Rules
All players are expected to follow Theta Fleet's rules and regulations at all times, both in character and out of character; Theta Fleet's laws can be found here.
In addition to the fleet's rules, players will be expected to adhere to the following in order to promote a healthy simming environment:
Deep Space K-9 has a rating of 222:
-Language 2: General potty mouth is permitted. However, terminology that may be considered as derogatory to certain demographics is prohibited. When in doubt, use [Expletive] or (Expletive) (similar acceptable terms include Censored or Redacted).
-Sex 2: Writing about genitalia and alluding to sex acts is generally permitted, but no explicit pornography. Cut to black and/or skip ahead.
-Violence 2: Violence is generally permitted, but try not to be too explicit in your descriptions.
Because of this rating, we are considered an "+18" sim. However, Theta Fleet policy indicates that this no longer applies to a player's overall age, but moreover regarding the sim's content.
That being said, we encourage any potential applicants who may be shy of 18 to get their parent's permission before applying for this sim.
Furthermore, if you're unsure whether or not the content of one of our posts exceeds the sim's content rating, don't hesitate to speak with a system administrators on the matter; we'll be more than happy to sort out your concerns.
If a player disappears for more than 30 days without notifying staff (this is counting time elapsed from a user's last login), they will be considered absent without leave, or AWOL. This includes players who promise to return before falling silent again. If system administrators fail to make contact with the AWOL player, or a further 30 days elapse (for a total of 60 days absent), whichever happens first, system administrators reserve the right to remove that player from the sim.
In line with promoting a healthy, hassle-free simming environment, all players on Deep Space K-9 have a right to privacy.
Stalking or Cyber-bullying of any kind will not be tolerated. Any player discovered to be engaged in such acts will be removed from the sim, and (depending on the severity of their actions) banned outright. We will not tolerate bullies on this sim!
Under no circumstances is a player allowed to hack into or use another player's account without that player's consent and permission from the Commanding and Executive Officers.
Any behavior that is deemed unacceptable or inappropriate will be dealt with by the proper chain of command and punishments will be issued, up to and including banning the player from the sim.
For ease of communication, all players are required to be members of Deep Space K-9's Discord server. This will include setting up a profile, if you're not already a member of Discord.
Links to Deep Space K-9's Discord server are provided here.
If a player leaves Deep Space K-9's Discord server, attempts will be made to reach the player; if attempts to do so fail, the player will be considered absent without leave, or AWOL, and may be subject to removal from the sim. See "AWOL Policy" above for further details.
We get that life hits you in the balls sometimes; it's practically unavoidable. If, for whatever reason, a player is unable to fulfill their duties (but is interested in returning to the sim at a later date), they reserve the right to request a Leave Of Absence (LOA) or Extended Leave Of Absence (ELOA).
An LOA can last anywhere between 1 and 30 days, while an ELOA can last anywhere between 31 and 60 days.
By taking an LOA or ELOA, a player accepts that the sim is allowed to go on without you. the System Administrators will do their best to work around a player's absence in story, but we will not wait for players on LOA or ELOA.
In order to make Deep Space K-9 feel more alive, any player wishing to create an NPC and have that NPC linked to their account are strongly encouraged to fill out that character's biography as thoroughly as possible beyond the primary aspects of that character's profile; their physical appearance, personality, hobbies and interests, biography, et cetera.
No NPC shall outrank one's player character. Likewise, no NPC outside the Recurring Characters field can outrank the Commanding Officer or Executive Officer.
If your character is married, please be sure to include in-laws with their family. This does not include siblings and their spouses.
No officer shall be under the age of 21, as that is the minimum age for Academy graduates. If you wish to play a character who is exactly 21, please assume that they have just graduated from the Academy. If you wish to play a character younger than 21, perhaps consider pursuing an enlisted position; minimum enlistment age is 18.
We encourage our player characters to shine in their own right, so please avoid establishing that your character is in any way related to canon Star Trek characters, obscure or otherwise. (For example, you can't call on daddy Kirk for backup, or have worked with Spock on the latest scientific discovery) If you apply with such relations in your bio, your application will be rejected. Similarly, if you're already on the sim and begin bragging about such a relation, you will be asked to remove such boasting. Non-compliance will result in your removal from the sim.
As a Task Force 23 sim, we will not be acknowledging the continuity of any Star Trek properties in which Alex Kurtzman has had a hand in creating. Thus, any references to ships, events, and/or specimens exclusive to Star Trek: Discovery will be subject to approval from Theta Fleet admiralty.
Similarly, we will not be allowing species that the Federation has not yet discovered as of 2265; this includes Bajorans, Betazoids, Trill, and the like. Exceptions will be made for custom species, so long as they are established as Federation members by at least 2260 (this gives any characters from custom species sufficient time to go through the Academy and graduate with the rank of Ensign). When in doubt, please don't hesitate to speak with a member of either the Command Staff or Theta Fleet Admiralty.
Theta fleet regulations discourage superheroes and Mary Sue characters; possible so-called "god mod" characters will be subject to review on a case-by-case basis.
Mission posts are to be written in Third Person, Past Tense (I.E., "he said, she said, they said" are all acceptable, while "I said, you said, he says, she says, they say, I say, you say" are not acceptable).
Personal logs are to be written in First Person, as they are akin to a diary or internal monologue.
Posts and Logs are to be written in clear English. If your character speaks other languages (i.e, Japanese, Klingon.) and tends to speak them without a universal translator, that is okay so long as a translation is provided.
Also, for the sake of keeping continuity, please keep track of where you have your characters located at all times! There may be some points where the crew of Deep Space K-9 and its garrison vessel, the USS Tigerfish, will be off conducting separate assignments at completely different ends of the sector. At times like these, it might be nonsensical to have you state that your character will accept an assignment aboard the Tigerfish, but then has that character inexcusably showing up at Deep Space K-9 when they're supposed to be half the sector away. To that end, we request that, should you be presented with a branching option to join either the crew of Deep Space K-9 or the Tigerfish, you pick just path for your character and commit to that path until the mission reaches its logical conclusion.
We also understand that real life can happen; If an emergency happens, take care of it before contacting us when able. If you are aware of something coming up that will prohibit you from posting regularly, please submit an LOA or ELOA request so that we know and can accommodate your absence.
Any player who does not submit an LOA or ELOA and disappears for 30 days will be considered AWOL, and if attempts to reach out fail, by 60 days, the AWOL player will be removed from the sim.
All players on Deep Space K-9 deserve to be treated with dignity and respect, both in and out of character. Any form of discrimination or harassment should be reported to the command staff immediately, and the offending player shall be removed from the sim without question.
In-character and out-of-character disputes should be resolved in their separate mediums. There is to be no bleed over between in-character and out-of-character.
Behave yourselves; we're not asking that much.
Here on Deep Space K-9, our biggest commitment is ensuring that all players are having fun. If a player is not having fun, they reserve the right to speak with System Administrators on what they could do to improve the experience. Similarly, if more than 50% of all active players are not having fun, they reserve the right to speak with the Command Staff on revising or discontinuing the mission in favor of something that will be more entertaining for everyone.