The USS Discovery is the Federation's flagship in the Delta Quadrant (DQ). The DQ is where the USS Voyager was stranded, and where operate almost entirely in the Delta Quadrant. For a better understanding of our setting, here is a map of our Borderlands Federation and Empire's DQ.

To follow along with everything that is happening aboard Discovery in-game check out the mission reports. If you want to know what's happening in the groups check out our news page.

This allows us to have different threads going on at the same time. Within reason, we can assume an outcome of events in a particular thread, and move onto another thread that might take place before or after. For example, the same day you see a post with the Chief Engineer having lunch with the Ship's Counselor, he may also post his character being involved in a crisis in Engineering. In the game, they may be happening days apart, but in “real life” both posts come on the same day.

To help keep everyone oriented within our Fluid Timeline, we include timeline information in the header of each post. You'll see this included as something like "Timeline: DAY2 0900 - Just after morning briefing." "DAY2" here refers to the current in-game day relative to the start of the current mission. "0900" is the approximate time of the post using a 24-hour clock. "Just after morning briefing" simply gives other players a clearer cue as to the placement of the post within the threads for that game day. More information on Post Headers can be found below.

This may all seem confusing, but once your and your characters are involved in a few threads and posting, it will all make sense.

We use the headers at the top of each post for information about the scene below. They list the characters, location, any tags and the timeline.

Example:

Characters: Vonrose, Andreva, Branner

Location: Sickbay

Tags: Andreva, Branner

Timeline: Day After Shuttlecraft Explosion

“Backchannel” is our term for contacting someone off of the boards. If you email someone directly or talk to them on chat this is called backchannel. You may want to do this to talk to another player about a certain post or to ask questions of your CO/XO.

First, it is crucial to that you’ve read all the most recent posts to make sure that there is not a later version where someone else has already responded.

Copy and paste the text into a new email or word processor. Do not reply directly to the original email. See below for how to copy/paste for a new post.

Where you see your character tagged, insert a proper response of how you believe your character would react, then continue the thread by leading it forward... leading is a fine art that takes getting used to. That's why we use this general rule of thumb: two or three tags at the end of a thread. Too many may box in another player, not enough might not leave them enough options.

You leave tags by leaving a character's name surrounded by a double set of carrots so they know this would be a good place to respond.

Sample tag:

<< Andreva >>

Give other players a place to respond without blocking them in to a specific response. For example, it’s best not to assume that another character will get angry or be sad about what your character has said. Instead try to leave it open and if they do get angry you can react to that in another post.

Five days is the recommended maximum. Don't be offended or surprised of you find your tags written around your character if you didn't get to them in a timely fashion. If this happens, still put in your tags, but leave no others on the old threads for anyone unless absolutely necessary. Although there is no penalization for missing the recommended limit, players who post more often are more likely to end up on the Player of the Month list.

If you'll be away we ask that you request a Leave of Absence (LOA). This allows everyone to know your character's status and if they should not be tagged while you're away.

Discovery uses two forms of Leave: LOA and ELOA. LOA is for players who will be away 6-30 days. ELOA (Extended-Leave of Absence) is for those needing to be away for more than 30 days. The difference between the two is that characters of those players on ELOA cannot be tagged. We ask that any player needing an LOA or ELOA submit the request using Discovery's Leave of Absence Process.

Sometimes people over anticipate out of zealousness, and if you end up feeling blocked, you have a few options:

1. Get creative and find a funny way to write in an unexpected response that is still true to your character. (Without changing another player’s writing.)

2. Backchannel the person let them know. Please "cc" the CO and XO on all these conversations. They may decide to handle the situation for you.

3. Contact the command team directly. We can work with all parties to get it resolved.

Standardization. All writers across Borderlands write in third person past tense. Anything that is to be tagged or responded to is written in the standard manner.

Example:

I went to the counter and told her to give me a muffin. NO

Lt. Torres approached the counter. “Muffin, please,” she said. YES

It is very important to read everyone’s posts. By reading all the posts you will know who is available for tags, what situations their character is in/has been through, and see all the tags that pertain to you.

We are collaborative artists. We are creating more than stories. Our writing is a form of art. Each of us writes a piece of the puzzle and our masterpiece comes together when we create something that touches our heart in the form of a story.

Just as we love it when people read our efforts, it's only polite to enjoy and return the favor.

Any questions, ask the command team.

All the information you will need is separated by hyphens.

Stardate ~ Location ~ Character ~ Title #Storyline

Example:

2421.12.20.02 ~ DSC ~ MacLaren ~ "Ring, Ring" #Welcome

Stardate:

Year. Month. Day.Post number

The date is always 400 years from today.

The post number indicates how many posts you as the writer wrote for the day. In this example '02' indicates that this is the second post sent by this player on this day.

Location:

Is a 3 or 4 letter code indicating the location of the character. DSC means the character is aboard the Discovery in this story.

