Guide:TF Lounge Activity

Lounge Engagement Guide for Task Force Staff

Fostering activity in the Lounge is one of your key responsibilities as a member of the Task Force Staff. Over time, this role has evolved — from simply starting conversations and sharing announcements to creating engaging, dynamic interactions among members.

This guide serves both as a conversation starter and a menu of proven engagement concepts that have been successful in various Task Forces. Some of these ideas might have been forgotten or are currently being used in lounges you cannot see — this document helps bring them all together.

General Dos and Donts

• Do use this as a starter for conversations, don't be afraid to spark a little debate.
• Do share plans in your staff room before you do them. Not only for proofing purposes but to ensure that everyone is on the same page about when, where and what activity pushes are taking place.
• Do try take inspiration from the goings on and events of the fleet. Perhaps with the launch of a new campaign or intel briefing your activities take on a different flavour for a few weeks. Inspiration is out there!
• Do ask for help. If you've got an idea for an activity that might need a new or adapted content like a gif you can always reach out to your team or other teams for help! Even better, you could ask some questions and do some googling and learn a new skill!

• Don't overwhelm your lounge with push notifications and general tags. Consider how often you're using the @Task Force XX tag, we don't want people muting channels because they're getting pinged all day long.
• Don't take it personally if people don't pick up the baton you lay down. Members have lots going on in their lives and whilst we may have taken hours crafting the perfect gif or philosophical challenge of the week, it's a minor part of their day and won't always register on their radar. Don't be disheartened, consider what might be effecting pickup and try again with something different.
• Don't be afraid to shuffle it up or take a break. If you've done a run of an acitvity that's receiving declining interest, maybe let it lie for a week or two so it can come back a big bang later.

Types of Lounge Activities [Ongoing]

Current activities are broken down into four styles;

• Log - Activities designed to inform and update like weekly updates,
  • Weekly Roundup,
  • Gamin Bulletin.
• Engage - Activities with simple or one part response is required from members, like votes,
  • T'Poll of the Week,
  • 47 of 9 Faceoff,
  • Garak Asks.
• Holodeck - Activities where a creative input is required on the part of the members,
  • Captain's competition challenge,
  • What Would Ambassador Spock Do,
  • Q of the Week,
  • Meme Wars.
• Scan - Activities intended to collect information from the membership or highlight specific notices like News updates. ----

'Log' - Bulletins and Summaries

Weekly Roundup

Created by Greyimage and Heidi, first implemented by Heidi in Task Force 47 on January 24, 2025.

A modular, flexible overview post focusing on lounge interaction, conversation starters, and highlighting Task Force members and activities.

How to:

Assemble a post highlighting recent events, achievements, and highlights. This is also an opportunity to highlight ongoing or upcoming events and campaigns.

Do’s

• Keep it friendly and engaging.
• Keep elements short and punchy, tag people where appropriate.
• Link through to Discord events & BFMS pages where appropriate.
• May use of emojis and icons to heal break up the text.

Don’ts

• Avoid overly long posts that become large blocks of text.
• Avoid repeating similar messages to individual announcements unless to do with policy etc.

Round Up Examples

	TF47 Roundup Gif Optimised for Discord (500px)
	Example of a TF 47 Roundup with specific highlights and shoutouts to members.
	Example of a TF 86 Roundup with references to current events.

Gaming Bulletin

Created by Hurkx and Mamof, first implemented by Mamof in Task Force 17 on October 13, 2024.

A simple concept highlighting gaming activity within the fleet — upcoming events, what members are currently playing, and notable gaming trends across the fleet. Perfect for mid-week or biweekly updates.

How to:

• Check upcoming events and note them down.
• Mention which members are participating, if applicable.
• Summarize what happened in the gaming channels over the past week.

Do’s

• Keep the tone inviting.
• Keep it brief and to the point.
• Highlight members and events, especially from your own Task Force.

Don’ts

• Don’t make it too long — concise is best.

Examples

Example Gaming bulletin referencing a new game option.

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'Engage' - Polls & Votes

T’Poll of the Week

Originally created and launched by Hurkx in Task Force 17 on March 2–3, 2024.

A modular, easily adaptable concept focused on sparking conversation and encouraging participation in the lounge.

How to:

Think of a question and phrase it in an engaging or in-character way that fits your theme.

Do’s

• Make sure the question invites conversation.
• Keep it broad enough for everyone to answer, but not so broad that it loses focus.
  • For example, ask “Who is your favorite Starship Captain, and why?” instead of “Who is your favorite character?” or “Who is your favorite character in episode 12E14?”
• Follow up — ask members why they gave their answer and keep the discussion going.
• Log the results and update them regularly.
• Let members lead the conversation as much as possible.
• Stay neutral, but don’t be afraid to gently steer the conversation. You can even root for an underdog to make things more interesting.

