"SUPER-DUPER MEGA-ISSUE!"

Joint Posting
by Patty Foss

In the Deep Range Fleet there are a lot of us who write solo posts but for a change of pace we join with one or more writers and do 'Joint Posts'. There are several ways in which to do this and at one time or another all of them are used. The styles are: E-mail, Instant Messenger, Chat Room, or through the Yahoo Group discussion lists.

• Email - The E-mail style is used when people don't have the time to write or have difficulties writing real time. One person will start a post and then hand it off to a partner, and it goes back and forth until it is deemed finished. Generally, the parties cut and paste and edit as they go… making this quick and a shared responsibility.
  
  
• IM - Instant Messenging style—using AIM, MSN, Y!M or ICQ—is great once you get used to thinking quickly and on your feet because you do scene and dialog at the same time. This style nets you more realistic dialog between characters and it can involve more than one character that each person writes. Krystina Stressmen and myself have used this style mostly and have involved up to 4 characters apiece. This style requires that one of the parties supervises and is responsible because you need to be able to cut and paste as you go to either an E-mail window or to a word document so that you can edit out the ID lines "fosspl:" and to edit like you would any other story you'd write.
  
  
• Chat Room - Chat Room style is good if more than two people want to write together and it again uses one of the IMs (AIM, MSN, Y!M, ICQ) and is a real time style. It is more difficult as it is easy to become confused on who's turn it is or who should respond… Again, someone needs to supervise and copy and paste as you go to keep from losing the story when people get bumped off line or have to leave.
  
  
• Discussion List - Discussion List style is not one that is really promoted in the Deep Range Fleet, as it is extremely messy. It's good, as everyone can participate after reading something, but when it goes out it goes out to everyone and if everyone responds then the story rambles and people take off on subplots and people don't answer tags when story lines are tossed to them and it becomes a mess, and it is extremely hard for new players as it can be very intimidating.

What's the Point?

So… Why do we do this? We do this to have fun, to meet other people, and to expand our writing skills.

Why do we have 'moderated style' of writing here in the Deep Range Fleet? To maintain constancy and continuity in our writing and posting to the various boards—some timelines get really complicated as it is.

Who is 'moderated sytle' hardest on? The Captains and their assistants on each ship.

What can you do to help your Captains? Use your spell check and grammar check if you have one, read your stuff out loud, write it and go back to it a day or so later and see if it makes sense, and if you still aren't sure… ask another writer/reader to help you… that is how we learn to write better.

What's New?

New Ships?

The Deep Range Fleet cruised along during the month of May without mishap. The Admiralty received a few email inquiries regarding starting new RPGs, both from within the ranks of the DRF and from the real world without, and a suggestion to maybe restart some of the old ships (the ones in the DRF Museum) and staffing them with some of the old players and new players too. If anyone's interested, let the Admiralty know! Knowledge of HTML is not required—just a good imagination to come up with interesting stories!

Web Updates

• There were a few additions made to the DRF web site this last month, in the form of graphics. A couple of Windows wallpaper images were added to the Downloads page in the Database, and one of the images was also placed in the Art Gallery wing of the DRF Library. So if you want to decorate your desktop with 'official' DRF artwork, check it out!
  
  
• The DRF Yahoo group Join option was removed from the DRF site's main page when it was discovered that the DRF Yahoo group is 'unjoinable'…
  
  
• Being the oldest active DRF web site, the Banshee Squadron's pages have undergone a much-needed complete makeover. Get ready for an all-new look!

Help Wanted!!!

Skills Wanted!

Writing great posts for the RPGs in which you play is only one way to participate in the DRF Role Playing Group—there are lots more things you can do!

