The George W. Bush is a play by e-mail sim. The way that you contribute to the action and plot lines is by writing posts. These are distributed to other simmers by the Yahoo Group’s mailing list, which you are added to upon joining the sim. New to simming? And don’t know how to post? Just read on....

The Independence Fleet uses two types of posting styles. The George W. Bush is a combination of both “Novel” style and the “Script” style. An author can choose which one he wants for his particular post, or even merge the two together.

-The Subject-
The subject title of your post is significant, since not all posts contribute to the story line. If you are just sending a message to the group like a question you might have, or saying that you’ll be out of town for a week, or whatever—just title your e-mail whatever you want and you send it to a different e-mail list (gwbooc@yahoogroups.com). However, if you are sending a post there is a certain way to title your e-mail to help with book keeping and keep the events in order for other simmers. You will send the post to: USSGeoWBush@yahoogroups.com
Below is an example of a correct subject header:

As you can see we number all the posts. The number started at 1 and each following post adds 1 to the number of the previous post each time. This makes it easier to follow the action and outline the sequence of events. The next thing in your title is the mission title. In this case it is “Unexplored Frontiers.” There are situations when the Bush is between missions in which case you title it “CD,” which stands for ‘Character Development.’ The last piece of information to include is your character's name, in this example “Pontmercy”. This lets everyone know immediately whom it is from and makes finding past posts easier.

-Novel Style-
You start your post with an “Off” section. This is where you can write about stuff not pertaining to the story line. Such as....

Off: Did any of you see the new StarTrek episode yesterday? By the way, I loved your last post, Pontmercy! And since I have some time on my hands I think I’ll post.

You can write whatever you want in the “Off” section, its there as a sort of mini message board.
The next section, if you haven’t guessed already—is the “On” section. It is here that your story line is written. Below is an example of a section of a post.

Off: The sky is blue

On:
It was during the early morning shift when Ryan Dunmore did a scan of the area, to make sure no aliens were nearby.

Dunmore: ”All scans are inconclusive, sir”

The Commander turns in his seat to face Dunmore. ”I’ll contact the Captain”

Novel Style is written in third person. Setting and actions are expressed in paragraph/sentence form. It is helpful to do a paragraph break when there is dialogue, for easier reading.

-Script Style-
Script style uses sets of symbols. Here is a helpful chart to help you remember them:
{Location}

::action::

(Thoughts)

"Speech"

=/\=Communicator=/\=

_emphasis_

Usually the symbols for emphasis and Communicator are also used in the Novel style. Below is an example of how it would look all together—

Off: The sky is blue

On:
{Bridge}

Dunmore: ”All scans are inconclusive, sir”

Marko::turning around in his seat:: ”I’ll contact the Captain”

::activates his communicator:: =/\=Marko to Pontmercy=/\=

=/\=Captain here=/\=

Marko:=/\= Scans are not detecting any form of alien presence=/\=

=/\=Very well, but _keep_ a look out for them, Pontmercy out=/\=

-Ending a Post-
After the “On” section comes another “Off” section to end your post it is here that you sign your name, and leave any last thoughts.

Off: The Sky is blue

On:
--actual post goes here—

Off:
That leaves some room for some CD!

Lt.(kg) Keena
Chief Medical Officer
USS George W. Bush

As you can see you sign post like:
Rank – Name
Position
Ship's Name
You can abbreviate your rank, like Ens. Instead of Ensign or Lt. Instead of Lieutenant, as well as your position—for instance Chief Medical Officer is abbreviated CMO Full List of Abbreviations The abbreviation for the George W. Bush is GWB. Other Abbreviations Used
All posts must be at least 150 words to count as a post