Is promotion "Sometimes" a bad thing?

[FormerLurker]

Data had no real exploration date

I don't wanna know how this is supposed to work.

 

[BillJ]

I don't wanna know how this is supposed to work.

Autocorrect gets me again!

 

[Oddish]

Autocorrect gets me again!

The Mighty Oddish feels your pain.

 

[The Wormhole]

I never understood why Troi had to take a test to be a Commander or was the test to be a Commander on the bridge? Could she not be a Commander under her Medical section?

The way that episode seemed to imply things was she needed to be promoted to Commander in order to be eligible to take command of the bridge, which is odd. Never mind it directly contradicts the fact that Data has commanded the bridge (and even ships) as a Lt. Commander, or the fact that Geordi commanded the bridge in the first season as a Lt. JG. There's also the fact that there are ships where the XO is a Lt. Commander, or hell even a few ships where the Captain is a Lt. Commander.

Star Trek is really sloppy in regards to ranks, positions and qualifications and tries to sweep it under the rug with that "Not a military" line, which just makes the writers look even more ignorant.