Word on the Street: Jay Truce

By FSF BK

Welcome to the segment of the newsletter called “Word on the street,” where we ask hosts and members about some of their simming experiences and interesting things about them that people may not know.

For the inaugural interview we are pleased to have Jay Truce, FSF’s Executive Officer. 

BK: I’m going to be asking you five questions to give our readers some insight into who you are as a simmer and a person. I’d like to begin by asking you about your first simming experience. What was the first sim you played on and when did you start simming?

Truce: You’re really making me dig deep into the recesses of my memory, and age myself at the same time. My first experience with simming was around 1991. I was on a little Gateway Notebook 386, using an AOL 1.0 Floppy disc and I think a Zoom modem. Might have been one of the newer models, you know the ones that ran at a blazing 7200 BPS. I’d heard that there was this whole big online community for Star Trek enthusiasts (re: Geeks), so when I signed onto AOL one day I went to the Keyword window and typed Star Trek. A box opened up and it was an ad for Starfleet Online (later SpaceFleet Online). I am not sure but I think there was a link to the Starfleet Academy chat room. followed it and met a few people, went back a few times and then saw my first Academy Sim. After observing a couple times, I tried one. I’ve been hooked ever since. 

BK: Good memory recall there. 

Truce: Not really, I borrowed cue cards from Cassie. 

BK: When did you get involved in FSF and how did you get involved? 

Truce: I’d heard of FSF during the 90s, while I was an active member of Spacefleet Online. What I had heard was never good, as there were tensions between the groups and every so often there would be “raiding parties”. A group of stupid kids would come into our chat rooms and disrupt our games. So I was not a fan of FSF. In 2000 I was on a sim in the group AQS (Alpha Quadrant Simulations). That sim was the AQS Fire. That is where I met Duke, Perez, Zeven and Wolf. The core of people who created the Stargazer and later the Akira. The Akira was a new sim in the AQS when we were informed that the group was merging into FSF. I was against the move and offered my resignation. Perez and Duke worked me over for a few days and convinced me to just come along for the sake of the sim. I told them fine, but under no circumstances would I ever be more than a player on the USS Akira. I wouldn’t join any other FSF games, and I sure as hell would never become an FSF Host. At that time I was Hosting the Stargazer and also was a Host in SpaceFleet Online, the AOL sponsored group. 

BK: So when FSF group formed back in 93’ you were aware of it only as a group of disruptive simmers, very interesting. 

Truce: Actually, I was not aware of it at all, until the late 90s.

BK: Now here is a question you might not get a lot. What would be one piece of advice you’d have to share with new simmers who might be reading this?

Truce: Join the USS Stargazer! Or do you mean besides that? 

BK: Yeah…not sure this section of the newsletter is intended for shameless plugs.

Truce: I would advise any new player to just come in with no expectations. Don’t think about rank, position or Hosting. Just concentrate on having fun and learning how to play well within the group of players on your game. Have fun, and be a good team player. The rest will take care of itself. Oh…and listen to your Hosts! 

BK: If you had to choose one aspect about the FSF that you really liked, what would it be? 

Truce: The USS Stargazer! The people. Over the last ten years in FSF I have (virtually) met literally hundreds of people. I have made many great friends over the years, some of whom I have had the pleasure of meeting. I really can’t emphasize enough how many great people we have here in FSF, and that is why we are the premiere group in existence. 

BK: Final question for you, something that I am sure our readers would be dying to know more than anything. If you were stranded on a desert island with Shuni what would you do? 

Truce: Hope that he went well with a nice Chianti? 

BK: Terrific answer! 

Truce: But before I ate him, we would talk about…THE USS Stargazer! 

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Check out this column every month for interviews with more of our exciting hosts and members! 

The USS Stargazer! www.ussstargazer.com Sims every Monday night at 10pm EST on AIM.

FSF BK is the GM1 of the USS Independence and SB35. He is also FXO of Alpha Fleet.