Below you will find the Federation Space Constitution. This is a living document and will be updated as needed. When you register to play on Federation Space, you're agreeing to follow all rules in this document and all its future versions.

SECTION 1 - GENERAL GUIDELINES
1.1 Definition: Federation Space is a play-by-post Star Trek role-playing game set 35+ years after the events portrayed in Star Trek: The Next Generation (ST:TNG), Star Trek: Deep Space 9 (ST:DS9) and Star Trek: Voyager (ST:V). Members of the site assume the identities of Star Fleet Officers through the use of expository fiction.
1.2 Goals: The goal of Federation Space is to bring together a diverse group of writers with a common interest in Star Trek, friendship, mutual respect and the art of writing. 
1.3 Membership Guidelines: Any individual thirteen years and older, applying to become a member of Federation Space, shall be accepted under the following conditions:
1.3.1 All applicants must demonstrate knowledge of basic writing techniques. Every attempt will be made to accommodate writers whose first language is not English.
1.3.2 All applicants, regardless of previous experience, are required to attend Star Fleet Academy. Graduation from Star Fleet Academy is completely dependant upon the applicant’s ability to write and learn the formatting rules of Federation Space. Applicants will not graduate until they have demonstrated those abilities to their Academy Instructor. The Academy Superintendent must approve all graduates before assignment to their permanent ship.
1.3.3 An applicant that has graduated the academy and holds a rank less than Ensign is on a probationary period. During that time the applicant may be ordered back to the Academy or removed from the game for gross rule violations. The President (Pres), Vice-President, Commander-in-Chief, and the Commander of Star Fleet Academy may recommend and enforce this provision.
1.3.4 All applicants/members must agree to make at least two story oriented posts a week. (Exception: See 3.6) Out Of Context (OOC) posts don’t count towards this total.
1.3.5 All applicants/members must agree to obey the rules and regulations of Federation Space as they are presented in this document as well as future rules and regulations dispensed by the chain of command.
SECTION 2 – POSITIONS AND RESPONSIBILITIES
2.1 President (Pres):
2.1.1 Acts as the administrative, operational, and creative head of Federation Space.
2.1.2 Acts as final approval/appeal authority on all, site wide, decisions.
2.1.3 Establishes policies and procedures for Federation Space.
2.1.4 Acts as domain administrator.
2.1.5 Creates new, player operated, ships when necessary.
2.1.6 Distributes new ships within groups.
2.1.7 Acts as point of contact with other web sites when needed.
2.1.8 Appoints Commanding Officers (CO's) in accordance with provision 3.1.
2.1.9 The President may waive any requirements/prerequisites to hold a position in order to facilitate game balance.
2.2 Vice-President (VP)
2.2.1 Prerequisites: Rank of Commodore or higher.
2.2.2 Assists the President in the day-to-day running of Federation Space.
2.2.3 Acts as Game Moderator (GM) manager.
2.2.4 Acts as approval authority on all major plot lines.
2.2.5 Maintains a GM roster.
2.2.6 Posts a listing of all GM's in the Captain's Table by the 24th of each month to facilitate CO's completing their points tables.
2.2.7 Ensures quality of the GM’s by working with the Group Commanders and Commander-in-Chief (CINC) to resolve discrepancies.
2.2.8 Hires new GM’s when necessary.
2.2.9 Assists the President in maintaining the site’s homepages.
2.2.10 Maintains starship pages in liaison with ship's CO.
2.2.11 Post monthly point totals and promotions on 1st of month.
2.2.12 Maintains a current listing of all NPC’s.
2.2.13 Receives 300 points per month for executing the duties of this position.
2.3 Commander in Chief (CINC)
2.3.1 Prerequisites: Rank of Commodore or higher.
2.3.2 Acts as operational and administrative head of Star Fleet.
2.3.3 Reviews point tables and forwards them to the VP for posting not later than the last day of each month.
2.3.4 Ensures Group Commanders (GC) are performing their duties according to section 2.4 of this document.
2.3.5 Assists the President and Vice-President in guiding the overall creative direction of the site.
2.3.6 Advises the President and Vice-President regarding CO selection.
2.3.7 Acts as final approval authority on transfer requests.
2.3.8 Receives 300 points per month for executing the duties of this position.
2.4 Group Commanders (GC)
2.4.1 Prerequisites: Rank of Captain or higher and must hold or have held the position of CO.
2.4.2 Ensures Commanding Officers (CO), in their assigned group, are performing their duties according to section 2.8 of this document.
