Geoffrey Spear on Mon, 1 Jun 2009 09:49:35 -0700 (MST)


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[s-b] [resend] [Promotor] Distribution of Proposal 1955


This distribution of proposal 1955 initiates the Bn
Decision on whether to adopt it.  The eligible voters for ordinary
proposals are the active players, the eligible voters for democratic
proposals are the active first-class players, and the vote collector
is the Assessor. The valid options on each decision are FOR, AGAINST,
and PRESENT.

NUM  C I AI  SUBMITTER           TITLE
1955 D 1 3.0 Goethe              Clearly Specified Ruleset


chamber: O = Ordinary; D = Democratic
interest: 0-3 = interest index

Proposal ID numbers:
     highest orderly: 1955
     disorderly: none


}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{

Proposal 1955 (Democratic, AI=3.0, Interest=1) by Goethe
Clearly Specified Ruleset

[Actual text identical to website grab from previous change proposal
 unless someone else changed it on the wiki.  Should converge to
 current state].

The following operations are hereby performed in order:

1.  For each of the following listed Rules:
    - if a rule of that ID number exists, that rule is amended to
      consist of the (a)title (b)power and (c)text listed;
    - if a rule of that ID number does not exist, a rule of that
      title, power, and text is created;

2.  Every rule that exists, but whose ID number is not clearly
    indicated below, is repealed, in ascending numerical order
    by ID.

List of rules:

Rule 73/0 (Power=1)
The Map of Australia and Cookie Monster

                               ____  _        /|
                               \_  |/ |      / \
                              __/    /      |  |
                            /      /        |  \
                      ______\      \_       |   \
                     /      /        \      /    |
                 _ _/       |         \_/\_/     \
                /           |          |         |
               /            |          |          \
            ___/            |          |           \_
         __/                |          |             |
        /                   |          |             |
       /                    |          |             |/\
      |                     |          |               |_
      |                     |          |                 \
      \                     |__________=_____,             \
       /                    |                |             |
       \                    |                |        __  _\
        \                   |                |_______/  \/ |
         |                __/\                /           /
         \             __/    \_             /           /
          |      _  __/         |   /|       |          |
          /    _/ \/             \ / /       |         /
         |_   /                   v /__     |_        /
           \_/                         \    | \_    _|
                    _  _              |    |   \__/
                   _/0\/ \_             \___=_  ___|
          .-.   .-` \_/\0/ '-.                \/
         /:::\ / ,_________,  \
        /\:::/ \  '. (:::/  `'-;            /\__
        \ `-'`\ '._ `"'"'\__    \           |   |
         `'-.  \   `)-=-=(  `,   |           |  /
     jgs    \  `-"`      `"-`   /            \_/


----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 1/0 (Power=3)
The Rights of Players

      WHEREAS B, since its most recent Emergency, has functioned not
      only as a game but as a society, and WHEREAS a society, to
      function, must balance its Rules with the natural rights of its
      participants, BE IT HEREBY PROCLAIMED that no interpretation of
      B law or binding agreement may substantially limit or remove a
      person's rights as defined by this Rule, except through the
      explicit and legal amendment of this Rule.  This rule takes
      precedence over any rule which would allow or mandate
      restrictions of the rights contained herein.

         i. Every person has the right, though not necessarily the
            ability, to perform actions that are not prohibited or
            regulated by the Rules, with the sole exception of
            changing the Rules, which is permitted only when the Rules
            explicitly or implicitly permit it.

        ii. Every person has the right to initiate a formal process to
            resolve matters of controversy, in the reasonable
            expectation that the controversy will thereby be resolved.
            Every person has the right to cause formal reconsideration
            of any judicial determination that e should be punished.

       iii. Every person has the right to refuse to become party to
            a binding agreement.  The absence of a person's explicit,
            willful consent shall be considered a refusal.

        iv. Every person has the right to not be considered bound by
            an agreement, or an amendment to an agreement, or a Rule
            Change, which e has not had the reasonable opportunity to
            review.  For the purpose of protecting this right, a rule
            change which would otherwise take effect without its
            substance being subject to general player review through a
            reasonably public process is wholly prevented from taking
            effect.

         v. Every player has the right of participation in the fora.

        vi. Every person has the right to not be penalized more than
            once for any single action or inaction.  However, this
            right is not violated by replacing part or all of a
            penalty with a different but comparable penalty, e.g. when
            the rules governing penalties are amended.

       vii. Every player has the right to deregister rather than
            continue to play.

      Persons MUST treat B right good forever.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 2/0 (Power=3)
Regulation Regulations

      A regulated action is an action satisfying any of the following:

      a) It is IMPOSSIBLE.

      b) It is ILLEGAL.

      c) The rules explicitly state that it CAN be performed while
         certain conditions are satisfied.  Such an action CANNOT be
         performed except as allowed by the rules.

      d) The rules explicitly state that it MAY be performed while
         certain conditions are satisfied.  Except as allowed by the
         rules, performing such an action is the Class-N Crime of
         Restricted Behavior, where N is the maximum power of the
         rules explicitly allowing it (rounded up as needed to become
         a valid Class of Crime).

      e) It would, as part of its effect, modify information for which
         some player is required to be a recordkeepor.  Such an action
         CANNOT modify that information except as allowed by the
         rules.

      f) A judicial finding has determined that it is regulated, and
         has not been superseded by subsequent legislation.

      A person SHOULD NOT violate a rule.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 32/0 (Power=2)
Definition and Continuity of Entities

      If multiple rules or contracts (hereafter documents) attempt to
      define an entity with the same name, then they refer to the same
      entity.  A document-defined entity's name CANNOT be changed to
      be the same as another document-defined entity's name.

      A document referring to an entity by name refers to the entity
      that had that name when the document first came to include that
      reference, even if the entity's name has since changed.

      If the documents defining an entity are repealed or amended such
      that they no longer define that entity, then that entity and its
      properties cease to exist.

      If the documents defining an entity are amended such that they
      still define that entity but with different properties, then
      that entity and its properties continue to exist to whatever
      extent is possible under the new definitions.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 3/0 (Power=3)
Power

      The power of an entity is a non-negative rational number.
      An instrument is an entity with positive power.

      The power of an entity cannot be set or modified except as
      stipulated by the rules.  All entities have power zero except
      where specifically allowed by the rules.

      A rule that secures a change (hereafter the securing rule)
      thereby makes it IMPOSSIBLE to perform that change except as
      allowed by an instrument with power greater than or equal to the
      change's power threshold.  This threshold defaults to the
      securing rule's power, but CAN be lowered as allowed by that
      rule.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 4/0 (Power=3)
Power Controls Mutability

      No entity with power below the power of this rule can

      (a) cause an entity to have power greater than its own.

      (b) adjust the power of an instrument with power greater than
          its own.

