Now, everybody’s human... or... at least fallible beings, so mistakes will be made, but effort should be made to check Energy Allocations and SOPs for errors prior to running the turn. Some will inevitably slip by, but the moderator should try to minimize these, where possible. It should be noted, however, that it is the PLAYERS’ responsibility if they make an error and the moderator doesn’t catch it in time.

It is possible to moderate a game without having played it, but this is not advised. If the moderator has to "learn" the game while moderating, there will be no one to catch their mistakes, which could cause some serious problems during game play. If all else fails, and a moderator with experience cannot be found, then the inexperienced volunteer may be able moderate the game, as long as everyone realizes that this is their first time. (Players should take extra care when submitting Energy Allocations and SOPs in this event.)

This is not meant to sound draconian. It is simply a courtesy to the players that you, as a moderator, don’t waste their time by delaying the game unnecessarily, causing them to log on time and again in a futile attempt to retrieve their Sitreps. If you can only log on once a week, then make sure that the players knows this, and ASK them if this is acceptable.

You are responsible for the game flow, so you must be willing to spend the necessary time to ensure that the game flows smoothly.

It is your duty as the moderator to see that these limits are held to as often as possible. If for some reason they cannot be adhered to, you must let all the players know about the delay, and when they should expect to be able to download the next Sitrep.

It is expected that should the players require extra time, or an extension, they will inform you of this fact in advance. If they fail to inform you of a foreseeable delay, then they will be considered delinquent.

By "foreseeable delay", we mean vacations, upcoming heavy work loads, moving, etc. A computer crash would be a valid excuse for not informing the moderator of a delay, as the player has no available means of doing so.

• Energy Allocation: 3 days
• Initial SOP: 3 days
• Normal SOPs: 2 days
• SITREPs: 2 days

This means that, from the time you are informed that such information is due, you have the stated amount of time to send your reply to the moderator. For moderators, there is a two-day delay for getting out a new SOP once you have all the information from all players.

Note that any players that cannot access the Internet (or their E-Mail) MUST inform the moderator of such limitations. If you access your E-Mail from work, and don’t log on during weekends, then this information must be shared with your moderator, so that your time limits can be extended if they fall on a weekend.

When assigning the random Damage Allocation Chart hit, treat all late penalties assigned in a row as ONE VOLLEY. If the Player submits SOP's, and is then assessed late penalties in the future for a different occurrence, then that would be a new volley.

This cycle continues until the player responds, or it becomes apparent that the player will not respond.

There may be, unfortunately, people who will try to abuse the system. If a player is consistently late, the moderator may (at his discretion) assign late points without give the 24 hour warning. This should only be done in extreme cases [i.e., the player is late every time (s)he is required to send in something because (s)he is using the 24 hour warning as an extra day].

Once the Sitrep is put together, check it over one more time to make sure the YOU didn’t make any mistakes.

If the Sitrep gets run, and a mistake is discovered later, it is difficult to simply "back up" the game to where the mistake was made, as vital information has already been given to the opponent about what a player’s intended actions will be.

Note, however, that if a player makes an error on their SOP or Energy Allocation that the moderator doesn’t catch, then it is the PLAYER’S responsibility for that error, and that player must live with any consequences. (Just as if they had made the mistake while playing face-to-face, without the benefit of a moderator.) Still, the moderator should take care to provide as much error checking as possible.

For example; Player A submits an SOP that says (s)he wants to fire a phaser at a drone on Impulse #1 and that same SOP has that phaser used for defensive fire on Impulse #4. As an impartial Moderator, you ARE NOT to point out to that player that (s)he needs to fire a different phaser during defensive fire and let them resubmit a new SOP launching the fighter earlier.

You would fire the phaser on Impulse #1, just as (s)he requested, but when Impulse #4 rolled around, you would notify them (privately) that the phaser didn’t fire because it had already fired that turn.

At that point, you have corrected the mistake in the SOP (by NOT firing the phaser when it was not eligible), but you have not assisted them by pointing out the misinterpretation of the rules until (s)he would normally have found it out (by the opponent yelling; "HEY! YOU CAN'T DO THAT!").

Obviously, Energy Allocation is a different matter, and Federation Commander PBEM players have the advantage of a Moderator to inform them of incorrect Energy Allocation. While Energy Allocation in Face-to-Face games would only be checked after the game was over, the moderator cannot allow an improper Energy Allocation to be accepted at all, because if (s)he did, the game would be pointless. (The moderator would know who won because one of the players had an illegal Energy Allocation on Turn #1.) If you have ANY questions about this aspect of moderating, contact the PBEM Coordinator.

Also, remember that player errors are the PLAYER'S responsibility. Do everything you can to catch them and prevent them. But if any slip by, it is the PLAYER who made the error, and who must accept the responsibility for it, NOT the moderator who missed the error. (Now MODERATOR errors are another matter.)

Note that these are GUIDELINES ONLY. If a player does not specify any SW movement orders, and the moderator does not move the SW according to these voluntary guidelines, then the player has NO recourse. (Players should specify SW movement if they wish to control their own SW's.)

• RACE: A one letter race designator will be used to minimize clutter on the Sitrep. Simply use the first letter of that race’s name. (For Kzintis, use the letter Z) In the case of the same race battling each other, use a RACE letter/number designator. i.e., R1 would be Romulan ship 1. (Note that the Race designator can be omitted for those battles in which only one side could possibly have that type of unit.)
• TYPE: A one letter type designator should go here. Once again, use the first letter of the object for a type designation (i.e., S=Shuttle, D=Drone). Weapons not listed here that require different letters will simply use a suitable designating letter.
• ID: An ID number (for Drones and Shuttles) will be the last part of the SUD.

For Drones and Shuttles, simply use sequential numbers to ID them. (i.e., the 1st launched would be #1, the 2nd; #2, etc.)

Here are some examples:

• 1st 4 Kzinti Drones: ZD/1-4
• 5th Klingon Drone: KD/5
• 3rd Federation Shuttle: FS/3
• 2nd Federation Shuttle from 2nd Federation ship: F2S/2

The players’ SOPs should be kept until they are resolved. Being "resolved" means that the period covered by the SOPs has been run and posted, and the players have submitted new SOPs, without any complaints about the interpretations of their old SOPs. Of course, you could keep them longer, if you wished, but it is not required.