OEB Simmer Guide/Mentoring

			OEB Simmer Guide

OEB Simmer Guide Introduction I: Basics 1: Expectations 2: The Lists 3: Formatting Your Sims II: OEB 101 4: The Setting 5: The Ship 6: The Crew III: Operating Procedures 7: Staff 8: Missions and Shoreleave 9: Mission Proposals IV: Beyond the Basics 10: Promotions 11: OOC Activities 12: Mentoring » Octavia E Butler Wiki Page Edit this nav Overview Our mentor pool is formed of ship staff members that hold the rank of Lieutenant or higher and demonstrate strong simming skills on a regular basis (3 times a week) and is among the first steps for simmers who want to move into a leadership position within the fleet. As every new ensign can attest, a great mentor can help steward newer members through their more challenging moments, such as not knowing how to advance the plot, or feeling overwhelmed. Each simmer is different; some will come to the ship and need very little direction, while others may need some intensive one on one help.  Mentors play a large part in whether they stay with the ship, and the fleet! If you’re ranked lieutenant or above and you’re interested in mentoring, but you’re not yet a staff member, let the command know that you’re interested so that you can discuss options. Expectations Expand Mentors work with simmers ranked as Ensigns or Lieutenants, Junior Grade Once granted access, you can access sample mentoring emails, but you should see these as a starting point Mentoring is done primarily via Direct Out of Character (DOOC) emails with the staff list bcc’d. This ensures there is traceability, visibility and accountability across the staff. Mentoring conversations that occur on Discord should be an exception and a screenshot of the conversation should be sent to the staff list Mentors are expected to celebrate successes and work on the 1 to 2 opportunities at a time (not a laundry list, which can feel discouraging); use recent sims to provide concrete examples Discussions that are sensitive, such as those regarding other staff members or that are extremely personal, should be referred directly to the command team (CO, XO, and 2O; do not bcc the staff list). If a mentor is unable to continue mentoring or if personalities aren’t meshing, that’s ok! Make sure to inform the command team so that the mentee is paired with someone that can actively support them; we’d rather avoid issues and keep them part of the fleet. OOC abuse is never acceptable. Threats and abusive conversations should be immediately forwarded to the command team. Stay calm, professional, remove yourself from the situation and let them handle it. The First 8 Weeks Expand This is the ‘breaking-in period’ for folks new to the USS Octavia E. Butler. This is when the adrenaline and excitement is at the highest and we want to build on that energy. Conversely, this is also the moment in time that they can feel overwhelmed (particularly on busy ships). Perhaps more than any other point in time, this is the most critical for the retention of new members. During this stage, you are expected to check in about once per week. If a member is not responding or applying feedback, contact the command staff for further direction. Week 1: Expand Provide the current in-progress summary for the current mission or shore leave. Encourage the writer to reference the crew and NPC roster when reading sims to orient them to who’s on board; let them know they don’t yet need to review the whole wiki. If they join during a: Mission: New writers will typically be added to the same scene as their mentor and you (or the other scene participants) can leave fresh tags for them. Shore leave: It’s recommended that you start a new scene or add tags to your existing scene that include the mentee. Provide exciting and encouraging feedback after their first post! If you’ve not seen a post from them in 72 hours after joining the ship, reach out and ask if they have any questions. Week 2: Expand Put a face to the name (Graphics Request Process; if not yet done) Refresh yourself and and encourage the mentee to review the following: OEB Simmer Guide/Expectations OEB Simmer Guide/The Lists OEB Simmer Guide/Formatting Your Sims Provide feedback on formatting and either recognize or encourage how the mentee is moving the plot forward. Weeks 3+: Expand As the mentor: re-read Training Tutorials 1-7 to re-familiarize yourself on the best practices recently established during your mentee's academy run. Limit constructive feedback to 1 or 2 areas per email; prioritized in this order (highest to lowest): Simming rates Adding appropriate responses to open tags Leaving at least 3 sets of new tags for scene partners Formatting (action tags, locations, comms, thoughts, telepathy, signature, etc). As a reminder, bolding speech tags is optional. Tensing (past tense for narration, present tense for speech) Plot advancement Make sure that you provide balanced feedback; start by recognizing the progress they’ve made since you last provided feedback (celebrating any wins), followed by the prioritized area of opportunity, and then end on a positive note. Once your mentee is doing the above on a consistent basis, you can move to the next section and scale back your check-ins to a bi-weekly basis. Beyond the Basics as an Ensign Expand Now that your mentee has found their space legs, send official mentoring emails twice a month. Below are suggested topics for you to cover with your mentee: Getting to know the campaign region (Kissoben Reach) Using narration to set the stage and provide character insights When to show, and when to tell. Simming on the list versus joint posts (best practices for each and how to choose) Bringing your duty post to life! (including the Discord outposts) Fleshing out your bio (refer to Featured Bio Contest) Starting a scene Help the mentee to set IC & OOC goals Introductions to the Ensigns Orientation, Taskforces and Member Resources Your mentee may want to sim an PNPC; however, we recommend that they wait until they reach the rank of LT JG so that they can spend enough time fleshing out their chosen character. If they are a particularly strong writer, a MSNPC may be suitable at this stage. Your Mentee's Rocking the Hollow Pip Now (LTJG) Expand Your mentee has now completed at least one full mission and a shore leave. At this point, you can move your check-ins to about once per month, or whatever pace that best for both of you. You will continue going through the aforementioned topics but your role will now flip from director, prompting them to perform certain actions or demonstrate certain skills, to an enabler. In your first check-in with them following their promotion, send the Pursuing a promotion to Lieutenant questions from the OEB Rank Questionnaires, and then assist where needed to help make it a reality: You’ll be helping them to get a head startas they’ll be asked these questions again close when being considered for promotion. You may notice the answers have shifted with more time and experience. After a couple more missions under their belt, provided they are simming to a sufficient level of quality and quantity, they will progress to Lieutenant at the discretion of the commanding officer. Your Mentee's Now an LT Thanks to the hard work you and the mentee have invested, that second pip is now pure gold! Congratulations! At this point, for the OEB mentoring program, the formal mentor/mentee relationship has ended but many mentees remain in contact with their mentor, often working together on future projects or plot lines. Don’t be surprised if they reach out to you from time to time!

			REV SD 240203.01