
"So you say you don't have time to get it because you need to change your diaper?" Paul repeated incredulously. "Fine then, I'll get it myself."
Here, obviously, I assume too much. The player of the ACEO will, most likely, not be happy with the way he will be forced to respond. In a post like the one above, I'm forcing the player to either come up with something incredibly creative, or to make his character look bad. Of course, whether or not this post assumes too much does depend on the character who is asked for replies; if that character is very sarcastic, this post might work. But then I still assume a lot.
The way our system works does imply that you have to assume at least something about another character (the most basic thing you're going to assume when asking a reply requests is that the other character at least replies). The trick, then, is to ask reply requests in such a way that it doesn't assume too much, but at the same time, also adds something to the plot. This is a very hard thing to do; it's not easy to tell where the line between a right and a wrong reply request lies. In this case it also pays to be better safe than sorry: when in doubt, ask the player of whom you want to ask replies whether or not the questions your character asks or the actions your character undertakes are appropriate or acceptable.
Read the Biographies
As has already been said, our way of using reply requests implies that you assume something about the character you are asking replies of. Usually, the biography of that character tells you some valuable information. You can already anticipate an answer to the question "Where are you from?" by reading the biography of the character you're asking the question to. Similarly with age, previous postings, etc. Also, the biography of a character may tell you how that character will react in certain situations; if you know of a character's behaviour in advance, you can adjust your character's behaviour to respond to that in advance as well. For example, if I know from reading his bio that the aforementioned ACEO (let's call him Morabulu) is afraid of phasers, I might write this post if the ship is under attack by an alien boarding party:
Paul ran back from the weapons locker to the ACEO with two phasers in his hand. "Quickly," he said, while offering one of the phasers to Ensign Morabulu. "We haven't much time. The aliens will reach Main Engineering within seconds!"
(Reply Morabulu)
"What do you mean?" Paul said, surprised by the ACEO's behaviour. "We are under attack, we have to defend ourselves!"
(Reply Morabulu)
This was ridiculous, Paul thought. They were running out of time and Morabulu not wanting to use a phaser was not something they could use. "Take this phaser, Ensign. That's an order."
(Reply Morabulu)
In this example, I have anticipated what Morabulu is going to say. I have read in the character's bio that Morabulu is afraid of phasers and I have used that in my post. Note that I haven't decided what Morabulu is going to do yet. Is he going to accept the phaser? I cannot know that for certain. I could have assumed it and have left it to Morabulu's player to determine how exactly Morabulu would accept the phaser, but leaving it open, like I did, gives Morabulu's player the freedom of having Morabulu not accept the phaser. Alternatively, if I wanted to move on with my post and the plot, I could have still left open what Morabulu did with the phaser and have my character just move away to talk to others. The basic rule of thumb here is that you should give the other player as much freedom as possible to reply whatever he or she wants, while still advancing the plot or posting what you want. You will gain more experience in these matters as time goes by, and if you need help, all you have to do is ask your command team or anyone else.
Read the Posts
This may seem a bit superfluous to say, but it is important that you read the posts. Previous posts do often tell you about how that character responds in certain situations. After a few posts, you get to know the character (this goes, of course, more for your own character than for someone else's, but posts are still a valuable source of information regarding a character's way of replying). If the player of that character is consistent (no sudden inexplicable mood-swings for that character, for instance), then you can often roughly predict in what way a character is going to respond. This doesn't give you a very accurate picture, though, so be sure to check with the player of that character if you're having trouble finding out how that character will reply.
Also, another reason to read the posts is that it's just fun to read them. Besides, you expect other players to read your posts; why should you not read theirs?
Grievance Procedures
It may happen that you're angry with another player for whatever reason. Some vent their anger by having their characters say or think nasty things about the character of the player they are angry with. Or they only reply very succinctly with a great deal of anger in that post towards the player, if that player has asked them for replies. This is, of course, not how you should handle things. If you have a problem with a player, try to solve it out of game (see the grievance procedures in the game rules), but keep the characters out of it. If your character doesn't have a good in-game reason to get angry with the character of the person you're angry with, then there is not good reason to make him or her angry.
