+report seminar
Episode Name: OOC: +report Chat with Ghorev Written By: Ghorev Produced By: Starfleet Aired On: Sun Oct 13 17:12:14 2002 Stardate: 52702.8
Time: Sun Oct 13 16:12:21 2002
Stardate: 52702.7
Ghorev says, "Well, let's start off by noting the most important set of concepts: +Reports are meant to supplement RP, not replace it, not get around it. +reports are used to generate RP, not suppress it. +reports are meant to convey IC info to the folks that should have it when they can't be there to get it."
Fortunae has arrived.
GAME: Fortunae is joining this location.
Tibbs comes in from the OOC nexus.
Tibbs has arrived.
Ghorev says, "This means that if you *intend* to file a report in person to the person that should have it, and you know you can RP with them in the near future, it *kills* RP to file that whole report as a +Report. Try filing a +Report that says "At earliest convenience, I would like to discuss 'X' with you." Then, after the disucssion, the person can +report/complete it with some notes -- "We've discussed 'X' and 'Y' was decided, in brief" that will in turn become part of the game record."
Ghorev says, "Does anyone, right away, *not* see where I'm heading with this?"
VuQ'cheH says, "You're saying reports are entirely way too long. :)"
Ghorev says, "Well, beyond that. I don't mind length if its necessary length."
Ghorev adds proper punctuation and spelling as necessary. Gah.
Starfleet mind 8k length. 8k length break BBS.
Ghorev says, "Another thing -- I can speak for me, Edwards, and Fleety-when-he-wears-Balin hat in this, since we've all discussed it from that mindset (Fleety-as-Fleety, however, has not taken his medication this week, and so may have a different opinion): We Don't Care Who Said What To Whom For How Many Dog Biscuits. Folks, if you're leading a mission, and you file a mission report, we don't care that Ensign Terwilliger said X, Y, and Z before Thus-and-So happened. What matters is that on such and such a stardate, a team composed of so-and-so was in the USS Whatever near That-Planet-Over-There. Something odd came up on sensors. We investigated. It was 'X'. We dealt with it. The end. That's for the preliminary report. That's all you need."
Ghorev says, "As Fleety has since noted in posts, and as many folks have adapted to suit, let your follow-up comments include the details. Let me give one brief sample, then I'll open the floor to the usual questions and answers:"
McNeill comes in from the OOC nexus.
McNeill has arrived.
Ghorev | +report/create SCI/Cosmic String=While engaged in a routine mission to survey and assess the effects of the passage of the mobile cosmic string known as the 'Pearls of Wisdom', through the Morituri system, USS Thomas Paine came across subspace traffic indicative of a colonial settlement within the system. Since the system had been interdicted 6 years earlier when stellar cartographers at Sector Command plotted the path of the Pearls through the system, we investigated. A small colony of Pakleds had apparently been tricked by a Ferengi Nagus into making their home in the system, and paying him substantially for passage and supplies. We evacuated the colony.
Ghorev | +report/add <#>=During the evacuation efforts, LTJG Greyfalke theorized a new approach towards using tractor beams to stabilize the gravimetric shear envelope of a cosmic string, greatly increasing our safety margin. He is to be commended for these efforts, which made the otherwise impossible rescue possible.
Foster comes in from the OOC nexus.
Foster has arrived.
Ghorev says, "As you can see, the first part of the +Report is the 'just the facts'. A summary of what was done, when, by whom, and why. Then come the add-ons."
Ghorev says, "Now, does anyone have any questions about this, specifically? (And, yes, this is basically a bastardization of one of my tabletop plots...)"
Tibbs says, "Newp, none here."
VuQ'cheH says, "Looks like this belongs in +help report."
VuQ'cheH says, "It's good information."
Isole says, "Honestly... Perhaps an extended help section on +REPORT could detail expected guidelines?"
Isole grins at Vuq.
VuQ'cheH says, "GOMH, bionic freak."
Isole says, "I MAKE YOUR BRAIN MORE GOODER"
VuQ'cheH says, "Thanks, Easter Bunny! BWOK BWOK"
Ghorev has no problem with writing a +Report-etiquette help file if one is desired. Most of this is coming from my opinion as a guy who has to digest 95 of the reports filed on this station, mind you, and not as staff. Only staff can see more reports than Balin and Edwards and Park and I can, I think. So most of this stems from my desire to keep things, you know, easy on the eyes.
Ghorev says, "Any *general* +Report questions? Things like proper use of buckets? When it's okay to complete a report? etc."
McNeill says, "The when do you complete a report one would be helpful"
Ghorev says, "Alright, fair enough. Let's talk, then, about the stages and lifecycles of a +report. As noted, there's the initial stage, the summary of who did what to whom and why. Then the filling-in-the-blanks stage and the reply/comments from the peanut gallery stage."
Ghorev says, "Then it finally comes down to completing the durn things. So when should that be done? When the concise focus of a +Report chain is met, and there's no necessary comments to be added, for instance."
Ghorev says, "For long-standing reports that have gotten stale or moot, +report/complete them as best you can, as soon as you can -- we've got reports sitting out there way past what should be their lifecycle because of the limitations of MUSHing, and keeping them alive with regular status pings via +report/add is good, but completing them is better. :)"
Ghorev says, "Another good idea: Assume active responsibility for a report. If you see one in your department bucket that is a general report, not assigned to anyone, adopt it and assign it to yourselfif you can, or ask your senior to if he/she can. Claim it, and then complete it at some point when you feel the report has lived its usefulness. Adopt-A-Report day will become an official holiday, if I have my way."