2.4.3 Adjudicates disciplinary issues within their assigned group per 3.7.
2.4.4 Audits the point tables for their ships in their group verifying completeness and accuracy. Forwards audited point tables to the CINC by the 27th of each month.
2.4.5 Gives input to the CINC and VP about the creative direction of their assigned group.
2.4.6 Approves and coordinates transfer requests as necessary.
2.4.7 Approves/Awards medals/citations as necessary.
2.4.8 Receives 300 points per month for executing the duties of this position.
2.5 Division Commanders
2.5.1 Division Commanders are individual positions occupied by Federation Space members whose primary task is to generate content for their area of responsibility.
2.5.2 The Following positions are considered Division Commands: Commander Star Fleet Engineering Corps (COSFEC), Commandant of the Star Fleet Marine Corps (MCCOM), Commander of the Special Forces (SFORCOM), Commander of the Star Fleet Intelligence Corps (ICCOM), Star Fleet Surgeon General (SURGEN), Commander of the Star Fleet Science Institute (SCICOM), Commander of Star Fleet Tactical (TACCOM) and the Commander of Star Fleet Security (SECCOM).
2.5.3 Division Commanders will hold the rank of Lieutenant Commander or higher and act as the point of contact for their area of specialty.
2.5.4 All Division Commanders report to and work with the President to generate content. New content will become official once approved by the President.
2.5.5 A roster of the Division Commanders will be posted on the Chain of Command web page.
2.5.6 Division Commanders receive points based upon the content they generate, not to exceed 300 points per month.
2.6 Superintendent, Star Fleet Academy (SUPT)
2.6.1 Prerequisites: Rank of Cdr or higher.
2.6.2 Reports to the President.
2.6.3 Acts as administrative and operational head of Star Fleet Academy.
2.6.4 Develops a curriculum for new students that includes: Biography development, posting procedures, creative development, chain of command use and plot/sub-plot development.
2.6.5 Appoints/relieves Academy Instructors (AI’s) as necessary.
2.6.6 Ensures new students are assigned instructors in a timely manner.
2.6.7 Acts as point of contact for all Academy classes.
2.6.8 Acts as the “First Contact” for new applicants.
2.6.9 Maintains a roster of AI’s.
2.6.10 Assigns new players to ships based on manning requirements.
2.6.11 Takes manning requests from CO’s or Group Commanders.
2.6.12 Ensures manning is managed in a balanced manner.
2.6.13 Directs a faculty of Deans for Testing, Bio Evaluation, and Holodeck Assignment. Faculty members each receive 300 points per month and report to the Superintendent. Faculty duties are assigned by the Superintendent. 
2.6.14 Receives 300 points per month of executing the duties of this position.
2.7 Inspector General (IG)
2.7.1 The primary role of the Inspector General (IG) is to act as a player advocate, representing their best interests. Additionally, the IG will serve as a bridge for players and site administration, in essence keeping an open path of communication.
2.7.2 The IG will maintain physical records of all disciplinary proceedings. This includes, but is not limited to Informal Reprimands, Formal Reprimands, Command Level Reprimands, Court Martial and membership revocation.
2.7.3 The IG will audit all reprimands to determine if there has been a just application of discipline. If there is concurrence between the reprimand issuer and the IG, no further action is required. The reprimand recipient may still appeal the reprimand as described in 3.7.7 If the IG finds a misapplication of discipline, the IG will forward their findings to the CINC, who will make the final determination.
2.7.4 In the role of player advocate, members may go to the IG and raise issues their immediate chain of command has been unable to resolve. The IG will forward the members concerns to the CINC, without any identifying text in order to maintain the member’s anonymity. The CINC will answer the IG's query and send the reply back to the IG who will then forward the answer to the member.
