The basic requirement for anyone wishing to participate in an e-mail sim is the character. A character is simply a real person recorded as facts in a character biography.

Your character that you'll use can be almost anyone, anything, with any special talents or capabilities, or ANYTHING you can think of - as long as your CO approves it.

In this section we'll help you write a basic character biography containing a name, age, gender, species, as well as a partial character history. This bio can be used simply as a practice, or if you wish, can be used as part of your application to a sim.

Keep in mind this is only a basic biography; it does not cover every piece of information a CO might ask for in an application and this is only a SUGGESTED outline.
 

The easiest way to pick a name is by picking up a phone book and flipping to random pages, or perhaps you have a name that you wish you had been given when you were born. Maybe you want to use a friend's name. Irregardless of how you choose it, you must keep it for the entire time you use that character.

AGE:
Assuming that the schools and higher educational facilities run on the same principles in the future as they do now, your character will be approximately 18 - 20 Terran years old upon entering the academy, and anywhere from 22 to 25 years old when they leave. (Possibly as low as 20 if you are a non-commissioned officer).

GENDER:
It may sound weird, but you do have a choice here. It is relatively easy to simulate one's own gender, but e-mail simming isn't for skipping the challenges. Many of our simmers have both male and female characters, and I think that by simming the opposite gender of what you are gives a chance to see a unique view of what the other gender goes through.

SPECIES:
Possibly the hardest choice in your bio; right after your name. Your species will affect your behaviour, social skills, physique, mental skills, name, gender, and your history.

Perhaps the easiest way out is to be a human; however I find many people attempt to portray the other "more popular" enemies/allies, such as Betazoids, Klingons, Romulans, and yes, we've even had people try to sign up as Borg.

TIP! The easiest and best way to pick a species is to review the sim's crew roster and see what the current balance is. If there's a shortage of humans, then try being a human. If there's no Betazoids on board, perhaps you might consider that. This will increase your chances of being accepted by the COs.

Beware the "privileged" species - those species that have special talents, such as the Klingon "knack" for fighting, the Betazoid mind-reading, the Vulcan intelligence and mind meld. Over-use of these powers can severely hamper your ability to enjoy the Sim. Often it is more preferred to be a human and have to deal with the lack of those skills than to be one with them.

Also avoid those species who you KNOW aren't in Starfleet in the numbers. In the current DS9/TNG/Voyager timeline, only 2 Klingons serve in Starfleet - Worf and Torres. We also know that no Borg have ever voluntarily served in Starfleet, that Romulans are even more rare, and that there is only one race of changelings in the universe and they are bent on destroying the Federation. Any Q are ESPECIALLY included in this list of no-nos... "It's hard to work in a group when you're omnipotent." Even if your proposal on how such a character would end up on the ship is unique, expect to have it turned down.

HISTORY (sometimes called Background):
You'll need to provide some history on your character. Basically any events from this character's past are fine here, ranging from a list of extracurricular activities in your past, romances, and yes, even parents.

Your history also preferably should not be just one line describing:

COs simply won't accept these "open-ended histories" because they need to know exactly who they are signing up into the sim. Our COs for the most part have a plan of where they'd like the sim to go, and having a character suddenly pop up and say "Hey, look at me, I can adjust the flow of time", or "Wow, look, I can snap my fingers and do anything" can SEVERELY interrupt not just the plot, but the sim itself.

PERSONALITY PROFILE:
This is where you describe how your character reacts to situations; how he or she operates under stress, what they think about various facets of their life, etc, etc.  This can be as extensive, or as simple as you like.  You should, however, attempt to include as much as you can in this section in order to help your fellow players understand the motives behind your character's actions and decisions.

PHYSICAL PROFILE:
This is pretty self explanatory.  The physical profile is, as it says, a physical description of your character.  You can include height, weight, eye and hair colour, notable marks and scars, the style in which they dress (if they're out of uniform or non-Starfleet personnel).

    Creating a biography can be on of the hardest requirements of simming, following closely the accepted practice of novelists in drafting out their characters before they write the novel.

    Writing a bio that is one-notch above the standards helps improve your chances of being accepted to the sim of your choice and gives you more of a base to build your character off of.
 

    You MUST be careful with enhancements, as they can quickly over-enhance your character. Try to leave some room to develop your character in the sim.

    It also helps to add to your biography as you progress in the sim; add significant events, occurrences, promotions, and experiences that affect your character and his/ her actions.

    The only other way to enhance your character is in the sim itself, by relating or reminiscing on past events, reading a journal, comparing current events with what he or she has been privileged to in the past.

    Your bio is effectively never done if you want to have an excellent character.