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53 votes
Accepted

Why didn't the Federation ever replace the Cardassian systems with their own on Deep Space Nine?

There are a few reasons we can intuit. DS9 isn't a Federation starbase, it's technically Bajoran. Starfleet was focused on getting it to work, and only replaced the essential systems. They weren't ...
ench's user avatar
  • 4,969
40 votes

Does the Federation have the equivalent of Miranda rights?

Contrary to what you may think from watching TV, police officers are not required to issue the Miranda warning at the time of arrest; only before beginning an interrogation. The duty to warn only ...
Steve-O's user avatar
  • 6,578
39 votes

Why didn't the Federation ever replace the Cardassian systems with their own on Deep Space Nine?

They were replacing the Cardassian components. Or if they couldn't replace them, at least making sure that they conformed to Federation standards. ILORA: But these relays don't have nearly as much ...
Valorum's user avatar
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37 votes
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Does the Federation have anything resembling intellectual property laws or agreements?

As User22484 notes in his comment, the issue of authorial rights is dealt with in the Voyager episode Author, Author. In short; Authors have a right to determine how truly original works of art or ...
Valorum's user avatar
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29 votes
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Has any planet accepted into the United Federation of Planets left after technology was shared?

In canon, no planet has ever scammed the UFP in that way because, as you pointed out, the application process is very thorough and lengthy. The UFP can spend years or decades thoroughly reviewing a ...
Sava's user avatar
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27 votes
Accepted

Since human lives are more valuable, why doesn't the Federation replace their Starfleet crews with mostly holograms?

In short, the EMH is not "just as competent as a human doctor", at least not until he's had a chance to go beyond his original programming. In the earlier episodes his lack of bedside manner,...
Valorum's user avatar
  • 709k
25 votes
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Why does the Federation prefer mainly space-borne starships?

Why doesn't the modern navy make more of its ships amphibious? @Varlock hit the nail on the head. Making a ship amphibious isn't just a matter of putting wheels on it. It also must be able to not ...
Schwern's user avatar
  • 13.7k
25 votes

How do ordinary citizens get around the Federation?

I think we can immediately dismiss your third suggestion, that interplanetary travel is limited. We do see civilians occasionally discussing vacation plans to go to other planets, or specifically not ...
Darth Pseudonym's user avatar
21 votes
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Cat person in Star Trek crew animated series

Yes, the species' name is Caitian According to the wikia, they are a member of the Federation and has been serving in the Starfleet in: Star Trek: The Animated Series (Lieutenant M'Ress, the one you ...
Edmund Dantes's user avatar
20 votes

Can a Federation colony become a member world?

According to the Star Trek: Star Charts factbook, there are several colony worlds that are full members of the Federation including Deneb V, Rigel X and Cestus III. We should also mention that there ...
Valorum's user avatar
  • 709k
20 votes
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Are Starfleet and the Federation distinct entities? Why does Saru say they are?

The Federation and Starfleet are two separate entities. The Federation is a civilian government and a democracy that unites several planets under a singular banner (a similar concept is the European ...
A.bakker's user avatar
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20 votes
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Does Starfleet still rate personnel on ESP?

At least one other individual was assessed for some sort of ESP rating, the Betazoid telepath Tam Elbrun. PICARD (V.O.): My immediate concern is with Tam Elbrun. Starfleet considers his unique ...
Valorum's user avatar
  • 709k
20 votes

What are the benefits and obligations of a world that joins the Federation?

The two main benefits of the Federation are Military Starfleet is a formidable force, with most of its starships capable of posing a threat to almost anything in the Alpha quadrant. In this way, ...
Machavity's user avatar
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19 votes
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Do Starfleet regulations and general orders apply to non-Starfleet Federation citizens?

Most of us think of Prime Directive as just prohibition of interference with less developed society. But fact is that Prime Directive is a doctrine of total non-interference with the affairs of other ...
Vanja Vasiljevic's user avatar
19 votes

How do ordinary citizens get around the Federation?