      (c) modify any other substantive aspect of an instrument with
          power greater than its own.  A "substantive" aspect of
          an instrument is any aspect that affects the instrument's
          operation.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 33/0 (Power=2)
Victory

      Winning Conditions and Losing Conditions are conditions defined
      as such by the rules.  When one or more persons satisfy at least
      one Winning Condition and do not satisfy any Losing Conditions,
      all such persons win the game.  The game CANNOT be won in any
      other way, rules to the contrary notwithstanding.

      Each Winning Condition should (if needed) specify a cleanup
      procedure to prevent an arbitrary number of wins arising from
      essentially the same conditions.  When one or more persons win
      the game, for each Winning Condition satisfied by at least one
      of those persons, its cleanup procedure occurs.

      A win announcement is a correct announcement explicitly labeled
      as a win announcement and/or clearly stating that one or more
      persons win the game.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 74/0 (Power=1)
Win by Not Losing

      While a player is the only active first-class player not to
      satisfy at least one Losing Condition, e satisfies the Winning
      Condition of Solitude.

      Cleanup procedure:  The same person cannot satisfy this Winning
      Condition again until at least one other player ceases to
      satisfy any Losing Condition.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 75/0 (Power=1)
Win by Paradox

      A tortoise is an inquiry case on the possibility or legality of
      a rule-defined action (actual or hypothetical, but not arising
      from that case itself, and not occurring after the initiation of
      that case) for which the question of veracity is UNDECIDABLE.

      Upon a win announcement that a tortoise has continuously been a
      tortoise for no greater than four and no less than two weeks,
      the initiator satisfies the Winning Condition of Paradox.

      Cleanup procedure:  Each winner satisfying this Winning
      Condition SHALL, as soon as possible, make a reasonable attempt
      to resolve the paradox.  The same person can not satisfy this
      Winning Condition again for the same tortoise or for any other
      tortoise that was linked to it in assignment.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 76/0 (Power=1)
Ribbons

      Ribbons are a class of fixed assets.  If winning is secured,
      then changes to Ribbon holdings are secured with the same power
      threshold.  Ownership of Ribbons is restricted to players.

      Each Ribbon has exactly one color.  Colors with different names
      are distinct, regardless of spectral proximity.  Each color of
      Ribbon is a currency.

      The Tailor is an office, and the recordkeepor of Ribbons.

      When a player earns a Ribbon as outlined below, any person CAN
      create that ribbon in the player's possession by announcement,
      unless the player already possesses the color of Ribbon e
      earned:

      (+R) When an interested proposal is adopted and changes at least
           one rule with Power >= 3, its proposer earns a Red Ribbon.

      (+O) When an interested proposal is adopted by voting with no
           valid votes AGAINST, its proposer earns an Orange Ribbon.

      (+G) At the end of each month, each player who held at least one
           office continuously during that month earns a Green Ribbon,
           unless e failed to perform an official duty within a time
           limit during that month.

      (+C) When a player deputises for an office, e earns a Cyan
           Ribbon.

      (+B) When a player assigns a judgement to a judicial question
           other than a question on sentencing, e earns a Blue Ribbon,
           unless e violated a requirement to submit that judgement
           within a time limit.

      (+K) When a player assigns a judgement to a judicial question on
           sentencing, e earns a Black Ribbon, unless e violated a
           requirement to submit that judgement within a time limit.

      (+M) When, during B's birthday, a player publicly acknowledges
           the occasion, e earns a Magenta Ribbon.

      (+V) When a player wins the game, e earns a Violet Ribbon.

      (+Y) At the end of each month, for each contest that awarded
           points to at least three different contestants during that
           month, the contestmaster earns a Yellow Ribbon

      If this rule mentions at least six different specific colors for
      Ribbons, then a player CAN destroy one Ribbon of each such color
      in eir possession to satisfy the Winning Condition of
      Renaissance.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

======================================================================
Rules
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 5/0 (Power=3)
Role and Attributes of Rules

      A rule is a type of instrument with the capacity to govern
      the game generally.  A rule's content takes the form of
      a text, and is unlimited in scope.  In particular, a rule
      may define in-game entities and regulate their behaviour,
      make instantaneous changes to the state of in-game entities,
      prescribe or proscribe certain player behaviour, modify the
      rules or the application thereof, or do any of these things
      in a conditional manner.

      Every rule has power between one and four inclusive.  It is
      not possible for a rule to have a power outside this range.

      Rules have ID numbers, to be assigned by the Rulekeepor, and are
      strictly ordered.

      Every rule shall have a title to aid in identification.  If a
      rule ever does not have a title, the Rulekeepor shall assign
      a title to it by announcement as soon as possible.

      For the purposes of rules governing modification of instruments,
      the text, power, ID number, and title of a rule are all
      substantive aspects of the rule.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 6/0 (Power=3)
Interpreting the Rules

      When interpreting and applying the rules, the text of the rules
      takes precedence.  Where the text is silent, inconsistent, or
      unclear, it is to be augmented by game custom, common sense,
      past judgements, and consideration of the best interests of the
      game.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 7/0 (Power=3)
Precedence between Rules with Unequal Power

      In a conflict between Rules with different Power, the Rule with
      the higher Power takes precedence over the Rule with the lower
      Power.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 8/0 (Power=3)
Precedence between Rules with Equal Power

      If two or more Rules with the same Power conflict with one
      another, then the Rule with the lower ID number takes
      precedence.

      If at least one of the Rules in conflict explicitly says of
      itself that it defers to another Rule (or type of Rule) or
      takes precedence over another Rule (or type of Rule), then such
      provisions shall supercede the numerical method for determining
      precedence.

      If all of the Rules in conflict explicitly say that their
      precedence relations are determined by some other Rule for
      determining precedence relations, then the determinations of
      the precedence-determining Rule shall supercede the numerical
      method for determining precedence.

      If two or more Rules claim to take precedence over one another
      or defer to one another, then the numerical method again
      governs.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 9/0 (Power=3)
No Cretans Need Apply

      If a rule contains one or more self-contradictory chains of
      clauses claiming precedence over and/or deference to one
      another, then the last claim (when reading the rule from top to
      bottom) involved in one or more such chains has no effect; this
      process is repeated as often as needed until all such chains are
      broken.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 10/0 (Power=3)
Rule Changes

      Where permitted by other rules, an instrument generally can,
      as part of its effect,

      (a) enact a rule.  The new rule has power equal to the minimum
          of the power specified by the enacting instrument,
          defaulting to one if the enacting instrument does not
          specify, and the maximum power permitted by other rules.
          The enacting instrument may specify a title for the new
          rule, which if present shall prevail.  The ID number of the
          new rule cannot be specified by the enacting instrument; any
          attempt to so specify is null and void.

      (b) repeal a rule.  When a rule is repealed, it ceases to be a
          rule, and the Rulekeepor need no longer maintain a record
          of it.

      (c) amend the text of a rule.

      (d) retitle a rule.

      (e) change the power of a rule.

      A rule change is any effect that falls into the above classes.
      Rule changes always occur sequentially, never simultaneously.

      Any ambiguity in the specification of a rule change causes
      that change to be void and without effect.  A variation in
      whitespace or capitalization in the quotation of an existing
      rule does not constitute ambiguity for the purposes of this
      rule, but any other variation does.

