I loved your rant...

Back to Star Trek in general... Startrek has always treated its flag officers (Commodores and Admirals) as people who see the 'big picture' as opposed to the Captains who see the human side of things. Some flag officers were just down right out of touch with reality and seen as corrupt, but they always thought they were justified in their actions.

In STO the lvl system is flawed for a number of reasons. Firstly no one really cares about the grades, just the ranks. No one celebrates that they are LC4 or Cm7 its always when they increase in rank and can then buy a new ship.
Secondly you are right that its daft to have a Lieutenant in command of a starship (even a crappy NX replica) we are in effect all Captains from the begining of the game. How experienced we are should depend on our lvl. Picard was a Captain when he was in command of the Stargazer and then in time he got a Galaxy class and a soverign but he was only ever Captain.

Admirals in general would be in command of taskforces, or starbases or sectors. People who run fleets would be Admirals with a starbase, if they ever do a LOTRonline skirmish style system then you could be an admiral who leads a taskforce.

My final point is that in other MMOs when you get to a certain lvl you have to perform a specific task in order to prove you are at a certain ability to get a new skill. This could be the case in getting new ships.

we cant give blood in the UK if have had sex with another man, not sure how they tell, not like we have 'Bummer' stamped on our foreheads haha

As I was working out today, I spent the time catching up on my STO podcasts (in particular Priority One). There is, with good reason, a lot of excitement over the impending release of Season 4 and the subsequent rank increase to Fleet Admiral. I'd like to take a moment to stand up on my soap-box, pitch my two cents, and rant about how much the latter irks me.

If I have any complaint about STO, it would be the way rank has been thrown around. I'm not talking about level or abilities, those are all fine and I couldn't be happier than I am cruising around in my tier 6 Galaxy-class. What I'm talking about here is the actual title. I'm very proud of my military heritage and on a fun little nerdy level I get giddy when Star Trek tries to reflect the actual military structure ("Lower Decks" TNG-167 and "Good Shepard" VOY-240 are excellent examples and the inspiration for my entry into the March Fiction Contest). One of the best things about Star Trek is that evan as a fantastic sci-fi adventure set 400 years in the future, it tries hard to maintain a certain level of credibility. [On a side note, the day I realized the Wolf 359 was a real star was one of favorite nerd moments of all time.]

In my humble opinion, very few if any at all, of us should be Admirals. Being an Admiral is a big deal. I don't want this to sound like I'm bashing the game, because I'm not, but cannon Star Trek treats this issue with a little more respect than STO does. Very few, if any, Admirals are running around the quadrant with their own ship playing hide-and-seek with Romulans or joining away teams in the middle of a Borg Unicomplex. Sure, about now at least one person is screaming, "What about James Kirk!? He was an Admiral while dragging whales across time and space!" But lets be honest here, Kirk was the exception and not the rule. In "All Good Things…" Riker commands Starbase 247 and doesn't really spend his days running around picking fights with Klingons except when his wayward friends are on walk-about in the Devron System. When you really think about it, how does random Admiral John Doe have the authority to order you on any mission? Especially if you are a Fleet Admiral!

Given the sorts of activities we as the average player engage in (front missions, data mining, exploration, PVP, FEs, STFs, etc), there are really only three ranks that any of us should be: Lieutenant Commander, Commander, and Captain. Within any of the series you never see anyone in command that is less than LtCmd and those are usually temporary commands (i.e. Data and the USS Sutherland, Beverly Crusher and the Enterprise-D, or Jadzi Dax and the USS Defiant are good examples). Worf was Commander before he commanded the Defiant, but he never got a crack at the Enterprise. Sicko's first command was a space station at the rank of Commander. All of these individuals were very bright and exceptional officers with circumstances that required them to step-up in time of need. I mean, what's wrong with being a Captain in Starfleet? Why don't we look at Captain as a position of respect and authority in and of itself? Certainly a long, drawn-out campaign against KDF expansion, a Borg invasion, and the subversion of the alpha quadrant by the Iconians constitutes a need.

So, purely an exercise and fanciful daydreaming, here's what I think would be fun to see and would make a bit more sense than 80% of the fleet with Vice Admirals in command. First, leave the level structure itself alone; we already climb through ten levels all within the same "rank." Is there any reason that Lt. Commander couldn't be levels 1-25, Commander 26-50, and Captain 51-75? Heck, Cryptic could even throw Rear Admiral in with 76-100 if the level system ever manages to climb that high. By then we are talking about the hard-core end game types that, truth be told, have earned the title of Admiral and in fairness have become the exception to the rule. Second, a series of special missions to mark the transition from LtCmd to Cmd and Cmd to Capt. Something next of kin to mini-FEs or the equivalent--the sort of adventure that sets a young Commander apart from his/her peers and even warrants a field promotion to Captain?

Ok, so I'm done ranting now. I'm curious to see what the rest of you have to say on the subject. (I'm sure some of you want to reach through your screens and slap me right now, lol.) :lol:

This is fantastic. In NZ gay people are not allowed to give blood, pretty low level but i think its most places in one form or another.

is homophobia still a big issue in America? Specifically the south?

I guess living in a large city in England (and thankfully no longer at school) I'm a bit blind to whats happening elsewhere

That bill gay Takei spoke of reminded me of law we had in the 80s and 90s called Section 28 that stated "local authority shall not intentionally promote homosexuality or publish material with the intention of promoting homosexuality" or "promote the teaching in any maintained school of the acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship."

That was repealed in the early 00's

Being from Tennessee, I would so love it if some kids start walking around saying it in schools.

Episode 277 - The Next Generation - "Genesis" - 3/21/1994

www.allstepisodes.com/googlevideodatabase.php?n=2719

A routine medical treatment inadvertently creates a virus that begins to de-evolve the Enterprise crew while Picard and Data are on an away mission. This is the first and only episode to be directed by Gates McFadden, who plays Dr. Crusher.

Enjoy!

Hilarious!

That's so Takei!

Thanks for your help with the invite!

:)

It kept saying that the character wasn't found. Have you logged into him yet?

Thanks :D

We have a fleet setup, called Gays in Space, I can send you an invite the next time I log into Tribble.

Smells Like Breen Spirit
Troi To The World
Morn to be Wild
Terran Empire State of Mind
Do You Want to Data my Avatar
Acamarian Pie
Hungry Like The Wolf 359
Carry On My Wayward Son'a
Ba'ku in Black
Kling-on Me
Shran By Me

Love it!

Quote by Captdry

haha I want a mug and mouse mat, actual fack it I want the whole Takei set!

@attitude and I just ordered mugs and badges.

We'll have the Takei-est kitchen cupboards ever :P

That is awesome! Thanks for sharing it.... loved it so much, I shared it on my facebook!

:D

haha I want a mug and mouse mat, actual fack it I want the whole Takei set!

Epic, epic win.

This man is my all-time hero. I just can't put into words how much I love, idolize and adore him. Absolute legend.

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Have we set up the Stonewall fleet on tribble?

I just copied a second toon to my account on tribble. My herc@rickster.ca toon and if we have a fleet on that server set up, I was hoping to get an invite.