From: tallman%ailanth.uucp@wang.com (Robert Oliver)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.startrek.misc
Subject: Re: STAR TREK TIMELINE: SD vs Dates
Date: 2 Sep 92 03:39:38 GMT
Organization: Ailanthus Project

goudswaa@fraser.sfu.ca (Peter Goudswaard) writes:

> Regarding the STAR TREK TIMELINEs 1, 2 & 3, keep up the good work.
> Someone was bound to do something like this eventually, and perhaps
> more than a few already are (if so, they should come forward and
> share their data with the author of the TIMELINE).
> 
> Anyhow, what I want to know is how you translate stardates to and
> from given dates (i.e. 1992 = what stardate?)
> 
> I have read that stardates, according to Paramount Writers Guide (or
> something like that) goes like this:
> 
> Stardate 45678.9, where 4 refers to the 24th century
>                         5 refers to the 5th season
>                         678 refers to the portion of the TV season/1000
>                     and 9 refers to tenths of a day
> 
> Of course in TOS stardates tended to jump around.  And even with the
> above guide, things are still not clear (only 10 seasons in a century?!)
> 
> So are you avoiding stardates?  Translating them?
> 
> My interest in this matter lies in the fact that I have designed a
> role playing game set in the  ST:TNG universe, and unfortunately,
> I began using stardates.  If I take seasons to represent earth years,
> does the century digit change when I hit the eleventh season?  I think
> not.  There has to be some answer here.
> 
> I have to admit that I would like to have an answer in the interest of
> Star Trek itself, but my real goal is to get some sort of feedback on
> a way to "skirt" the writer's guide definition, and come up with some
> sort of workable stardate->date conversion system for my role-playing
> game.  The system I came up with for my game (not an explanation for
> Star Trek) is:
> 
> Stardate 45678.9, where 4 is the 24th century
>                         56 is the portion of the century (years)
>                         78 is the portion of the year (78/100ths)
>                     and 9 is tenths of a day
> 
> Of course, this isn't perfect either (what happens at the 31st century?),
> but it will do for the short term.
> 
> Please don't ask me to re-direct my question to one of the roleplaying
> newsgroups -- I've had no response there.  I'm asking here because if
> you are reading this, you are more interested in the challenge of it
> because it is concerned with Star Trek.
> 
> Any takers?
> 
> Peter                                       goudswaa@sfu.ca

I have heard that Michael Okuda (ST:TNG tech manual and scenic 
designer/technical consultant on TNG) is working on a Star Trek timeline 
book. I plan on sending him all my info and hoping that it might help him 
out. As far as stardates, I have a section on stardates that follows the 
timeline in the Star Trek Encyclopedia that I am working on. As fars as 
translating them into real dates (1986, 1992, etc.) I wouldn't even think 
of it. It would be a complete waste of time. The information presented in 
the Writers Guide is as good as its going to get. Stardates are nothing 
more than an attempt to give Star Trek a futuristic dating system. They 
are interesting bits of trivia and sound neat when someone makes a log 
entry, but don't spend a lot of your time trying to reconcile them a real 
timekeeping system -- it's just fiction. Thanks for the complement, I 
intend to keep chugging away at the timeline and the Encyclopedia. - Rob 
"The Keeper of the Timeline"