      This rule provides the only mechanism by which rules can be
      created, modified, or destroyed, or by which an entity can
      become a rule or cease to be a rule.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 77/0 (Power=1)
The Logical Rulesets

      The Short Logical Ruleset (SLR) is a format of the ruleset.  In
      this format, each rule is assigned to a category, and the rules
      are grouped according to their category.

      Rules are assigned to, ordered within, or moved between
      categories, and categories are added, changed, or empty
      categories removed, as the Rulekeepor sees fit.

      The listing of each rule in the SLR must include the rule's ID
      number, revision number, power, title, and text.

      The Rulekeepor is strongly encouraged not to include any
      additional information in the SLR, except that which increases
      the readability of the SLR.

      The Full Logical Ruleset (FLR) is a format of the ruleset.  In
      this format, rules are assigned to the same category and
      presented in the same order as in the SLR.  The FLR must contain
      all the information required to be in the SLR, and any
      historical annotations which the Rulekeepor is required to
      record.

      The Rulekeepor is also free to include any other information
      which e feels may be helpful in the use of the ruleset in the
      FLR.

      Whenever a rule is changed in any way, the Rulekeepor SHALL
      record a historical annotation to the rule indicating:

      a) The type of change.

      b) The date on which the change took effect.

      c) The mechanism that specified the change.

      d) If the rule was changed due to a proposal, then that
         proposal's ID number, author, and co-author(s) (if any).

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 78/0 (Power=1)
The Rulekeepor

      The Rulekeepor is an office; its holder is responsible for
      maintaining the text of the rules of B.

      The Rulekeepor's Weekly report includes the Short Logical
      Ruleset.  The Rulekeepor's Monthly report includes the Full
      Logical Ruleset.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 11/0 (Power=3)
Cleanliness

      Any player CAN clean a rule without objection by specifying one
      or more spelling and/or grammar corrections; the rule is amended
      as specified.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 79/0 (Power=1)
Win by Junta

      Upon a win announcement that a rule states that one or more
      persons CAN cause it to make arbitrary rule changes by
      announcement, all those persons satisfy the Winning Condition of
      Dictatorship.

      Cleanup procedure:  Those persons SHALL as soon as possible
      amend the rule so that it no longer states this, and SHOULD
      amend the rules to prevent this condition from being achieved
      again in essentially the same way.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

======================================================================
Players
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 34/0 (Power=2)
How to Join and Leave B Nomic

      Citizenship is an entity switch with values Unregistered
      (default) and Registered, tracked by the registrar.  A player is
      an entity whose citizenship is Registered.  Changes to
      citizenship are secured.

      The verb "to be registered" means to become a player (i.e., to
      have one's citizenship changed from Unregistered to Registered),
      and the verb "to be deregistered" means to cease to be a player
      (i.e., to have one's citizenship changed from Registered to
      Unregistered).  Where the verb "to register" or "to deregister"
      is used without an explicit direct object, the action is
      implicitly reflexive.

      A first-class person CAN (unless explicitly forbidden or
      prevented by the rules) register by announcing that e registers,
      wishes to register, requests registration, or requests
      permission to register.

      A second-class person CAN register with the Consent of B.

      A player CAN deregister by announcement. A person CANNOT
      register within thirty days after being deregistered by any
      means other than by a mechanism that the rules explicitly
      describe as a means of honorable deregistration.

      A player who is not a person and has never been a first-class
      person CAN be deregistered by any player by announcement.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 12/0 (Power=3)
Who Am I?

      Rules regarding persons pertain to those persons directly, not
      to rule-defined avatars or other entities representing those
      persons within B Nomic.

      A person SHALL NOT make a public statement intended to mislead
      others as to the identity of its publisher.

      A player SHALL NOT select a confusing nickname, including but
      not limited to a name that has generally been used to refer to
      another entity within the past three months.

      A public message's (possibly implicit) claim as to the identity
      of its publisher is self-ratifying, provided that the claim is
      neither ambiguous nor self-contradictory, and no challenge of
      identity pertaining to the claimed publisher has been issued
      within one month before its publication.  Upon a judicial
      finding that the claimed publisher of one or more messages
      (hereafter the Sock Puppet) was not a person, if any of those
      claims have already self-ratified, then the judge SHALL as soon
      as possible publish a judicial declaration that the Sock Puppet
      was a person during one or more time periods, which SHOULD
      correspond to general belief prior to that finding.

      The Executor of a public message is the first-class person who
      sends it, or who most directly and immediately causes it to be
      sent.  (Upon a judicial finding that the Executor of a public
      message cannot otherwise be determined within reasonable effort,
      the judge SHALL as soon as possible publish a judicial
      declaration specifying the identity of that message's Executor.)
      The executor of an action performed by announcement is the
      executor of the announcement.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 13/0 (Power=3)
Personhood

      A person is an entity defined as such by rules with power of at
      least 2.  A person CAN generally be the subject of rights and
      obligations under the rules.

      Any biological organism that is generally capable of
      communicating by email in English (including via a translation
      service) is a person.

      A first-class person is a person of a biological nature.  All
      other persons are second-class.

      The basis of a first-class person is the singleton set
      consisting of that person.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 35/0 (Power=2)
Partnerships

      A partnership is a contract that devolves each of its legal
      obligations onto at least one of its parties, but does not
      devolve all of them solely onto one of its parties.  The members
      of a partnership are those parties onto whom the partnership's
      legal obligations are collectively devolved.  A partnership's
      identity and partnershiphood are not disrupted by changes to its
      membership provided that it continues to meet the definition of
      a partnership.

      A partnership's basis is the set consisting of the union of the
      the bases of each of its members.  Where circularity occurs in
      this definition, it is resolved by using the minimum basis sets
      that provide consistency.

      A public Legalistic partnership whose basis contains at least
      two persons is a person, and SHALL act as specified by itself.

      If a judge finds a partnership guilty in a criminal proceedings,
      e may sentence one or more members of the partnership for the
      crime rather than the partnership itself.  To be an appropriate
      sentence in this case, the judge SHOULD use the text of the
      partnership as a guide to the devolution of sentencing but is
      not bound to follow the text if it is unclear on the subject or
      would not adequately apply responsibility.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 80/0 (Power=1)
The Registrar

      The Registrar is an office; its holder is responsible for
      keeping track of players.

      The Registrar's report includes, for each player:

      a) Information sufficient to identify and contact em.
      b) The date on which e most recently became a player.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 36/0 (Power=2)
Activity

      Activity is a player switch with values Active (default) and
      Inactive, tracked by the Registrar.  The Registrar's report
      includes the date on which each non-Active player's activity
      last changed.

      A player CAN flip eir activity by announcement.  "To go on hold"
      is to become Inactive; "to come off hold" is to become Active.

      A player CAN flip another player's activity to Inactive without
      objection.