Dealing With Slow Replies
It does happen sometimes that you are waiting for a player to reply, but he or she fails to do so - players do drop out at times, unfortunately (which is another lack of etiquette I will not discuss here). What to do when this happens? Most of the time, you just wait a while, the plot continues, and you are asked for a reply somewhere else. But it is also imaginable that your character is stuck with another character in a prison cell where no one comes to free you for at least quite a while (such things happen). In that case, what do you do when the player whose character you are stuck with, suddenly decides not to reply for a few weeks? This problem cannot be easily solved (we can't force a player to post), but a way around it can often be found. Another (active) player could make an NPC brig guard with whom you can interact, for example. If it is necessary, you can ask the command team of your dutystation to send the inactive player a mail to ask what's going on.
It may also happen that you feel the need to get away from it all for a while. If, for whatever reason (school, studies, movings, holidays, or something else) you need to take a Leave Of Absence (LOA, in short) from Frontier Fleet for a week or more, be sure to tell the crew (or at least the command team) about it. It is never fun when a player suddenly stops posting. If you know you're going on a LOA, please have the heart to tell the command team of your dutystation about it. It would be very bad etiquette if you just went away on a holiday without sending a mail first. Very bad, indeed.
Mission Ideas
It is fun to think up ideas for upcoming missions, and you won't be the first to submit a mission idea to your command crew. Even if you have thought long and hard about a mission idea before submitting it, there is still the chance that the command team rejects the idea or never uses it. If that happens, you can either get mad and stop posting, or you can shrug it off, knowing that there are other fish in the sea and one of your ideas is bound to be accepted. We prefer the latter. You should know that a player's creativity and ideas are highly valued in Frontier Fleet, but this doesn't mean that your ideas will always be accepted.
The same goes for ideas within a mission. Suppose the first officer has been abducted and you have a great plan to save him. You can always submit that idea to the CO, but don't expect it to be accepted. The CO and/or the rest of the command team often has at least an idea of what is going to happen in a mission. In theory, every player should be able to change the story, but in practice, those who have designed the mission generally won't be pleased when their mission is changed dramatically. Always confer with the CO or command team before making a major change to the plot.
The freedom a player has to dramatically change a plot, varies with each dutystation. The one is more formal than the other, or has more freedom for players to implement their story-changing ideas than the other. But generally, it is obvious that some boundaries must be set to control where the story is going. We cannot allow players to bring the Borg in every mission, for example. We also cannot allow any story change that will so dramatically alter the plot, that it will dictate what other characters must do. Allowing this would lead to a problem: granting this kind of freedom will lead to having to impair the freedom of others. The CO of a dutystation has the responsibility to make sure the plot changes don't get out of control; so before initiating a major plot change, always discuss it with the CO first.
Also, on a somewhat different note, please remember that your command team are also human beings. We also make mistakes, and rejecting your idea could be a mistake. But when we reject an idea, we do have our rational reasons for that. Of course this could be a mistake. We're all human, and so are you. It is equally possible that you have submitted an idea with some flaws in it. But, and this is important, if we reject an idea, we do not always reject it because we think it is wrong. We may simply think your idea does not fit in the current situation.
Notes/Additions
It can happen that you don't know what to post about. In that case, either contact the CO of your dutystation (or FO or 2O) for help, visit the chat (go to the IRC FAQ for more information on that) or the forums.
Don't just post when you are asked for replies. Waiting for replies may take forever if you don't put your character into the story. Don't wait for the story to come to you.
Posting is not just about having the correct format. As said before, a post can follow the posting guide perfectly but still be rejected for various reasons described above. The format is important, but adding to the plot is too.
Keep in mind that not everyone thinks as you do. One person may think it is perfectly acceptable to have a pilot crash a shuttle, but the person playing the pilot may disagree.
If this guide has confused you, don't worry about it. Look at how other people are posting and you'll learn what to do soon enough. And, of course, when in doubt, don't hesitate to ask someone. Chances are we can help you.
