Post by Geralyn on Dec 22, 2014 0:36:06 GMT
A while back, PWE/Cryptic made some changes to the game in an attempt to address what had become a significant problem in STO: Fleet hijacking. A member could either gain top rank in a fleet, or hack the account of an existing leader, boot everyone else in the fleet (including other leaders) and run off with the fruits of everyone else's hard work. There's been some high profile hijackings, and PWE/Cryptic responded with a change in how fleet leader ranks were handled.
Demotion of a character at fleet leader rank takes two weeks, locks any other demotions or promotions to or from Leader rank during that time, and puts a countdown timer on the front tab of the fleet window. And the character can not be kicked from their fleet until the two weeks are up and the demotion complete. Very effective, and the effort is a good one, but it has some unexpected side effects.
Firstly, our fleet has a rule where if a character is inactive for three (3) months or longer, it will be dropped from the roster during the monthly roster cleanup. This is per character, not per player. But this anti-hijacking mechanic prevents this rule from working with inactive Pathfinder characters – a kind of game mechanic-enforced exemption from the rule. A privilege we didn't want and shouldn't have.
Secondly, in the case of a Pathfinder stepping down, a lot of characters would mean a very long time demoting each one in order to make room for the successor. Either that or having to log into each and every character to quit/rejoin the fleet in an attempt to expedite it. The latter method has been used in the past, but it's a bit of a hassle.
When I first became Pathfinder, I proposed an idea to my fellow Pathfinders at the time: self-limiting to a maximum of four (4) characters at Pathfinder rank, choosing our most active alts for the rank. This would then allow any other characters to be subject to removal for inactivity in a timely fashion, and it would allow future transitions for new Pathfinders to be more timely as well. And it would eliminate the game-mechanic-enforced exemption to a rule of the fleet. At the time, it was agreed it was a good idea, and we imposed the limit on ourselves unofficially.
It's been a year since that suggestion was made, and I brought it up again with my fellow Pathfinders, suggesting that it should be made official, for the benefit of the fleet as described above. Both Kal and hszmv agreed we should do so, which will result in an amendment to our charter. No words will be changed or removed, but the following will be added:
“A newly elected Pathfinder will chose at least one (1) but no more than four (4) characters to be elevated to Pathfinder rank. Any other characters will be promoted to Guardian rank.”
We're not promoting the other alts to Mediator, on account of one of the duties of a Mediator is to bring concerns to the attention of the Pathfinders on behalf of other members, so having our other characters as Mediator rank would be a conflict of interest.
This is the only change being made to the charter, with nothing else being added, removed, or altered.
Demotion of a character at fleet leader rank takes two weeks, locks any other demotions or promotions to or from Leader rank during that time, and puts a countdown timer on the front tab of the fleet window. And the character can not be kicked from their fleet until the two weeks are up and the demotion complete. Very effective, and the effort is a good one, but it has some unexpected side effects.
Firstly, our fleet has a rule where if a character is inactive for three (3) months or longer, it will be dropped from the roster during the monthly roster cleanup. This is per character, not per player. But this anti-hijacking mechanic prevents this rule from working with inactive Pathfinder characters – a kind of game mechanic-enforced exemption from the rule. A privilege we didn't want and shouldn't have.
Secondly, in the case of a Pathfinder stepping down, a lot of characters would mean a very long time demoting each one in order to make room for the successor. Either that or having to log into each and every character to quit/rejoin the fleet in an attempt to expedite it. The latter method has been used in the past, but it's a bit of a hassle.
When I first became Pathfinder, I proposed an idea to my fellow Pathfinders at the time: self-limiting to a maximum of four (4) characters at Pathfinder rank, choosing our most active alts for the rank. This would then allow any other characters to be subject to removal for inactivity in a timely fashion, and it would allow future transitions for new Pathfinders to be more timely as well. And it would eliminate the game-mechanic-enforced exemption to a rule of the fleet. At the time, it was agreed it was a good idea, and we imposed the limit on ourselves unofficially.
It's been a year since that suggestion was made, and I brought it up again with my fellow Pathfinders, suggesting that it should be made official, for the benefit of the fleet as described above. Both Kal and hszmv agreed we should do so, which will result in an amendment to our charter. No words will be changed or removed, but the following will be added:
“A newly elected Pathfinder will chose at least one (1) but no more than four (4) characters to be elevated to Pathfinder rank. Any other characters will be promoted to Guardian rank.”
We're not promoting the other alts to Mediator, on account of one of the duties of a Mediator is to bring concerns to the attention of the Pathfinders on behalf of other members, so having our other characters as Mediator rank would be a conflict of interest.
This is the only change being made to the charter, with nothing else being added, removed, or altered.