      A player who has been continuously Inactive for at least three
      months CAN be deregistered by any other player without
      objection.  This is a means of honorable deregistration.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 81/0 (Power=1)
Truthiness

      A person SHALL NOT make a public statement on a matter relevant
      to the rules unless e reasonably believes that it is true (or,
      in the case of a public statement that one performs an action,
      that is effective).

      For the purpose of this rule:

       a) Merely quoting a statement does not constitute making that
          statement.

       b) Any conditional clause or other qualifier attached to a
          statement constitutes part of the statement; the nature of
          the whole is what is significant.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 37/0 (Power=2)
Rests

      Rests are a fixed currency.  The creation and destruction of
      Rests is secured with a power threshold of 1.7, a person
      generally CANNOT destroy rests except as permitted by Rules
      explicitly stating methods by which rests in particular CAN be
      destroyed.

      The Insulator is an office, and the recordkeepor of Rests.

      Ownership of Rests is restricted to first-class persons. If, in
      the absence of this restriction, a number (N) of Rests would be
      created in the ownership of a non-first-class person, then for
      each member of that person's basis, N Rests are created in that
      member's possession.

      A player CAN spend two Notes in order to destroy a Rest owned by
      a player e specifies.

      A first-class player CAN create Rests in eir own possession by
      announcement.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 38/0 (Power=2)
Just Resting

      Owning one or more Rests is a Losing Condition.

      While a person owns at least 8 Rests, that person CANNOT spend
      Notes except to destroy Rests e owns.  This takes precedence
      over any other rule.

      While a player owns at least 24 Rests, that player CAN be
      deregistered by any player by announcement.  A person who owns
      at least 6 Rests, or where every member of eir basis owns 6
      Rests, CANNOT register, rules to the contrary notwithstanding.

      A person who has one or more rests but is not a player is a
      Fugitive.  The Herald's monthly report shall include a list of
      all Fugitives and the number of Rests they possess.  At the
      beginning of each month, half of each Fugitive's rests (rounded
      down) are destroyed.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

======================================================================
Definitions
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 14/0 (Power=3)
Definition Definitions

      Regularity of communication being essential for the healthy
      function of any nomic, it is hereby resolved:

      (1) A difference in spelling, grammar, or dialect, or the use of
          a synonym or abbreviation in place of a word or phrase, is
          inconsequential in all forms of communication, as long as
          the difference does not create an ambiguity in meaning.

      (2) A term explicitly defined by the Rules by default has that
          meaning when used in any Rule of equal or lesser power, as
          do its ordinary-language synonyms not explicitly defined by
          the rules.

          The following clauses, where X and Y are both nouns or noun
          phrases, SHOULD be interpreted as "X is/are defined as Y":

            a) "X is/are Y"
            b) "Y is/are known as X"

      (3) Any term primarily used in mathematical or legal contexts,
          and not addressed by previous provisions of this Rule, by
          default has the meaning it has in those contexts.

      (4) Any term not addressed by previous provisions of this Rule
          by default has its ordinary-language meaning.  In
          determining the ordinary-language meaning of a term,
          definitions contained in lower-powered Rules, followed by
          definitions used in contracts or other B legal documents,
          SHOULD be used for guidance.

      This rule takes precedence over any other rules which dictate
      terminology or grammar.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 15/0 (Power=3)
Mother, May I?

      The following terms are defined.  These definitions are used
      when a rule includes a term in all caps, and SHOULD be used when
      a rule includes a term otherwise.  Earlier definitions take
      precedence over later ones.  If a rule specifies one or more
      persons in connection with a term, then the term applies only to
      the specified person(s).

      1. CANNOT, IMPOSSIBLE, INEFFECTIVE, INVALID:  Attempts to
         perform the described action are unsuccessful.

      2. MUST NOT, MAY NOT, SHALL NOT, ILLEGAL, PROHIBITED: Performing
         the described action violates the rule in question.

      3. SHOULD NOT, DISCOURAGED, DEPRECATED:  Before performing the
         described action, the full implications of performing it
         should be understood and carefully weighed.

      4. CAN: Attempts to perform the described action are successful.

      5. MAY: Performing the described action does not violate the
         rule in question.

      6. MUST, SHALL, REQUIRED, MANDATORY:  Failing to perform the
         described action violates the rule in question.

      7. SHOULD, ENCOURAGED, RECOMMENDED:  Before failing to perform
         the described action, the full implications of failing to
         perform it should be understood and carefully weighed.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 39/0 (Power=2)
Common Definitions

      The following terms are defined:

      (a) The phrases "in a timely fashion", "as soon as possible",
          and "in a Jiffy" mean "within seven days".

      (b) B epochs:

          (1) ndays begin at midnight UTC.

          (2) nweeks begin at midnight UTC on the first nday of
              each nweek and end after 12 ndays.

          (3) nyears begin every 10 nweeks.

      (c) The words "e", "eir", and "emself" are the third-person
          nominative, possessive, and reflexive personal pronouns,
          respectively.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 82/0 (Power=1)
ID Numbers

      If a rule defines a type of entity as having ID numbers, then:

      (a) Whenever an instance of that type does not have an ID
          number, the player held responsible by that rule SHALL
          assign an ID number to it by announcement as soon as
          possible.

      (b) Such an assignment is INVALID unless the number is a natural
          number (expressed as a decimal literal with at most 14
          digits) distinct from any ID number previously assigned to
          an entity of that type since this rule was enacted, and (if
          the type of entity is defined by the rules as strictly
          ordered) greater than any orderly ID number so assigned.
          The player SHOULD select the smallest number possible.

      (c) Each ID number is either orderly (default) or chaotic.  Upon
          a judicial finding that the assignment of an ID number was
          ILLEGAL, the ID number becomes chaotic.

      (d) Once assigned, an ID number cannot be changed.

      (e) If an office is responsible for assigning ID numbers, then
          that officer's report includes the greatest orderly ID
          number, and a list of all chaotic ID numbers, previously
          assigned to the type of entity.

      (f) If an instance of that type has an ID number, then its name
          is the combination of its type and ID number.  Otherwise, it
          has no name.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 83/0 (Power=1)
Interest Index

      An entity's interest index is an integer from 0 to 3, default
      value 1.  An entity's interest index SHOULD be proportional to
      its complexity.

      "Disinterested" is a synonym for "interest index 0".

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 40/0 (Power=2)
Indices

      Indices are elements of the extended real numbers, which is a
      total order consisting of the real numbers plus a minimum
      element, called negative infinity, and a maximum element, called
      positive infinity or unanimity.

      The ratio of a positive index to zero is positive infinity.  The
      ratio of a negative index to zero is negative infinity.  The
      ratio of zero to any index is zero.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 41/0 (Power=2)
Switches

      A type of switch is a property that the rules define as a
      switch, and specify the following:

      a) The type(s) of entity possessing an instance of that switch.
         No other entity possesses an instance of that switch.

      b) One or more possible values for instances of that switch,
         exactly one of which is designated as the default.  No other
         values are possible for instances of that switch.

      c) Exactly one officer who tracks instances of that switch.
         That officer's report includes the value of each instance of
         that switch whose value is not its default value.