There are civilian ships with warp capability that operate within Federation controlled space. For example, the civilian freighter Odin from TNG episode Angel One. Cassidy Yates (DS9) is a human ...
HorusKol's user avatar
  • 46.3k
18 votes
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Can a private citizen of the Federation legally obtain a starship?

You can obtain a Federation-made ship for research purposes from non-Starfleet organizations. The Voyager episode Dark Frontier shows a series of flashbacks giving the back story of Seven's parents. ...
Alarion's user avatar
  • 7,901
14 votes
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How can a single-planet species pose a threat to the Federation?

The Klingons and the Romulans control vast expanses of space. They have colonized many planets and have a population that might be rivalling that of the Federation. There's a reason they're called '...
Sava's user avatar
  • 8,867
13 votes

Since human lives are more valuable, why doesn't the Federation replace their Starfleet crews with mostly holograms?

Given that humans are not forced into military service by economic circumanstances like many are now, we have to assume other motivations for why humans would join starfleet. That same motivation ...
HorusKol's user avatar
  • 46.3k
12 votes
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Why does the Federation insignia have two acronyms?

According to the show's producer Jordan Nardino it's the French version of UFP (United Federation of Planets) which makes sense since the ceremony was in France. For those asking, FPU is UFP in ...
Valorum's user avatar
  • 709k
12 votes

What are the benefits and obligations of a world that joins the Federation?

There's one benefit that is expressly given: Citizens of member worlds can attend Starfleet Academy without an endorsement. This is important for a major point in the life of Nog. In the DS9 episode ...
Robert Columbia's user avatar
11 votes

Since human lives are more valuable, why doesn't the Federation replace their Starfleet crews with mostly holograms?

Starfleet tried something like that in Kirk's era (TOS: The Ultimate Computer), and it was a disaster. Large-scale automation may be a lingering taboo, similar to how Earth is unwilling to revisit ...
Gaultheria's user avatar
  • 17.5k
9 votes

How do ordinary citizens get around the Federation?

The technology to build a warp-capable ship seems to be not terribly uncommon within the Federation itself by the TNG era Federation citizens of the TNG era seemed to have little trouble sourcing ...
Machavity's user avatar
  • 52.7k
8 votes

Can an individual apply to become a Federation citizen?

Apparently so. The Federation, according to DS9: The Never-Ending Sacrifice, has policies and procedures for the request for, and granting of, Federation citizenship from non-member-species applicants....
Valorum's user avatar
  • 709k
8 votes
Accepted

Why did Starfleet not attempt to make contact with the Prophets?

The Prophets don't care about the Federation. They warn Sisko of threats to Bajor. In his role as "The Emissary", Sisko is (in effect) acting as an Ambassador between two non-Federation ...
Chronocidal's user avatar
  • 4,810
7 votes

Can a private citizen of the Federation legally obtain a starship?

There are no explicit instances I know of where a Federation citizen in the TNG+ era owns a ship. Though the majority of DS9 doesn't deal with Federation space and Voyager not at all so you can't ...
Durakken's user avatar
  • 4,943
7 votes

Is Captain Kirk forgetting all the other races in the Federation?

The word "humanity" - however derived from the word "human" - is a property not only of humans, but of other intelligent species, such as those in the Federation. It's a concept which was named "...
bandie's user avatar
  • 211
6 votes

What is the largest ship in the Star Trek Universe?

If we’re counting non-canon, the DS9 book Objective Bajor revolves around an invading species from another galaxy that arrived in a continent-sized generation ship described as approximately 8,000 ...
Justin Reeves's user avatar
6 votes

Is Captain Kirk forgetting all the other races in the Federation?

I took the statement to only mean the human species, on purpose. Krall's biggest point is that he wants humans (as a race) to endure strife in order to grow (what doesn't kill you ...). He believes ...
steenbergh's user avatar
  • 5,490
6 votes

How can a single-planet species pose a threat to the Federation?

A military threat is created when the population and the industrial potential of a species are diverted to military purposes. There is a proverb that in war, nobody is ever killed by a piece of gross ...
o.m.'s user avatar
  • 5,301

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