Logs & Joint Logs
If you've never simmed before, you may be asking yourself, "How do I interact with the others?" "How do I get started?"
A "log," or a "post" as it is sometimes referred to, is what you write. It is a synopsis of how your character reacted to events taking place while you are aboard the ship. In addition to reacting to main events, you can have your character interact with other crew members, explore the holodeck, relax in the lounge, etc.
Most people aboard the Zealous tend to write their logs in what is known as "Storytelling Mode." You often write more with this style, but it helps to create a better picture of the action that is going on within your log and can involve other characters. When it's done, it generally reads like a short story.
The other method of writing is "Narrative Mode," which is often more of a first person perspective. This can be used if a single post was a personal or ship log that your character created.
Aboard the Zealous, we do allow for
minor controlling of other characters, as long as it is within reason. More often than not, it is used when characters acknowledge an order that another character might have given, or to provide a simple, short answer to a question that your character asked.
Unless permission is expressly given, anything more than minor use of other characters can often upset other participants, and is highly frowned upon by the SLA.
Sometimes, you may see someone using the term "Off" or "OOC" at the end of a log. This is an indication that the actions of their character has concluded, and what follows are notes to the other participants.
If this is used at the beginning of a log, or in the middle of it, it's the equivelent to pausing a VCR. In most of those instances, "On" is used to signify that the viewpoint from the character is starting again.
Also, you may occasionally see the term "Tag" used at the end of a log. This is generally a way of alerting certain individuals that they need to respond, but it is not an exclusive list. Everyone can jump in! Occasionally, there may be an instance where someone may request that no other characters try to get involved, but those are very rare.
When you finish writing your log, it's best to try and give it an interesting title. A suggestion is to have it reflect the events that you responded to. A good title will entice others to read what you've written.
After this, you would need to e-mail your log to:
Zealous@slasims.com
This is a mailing list. All members of the crew are subscribed to it, and will receive your log. After you've sent it to the list, it becomes part of the archive, which you can view by going to:
http://slasims.com/mailman/listinfo/zealous_slasims.com
You are also welcome to post your logs on the Zealous forums as a way to showcase what you've done!
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Another version of a log is what is called a "joint log." It follows the same principles as listed above, but the only difference is that two or more people write the log together.
Such logs can be created via e-mail between yourself and another participant, but a faster way to construct one is via Instant Messaging (IMs).
Since this is an e-mail sim, it is not a requirement that you use an instant messaging program. However, if you are interested in acquiring one, I would highly recommend
Trillian, which is available at
www.download.com and
www.trillian.cc. It is a multi-platform IM program which is capable of running all of the major IM programs at the same time (Yahoo Messenger, AOL Instant Messenger, MSN Messenger, ICQ). Best of all, the basic version is highly functional and
FREE!