2.8 Commanding Officer (CO)
2.8.1 Prerequisites: Rank of LCdr or higher, and prior experience as a First Officer. 
2.8.2 Acts as administrative and operational head of a starship.
2.8.3 Coordinates plot development with assigned GM’s.
2.8.4 Submit a monthly point total roster including participation points, medals, RPGer of the Month and crew allocation requests to their assigned GC not later than the 25th of each month.
2.8.5 Works with First Officer (FO) to generate monthly points and recommendations for RPGer of the Month.
2.8.6 Acts as disciplinary head on assigned starship.
2.8.7 Offers input to VP regarding their ships homepage.
2.8.8 Assures GM’s are keeping the main plot moving and everyone involved.
2.8.9 Mentors First Officers as future Commanding Officers.
2.8.10 Completes a bi-weekly log entry so players can keep up with the mission or in case of absences or new players coming on board. Upon mission completion, CO will make a full log entry summarizing the entire mission in one post. This log entry will be added to the starships home page so that a history can be established for each starship.
2.8.11 Appoints Department Heads and the position of First Officer.
2.8.12 Recommends and awards medals/citations to crew members.
2.8.13 Receives 300 points each month for executing the duties of this position.
2.9 Game Moderator (GM)
2.9.1 Prerequisites: No rank requirement. However GM candidate must show a history of running well defined sub-plots and gain a recommendation from their CO’s before being assigned as a GM. Prospective GM must also be willing to post/check posting in a consistent manner. Final GM appointment is at the discretion of the VP. 
2.9.2 Reviews mission outlines and turns in any changes for review by the VP 15 days prior to mission start.
2.9.3 Strives to involve all crew members in a mission.
2.9.4 Works with assigned CO to implement the mission outline.
2.9.5 Works to keep mission length 120 days or less, without jeopardizing mission quality.
2.9.6 A GM who holds the position of CO will not GM their own ship.
2.9.7 GM’s will limit their posts to their own areas of responsibility, as assigned by the VP.
2.9.8 Must follow all rules and guidelines outlined in the GM Manual.
2.9.9 Receives 300 points each month for executing the duties of this position.
2.10 First Officer (FO)
2.10.1 Prerequisites: Rank of Lt or higher and must have been a Department Head.
2.10.2 Commands away team missions at CO's discretion.
2.10.3 Ensures department heads are performing their duties.
2.10.4 Assumes command in CO’s absence.
2.10.5 Greets new players and works diligently to get them involved in the mission as soon as possible.
2.10.6 Works with new players to complete the full bio if they only graduated with a basic bio.
2.10.7 Aggressively works to develop sub-plots centered on crewmembers that are not actively involved in the main plot.
2.10.8 Acts as the primary advisor to the CO.
2.10.9 Learns command principles from their CO.
2.10.10 Provides participation point recommendations for department heads to the CO by the 23rd of each month.
2.10.11 Receives 200 points each month for executing the duties of this position.
2.11 Department Head (DH)
2.11.1 Prerequisites: Rank of Lt[JG] or higher.
2.11.2 Acts as the first link in the chain of command.
2.11.3 Works with the FO to ensure all their department members are involved in a mission, whether it is in the main plot or a customized sub-plot.
2.11.4 Provides participation point totals for assigned department members to the FO by the 21st of each month.
2.11.5 Advises the CO/FO on issues concerning their department.
2.11.6 Receives 100 points each month for executing the duties of this position.
2.12 All Members
2.12.1 Treat all members and guests of the site with respect and courtesy.
2.12.2 Post at least 2 times a week. (Exception 3.6).
2.12.3 Notify your CO when you are going to be absent for more than a week.
2.12.4 Play only one rated character at a time.
2.12.5 The President may waive 2.12.4 in certain instances.
2.12.6 Respect the chain of command and those in a position of authority over you.
2.12.7 Will not post as another player.
2.12.8 The provisions of this document covers all mediums of communication to include, but not limited to: Email, Instant Messaging, verbal communication, and chat.

