[Christopher Halsey]

With the recent annoucements about some changes we will be making to The United Federation of Planets we have put together a brief FAQ.

Why are these changes being brought in?
These changes are being made for a number of reasons. Our hope is to reduce the amount of administrative work that takes place outside of the current Starfleet Command. To make it easier to get jobs done by creating a clearer seperation between who does what. To increase the amount of control Division leaders have over their gaming divisions. To make our leadership structure easier to understand and to make the running of the community even more transparent. To make the fleet structure more consistant with Star Trek canon. These are just some of the reasons but they are the main reasons, I will explore each of these reasons in more detail in the following questions.

How will these changes reduce the amount of administrative work done outside what is currently Starfleet Command?
With Starfleet Command changing to the Federation Council each 'council member' will take on specific responsibilities relating to administration. This increases the amount of people dealing with daily administration allowing them to get more done. Since more will be done by these people there is less to be done by everyone else. This also reduces the length of the chain of command in these areas allowing decisions to be made quicker.

How will these changes make it easier to get jobs done by those working in administrative areas?
As mentioned above the current administrative duties will be headed up by more people with more specific areas of responsibility. This reduces the length of the chain of command within administration allowing for decisions to be made quicker so less time is spent discussing decisions with those that aren't directly related to them. By creating a clearer seperation in terms of who does what and what is whose responsibility we reduce the chance of people stepping on each others toes and make it clearer who needs to deal with what again speeding things up and preventing the duplication of work.

How will these changes increase the amount of control Division leaders have over their gaming divisions?
Division leaders are going to be further empowered to allow them to take more ownership of their decisions, as with the departments the chain of command will be clearer and shorter allowing decisions to be made quicker. With Starfleet Operations (our Star Trek Online and currently biggest division) being split up in to seperate gaming divisions once for each faction (currently Federation and Klingon) its leaders will have more direct control and ability to influence the gaming experience of their members. Starfleet Academy will also now be grouped with the gaming divisions, since they will be run together we can ensure that gaming courses and training are really influenced by what division leaders feel is needed.

How will these changes make our leadership structure easier to understand?
This comes from creating clearer seperation in job roles and making it clearer exactly what people do. With our current Starfleet Command you might know who is in Starfleet Command but do you know what they all do? No. Under our new system when Starfleet Command changes to the Federation Council every member will have a specific area that they represent. The Federation Council will focus on running the community and administration, Starfleet will focus on running our gaming activities when you think about the Federation Council and Starfleet in Star Trek lore these definitions fit with what has been established in the shows, movies and books.

How will these changes make the running of the community even more transparent?
Because those in the Federation Council will have specific areas of responsibility members will be able to see exactly how well they are doing with their job. Rather than judging the collective council on how well it does things members will be able to judge specific council members on their performances. With the change from Starfleet Command to the Federation Council we are hoping that more of what gets done 'behind the scenes' can be revealed to the membership.

How will these changes make the fleet structure more consistant with Star Trek canon?
This is a question I could spend a lot of time answering but to try and give a brief answer. Within {UFP} Starfleet Command is the highest authority, in Star Trek canon the highest authority within the United Federation of Planets is the Federation Council, Starfleet serves the Federation not the other way around. What our Federation Council and Starfleet Command will do also fits more with their Star Trek counter parts. The Federation Council in Star Trek is responsible for governing Federation society, with us it will be responsible for governing our community. Starfleet in Star Trek is the military arm of the Federation, with us it will be our gaming arm. Put even more simply a Fleet Admiral being in charge of the United Federation of Planets just doesn't fit with Star Trek.

Will these changes work?
Starfleet Command and Starfleet Headquarters are confident that they will. Together we have had a number of discussions and meetings on these changes over a number of weeks and elements of these changes have been discussed for a lot longer than that.

When will these changes take place?
On the one hand we are very excited about these changes and would like to get them done quickly however we have to carefully balance that against making sure these changes are done right. We also feel it is important to allow the entire membership to give its thoughts on these changes. Some changes might start before others, we will not neccesarily make all the changes at once. We will be sure to keep everyone up to date with any changes that are being worked on.

I'm just here to play games what does this mean for me?
If you are just here to play games then you shouldn't expect to see any real disruption to your membership experience during these changes. Once they are made these changes should improve the quality of your membership experience by allowing gaming leaders to more heavily focus on in-game events and less time on administration.

I currently work in one of the divisions what does this mean for me?
As with the above response you shouldn't expect to see much disruption. Once these changes are made you will have access to a new forum area where you can discuss and bounce around ideas with colleagues working in other gaming divisions.

I currently work in one of the departments what does this mean for me?
Hopefully you shouldn't need to do much work during the implementation of these changes, as much as possible will be taken care of by Starfleet Command and Starfleet Headquarters. Once these changes are made your job role might change slightly as some department roles will be receiving a few tweaks. Your department CO or XO will keep you apprised of any changes.

Meetings on TeamSpeak were mentioned, when will these be and what should I do if I can't attend?
A meeting will take place on TeamSpeak at 20:30 on Friday the 5th of August in the Private Channel for those who wish to discuss these changes that have not already done so. Since we know not everyone will be able or interested in attending the meetings will be recorded and a record of what was discussed will be made available to all members.

I have questions that haven't been answered here what should I do?
Feel free to contact me directly and I will be happy to discuss any of your questions with you. Alternatively you can make a post on the forums in THIS thread.

[Christopher Halsey]

Updated.

[Christopher Halsey]

Updated.