Lately, I haven't been very happy with a lot of things. It's all come to a peak with that April Fool's Day post I made. While it's an idea I've had for a long time, the actual content and execution was a spur of the moment decision. That was wrong of me and against a principle I've tried to stand by of never doing something as a snap judgement or in the heat of the moment. The comments made towards certain parts of the EH were included to enhance the realism of post. I'm sure everyone is aware of what was true or false in it.

The resulting fallout from the post was interesting and disappointing, in the reactions of rank and file alike. I've thought long and hard about my place in the EH. At first, my reaction was just to pull away, just do newsletters and let everyone do whatever the hell they like, redirect complaints to Ronin. This was manifested in my removal of the two executive orders a few days ago. However, that's not fair. It's not fair on the Fleet Commander to have that extra burden and it's not fair to expose the membership of the EH to unrestricted and unreviewed decisions by those in command. A lot of times I've sat and thought "If only I could do something about that guy" and not been in a position to do anything about it. I've had to sit by and watch subgroups and command offices be run into the ground. I've watched subgroup commanders drive away talented members and replace them with their own lackies. Now that I'm in a position to stop that sort of thing, it's not fair on anyone in the EH if I try to avoid those responsibilities.

In respect to Executive Orders 7 and 8, those are reinstated and will be enforced to the letter. The core idea behind those orders was quality control - to ensure only worthy medal recommendations, promotion recommendations and Command Attache appointees would be allowed through. Anyone who can appreciate what these orders are trying to achieve will have no problem following them. Only by insisting on higher quality from ourselves can the EH become better. I also direct your attention towards the EH Bylaws, specifically Bylaw VII. This is the one that relates to approval being required for changes in subgroups. In the past, some have decided to just go ahead and implement things. Their attitude clearly is the same of those who decide to go around Executive Orders 7 & 8. The intent of that Bylaw is the same of those Executive Orders - to ensure quality is maintained. By having those ideas reviewed, potential problems can be sorted out and tweaks/improvements applied. Many of the worst decisions in the EH were made and passed without this sort of vetting. Those who actually do want the EH to become better will have no issues with having to wait a few days for approval. The EH isn't a race.

Several positions have been vacated recently and have now been filled. This explains why several new people are on the mailing list for this report and why they're probably wonderng why they're getting an XO report. The appointments are as follows:

* HRO Zem (gerb@optonline.net) appointed to Chief Game Master (CGM) of the Fringe
* DGMF Nightflyer (nightflyer@shaw.ca) appointed to Grand Moff (GMF) of the Directorate
* FA AbsoluteK (io@absolutek.ca) appointed to Communications Officer (COMM)
* VA Zoltar (GNZoltar@aol.com) appointed to Security Officer (SO)

Over the next few weeks, I hope to start work on the following projects:

* Enemies of the EH site - A site of official enemies for use in EH competitions
* Porting of the TC codebase for DB use - Any other subgroups interested in this sort of thing can contact me
* Ladder system - A automated ladder system integrated into the TIE Corps roster
* Newsletters

That's about it.

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SA Astatine - XO
e-mail: jpboyce@indigo.net.au