• Are you a master of the graphical arts? (and I know some of you are...) Maybe you could contribute your artistic creations to the group. You may have noticed that all the pictures in the Art Gallery were done by the same person. That's not because he thinks his are the only works good enough to be included—it's just that no one else has sent anything in! Want to see some more wallpapers, maybe for your own ship? Well, make one! Send it in!
• Can you do those nifty 3D rendered starships pics we've all seen and love?
• Are you a musician? A master of the MIDI sequencer? Write the DRF Anthem!
• Can you do Flash animations? You could make Intro Movies for the games!
• Do you know HTML, JavaScript, PHP? We sure could use your help maintaining the many DRF web sites!
• Can you make character pics for the ship rosters' bio pages? Great! There's a list of characters that still need pics done for them that you can help with!
• Got any other skills? Let us know!

Contact the DRF at drf@starfleet-ssf.com or visit the 'Contact Us' page on the DRF web site.

Suggestions Wanted!

Even if you don't think you have any computer skills that would be useful, you can still help.

• Is there something you want to see on any of the DRF web pages?
• Is there something you feel is wrong and you know how to fix it?
• Is there something that should have been done better and it's really been bugging you?
• Do you have some truly awesome ideas for storylines that you would just love to see played out on your favorite RPG?

Tell us about it! The DRF is a community effort—if the whole community gives input, it'll be all the better! Contact the DRF at drf@starfleet-ssf.com or visit the 'Contact Us' page on the DRF web site.

Captains Wanted!

Have you been with the DRF for a while now and feel you could captain your own ship/base/planet? Let us know! Are you afraid to take the plunge because your web skills are a little rusty (or nonexistent)? No problem! Our expert web staff can create a web site for you! All you really need is the time to commit, plus an imagination for coming up with interesting stories.

Contact the DRF at drf@starfleet-ssf.com or visit the 'Contact Us' page on the DRF web site.

Who Are You?!?

Who Are You?

Have you ever wondered who play the other characters in your RPG? Well, now you can find out! Visit the 'Players Gallery' section of the DRF web site. It's a place where you can get to know the 'real people' behind the characters.

Who Am I?

Do you have a page yet in the Gallery? If not, write one up! You can include anything you want : text, pictures, links to your favorite web sites. Send your info to the DRF at drf@starfleet-ssf.com. Though it's called the 'Gallery', an embarrasing photo of yourself is not required! Come on in and introduce yourself—we'd love to meet you!

RPG Updates

SB901 is still going strong! Our next mailing will see an incursion into Mulluran territory. Some relationships will solidify. Some questions will be raised about activities of others. The Special Ops team meet for the first time, and an old friend comes to the station. There will also be new officers to welcome. Outside of the usual comings and goings of the station and possibly the Ronin, the station will be hit by an intentional virus that will cause unexpected effects—want to feel like you're in love? Come to SB901 and if you get infected you will!

The future is full of uncertainty. Will this be enough to disrupt the station? Can this discredit Captain Mallory? Can the Virus be stopped? And what about the Mullurans as they hover on the horizon… waiting. Excitement abounds! :-)

WANTED!
Starbase 901 is looking for Science Officers and Engineers.
If you're interested, sign up!

The starship Victory is currently investigating the collapse of the binary pulsar at the heart of the Hranok system. Her Chief Medical Officer having recently locked herself in her quarters out of shame for her consistent failures, causing the vessel's Interspecies Specialist, Doctor Robert Harrier to gain a field promotion. Chief Science Officer TogHa is leading the Hranok investigation… but something else is lurking at the edges of his career. Commander Revos, Chief of Security is investigating The Whitestar Incident—but Captain Utex and Commander Kennit both fear that perhaps he is not investigating the situation as deeply as should be expected. Not only is historian Xandos leaning toward something akin to "The Dark Side", but his horns are expressing themselves rather intently. Behind the scenes, several high ranking officials race to alter the course of the Victory's travels… but to send her where? Find out, in Star Trek : Victory!

CONTRIBUTIONS WANTED!

If you want to write something to be included in the next issue of the Inimitably Superfluous Deep Range Fleet Newsletter, please do so! I'm not picky - it can be about anything in the world! Just email it to me at richardmerk@msn.com

HAILING FREQUENCIES CLOSED