SECTION 3 - POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
3.1 Appointment of Commanding Officers
3.1.1 Who may be appointed: Any member that meets the requirements for becoming a CO or will meet the requirements by the time they assume the position of CO.
3.1.2 Who may recommend candidates: President, Vice-President, CINC, GC or CO.
3.1.3 Procedure: The President will convene a council consisting of the VP and CINC.  After a discussion about the candidate(s), a simple majority vote will be held to either approve or disapprove a candidate’s selection as a CO. The candidate will not become a CO until they actually take command of their ship.
3.1.4 There will always be a CO selected, waiting for promotion to full CO status. This is to assist any transition in case of a CO’s sudden departure or a recruiting boom.
3.1.5 A CO select appointed to command a newly commissioned ship has the privilege of choosing any named ship off the Fleets roster to command. Every attempt will be made to allow the CO select to gain command of that vessel.
3.1.6 If a newly selected CO assumes command of an established ship, they forfeit the privilege above in favor of preserving ship heritage. Starships will not be decommissioned for the sole purpose of allowing a CO select to choose their own ship name.
3.2 Fleet Expansion
3.2.1 New Ship Creation: New ships are created at the discretion of the President.
3.2.2 When possible, existing ships will be over manned until there are enough personnel to staff the new ship. When there are enough personnel available to start a new ship with at least six people, including the CO and FO, the ship will be commissioned.
3.3 Transfer Requests
3.3.1 Any member requesting a transfer must submit a transfer request, in writing, to his/her Commanding Officer. The transfer request must give some explanation for the transfer.
3.3.2 If the losing CO approves the transfer request, then the approval of the gaining CO must be sought. The losing CO should accomplish this.
3.3.3 If both CO’s agree, the transfer takes place at the earliest possible convenience.
3.3.4 The gaining CO is required to notify the VP when the transfer is complete so that accurate manning and web page levels can be maintained.
3.3.5 If the losing CO disapproves the transfer request the requestor may appeal to his/her Group Commander.
3.3.6 Again, the appeal request must be in writing and give an explanation for the transfer request.
3.3.7 A courtesy copy (CC) of an appeal should also be sent to the losing CO.
3.3.8 If the Group Commander approves the transfer request, then the process continues normally.
3.3.9 If the Group Commander disapproves the request, another appeal may be made directly to the CINC.
3.3.10 The CINC acts as the final approval authority.
3.3.11 If a gaining CO disapproves a transfer request, there is no appeal process.
3.4 Recruiting/Advertising Guidelines
3.4.1 New recruits may be drawn from family, friends, chat rooms, newsgroups or any other viable source.
3.4.2 No recruiting will be done from other Star Trek role-playing game sites.
3.4.3 Member may place Federation Space banners on Star Trek role-playing sites, with their permission.
3.4.4 Reciprocating links are highly encouraged.
3.4.5 No Federation Space banners or links will be placed on sites that condone violence, adult only content, hatred, racism or discrimination of any form.
3.4.6 Primarily, Federation Space banners and links should be placed on Star Trek sites.
3.5 Copyrights
3.5.1 Any image/text taken from another site and posted on Federation Space or any other site in representation of Federation Space will contain the proper credits.
3.5.2 Any image/text found in violation of this policy will be removed.
3.5.3 If a member is hosting the image/text on their own site, the President will personally ask that member to either remove the image or post the image with the proper credits.
3.5.4 If the member refuses, their membership will be revoked.
3.5.5 If the author/artist is unknown, the text/image will contain the following words, in a highly visible place: “Author/Artist unknown” Below that will appear the web site address where the image/text was found.
3.5.6 Exceptions: Public domain graphics/texts are exceptions to this rule.
3.5.7 Questions regarding Public Domain graphics/texts should be routed through the chain of command.
3.5.8 Members wishing to use copyrighted material from Federation Space, (this includes graphics, layouts, designs, and all intellectual property) must obtain the permission of the President, in writing.  Members who use copyrighted material, specific to Federation Space, without permission will be asked to remove such material. If the material is not removed, that player will have their membership revoked.
