Acting Head of Staff Captainship Dilemna

[TullyBBurnalot]

What it says on the tin. Came out of a discussion on Discord, wanted to see the opinion of everyone on it.

[Coldflame]

I see no real reason why not. Competency should be assumed.

[jedr]

 

8 answers and 2 comment, gg

 

But as cold said, you take the job, you take the responsibilty.

 

[Doukan]

 

I always saw the acting heads as nothing more than placeholders.

Seems a bit weird for it to be theoretically possible for some random civvie to shoot to the top, social mobility is so 24th century.

 

[Keroman]

I'd say that acting department heads only take precedence once the official chain of command has run it's course. If there are no actual non-acting heads, no NT Rep, BS, or Magistrate to take the acting-Captaincy, then go for it.

[Munks]

 

At the very least it should follow Keroman's suggestion

 

But no, I don't see how anyone who is just in the position on a temporary filler basis until a real one is sent should be in the line of succession for taking command of the entire ship.

 

[Streaky Haddock]

I'm of the opinion that traitors should use be able to use social engineering and clamber the social ladder to get things done. So yeah, acting heads should be able to become captain.

[Regen]

 

Yes, but they should be at the bottom of the priority list.

 

First on the list is always HoP, after that it's a vote

 

[necaladun]

 

Yes, but they should be at the bottom of the priority list.

 

First on the list is always HoP, after that it's a vote

 

Pretty much this. And people should constantly call them acting-acting Captain.

 

[FreeStylaLT]

 

I'm of the opinion that traitors should use be able to use social engineering and clamber the social ladder to get things done. So yeah, acting heads should be able to become captain.

Basically this, though as Regen and Neca said - lowest possible priority.

 

[BiberDark]

Problem with the Acting Captain stuff is the Acting. In the Crewlists they are not listed under command.

[TullyBBurnalot]

 

This is not covered in Chain of Command, which is entirely my fault. The majority consensus of a previous discussion held between the Staff Members, and with the community, was that Acting Heads of Staff were not eligible for Captainship, unless there were no other legitimate Heads of Staff available.

 

I would endorse this position for practical reasons, since someone joining as a Non-Command job probably does not want to suddenly be turned into a Captain, nor will they, in all likelihood, have the skillset/mindset required.

 

[Kyet]

 

Yes.

 

Reasons:

- What if there are no living, full heads? Only acting Heads? And the Captain dies? Without a "yes" here, there can be no Captain.

- What if the acting head is the only head that *wants* the position, or is realistically able to take it (other heads are busy?)

- We really should allow for people to become Captain legitimately, otherwise it gives RPers less to aim for, and antags just another reason to kill the Captain for their things because they can't get legitimately promoted to that position.

 

I'm not sure if the questions about actual heads outranking acting heads is sensible or not.

As far as I am concerned, an "acting head" IS a full head until their replacement arrives. They get the same access, they have the same authority.

The "acting" doesn't mean "has less authority than normal", it means "on a temporary basis until a replacement arrives".

It is for this reason that I'm against the use of "Acting X" titles (just give them "X"), and in general, against distinguishing between acting heads and full heads in terms of policy.

 

[SomeGuy9283]

If all heads are dead at this point, shouldn't CC VIPs be considered for captainship, or, if there is still an active threat, the ERT commander?

[alexpkeaton]

 

It worked for Gerald Ford (became Vice President and then President of the United States, never having been elected to either office), so why not in 2d spessmen?

 

Seriously though, I think acting heads should have the same eligibility as other heads for (acting) Captain. First of all, I think doing so would be an important step in reinforcing the legitimacy of those acting head positions to begin with. Like an acting CMO telling the geneticist to not give out major powers and the geneticist saying "screw off, you're not the -real- CMO." If an acting head cannot become Captain, you are in a way legitimizing the view that acting heads don't have the same authority as CC-issued heads. Some will disagree with me, but I think acting heads should be given their due here.