      At any given time, each instance of a switch has exactly one
      possible value for that type of switch.  If an instance of a
      switch comes to have a value, it ceases to have any other value.
      If an instance of a switch would otherwise fail to have a
      possible value, it comes to have its default value.

      "To flip an instance of a switch" is to make it come to have a
      given value.  "To become X" (where X is a possible value of
      exactly one of the subject's switches) is to flip that switch to
      X.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 16/0 (Power=3)
Fora

      Freedom of speech being essential for the healthy functioning of
      any non-Imperial nomic, it is hereby resolved that no Player
      shall be prohibited from participating in the Fora.

      Publicity is a forum switch with values Public, Discussion, and
      Foreign (default), tracked by the Registrar.

      The Registrar's report includes, for each forum with non-Foreign
      publicity, sufficient instructions for players to receive
      messages there.

      The Registrar CAN change the publicity of a forum without
      objection as long as:

      (a) e sends eir announcement of intent to that forum; and

      (b) if the forum is to be made public, the announcement by which
          the Registrar makes that forum public is sent to all
          existing public fora.

      Each active player SHOULD ensure e can receive messages via each
      public forum.

      A public message is a message sent via a public forum, or sent
      to all players and containing a clear designation of intent to
      be public.  A person "publishes" or "announces" something by
      sending a public message.

      Where the rules define an action that CAN be performed "by
      announcement", a person performs that action by unambiguously
      and clearly specifying the action and announcing that e performs
      it.  Any action performed by sending a message is performed at
      the time date-stamped on that message.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 17/0 (Power=3)
Dependent Actions

      A person (the performer) CAN perform an action dependently (a
      dependent action) by announcement if and only if all of the
      following are true:

       a) The rules explicitly authorize the performer to perform the
          action by a set of one or more of the following methods (N
          is 1 if not otherwise specified):

            1) Without N Objections, where N is a positive integer.
            2) With N Supporters, where N is a positive integer.
            3) With N the Consent of B, where N is an integer multiple
               of 0.1 with a minimum of 1.

       b) A person (the initiator) announced intent to perform the
          action, unambiguously and clearly specifying the action and
          method(s) (including the value of N for each method), at
          most fourteen days earlier, and (if the action depends on
          objections) at least four days earlier.

       c) At least one of the following is true:

            1) The performer is the initiator.

            2) The initiator was authorized to perform the action due
               to holding a rule-defined position now held by the
               performer.

            3) The initiator is authorized to perform the action, the
               action depends on support, the performer has supported
               the intent, and the rule authorizing the performance
               does not explicitly prohibit supporters from performing
               it.

       d) B is Satisfied with the announced intent, as defined by
          other rules.

       e) If a set of conditions for the performance of the action was
          given in the announcement of intent to perform the action,
          all those conditions are met.

      A dependent action CAN be performed non-dependently as otherwise
      permitted by the rules.

      A person CAN perform a dependent action authorized by a contract
      as if that contract were a rule, provided that the above
      requirements are otherwise met, and that the effects of that
      action are restricted to altering entities and/or attributes
      whose existence depends on that contract.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 42/0 (Power=2)
Satisfaction

      A Supporter of a dependent action is a first-class player who
      has publicly posted (and not withdrawn) support for an
      announcement of intent to perform the action.  An Objector to a
      dependent action is a first-class player (or other person
      explicitly allowed to object to that action by the rule allowing
      that action to be performed dependently) who has publicly posted
      (and not withdrawn) an objection to the announcement of intent
      to perform the action.

      The Executor of such an announcement of intent CANNOT support
      it, but CAN generally object to it (withdrawal of intent is
      equivalent to objection).  A rule authorizing the performance of
      a dependent action may further restrict the eligibility of
      players to support or object to that specific action.

      B is Satisfied with an intent to perform a specific action if
      and only if:

      (1) if the action is to be performed Without N Objections, then
          it has fewer than N objectors;

      (2) if the action is to be performed With N supporters, then it
          has N or more supporters; and

      (3) if the action is to be performed with N the Consent of B,
          then the ratio of supporters to objectors is greater than N,
          or the action has at least one supporter and no objectors.

      For the purposes of any determination defined by this rule,
      objections shall always be considered withdrawn if they were
      made prior to the announcement of intent to perform the action.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 43/0 (Power=2)
Assets

      An asset is an entity defined as such by a rule or contract
      (hereafter its backing document), and existing solely because
      its backing document defines its existence.

      Each asset has exactly one owner.  If an asset would otherwise
      lack an owner, it is owned by the Lost and Found Department.  If
      an asset's backing document restricts its ownership to a class
      of entities, then that asset CANNOT be gained by or transferred
      to an entity outside that class, and is transfered to the Lost
      and Found Department if it is owned by an entity outside that
      class.  If an asset is owned by the Lost and Found department
      any player CAN transfer or destroy it without objection.

      The Lost and Found department may own any asset regardless of
      restrictions placed upon an asset by its backing document.

      The recordkeepor of a class of assets is the entity (if any)
      defined as such by, and bound by, its backing document.  That
      entity's report includes a list of all instances of that class
      and their owners.  This portion of that entity's report is
      self-ratifying.

      An asset whose backing document is not a rule generally CAN be
      created by its recordkeepor by announcement, subject to
      modification by its backing document.  To "gain" an asset is to
      have it created in one's possession; to "award" an asset to an
      entity is to create it in that entity's possession.

      An asset generally CAN be destroyed by its owner by
      announcement, and an asset owned by the Lost and Found
      Department generally CAN be destroyed by its recordkeepor by
      announcement, subject to modification by its backing document.
      To "lose" (syn. "spend") an asset is to have it destroyed from
      one's possession; to "revoke" an asset from an entity is to
      destroy it from that entity's possession.

      An asset generally CAN be transferred by its owner to another
      entity by announcement, subject to modification by its backing
      document.  A fixed asset is one defined as such by its backing
      document, and CANNOT be transferred; any other asset is liquid.

      A currency is a class of asset defined as such by its backing
      document.  Instances of a currency with the same owner are
      fungible.

      A public class of assets is a class of assets whose backing
      document is a rule or a public contract.  All others are
      private.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 84/0 (Power=1)
The Accountor

      The Accountor is an office; its holder is responsible for
      keeping track of classes of assets.

      The Accountor's monthly report includes a list of all public
      classes of assets and their backing documents and recordkeepors.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

======================================================================
Offices
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 44/0 (Power=2)
Offices

      An office is a role defined as such by the rules.  Each office
      is either vacant (default) or filled (held) by exactly one
      player.  An officer is the holder of an office, who may be
      referred to by the name of that office.

      An imposed office is an office described as such by the rule
      defining it.  All others are elected.