3.6 Holiday Procedures
3.6.1 In recognition of decreased posting during various holidays, the President may declare Holiday Procedures in effect.
3.6.2 During this time, main plot lines will come almost to a halt and minimum posting requirements are lifted.
3.6.3 For those that continue to post regularly, it is highly encouraged to take the opportunity to develop a sub-plot or to post in the free play areas, Star Base Alpha, Star Base Bravo, Star Base Charlie, Deep Space, Sol System.
3.6.4 The keyword during Holiday Procedures is patience.
3.6.5 Full play will resume after the President posts a message lifting the holiday procedures.
3.7 Disciplinary Measures
3.7.1 Disciplinary measures are established to enforce the rules and regulations of Federation Space and include the following measures:
3.7.2 Informal Reprimand
3.7.2.1 Issued by Department Heads and above.
3.7.2.2 Informal reprimands must be issued via email and contain the subject line "Informal Reprimand. CC's to the IG.
3.7.2.3 Informal reprimands are basically a slap on the wrist and should be the primary means of correcting minor rules infractions.
3.7.2.4 Recipients of an informal reprimand will lose 100 points per informal reprimand. These points will be deducted when points are computed at the end of each month.
3.7.3 Formal Reprimand
3.7.3.1 Issued by Commanding Officers and above.
3.7.3.2 Formal reprimands must be issued via email, and contain the subject line “Formal Reprimand”. CC's to the IG.
3.7.3.3 Issued to members consistently violating minor rules or for one-time gross rules violations as determined by the subjective opinion of the issuer.
3.7.3.4 Recipients of formal reprimands will lose 150 points per formal reprimand issues. These points will be deducted when points are computed at the end of each month.
3.7.4 Command Level Reprimand
3.7.4.1 Issued by the President, VP, CINC, Group Commanders, or the Inspector General.
3.7.4.2 Issued exactly as a formal reprimand but with the subject line “Command Level Reprimand”. CC's to the IG.
3.7.4.3 Issued to members with either two formal reprimands or in response to a gross rules violation, as determined by the subjective opinion of the issuer.
3.7.4.4 Recipients of command level reprimands will lose 200 points per command level reprimand issued. These points will be deducted when points are computed at the end of each month.
3.7.5 Court Martial
3.7.5.1 Issued by the CINC.
3.7.5.2 Issued to members on the recommendation of their assigned Group Commander.
3.7.5.3 Affected member will drop one full rank, with the minimum points necessary to hold the new rank.
3.7.6 Membership revocation
3.7.6.1 Issued by a revocation board consisting of the President, VP, CINC, IG,  the assigned GC and the assigned CO.
3.7.6.2 Issued on recommendation by the CINC or a GC.
3.7.6.3 Members that have their membership revoked will not be allowed to participate in any future functions of Federation Space (Dependant on the term-lengths specified by the President).
3.7.7 Appeals
3.7.7.1 Informal Reprimands may be appealed to the members CO or next higher person in the chain of command. Informal Reprimands may also be appealed to the IG.
3.7.7.2 Formal Reprimands may be appealed to the assigned GC or the next highest person in the chain of command. Formal Reprimands may also be appealed to the IG
3.7.7.3 Command level reprimands may be appealed to the IG or the CINC.
3.7.7.4 A Courts Martial may be appealed to a Captain’s board through an appeal request to the CINC.
3.7.7.5 The CINC will convene the Captain’s board to discuss the appeal.
3.7.7.6 The Captain's board will consist of no less than 3 Captains, preferably assigned to the members fleet, but excluding the members assigned CO. In addition the IG will be included as the players advocate. If IG representation is not required, the IG will still participate in the Captain's Board.
3.7.7.7 The President and VP will be included on appeal board information.
3.7.7.8 Membership revocation may be appealed to the President.
3.8 Returning Players/Character Death
3.8.1 A member whose character is killed as part of an approved plot, with no intention of leaving the site, will suffer no penalties either in rank or points. If said character is to die a permanent death, the member may create a new character with the same position, rank and points. Such plots require the written approval of the President.
