Another new year is upon us. For many, this holiday brings thoughts of resolutions . . . new beginnings, fresh starts, self-improvement, and advancement. We here at The OTF Tribune are no different. As part of our dedication to The Vision of the Future plan, we continue to strive towards higher goals and further endeavors. With this idea in mind, we bring you a "new and improved" Tribune -- more newspaper than newsletter; professional, yet still able to poke a little fun at our brethren and the world outside; more personal and all-encompassing. Here is how we intend to make these ideas happen.

THE NEWSPAPER
From its inception, The Tribune has been a place for the staff to share their knowledge of ST/SW through their area of expertise -- written communication. With some stumbling and faltering over the past year, my hope had been to lead us in the direction of more accurate and thought-provoking information. In some ways we were successful. This year we will continute to strive towards the idea of a more polished looking document, including more professional and mature writing. Our AE staff have been given more responsibility, and in effect, higher standards to reach in order to make this possible. Focus will be not only on content, but the "beautification" of the writing: editing, terminology, viable sources, and more.

PROFESSIONALISM
In the past our focus has been to entertain our readers. While allowing our personalities to "taint" our content is certainly no crime, it is time to alter our focal point. We must entertain WHILE informing. In attempting to do so, our Asst. Editors will be monitoring closely the content of their sections by keeping records of what has and hasn't been done before and monitoring the quality of the content presented. Gone will be the sections of pure editorial comment without substantial evidence which merely provokes emotion rather than logic. In its place we hope to provide thought-provoking, conversation-stimulating, and/or informative pieces which display each writer's personality while still maintaining a professional appearance to the outside world we are inviting into our community.

MORE PERSONAL
Each Asst. Editor will still provide his/her monthly contribution. However, they are encouraged to go out into the OTF community and seek out individuals, both in and out of departments, at all levels of the command heirarchy, to bulk up their sections. This will include, but not be exclusive to, features such as our Global Responses, Local Responses, Convention Diaries, reviews of exhibits and attractions, biographies, and more. We are debuting a Classifieds Section which will allow you, our reader, to surf want ads, resumes, and job opportunities within our community. Plus, our Amusements section will reopen in February and continue to provide you with editorials, Flash movies, puzzles, and more to keep you entertained.

What does the future hold here at the OTF Tribune? We hope to add more new faces to our population, both behind the editor desks and in the readership. We will be working diligently with Marketing in order to do this, using The Tribune as a tool to spur interest both inside and outside the chatroom. This Spring sometime we hope to expand into a new section, Community, where we will feature our residents and their accomplishments, both inside and outside the community. We hope that you will be here to share in our success and our growth.

Thank you for a wonderful year as the OTF Tribune Editor. And as always, keep your comments and suggestions coming in to sorshaco@outpost10f.com so we know how to serve you better.

Links

• A Convention Diary, Part I
• A New Dawn for a Pioneering 'Enterprise'

• OTF: The Future and Beyond
• A Word From Above
• Departmental Reports

• Bio-George Lucas
• Bio-Gene Roddenberry

• Submission Form