      The holder of an elected office CAN resign it by announcement,
      causing it to become vacant.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 85/0 (Power=1)
Official Reports and Duties

      For each office:

      a) If any task is defined by the rules as part of that office's
         weekly duties, then the holder of that office SHALL perform
         it at least once each week.  If any information is defined by
         the rules as part of that office's weekly report, then the
         holder of that office SHALL maintain all such information,
         and the publication of all such information is part of that
         office's weekly duties.

      b) If any task is defined by the rules as part of that office's
         monthly duties, then the holder of that office SHALL perform
         it at least once each month.  If any information is defined
         by the rules as part of that office's monthly report, then
         the holder of that office SHALL maintain all such
         information, and the publication of all such information is
         part of that office's monthly duties.

      Any information defined by the rules as part of an office's
      report, without specifying which one, is part of its weekly
      report.

      While performing weekly or monthly duties or publishing weekly
      or monthly reports, officers SHALL NOT publish information that
      is inaccurate or misleading.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 86/0 (Power=1)
Interest Index of Offices

      Each office has an interest index, tracked by the IADoP.

      A player CAN set an office's interest index without objection,
      or without 2 objections if e holds the office.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 18/0 (Power=3)
Deputisation

      Any player (a deputy) CAN perform an action as if e held a
      particular office (deputise for that office) if all of the
      following are true:

        (a) The rules require the holder of that office, by virtue of
            holding that office, to perform the action (or, if the
            office is vacant, would so require if the office were
            filled).  This requirement is fulfilled by the deputy
            performing the action.

        (b) A time limit by which the rules require the action to be
            performed has expired, or the office is vacant.

        (c) If the office is held by an active player, then the deputy
            announced between two and fourteen days earlier that e
            intended to deputise for that office for the purposes of
            the particular action.

        (d) It would be POSSIBLE for the deputy to perform the action,
            other than by deputisation, if e held the office.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 45/0 (Power=2)
Election Procedure

      Any player CAN by announcement initiate an election for an
      elected office for which no election is already in progress,
      nominating at least one active player.

      During the first four days of the election (the nomination
      period), any player CAN by announcement nominate one or more
      active players.

      As soon as possible after the nomination period ends, the IADoP
      SHALL initiate a Decision to determine the new officeholder. For
      this decision:

       1) The valid options (hereafter the candidates) are the active
          players who, during the election,

            a) received and accepted a nomination for the office
               before the decision was initiated (self-nomination
               constitutes acceptance), and

            b) did not decline a nomination for the office, and

            c) are Senators if there is currently an Emergency
               Session.

          The set of candidates can change after the decision is
          initiated.

       2) If there is no Emergency Session at the time the decision is
          initiated, the eligible voters are the active players.
          Otherwise, the eligible voters are the active Senators.

       3) Each eligible voter's voting limit is one. An ordered list
          of multiple choices constitutes a conditional vote for the
          first choice if it could be the outcome, otherwise the
          second choice if it could be the outcome, and so forth.

       4) If there are no valid options for the Decision, instead of
          initiating the Decision, the IADoP SHALL, in place of
          initiating the decision, announce this fact, ending the
          election.  If there is exactly one valid option for the
          Decision, the IADoP SHALL, in place of initiating the
          Decision, announce the valid option (the candidate), thus
          installing that candidate into the office and ending the
          election.

      Upon the resolution of this decision, its outcome (if a
      candidate) is installed into the office, and the election ends.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 87/0 (Power=1)
Periodic Elections

      Within a week after an elected office ceases to have (or is
      created without) an active holder, or after an election for the
      office ends and the office still lacks an active holder, the
      IADoP SHALL initiate an election for that office.  This
      requirement is waived if the office comes to have an active
      holder, or if another player initiates an election for the
      office.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 88/0 (Power=1)
The International Associate Director of Personnel

      The International Associate Director of Personnel is an office;
      its holder is responsible for keeping track of officers and
      reports.

      The IADoP's report includes the following:

      a) The holder of each office.
      b) The date on which each holder last came to hold that office.
      c) The date when the most recent nomination period for that
         office began.

      The portion of a public message purporting to be an IADoP's
      report that lists the holder of each office is self-ratifying.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 19/0 (Power=3)
Ratification

      A public document is part (possibly all) of a public message.

      When a public document is ratified, the gamestate is modified so
      that the ratified document was completely true and accurate at
      the time it was published.  Nevertheless, the ratification of a
      public document does not invalidate, reverse, alter, or cancel
      any messages or actions, even if they were unrecorded or
      overlooked, or change the legality of any attempted action.

      Ratifying a public document is secured.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 20/0 (Power=3)
Ratification Without Objection

      An official document is a public document purported to be part
      (possibly all) of an official report; this part is the
      document's scope.  Any player CAN, without objection, ratify an
      official document, specifying its scope.  The date of this
      ratification and the scope of the ratified document become part
      of the official report in question, until the same scope is
      ratified at a later date.

      Ratification Without Objection CANNOT cause the repeal,
      amendment, enactment, or mutation of any Rule, rules to the
      contrary notwithstanding.

      A player SHALL NOT knowingly use or announce intent to use
      Ratification Without Objection to ratify a (prior to
      ratification) incorrect document when a corrected document could
      be produced with reasonable effort. Such ratification or
      announcement of intent to ratify is the Class-8 Crime of
      Endorsing Forgery.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 21/0 (Power=3)
Self-Ratification

      A public document defined by the rules as self-ratifying is
      ratified when it is continuously undoubted for one week.

      A doubt is an explicit public challenge via one of the following
      methods, identifying a document and explaining the scope and
      nature of a perceived error in it:

       a) An inquiry case, appropriate for questions of legal
          interpretation.

       b) A claim of error, appropriate for matters of fact.  The
          publisher of the original document SHALL as soon as possible
          either deny the claim (causing it to cease to be a doubt) or
          publish a revision.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

======================================================================
Decisions
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 22/0 (Power=3)
Decisions

      When the rules call for a Decision to be made, the
      decision-making process takes place in the following three
      stages, each described elsewhere:

          (a) Initiation of the decision.
          (b) Voting of the people.
          (c) Resolution of the decision.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 23/0 (Power=3)
Initiating Decisions

      A Decision is initiated when a person authorized to initiate it
      publishes a valid notice which sets forth the intent to initiate
      the decision.  This notice is invalid if it lacks any of the
      following information, and the lack is correctly identified
      within one week after the notice is published:

      (a) The matter to be decided (for example, "the adoption of
          proposal 4781").

      (b) A description of the class of eligible voters sufficient to
          enable public agreement on which persons are eligible.  In
          particular, an explicit list of the eligible voters is
          always sufficient for this purpose.

      (c) A clear indication of the options available.

      (d) The identity of the vote collector.

      (e) Any additional information defined by the rules as essential
          parameters.

      The publication of such a valid notice initiates the voting
      period for the decision.  By default, the voting period lasts
      for seven days.  Rules to the contrary notwithstanding, the
      voting period for a decision with at least two options cannot be
      shorter than seven days.  The vote collector for a decision with
      less than two options CAN and SHALL end the voting period by
      announcement, if it has not ended already, and provided that e
      resolves the decision in the same message.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 24/0 (Power=3)
Voting on Decisions

      An eligible voter on a particular Decision submits a ballot to
      the vote collector by publishing a valid notice indicating which
      one of the available options e selects.  To be valid, the ballot
      must satisfy the following conditions:

      (a) The ballot is submitted during the voting period for the
          decision, and the submitter is an eligible voter at the
          time of submission.