3.8.2 Members that arbitrarily kill their characters with the intention of leaving Federation Space only return at a later date forfeit their rank and points. A member that returns after such an event must obtain the written permission of the President to return to the game and will create a new character. This includes players that do not kill their character, but quit with the intention of not returning.
3.8.3 Players who don't post for 30 consecutive days, without any notification of absence, will have their characters declared "Abandoned".
3.8.4 Members that leave Federation Space via character abandonment, or leave in a manner not previously described, and then return will suffer the following penalty: One reduction in rank per month away from the site. The returning member's points will be reduced to the minimum amount of points necessary to hold their new rank. Players returning in this fashion must obtain the written permission of the President.
3.8.5 Any returning player issue not covered above will be adjudicated by the President in written format.
3.9 Non-Player Character (NPC) Guidelines
3.9.1 All newly created NPC's must be approved by the using members CO before the NPC is used.
3.9.2 The term 'Independent NPC' refers to a NPC that has its own account in the user manager. 'Restricted NPC's' refer to those NPC's that appear as OOC remarks at the top of a post. (I.E. == Ens John Smith - NPC ==.
3.9.3 Only those members whose rated character holds the rank of Lt[JG] or higher may create independent NPC's.
3.9.4 Members of any rank my make restricted NPC's with CO permission.
3.9.5 An independent NPC that has not been used for over 30 days is subject to deletion.
3.9.6 A member that has had an independent NPC deleted due to inactivity will not be permitted to create any further NPC's without their Group Commander's approval.
3.9.7 When a member submits a request to their approving official to create an Independent NPC, they must also submit a detailed outline of the subplot they intend to run with the newly created NPC. NPC's submitted without a viable plotline will NOT be approved.
3.9.8 A NPC can only be one rank higher than its controller's rated character. (i.e., A Lt could control a NPC no higher than LCdr.) Exceptions to this provision must be routed through the chain of command to the President/VP. (That means, it must go through the following people: FO/CO/GC/CINC/VP/President.)
3.9.9 A NPC with the rank of Captain or higher must be approved by the President.
3.9.10 The correct display of independent NPC's is: NPC Rank/Name {Member's rated character name}
3.9.11 A NPC may be displayed: NPC Name{NPC} only with the written permission of the President.
3.10 Rank Cap Guidelines
3.10.1 All members will accrue points and progress up in the chain of command until they reach the rank of Lieutenant Commander. At that time, they will continue to accrue points but not progress further in rank until one of the following conditions are met:
3.10.2 The member is selected as a FO/CO candidate. A FO/CO candidate is an individual selected to become a future First Officer or Commanding Officer on a starship or base.
3.10.3 The member gains the written endorsement of their CO. The endorsement letter is forwarded to the assigned GC who either recommends or denies the promotion in writing. If the GC recommends promotion, that recommendation is forwarded to the CINC and on up the chain of command to the President, who makes the final determination, in writing, and then filters the decision back down the chain of command.
3.10.4 A member whose rank is limited by provision 3.10.1 who accrues enough points to reach the rank of Commodore and is then selected for the rank of Captain must hold the rank of Captain for 6 months before being promoted to Commodore.
3.10.5 Cap ranks and conditions are as follows: Ens until a detailed BIO is completed. LCdr Until individual become a FO. Cdr until member becomes a CO and Capt until awarded a further position of responsibility.
3.10.6 First Officers may be promoted to Captain on capital ships (Battleship & Carrier) with written approval from the President.

The information contained on this page was created by President Jon Beckett, exclusively for the Federation Space RPG.  rank, rank, rank, rank, rank, ranks, ranks, ranks, ranks, ranks, starfleet, starfleet, starfleet, starfleet, starfleet, star fleet, star fleet, star fleet, star fleet, star fleet, captain, captain, captain, captain, captain, admiral, admiral, admiral, admiral, admiral, command, command, command, command, command, federation, federation, federation, federation, federation.