The art of
Star Trek Simming has a large following; much like medieval role playing, which you might find on various
IRC networks out there, including
StarChat,
Dalnet, and others, simming takes a more futuristic approach. Based in the 2300's, or later, players take on a character which they create themselves, be it
klingon,
trill, or what-have-you, and give it the characteristics they want or need to play the role assigned to them.
Players are stationed on a ship, or starbase, or maybe even a colony, depending on how they want to play it. Each position on the character roster is filled (ex. Commanding officer (XO), helm, engineer (CEO), science officer (SO)... etc) with someone who would be best-suited for the job. They may or may not be given a brief outline of what's to happen during the game, and then they're free to go. They may do as they please, as long as they stay in character, and act appropriately.
There are a couple types of simming (that I know of) which are simming via email, and simming on IRC. Both have their merits: Email simming allows you to carry on a game longer than you might not have be able to on IRC, and you also have more space to write, which allows for a longer and more descriptive post; IRC simming is a bit different as you have all the crew members online in one channel taking turns posting their actions and reading what others are doing.
Finally, if all of this sound a big confusing, just think of it as one big unscripted play where everyone relies on everyone else to keep the ball rolling. It's great fun.