      (b) The ballot clearly identifies the matter to be decided.

      (c) The ballot clearly identifies the option selected by the
          voter.

      (d) The voter has not publicly retracted the ballot during the
          voting period.

      Among the otherwise-valid votes on a Decision, only the first N
      submitted by each entity are valid, where N is the entity's
      voting limit on that decision.  The voting limit of an entity
      that is not an eligible voter on a Decision is zero.  The voting
      limit of an eligible voter on a Decision is one, except where
      rules say otherwise.

      The strength of an option is the number of valid ballots
      selecting that option.

      Other rules may place further constraints on the validity of
      ballots.  This rule takes precedence over any rule that would
      loosen the constraints specified by this rule.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 25/0 (Power=3)
Standard Classes of Decisions

      A Decision with an adoption index is either ordinary or
      democratic.  A Decision with an adoption index greater than or
      equal to 2 is democratic.  Any other Decision with an adoption
      index is ordinary by default.

      If a Decision has an adoption index, then the following are
      essential parameters:

      a) Its adoption index.
      b) Whether it is ordinary or democratic.

      For any Decision with an adoption index, the available options
      are FOR, AGAINST, and PRESENT (syn. ABSTAIN)

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 89/0 (Power=1)
Conditional Votes

      A ballot option (vote) on a Decision may be submitted
      conditionally, and the truth or falsity of the condition and
      thus the selected option will be determined as it exists at the
      end of the voting period.

      The option selected shall be considered to be clearly identified
      if and only if the truth or falsity of the specified
      condition(s) can be reasonably determined, without circularity
      or paradox, from information reasonably available within the
      voting period.

      Casting a vote endorsing another voter is equivalent to
      conditionally casting a vote whose value is the same as the most
      common value (if any) among that voter's valid votes on that
      decision.

      Casting a vote denouncing another voter is equivalent to
      conditionally casting a vote whose value is opposite to the most
      common value (if any) among that voter's valid votes on that
      decision.  FOR and AGAINST are opposites; PRESENT is its own
      opposite.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 46/0 (Power=2)
Maximum Voting Limits

      Other rules to the contrary notwithstanding, no entity may have
      greater a voting limit than as allowed by this rule.

      The maximum voting limit for any entity on an ordinary decision
      is 8. The maximum voting limit for any entity on any other
      decision is 1.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 90/0 (Power=1)
Extending the voting period

      Whenever the voting period of a Decision would end, and the
      result would be FAILED QUORUM, the length of the voting period
      for that decision is instead doubled, provided this has not
      already happened for the decision in question.

      Upon such an occurrence, the vote collector for the decision
      SHOULD issue a humiliating public reminder to the slackers who
      have not yet cast any votes on it despite being eligible, and
      CAN end the voting decision by announcement if the result would
      no longer be FAILED QUORUM.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 26/0 (Power=3)
Resolving Decisions

      The vote collector for an unresolved Decision CAN resolve it by
      announcement, indicating the option selected by B.  If it was
      required to be initiated, then e SHALL resolve it as soon as
      possible after the end of the voting period.  To be valid, this
      announcement must satisfy the following conditions:

      (a) It is published after the voting period has ended.

      (b) It clearly identifies the matter to be resolved.

      (c) It specifies which option was selected by B, as described
          elsewhere, and provides a tally of the voters' valid ballots
          on the various options.

      Each Decision has exactly one vote collector, defaulting to the
      initiator of the decision.  If the vote collector is defined by
      reference to a position (or, in the default case, if the
      initiator was so defined), then the vote collector is the
      current holder of that position.

      This rule takes precedence over any rule that would provide
      another mechanism by which a Decision may be resolved.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 27/0 (Power=3)
Determining the Will of B

      The outcome of a Decision is determined as follows.

      (a) If there is more than one available option, and the number
          of distinct voters who submitted valid ballots is less than
          quorum, then the outcome is FAILED QUORUM, regardless of the
          remainder of this rule.  Otherwise, the decision achieved
          quorum.

      (b) If the decision has an adoption index, then the voting index
          is the ratio of the strength of FOR to the strength of
          AGAINST.  If the voting index is greater than 1, and greater
          than or equal to the decision's adoption index, then the
          outcome is ADOPTED; otherwise, the outcome is REJECTED.

      (c) If the decision is for an election, then the outcome is the
          candidate with the most votes.  In case of a tie, the vote
          collector SHALL select one of the leaders as the outcome.
          If there are no candidates, then the outcome is null.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 47/0 (Power=2)
Quorum

      Quorum for a Decision is N/3 (where N is the number of eligible
      voters with a positive voting limit on that decision), rounded
      up, with a minimum of five (unless this is greater than N, in
      which case quorum is N).

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 28/0 (Power=3)
Vote Protection and Cutoff for Challenges

      Any proposal that would otherwise change the validity of any
      existing vote on any specific unresolved Decision is wholly
      without effect, rules to the contrary notwithstanding.  This
      does not prevent amendment of the rules governing the validity
      of votes on Decisions in general.

      Once a Decision has been resolved, votes on it CANNOT be validly
      submitted or retracted, and its outcome CANNOT be changed in any
      way, rules to the contrary notwithstanding.  This does not
      prevent correcting errors in reporting its resolution.

      A public document purporting to resolve a Decision constitutes
      self-ratifying claims that

       a) such a decision existed,
       b) it was resolved as indicated, and
       c) (if the indicated outcome was to adopt a proposal) such a
          proposal existed, was adopted, and took effect.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

======================================================================
Proposals
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 29/0 (Power=3)
Adopting Proposals

      A proposal is a fixed body of text which has been made into a
      proposal using a process specifically described in the Rules.  A
      proposal SHOULD outline changes to be made to B, including
      enacting, repealing, or amending rules, or making other explicit
      changes to the gamestate.

      A player CAN create a proposal by publishing ("submitting") a
      body of text with a clear indication that it is intended to
      become a proposal, which places the proposal in the Proposal
      Pool.  The author (syn. proposer) of a proposal is the player
      who submitted it.  The author of a proposal may remove it from
      the Pool by announcement.  A player CAN remove a proposal e
      authored from the Proposal Pool by announcement.

      A player specifically permitted by the Rules to distribute a
      Proposal CAN distribute the proposal by publishing it with the
      clear intent of distributing it.  When a proposal is
      distributed, it is removed from the Proposal Pool.  The
      distribution of a proposal initiates the Decision of whether to
      adopt the proposal, as described elsewhere.  Removing a proposal
      from the Pool by a means other than initiating a Decision to
      adopt it is secured.

      If the Rules do not otherwise permit at least one current active
      player to distribute a Proposal, then any player may do so
      Without 3 Objections.

