Lessons In Superior Posting: Special Class - Guide To The Successful Application
With Prof. Dr. Fritz von Stossenbaum Alkaseltzer

So you got it in your crazy head that you want to apply for a job on the USS Pegasus. I would like to say: “Yay!” and I did just now. Now don’t think that realizing you want to join is all there is to joining this vessel, there is much work to be done. Especially if you want to make a good impression on the CO (and he’s hard to impress, let me tell you that…)

Now you hit that “Free Apply Now” link and we’ll get this show on the road. Yeah that’s right I’m going to help you join this bucket of rust.

The link will bring you to an off site application form that is provided to us by Obsidian Fleet, nice guys really, all we have to do is fill out the form and hit submit so that the CO of the Pegasus will get our application and can review it and then accept us or laugh at it and use it as fuel for his stove. Let’s start filling out those fields then shall we!

Player Information:
This is about you man and you alone, we want information about you, the player. Who are you? how old are you? Is there any way we can contact you? What did you do before this?

Your Real Name – well seems pretty clear to me, we want your real name so that we can Google you and see if you did anything naughty. Only kidding, it’s easier and more friendly to communicate with a person if you actually know his or her name.
Your Real Age – Since Obsidian Fleet (and thus the USS Pegasus) has set the minimum age of the players in the fleet and simm on thirteen (13) you will have to inform us that you are indeed thirteen (13) or older. If you are not old enough yet you should wait until you are, lying about your age could bring us and OF into a lot of trouble.
E-Mail Address – Again rather clear, we need your e-mail address because we should be able to tell you whether or not your good enough to join the crew of this fine shippy. So it would be really swell if you entered an Email address that is valid and checked often (like once a day or so)
Instant Messengers – you know, those annoying beeping things that will make you available for nagging and socializing with the crew and captain of the ship. So just be a nice little fellow and fill in some of the details on your IM devices. If you have MSN installed, list your MSN address, if you have Y!M installed, list your Yahoo ID. It is not obligatory to list any of your messengers but it does ease the process if there are some minor things wrong with the Application.
Obsidian Fleet Rules and Guidelines – the Admirals have found a way to bug us more (as if the application form wasn’t enough) they have made a set of rules and guidelines for all of the players to follow, if you wish to review the rules and guidelines take a look Here.
Role Playing Experience – This is a place to brag about all the places you have been, al the ranks you held and how long you held them. If you’re good brag about being good, if you only just started, let us help you get underway! Always be true, cause if you lie, we will soon find out about it…

Simm Information:
Here we will ask you for information on what simm you want to join and what position and what you prefer and what is more important and well you know… the regular stuff we would need to place you onboard a vessel that you like.

First Choice Simm – If you followed the link from the Pegasus site, this first choice will automatically be marked USS Pegasus (Centaur Class). You are not able to change this selection.
Second Choice Simm – If the position(s) you applied for are no longer available or the CO thinks you would do better on another simm, then this will be the second in line to where the application will be sent. It is important that you fill this in seriously, there is always a chance that you will be posted on this ship instead of the Pegasus.
First Choice Position – What do you want to be? What position do you want to take onboard the ship? Do you want to patch up wounded? Make the wounded? Try to avoid any injuries from exploding consoles? The first choice is the one position you really want to have. If we were in a mirror universe this would be the position you would kill for… luckily we’re not… otherwise my position as LISP Professor would be at stake…
Second Choice Position – Ok so we can’t put you in that seat you’ve always wanted to be in… it’s occupied by a fat Vulcan/Klingon crossbreed, then what would you want to be? Just like with the second choice Simm it is likely that you will be put in this position instead of the First choice just because the first choice is occupied or perhaps the CO thinks you will do better in your second choice, so also fill in this field seriously.
Which is more Important? – Well obviously it’s more important to be on the Pegasus then to be the Chief Burger Flipper. This is the question asked so that if your first choice position is filled we can look if we should either grant you your second choice Position or another Simm (probably second choice) where the position is still available.

Character Information:
This is it, the real pickle, this section makes all the others look like tiny little insects and will squash them as such. The info that really matters to us is listed here, who is your character? Where is he from? What did he do? And is he still single?! These questions need answering! And only You can do it!