 

I think there should be a distinction made, though, in who qualiifes as an acting head for the purpose of acting Captaincy, with the Warden position in particular. I think in order to qualify for Acting Captain, at the time the Captaincy is recognized to be vacant, the candidate must have an ID that reads "[Head]" or ["Acting Head"], otherwise, they will be ineligible for Captaincy for the duration of the succeeding Acting Captain's tenure. This means that either the Captain or HoP have decided that the head position in question has been vacant long enough for there to warrant an official change-of-status. I say this because of the SoP provision that advances the HoS to the Captaincy over the HoP in times of crisis. I am not a fan of this loophole, as it can muddy the chain of command as to what constitutes a "crisis". But I can definitely see a situation in semi-low-pop where no Captain or HoS reports at 12:00 and nuke ops declare war. Both the HoP and Warden have credible claims to the Captaincy in that case. And the last thing we need is the Warden mounting a sec mutiny to enforce their claim "for the good of the station". Make it cut and dry: no ID change, no claim.

 

Second, while I am not typically for giving antags more power, I wholehearedly agree with the notion that the intrigue of a traitor advancing to the Captaincy through these means is compelling. Or a civilian, for that matter. I think for the value of the RP necessary to achieve this, we should allow acting heads to advance to Captain. Rounds that result in this happening would become memorable, and not just for the traitor Captain. We want to encourage RP fun, especially when it comes from an antag, because some antags straight powergame the role, and don't even consider dialogue as a valuable possibility for achieving their greentext. Sure, some murder and luck would likely be involved for a traitor acting head to become acting Captain, but to become an acting head, you are going to need to talk to someone beforehand, and probably prove that you're the right person for the job. That's going to involve some RP, and I think it's about time RP gets its due here, for once.

 

[NethIafin]

 

NO

 

Spess Staishun can live without Captain, but it will be a disaster if incompetent (or traitorous) person becomes captain.

 

[sdtwbaj]

 

It worked for Gerald Ford (became Vice President and then President of the United States, never having been elected to either office), so why not in 2d spessmen?

 

Seriously though, I think acting heads should have the same eligibility as other heads for (acting) Captain. First of all, I think doing so would be an important step in reinforcing the legitimacy of those acting head positions to begin with. Like an acting CMO telling the geneticist to not give out major powers and the geneticist saying "screw off, you're not the -real- CMO." If an acting head cannot become Captain, you are in a way legitimizing the view that acting heads don't have the same authority as CC-issued heads. Some will disagree with me, but I think acting heads should be given their due here.

 

I think there should be a distinction made, though, in who qualiifes as an acting head for the purpose of acting Captaincy, with the Warden position in particular. I think in order to qualify for Acting Captain, at the time the Captaincy is recognized to be vacant, the candidate must have an ID that reads "[Head]" or ["Acting Head"], otherwise, they will be ineligible for Captaincy for the duration of the succeeding Acting Captain's tenure. This means that either the Captain or HoP have decided that the head position in question has been vacant long enough for there to warrant an official change-of-status. I say this because of the SoP provision that advances the HoS to the Captaincy over the HoP in times of crisis. I am not a fan of this loophole, as it can muddy the chain of command as to what constitutes a "crisis". But I can definitely see a situation in semi-low-pop where no Captain or HoS reports at 12:00 and nuke ops declare war. Both the HoP and Warden have credible claims to the Captaincy in that case. And the last thing we need is the Warden mounting a sec mutiny to enforce their claim "for the good of the station". Make it cut and dry: no ID change, no claim.

 

Second, while I am not typically for giving antags more power, I wholehearedly agree with the notion that the intrigue of a traitor advancing to the Captaincy through these means is compelling. Or a civilian, for that matter. I think for the value of the RP necessary to achieve this, we should allow acting heads to advance to Captain. Rounds that result in this happening would become memorable, and not just for the traitor Captain. We want to encourage RP fun, especially when it comes from an antag, because some antags straight powergame the role, and don't even consider dialogue as a valuable possibility for achieving their greentext. Sure, some murder and luck would likely be involved for a traitor acting head to become acting Captain, but to become an acting head, you are going to need to talk to someone beforehand, and probably prove that you're the right person for the job. That's going to involve some RP, and I think it's about time RP gets its due here, for once.

 

In terms of insolent staff, anyone in a remotely sensitive position like chemist, genetics, Viro etc. should be demoted the second they show any insolence, those roles have the ability to fuck shit up.

 

I like the rest of this though. Encourage dat socialRP.