Lesson 05: Joint Posts

Introduction

There is nothing more frustrating or satisfying in the RPG world than working with another, or a group of others to complete a post. This is the ultimate in team playing and recommended for new people and vets alike. A joint sim is the collaboration of two or more people involved in a RPG. The collaborators get together either real time (Mirc, Irc, ICQ or any number of chat programs) or via e-mail. It can be done several ways. This lesson is designed to give the players some idea about doing and completing a joint post.

Section 1: The idea

A Joint sim situation usually occurs when there is an interaction between characters:

• Two doctors in medical discussing a patient.
• A group of Engineers talking about fixes for a portion of the ship.
• A personal relationship.
• Etc...

The common theme is that more than one player is needed to complete a scene or an action. Rather than send multiple one paragraph responses back and forth on the list, the players get the characters together to complete one post. At some point in your simming career, you're going to get an message "hey wanna do a joint post?". All it takes is one or more people to think that the story would be better if there was a bit of real time interaction or preparation.

Section 2: You've decided

Now what? Now that you've decided to do a joint sim you have to decide the method. As discussed before, you can do this via e-mail, or real time chats. Each possible method is discussed below.

• E-mail
  This one require no special arrangements and can be done with anyone, no matter where they are in the world. Everyone at the Academy has some form of electronic mail, so this is possible for everyone. This particular method takes time as the e-mails are sent back and forth. Many days can pass as each member receives, reviews, adds to the post, then sends it to the other participant(s) for them to repeat the cycle. The only thing that each person in the joint post must have is patience. This is not the fastest method, but in cases where your team member is on the other side of the world it may be your only method.
• Messengers
  This gets you into real time communications. As with anything, be careful who you talk to and never ever ever give out personal information. When using real time chat programs you need to be protective of yourself and your computer. The ones listed below are only a few of the many different types of real time chat programs that are available.
  • A.I.M. (AOL's Instant Messenger) You don't have to be a member of AOL in order to get I.M. You do have to get a log on but it is free of charge. They have a website were you can download the program in order to talk with AOL members...... Also the program works if you are talking to an AOL member. Web site: www.aol.com
  • Yahoo Messenger. With this one you have to get a Yahoo log on and this too is free of charge. You go to www.yahoo.com and look for "messenger" under their list of options at the top of the page. With this program you must be talking to another individual that has the Yahoo Messenger.
  • I.C.Q. You can use the free beta copy of the program. With this real time chat program you will have to register for a free logon ID, and thankfully it is free. To get this program, you need to go to http://www.icq.com/download/ Once you download and install this program you can talk to people that have the same program. This is a great program to talk to your crewmates in addition to doing joint posts.
  • Mirc: This is a (Internet Relay Chat - IRC) chat program. You can use this for free, but if you plan to keep it the creator requests a shareware fee. To get it, you go to http://www.mirc.com/ This program is a bit more complicated than the others but it can be fun for real time chat as well as joint posts.

Section 3: You've decided on the method... now how do you do it?

Now you have the desire and the means you and one or more crewmates are ready to do a joint post this portion will discuss the how. (a) Someone has to start the post and usually it will be a introduction of what is going to happen. The individual that starts the joint post will begin writing the post to describe doing, saying or finding something to the point where the other person or people in the joint post are introduced. A sample beginning is below. You will find that it is similar to what you write when you are doing your own post.

Subj: (Draft) Joint post Cadet XXXXX and Captain T'Keris

T'Keris was pleased with the progress of the days
work. She had enjoyed meeting with the crew and was
anxious to begin a mission which would be a first one
for most of the Cadets. Her last appointment for the
day was with Cadet XXXXX. T'Keris didn't need to look
at XXXXXX's record. Like Cadet XXXXXXX she had worked
with her before.

The door chimed to announce XXXXX's arrival and
T'Keris looked to the door as she called out "Enter".
The Captain watched as XXXXX walked in. "Please sit
down Cadet XXXXX" T'Keris waited as XXXXX took the
seat across from her.

<<<<Please insert something about your entrance and
thoughts or whatever>>>>

"Cadet XXXXX I realize that we have spoken in the
past, but I consider this meeting to be important
if I am to familiarize myself with your training needs
and your plans for the future. If you would, could
you please tell me what your plans are
for the future once you're graduated."

<<<<Please respond here.....add as much as you like>>>

<<<Will respond once I know what your plans are>>

Now you see here that there are openings left for conversation and discussion. The path of the post has not been set yet but future e-mails back and forth will create a natural discussion. Real time chat programs are similar. One person writes a beginning then the other or others respond. With the real time chats you somewhat step into the character and respond as if you were that character. A normal conversation or normal actions take place in the chats .... making it seem as if it were a normal conversation. This concept continues back and forth until you reach an ending.

Section 4: What little things are involved in a Joint Sim?

Once you've actually gotten rolling on the joint sim there are little things that you may wish to add to make sure that you both understand where you are in the progress.

• Title. The title itself is not really the issue.... its the extras in the title that make the difference.
   
• For a Joint in progress: Always add the word (Draft) This makes sure both or all people know that it is a work in progress.
   
• For the final: Make sure you tell people that it's a joint post. (Joint post btw XXX and YYY)
  This lets everyone know that you are submitting a team effort. All members of a joint post work hard and deserve credit for their efforts.
   
• Signatures. This is real important..... it shows that a team effort took place.
   
• For a Joint in progress:
  OOC: Okay this is a draft.....please make any additions and or changes that you think would be acceptable.....when you are done...please send back to me via (your e-mail address)
   
• For a completed Joint post:
  Put both or all signatures at the end.
   

Section 5: A final note

A completed joint post is the result of teamwork. Be proud of the fact that you participated in a team effort.

This concludes Lesson 05. Please select from the following options:
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