Administration
To run Spacesim, a basic command structure, or administration, has been developed. Although this structure has been changed as positions are added and taken away, it has retained a rough form. This form consists of three layers of administration.
Format as of 2020-2021
Pseudoparliamentary Reform for OCESS Hierarchy This format was instated in the spring of 2020 by Jamie Tait-Glossop. It is among the most radical hierarchy reforms proposed, and the first to be passed in almost a decade. It is notable for its removal of Director positions, as well as being the first format to incorporate Alumni.
Commanders
The Mission Commander and Education Commander roles from previous formats are retained, as are their respective Subcommanders (See 2011-2012: Deputy Commanders). Club management is distributed evenly between these four members, and while each Commander has a designated set of responsibilities, it is welcome and expected for all four to redistribute work amongst themselves as they see fit.
Parliament
The OCESS Parliament was created to replace the Directors of the 2011 format. Interested members and alumni will propose a position, or apply for an existing one, according to their own passion in the club. This forms a Parliament of flexible size. Influential decisions, such as Mission destination and name, Taskforce planning, and further proposals and reforms, will be decided by a Parliamentary vote. Discussions of important matters can be held online or in person, and can be initiated and participated in voluntarily by anyone who is interested. This change was implemented due to the lack of interested in Director positions in years leading up to the reform, as well as to try and define the previously uncertain responsibilities and powers of the Hierarchy. It is also hoped that it will allow for non-Hierarchy members to become more involved in the club without having to take the full responsibility of a Director position.
Archaic Formats
2011-2012
Commanders
The Executive Branch of the administration deals with running Spacesim. This is the Admiral, the Mission Commander, and the Education Commander. These people have sweeping powers over all aspects of Sim and are expected to manage it as a whole; they look after the budget, design projects, and prepare for the Mission while conducting EEPs and Planetariums. These two commanders check each others' power, differing only in job description, and when they need to break a tie they go to their Subcommanders.
Deputy Commanders
The Deputy Commanders, consisting of the Deputy Mission Commander and Deputy Education Commander are charged with managing more minute details of Spacesim. The Deputies should know everything about the job of their superiors, and in the event of illness should be able to fulfil the duties of the commander to whom they are subordinate. The Deputy Education Commander will be the main face of public relations sharing some of the workload with the club heads.
Directors
The Director of Web and Archives, Director of Resources, and the Director of Training are in charge of yet more specific details of Spacesim. No direct power lines exist between the director positions and the higher up positions, however, each director is still expected to take on commands given to them by their superior officers.
2010-11
Commanders
The Executive Branch of the administration deals with running Spacesim. This is the Admiral, the Mission Commander, and the Education Commander. These people have sweeping powers over all aspects of Sim and are expected to manage it as a whole; they look after the budget, design projects, and prepare for the Mission while conducting EEPs and Planetariums. These two commanders check each others' power, differing only in job description, and when they need to break a tie they go to their Subcommanders.
Subcommanders
The Subcommanders, consisting of the Deputy Mission Commander, Deputy Education Commander, and External Affairs Subcommander, are charged with managing more minute details of Spacesim. The Deputies should know everything about the job of their superiors, and in the event of illness should be able to fulfil the duties of the commander to whom they are subordinate. The External Affairs Subcommander, who is in charge of public relations, requests for funding, member drives, and school board liaison, should operate slightly more individually, but should ensure that all of their work is approved by both commanders.
Directors
The Director of Web and Archives and the Tech Director are in charge of yet more specific details of Spacesim. The Webmaster should report primarily to the External Affairs Subcommander and through that person to the Commanders, and the Tech Director should report to all of the ranks above. Note that these are mere guidelines; in practice members of any given role should report to every member with a higher rank than they, and no decisions should be made without a commander's approval.
Subdirectors
Subdirector positions should be given to junior members, perhaps even on a rotating basis. These consist of Quartermaster, Officemaster, and Wikimaster. The Wikimaster should report directly to the Webmaster.
Pre-2010-11
Any holder of one of the following positions is considered an Executive within Spacesim:
Executive Branch
The Executive Branch of the administration deals with running Spacesim as a whole. This group of people consists of the Admiral, the Mission Commander, the Education Commander, and the Sub-Commander. A new commander position was created for 2009-10: the Engineering Commander. These people have sweeping powers over all aspects of Sim and are expected to manage it as a whole; they look after the budget, design projects, and prepare for the Mission and EEPs.
Sub-Commanders
The Sub-Commanders are considered one under the executive branch. Their job is to cover the specific branches of Spacesim. These include the Planetarium Commander, who is the second-in-command under the Education Commander and who is responsible for the educational branch of Sim, the currently defunct PR Director, who is in charge of public relations for Spacesim, and the Webmaster, who is in charge of the Website, the forums and the Wiki (this website).
Directors
The Directors are one step lower than sub-commanders on the hierarchy. They include the Quartermaster and the Wikimaster, though on the forums the webmaster is included in directors instead of subcommanders. The directors are in charge of specialized areas of Sim, and are therefore not as important to the club at large. Where the Admiral has limitless power and the Commanders have near-limitless power, the Sub-Commanders can only govern within strict limits and the Directors have almost no real power.
Pre-2007-08
The system used until 2007-08 had two Mission Commanders, two EEPs Commanders, and two Planetarium Commanders. The holders of these ranks presided over the directors.
See also