Character:

The last name of the character you are writing for is used. If your character has the same last name as another, add the first initial of the first name. If you are writing for more than one character together, separate their names with a slash. (I.E. MacLaren/ D Grant)

Title:

The last section is the title, something creative and snazzy that reflects what is going on in the post.

Storyline:

Allows us to identify and collect posts that are in the same storyline. The Command Team will assign a #storyline title and any post that is related to that story will have the same identifier.

A sign-off or signature line is required at the end of a post. This consists of your character’s rank and name, what department or position they hold, then your ship.

Example:

Lieutenant Elsa Schneider

Intelligence Officer

USS Discovery

Certain ranks have a choice of signatures. For example, a CO has the honorary title of "Captain" even though he/she may hold a lower rank.

If you are writing for more than one character together, write out both sets of information in separate pods, separated by a "&."

Example:

Lieutenant Elsa Schneider

Intelligence Officer

USS Discovery

&

Willie Scott

Lounge Singer

USS Discovery

Joint-Posts (JPs) are post written outside of the game by more than one player. They are usually written in short additions to be combined and posted together into a single, longer post. This form of posting is often preferred by players who are familiar with a Forum or Messenger-type RPG. Because everyone writes in 3rd person past-tense, putting the posts together is usually just a matter of Copy/Pasting. The formatting for a JP is slightly different, however. The changes are outlined below:

Subject Lines: At first glance, these posts can appear identical to a single post utilizing more than one character of a single player. The only difference is the "JP" added to the last name section of the subject line.

Example:

2410.06.06.02 - DSC - JP Vonrose/Andreva - Combating Silence

Signing Off: Identical to signing off with more than one character of a single player. The information of both players is listed, separated by an &.

When replying to an existing thread, copy and paste the current content into a new post and then fill in the tags and expand. This procedure is the same either from your e-mail or the Google Groups page.

1. Open the email/post and read it.

2. Highlight and copy all of the content.

3. Open a word processor or a new e-mail and paste all of the content.

4. Fill in the tags and expand the post if needed/desired, making sure to bold the new material.

5. Spell check the post.

6. Update the subject line, heading, and signature.

7. Send.

Please send in a new email. By clicking 'reply' It may not format your response correctly.

You can email a post with the correct subject line to: ussdiscovery@googlegroups.com

The bold material represents only that which has been added since the previous post. This makes it easier to see just the new items instead of reading the entire post a number of times. When replying to your tags, unbold what the last person wrote and put your own additions in bold. Alternatively, some writers who have trouble with their email format may change the writing to a different color. The recommended solution for any format problems is to convert the email to Plain Text and then back to Rich Text (These are usually displayed as email options. See your email settings for more information about this process, or where to find the conversion buttons).

Please keep in mind: Lots of players wish to write their posts out in Microsoft Word and then copy/paste it into an email. This is not recommended, since Word's formatting is different than that of most email clients.

The =/\= symbol is made up of the equal sign and the forward and backward slashes in order to create the Voyager-era combadge. Whenever the computer is speaking, someone is speaking through the ship's internal communications system, or (appropriately enough) through a combadge, the symbol is used instead of quotation marks. This indicates that the character is not in the room and only his/her voice is being heard. The person for whom one is writing still uses standard quotes though.

An easy way to remember it is to think of your post as an episode on Star Trek. Every time your character is on camera and speaking, use quotation marks. Every time the person's voice returns to you through the speaker system, use =/\=.

Example:

Vareth tapped his combadge. "Kio to Counseling."

=/\= Decanteur here =/\=

"Is my 1 o'clock appointment there yet?"

=/\= No. But she should be in any moment =/\=

"Okay, thanks. Kio out."

Non Role Playing Game. This is usually a note that you might put into a post to indicate something is out of character. Use these sparingly on the main board.

There is an NPRG board, where writers can talk, make jokes, discuss plots, answer questions and make fun of the size of the CO’s feet. The email address is: uss_discovery-nrpg@yahoogroups.com If there is a thread that is just chat and not Discovery related, please put JFF in the subject line.

Non-Player Character. This is a character that is considered “filler” or a character created for a specific purpose, but is not a main Player Character. For example, Miles O’Brien started as a NPC on the Starship Enterprise, but his role on DS9 was a main character.

You may also think of a NPC as a Non-Primary Character.

Most NPCs are written by only by one person, but there are some that may be used by everyone so long as the general personality of the NPC is kept intact.

Once a player gets some time under their belt, they might be having so much fun they want to write for another character. A second character is considered an NPC. Second characters and NPCs must be approved though command prior to creation.

Player of the Month is a prestigious title given to a writer aboard Discovery who has distinguished themself by participating regularly and their quality of posts is unique and above par in some way. The Command Staff will select one or two writers each month to receive the award, after which the player(s) will be added to Discovery's Players of the Month list.