So you're a part of the Lancelot crew and you want to dazzle the world with your writing style eh? Well let's get you posting and winning all sorts of awards for your character aboard the USS Lancelot. Wether you're saving a crewman's life, fixing that critical warp core component that will save the ship, firing the torpedoes, playing in the holodeck, or sitting in your bedroom playing bagpipes dressed in a kilt (yes it happens, don't laugh), you will need to adhere to a few simple rules for posting.

      First there is the ON tag. This will let everyone know that anything said after that point is IC (In Character). It's very important that you put this up at the top because we may confuse your post for an OOC (Out of Character) note. Starting a post should include one of the following variations of the word ON:

• ON: -ON- =ON=
• ((ON))

       Or any other little variant you wish to use, so long as it says ON at the beginning to let us know you're going to be posting in character.

• <<USS Lancelot, Bridge>> **Romulus, Capitol City, Market District** ==Alpha Quadrant, Sector 418== ::USS Lancelot, Main Engineering, Four days later:: --USS Lancelot, Jeffries Tube System, Deck 6--
• ((Crewman Recruit Lena Delray's Mind))

       As you can see, there are plenty of variations on how to write the Setting stamp out. All of the above are acceptably written out. They are just specific enough to let us know the general area of where your character is. You do not need to be ultra specific, but by the same token, putting your setting down as "Milky Way Galaxy" is unacceptable as a Setting stamp. While technically correct for most (if not all) posts, it is far too general to be of any use to us.II. The Main Body     Well, now that you've learned all about the Introduction, it's time to actually write the post itself. You've turned on the post so we know that this is all happening in character, and you have put on the Setting stamp, so we know where this is all going on, but now how to write things all out.
     The format we're going to use aboard the USS Lancelot is what is known as Novel or Book style. Meaning literally what it says, the post is written just as if it were a part of a book. You'll be typing out paragraphs and writing your very own section of the story that will make up the USS Lancelot's log for that particular mission.
      What point of view and different punctuation marks are used in Book or Novel style when writing a Star Trek post? Well it's quite simple, let's look all of these answers over and explain why we write things the way we do.      First and foremost is the point of view. When writing for anything, there are generally speaking 4 points of view to choose from. These points of view and a general explanation of what they are are listed as follows:

• 1st Person- This point of view is your own. It is characterized by using "I, Myself, etc." and other pronouns referring to yourself. It can be a bit distracting and even confusing at times to post like this. Though it is perfectly acceptable (and normal) to have your character think and talk about him/herself in such a fashion, writing a whole post this way might get a little bit mucked up. The first person view is also usually not omniscient. 2nd Person- Not allowed as a writing style simply for the reason that second person voice is refering to the reader, using "You" as a pronoun. This is extremely difficult to write, and there are only a few recorded short stories where 2nd person voice is even used. Even pulitzer and nobel prize winning authors stay away from this one. 3rd Person Limited- The most commonly accepted way to write a novel is perhaps the 3rd Person Limited point of view. With this view, you're using "He, She, It" to describe characters. What does the Limited mean? It means that while you are the author, your main character (usually your PC), is the only one in that post that we can see what they are thinking. He may be talking to other crew members or aliens or civilians, and GUESS at what they're thinking by reactions, but nothing more than an educated guess is usually used. The only accepted exception to this rule is when posting as a telepathic character, such as a Vulcan, Betazoid, etc.
• 3rd Person Omniscient- Perhaps only slightly less common than 3rd Person Limited, is the 3rd Person Omniscient point of view. Just like in 3rd Person Limited, you're using "He, She and It" to refer to people (including your own PC). The only difference is that where in 3rd Person Limited you could only get inside your main character's head, you can now get into EVERYONE'S head. If you decide you want to post in this format, please be sure to make it evident that your character is NOT a psychic if they are not telepathic.

        Well, now that the English 101 lesson is over, on to Punctuation for Trekkies 101! You've got three things to worry about when communicating with other players and NPC's. Communicators, Telepathy, and Talking. We'll start with the last one because it's the easiest and everyone (at this point) should know the proper punctuation for normal speech. Quotation Marks (Ta Da!) "..." Aren't they lovely folks? Now that we've dealt with normal speech, Communicators and Telepathy are the two other forms of communication common to Trekdom.
      Communicators and Telepathy are simple to write. They're written out just like normal speech, only instead of quotations marks, you use the following symbols:

• For Communicators use =/\= to denote you're using your communicator badge, or ship to ship transmissions, or even the ship's intercom system if you're trying to broadcast a message across all decks. Make sure however that whenever you're ending communications on your communicator that you close the channel by writing in another =/\=.
• For Telepathy, it's the same general rules for Communicators except for using a different symbol. For Telepathy, you should use ~.

III. The Ending (Are we there yet?)      Now that we've made it through the main body of your posting and the introduction, it's time for the ending! There are only three things you need to be conscious of when you're ending a post. Resolution, OFF tag, crew tags, and your signature line.
      Resolutions are a very personalized thing, but they are very important to how you develop your post. Does your post end with dramatic tension? Does your post resolve dramatic tension from an earlier post? All of these things should be considered when you're working on a post. It is entirely up to you how you wish to end a post.
       OFF tags, just like ON tags, are very important. This lets us all know where your post ends and you are coming out of character. Be sure that you remember to type in the word OFF at the end of your post. The same rules for ON tags apply for OFF tags.
       Crew tags are a different kind of tag. Occasionally you will want to have a post where your character interacts with bum bum BUM! Another player character! (The shock and horror!). These tags, simply placed at the end of the post and usually right after the OFF tag are good ways to signal to that other player that you want their attention and that your character in some way is trying to interact with their character. These tags do not necessarily have to come at the end of a post right before the signature. Once in a while you may want to insert them into the body of your post. This is ok, just remember to start a new line and set the tag apart with some sort of bracket, parenthesis, carrot, anything you like so long as they are indeed set off from the rest of the text of your post.
        Finally, the last piece of any post is the signature line. There are at least Three (3) main points to a signature. These points are the following:

• Rank, Name (e.g.- Lieutenant Michael Dodson)
• Position 1 (e.g.- Chief Intelligence Officer)
• Position 2 if applicable (e.g.- Second Officer)
• Ship (e.g.- USS Lancelot)

       There you go! By following these simple rules, you've created your post and by now it looks of professional grade quality. Congratulations and happy simming!