Character’s Name – Everything and everybody needs a name… except off course red shirts who will be likely to die at the first sign of trouble.
Character’s Race – The universe is vast, there are literally thousands of species crawling about and you can be one of them. Go for the always logical choice of Vulcan, the impulsive Human or the blunt and mostly fatal one of Klingon. If you have a good background story a lot of species are acceptable within the simm, although some species need more explaining then the others (Human is not that hard… getting a Klingon or even Romulan in Starfleet… now that’s a pickle). There is also a list of Species that will not, under any circumstance, be accepted into the simm (or the rest of OF for that matter) These races are:
Non-Humanoid Races (Big rock creatures, Tribbles, etc.)
Q
Breen
Androids
Borg - "freed" Borg (e.g. 7 of 9) are allowed, Borg still in the collective are not
Jem Hadar or Vorta
Founders/Changelings/Shapeshifters (this includes Chameloids)
Xindi and all variations thereof
Suliban
Races indigenous to the Delta Quadrant (Kazon, Hirogen, Talaxian, and so on.)
Species 8472 (Humanoid or not)

Character’s Gender – we like to label our people, so are you a girl or a boy? We just need to know mister! Off course there is always that off chance that you are both or neither, but that’s the risk of a Sci-Fi universe.
Character’s Appearance – What do you look like? We want to know what we’re talking to, most basic would be at least the color and style of your hair, color of your eyes, height and weight. Off course you can describe how fit you are and just how many muscles you train a day, which would make it a very interesting read I might add, but I leave that up to you.. However more detail is more chance of acceptance.
Character’s Personality – How do you react? We need to know if your character is sane enough to perform on the USS Pegasus (although our admission bar is very VERY low in this part). Most basic would be to list how your character reacts to people he/she knows, he/she doesn’t know, on duty and off duty. But again if you use more detail and let us really know your character there is more chance that we will be intrigued by your character and that we want you in.
Character’s Background – “Where did ya come from? Where did ya go? Where did you come from cotton eye Joe!” man I like that song. But it really summarized this part. Where was the character born, how was his childhood? Did he/she always dream of becoming a Starfleet officer or did he/she become one by freak accident? What are his/her goals for the future? These are only some of the things we want to know about your character, don’t be afraid to use at least half an hour to fill in this part. Trust me it’s worth it, a good background story can lead to great role playing later on. But beware, too much disappointment/losses will even lead the most arrogant and self confident marine to the edge of that cliff and make him jump. Yes he/she can have some disappointments, yes he/she can lose somebody close to him, just not all at once. You can include anything that has had a great influence on his or her life, once more, as most of the things in this section, we LOVE details! We love gossip! We want to hear it all! We want to know it all! Give us the dirty details! Most of your Rank and acceptance/rejection will be based on this text field, so take good care of it.

Sample Post:
You are asked to reply to one of the following scenarios as you would if you were already accepted into the simm and taken in your First Choice Postion.

You are in the lounge talking to a few of your friends. One of them brings up the subject of why he entered Starfleet.Before he's even finished, it's obvious that everyone wants to tell their own story and share their feelings about Starfleet, military service and life in general. The question eventually makes itself to you.

or

You are asleep in your quarters when suddenly the ship shakes violently and you are knocked out of your bed

After you picked one of these two scenarios it’s time to get to writing, as I’ve already made quite a lecture on how we should post onboard the Pegasus I will not bother to redo it all again, I will just link you. The sample post is a good indication of how good you really are, if you have potential or if you’re just a lost case. The Sample post, together with the Character’s Background is the most important part of the entire application, so take your time. Two sentence sample posts are not really taking your time, it’s also logical that these things would be rejected, don’t you think?

To help you the Commanding Officer was happy to provide me with a Sample post of his own, the one he used to get the command of the USS Pegasus.

Once more: if you still have any questions, suggestions or comments then be not afraid to Bug the CO about it! Cause I don’t really care…

Until next time,
Prof. Dr. Fritz von Stossenbaum Alkaseltzer
L.I.S.P. Professor
USS Pegasus
“It’s Not That Hard… Once You Get To The Easy Part…”