Starfleet hehs.
Ghorev says, "Remember that Starfleet is a professional organization, with crisp efficiency, for all we gain comic relief and angst around here ICly by badmouthing Command. If necessary, and you see a report chain has gotten bogged down, take the 10 minutes to write a new one that takes all the pertinent stuff from the old one, and complete the old one. Let's make these things mean something."
Ghorev says, "Any other questions about lifecycle and development....."
VuQ'cheH says, "When a mommy bear and a daddy bear love eachother VERY much..."
VuQ'cheH says, "Oh."
Ghorev says, "That should have been asked during the S John seminar, thanks."
VuQ'cheH says, "LOL"
Ghorev says, "Then I'll address one last comment on the lifecycle topic before moving on: Redundancy. Remember that reports *can* and *should* be moved across buckets. No need to file two or three reports on the same indicident to different buckets -- and this is another reason you keep them concise, because some departments may not require access to certain details. If you file a report, remember that if necessary, it *WILL* be moved to another department. If a Security report is filed, and there's some strange radiation to be analyzed, keep the data in the Security report 'clean' enough that any Scientist can read it, *or* expect that only P'Trell will and it will stay in the Security bucket. :)"
Starfleet says, "Would a classification clearance level add-on to +reports be something worthy?"
VuQ'cheH says, "That's a good idea."
Fortunae says, "I think so"
Ghorev says, "It's a great idea, but our codestaff gets surly when we suggest such things and we normally have to bribe them with pictures of Jennifer Love Hewitt done up as an Orion slave girl. :)"
Starfleet says, "Should we classify by posted comment, or by whole report? Comment would be.. ugly. Whole report easier."
VuQ'cheH considers.
Fortunae says, "Hmm, seems to me that passing such things out is just a good principal policy regardless."
Fortunae says, "Would the comment part allow people of lower clearance to look at the parts they have access to but block the parts they are not cleared to see?"
Starfleet says, "Yeah."
Fortunae says, "Wow... *that* would be a very handy feature; but if it's too much trouble I think we can always "pretend" we can only see certain parts. Particularly if we included it in text. ex |Responding to a call for help on deck 7, Lt Whatshishead and I discovered the signs of a battle and two casaulties. --Clearance 7-- They were wearing the uniforms of the alleged temporal criminals --."
Starfleet says, "I'm all for Forty's idea of just blacking it out like that. It allows people to stay up on current events even if they're PC's don't have clearance to see it." (New BB message (12/26) posted to 'Event Announcements' by Starfleet: Victory Party)
Ghorev says, "I think the idea becomes how much we can trust players when we implicitly tell them something is off-limits to them ICly. our personal logs BBoard goes a long way towards advancing that game design theory here. Simply place a trigger that adds a security clearance attribute to the header like it does for stardate. Then folks can simply 'ignore' stuff higher than them in clearance."
Starfleet trusts players. Players good.
Ghorev says, "The last thing I want to touch on before we close is related to the idea of professionalism, and that's formatting. I know this sounds silly, but .... please, don't sign reports, don't format reports with whitespace from tabs and carriage returns, and so forth. We know who does what report and when, and that's all we need to know."
Ghorev says, "Anybody have any final questions?"
Isole says, "Hey. Uh. Well. Speaking as a sometimes whitespacer, it can be damn useful to break up sections of reports. I can't remember the instance I last used it, it was on the big ass report over the Noonan murders. I think it was in posting three crucial and distinct pieces of evidence or something. It would seem sorta silly to make three separate additions to the report -- especially with how long that thing was getting. =/"
Ghorev says, "Do it anyway."
Ghorev says, "Separate additions if separate subtopics."
Ghorev says, "I know that sounds bizarre, but remember that the folks who have to read it are the folks that didn't write it and don't know what it's going to say."
Isole probably referenced that report more than anyone. But this is probably one of those counter-intuitive things I'll just have to nod at.
Starfleet says, "That report got mad long."
Ghorev says, "Crazy mad long, even."
Starfleet says, "Any other last questions before we can the reports sermon, er, conference?"
Isole says, "Stupid long. Which is why I started saving up comments and whitespacing. Because addition headers and separations are more spammy than a pair of
. It's not my common practice at all. So, like I said, sorta counter-intuitive, but I get your point. ;)"
Ghorev says, "I'll close out with one last comment on appropriateness of reports: If you weren't the team leader of a mission, don't write a +REport on it unless you are explicitly asked to do so by your section leader or command staff. :)"
Starfleet says, "Or staff. ;)"
Ghorev says, "We don't need four separate reports on the same incident. The current thing with Poole's being shot accidentally is a *damned* good example of how it should be done. Person in charge write report -- folks get invited to contribute."
Ghorev says, "That said, Borva bless you all, and good evening. :)"
VuQ'cheH says, "Cheer."
Starfleet says, "Thank you, Ghorev!"
VuQ'cheH says, "Thanks for the words of wisdom, G."
Starfleet says, "Excellent information. Everyone give three cheers for Ghorev!"
Fortunae says, "Yay Ghorev!"
Starfleet cheer, rah, cheer!
Ghorev gets loving. Whee. :)
Laco only has 2.5 cheers left :(
VuQ'cheH says, "lol"
Starfleet laughs.
Starfleet says, "You should +cheer quality, not quantity now."
Ghorev freeze log in mid-laugh at Laco, like a classic Trek episode.