Don’ts

• Don’t use a poll bot. The point is human interaction, not button-clicking. Real conversations bring surprises and new insights every time.
• Don’t make participation mandatory. Keep it voluntary and fun.

Examples & Resources

	TF17 T'poll of the Week GIF Optimised for Discord (500px)
	Example of a TF17 T'Poll format & Premise
	Example tracking method for Poll votes.

47 of 9 Face Off

Created by Murphy in TF47

A faceoff style head-to-head of characters or entities (e.g ships) within the universe under the playful idea of Captain 7 of 9 attempting to rank the galaxy.  

How to:

Pick two opponents with a similar skillset/role/niche and arrange a face off scenario. In some cases this might just be a straight head to head but a scenario of a task or challenge seems to get more engagement.

Do’s

• Encourage members to respond in multiple ways, voting via text or gif for example.
• Consider unusual characters and ‘faces of the week’ who might be interesting opponents.
• Remember to crown a ‘winner’ and where possible thread multiple scenarios together. E.g do you have a sequence of holographic characters?

Don’ts

• Don’t restrict yourself to main line hero characters and scenarios.
• Don’t cutout members who might have odd responses to the prompt, being involved in the discussion is the aim.

Examples & Resources

	TF47of9 Faceoff GIF Optimised for Discord (400px)
	An example of a TF47of9 Faceoff referencing an intel office event.

Q of the Week

Created by Azras in TF93 on October 25th, 2024

An open 'alternate universe' style question provided to the members to stimulate discussion, under the guise of 'Q' posting a question.

How to:

Pick a scenario from Star Trek and create an open ended question that 'Q' is asking to play a little havoc.

Do’s

• Encourage wider discussion around the matter, in line with the Star Trek universes ethos.
• Provide a little context or story as to why the question is being asked.
• Keep the question simple and open.

Don’ts

• Reach for too obscure a reference or too vague a situation.

Examples & Resources

	TF86 Garak Asks GIF Optimised for Discord (500px)
	An example of a TF93 Q of the Week

Garak Asks

Created by Noun in TF47

A short missive with a final question, penned in the style of a deep space message from Elim Garak.

How to:

Compose a short 'subspace message' to the members of the Task Force centred around an open question.

Do’s

• Lean into the style and flavour of Garak. Spy themes, hidden motives and overt drama are all signatures of Garak.
• Keep in mind the message is akin to a letter and should be modelled as such.
• Keep questions simple and direct.

Don’ts

• Don’t get bogged down by the flavour text. if you feel like you want help, reach out to a fellow staffer.
• Get bogged down in long sections of the 'letter', its only a premise to set up your question.

Examples & Resources

	TF86 Garak Asks GIF Optimised for Discord (500px)
	An example of a TF86 Garak Asks

'Holodeck' - Creative Challenges

Captain’s Caption Challenge

Created and first implemented by MJ in Task Force 17 on August 12, 2025.

A lighthearted activity using a Star Trek screenshot to invite humour and creativity.

How to:

• Choose a fun or interesting Star Trek screencap.
• Invite members to come up with funny captions — optionally around a specific theme.
• Have members or staff vote on the funniest entry.

Do’s

• Pick a screenshot open to multiple interpretations.
• Keep it short and snappy.
• Engage with the responses and react to submissions.

Don’ts

• Decide alone what’s “funny.”
• Rotate participation and encourage variety.

Examples

	Example of a TF86 Caption Challange with event references
	Example of the first TF17 Caption Challange.

What Would Ambassador Spock Do? (WWSD)

Created by Aloran in Task Force 72 on August 14, 2025.

A thoughtful discussion format: present a moral or strategic dilemma — ideally based on a Star Trek episode — and ask members how they would solve it.

How to:

Choose a scenario, describe it briefly, and invite responses.

Do’s

• Keep it engaging and open-ended.
• Explain the story of the episode - briefly - so that members can respond even if they haven't seen it (or can't remember it!)
• Vary which series the example is from, but the older series (particularly TNG, DS9 and VOY) typically see more engagement.
• Include an image or a GIF from the episode

Don’ts

• Don’t make it too long.
• Avoid heavy text — focus on the discussion.
• Avoid spoilers from series that are recent or still airing!

Examples

	Example of a TF72 WWSD with specific referenceto the TF mandate.
	Example of a TF72 WWSD.

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Meme Wars

Created by Meila Tris in Task Force 93 on August 20, 2025.

A fun, humor-driven concept — invite members to share memes and spark laughter in the lounge.

How to:

Set a theme or situation for people to create memes around.

Do

• Engage each meme as they come.
• Encourage participation by chatting for those who might not have editing skills.
• Make sure you 'crown' a winner.

Don’t

• Make the scenario long or overcomplicated.
• Limit member creativity, some memes won't always work but keep it positive.
• Avoid large text blocks — visual content works best.

Examples and Resources

	TF93 Meme Wars Gif Optimised for Discord (400px)
	Example of a TF93 Meme Wars Activity