      A co-author of a proposal is a person (other than its author)
      unambiguously identified as such by its author when it was
      submitted.

      The adoption index of a proposal is an integral multiple of 0.1
      from 1.0 to 9.9.  It may be set by the proposer at the time of
      submission, or otherwise defaults to 1.0.

      Determining whether to adopt a proposal is a Decision.  For this
      decision, the adoption index is the adoption index of the
      proposal, and the vote collector is the Assessor.

      If the option selected by B on this decision is ADOPTED, then
      the proposal is adopted, and unless other rules prevent it from
      taking effect, its power is set to the minimum of four and its
      adoption index, and then it takes effect.  It does not otherwise
      take effect.

      Preventing a proposal from taking effect is a secured change.
      This rule takes precedence over any rule which would permit a
      proposal to take effect.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 91/0 (Power=1)
Interest Index of Proposals

      Each proposal has an interest index, which CAN be set by its
      author at the time of submission.  A proposal SHOULD be
      disinterested if and only if its effects are limited to
      correcting errors and/or ambiguities.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 48/0 (Power=2)
The Promotor

      The Promotor is an office; its holder is responsible for
      receiving and distributing proposals.

      The Promotor CAN and MAY distribute a proposal in the Proposal
      Pool at any time.  The Promotor's weekly duties include the
      distribution of each proposal that has been in the Proposal Pool
      since the beginning of that week.

      For a Decision of whether to adopt a proposal, the following are
      essential parameters:

      a) Its author (and co-authors, if any).
      b) Its interest index.

      Distributed proposals have ID numbers, to be assigned by the
      Promotor.

      The Promotor's report includes a list of all proposals in the
      Proposal Pool.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 30/0 (Power=3)
Voting on Democratic Decisions

      The eligible voters on a democratic decision are those entities
      that were active first-class players at the start of its voting
      period.  The voting limit of each eligible voter on a democratic
      decision is one.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 49/0 (Power=2)
Voting on Ordinary Decisions

      Caste is a player switch, tracked by the Grand Poobah, with the
      following values and their numeric equivalents:

        Alpha   - 8
        Beta    - 5
        Gamma   - 3
        Delta   - 2
        Epsilon - 1 (default for active first-class players and
        provinces)
        Savage  - 0 (default for all other players)

      Changes to caste are secured, lest a coalition of high-caste
      players grant itself a boring permanence.

      The eligible voters on an ordinary decision are those entities
      that were active players at the start of its voting period.  The
      voting limit of an eligible voter on an ordinary decision is eir
      caste at the start of its voting period, reduced to the next
      lower caste (minimum Savage) for each positive multiple of 4
      Rests that the voter posesses at the start of the voting period.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 50/0 (Power=2)
Support Democracy

      A player CAN, with 2 support, change an ordinary decision in its
      voting period to be democratic.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 92/0 (Power=1)
The Assessor

      The Assessor is an office; its holder is responsible for
      collecting votes and keeping track of related properties.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 31/0 (Power=3)
B Is a Nomic

      In the interest of safeguarding B's nomic-ness, if a change to
      the gamestate would otherwise make it IMPOSSIBLE to make
      arbitrary rule changes and/or adopt arbitrary proposals within a
      four-week period by any combinations of actions by players, then
      that change is canceled and does not occur, any rule to the
      contrary notwithstanding.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 51/0 (Power=2)
Win by Clout

      Upon a win announcement that a specified player's voting limit
      on an ordinary decision initiated at that time would exceed the
      combined voting limits of all other players on that decision,
      the specified player satisfies the Winning Condition of Clout.

      Cleanup procedure:  Each player's caste is set to its default
      value, and no player satisfies this Winning Condition again (the
      remainder of this rule notwithstanding) during the same month.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 52/0 (Power=2)
The Grand Poobah

      The Grand Poobah is an office; its holder is responsible for
      keeping track of castes.

      The Grand Poobah CAN generally flip a Player's caste by
      announcement, but SHALL only do so as explicitly described by
      the Rules.  If the result of a claim of error or court case
      finds that e has flipped a Player's caste illegally (e.g. not
      as specified by the Rules), e SHALL flip the caste to the
      appropriate correct value as soon as possible.

      If a player believes that a caste switch has been flipped
      illegally, e CAN switch it back with three Support, provided e
      has first raised a claim of error or court case concerning the
      matter.  However e (and supporters) SHALL defer to the courts
      and the Grand Poobah's ability to correct the issue, unless
      they present a good and pressing reason not to do so; abuse of
      this ability should not be taken lightly by the courts.

      At the beginning of each month, each Alpha's caste is flipped to
      eir default value.  As soon as possible after the beginning of
      each month, the Grand Poobah SHALL do the following, in order,
      at each step choosing (if possible) a player who has not yet
      been chosen during the current procedure:

        1) Promotions.  At each step, the Grand Poobah SHALL choose a
           player whose caste is as high as possible without equalling
           or exceeding the new caste:

           a) Flip a player's caste to Alpha
           b) Flip a player's caste to Beta
           c) Flip a player's caste to Gamma
           d) Flip a player's caste to Delta

        2) Demotions.  Each step is repeated as many times as needed.

           a->b) While there is more than one Alpha,
                   flip an Alpha's caste to Beta
           b->c) While there are more than two Betas,
                   flip a Beta's caste to Gamma
           c->d) While there are more than three Gammas,
                   flip a Gamma's caste to Delta
           d->e) While there are more than four Deltas,
                   flip a Delta's caste to Epsilon

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 53/0 (Power=2)
Notes

      Notes are a class of fixed assets.  Ownership of Notes is
      restricted to players.  If changes to caste are secured, then
      changes to Notes are secured with the same power threshold.

      Each Note has exactly one pitch from the chromatic scale
      (ignoring octaves, and treating enharmonics as equivalent).
      Each pitch of Note is a currency.

      The Conductor is an office, and the recordkeepor of Notes.

      Key is a player switch, tracked by the Conductor, with values
      equal to the pitches that Notes can have, defaulting to C.  A
      player CAN change eir Key to any value by announcement, unless e
      has already done so during the current month.

      Notes are gained as follows, except that the pitch actually
      gained is as many semitones higher than the pitch listed below
      as the player's Key is higher than C at the time of the gain:

      (1) At the end of each week, for each player, let X be the
          number of eir interested proposals that were adopted during
          that week, and let Y be the number of eir interested quorate
          proposals that were rejected during that week with VI >=
          AI/2:

          (F)  If X > Y > 0, then e gains an F Note.
          (F#) If X > Y = 0, then e gains an F# Note.
          (G)  If X = Y > 0, then e gains a G Note.
          (Ab) If Y > X = 0, then e gains an Ab Note.
          (A)  If Y > X > 0, then e gains an A Note.

      (2) (E)  At the end of each week, each player who completed the
               non-empty set of weekly duties of at least one office
               during that week gains a number of E Notes equal to the
               highest interest index among all such offices.

          (Eb) At the end of each month, each player who completed the
               non-empty set of monthly duties of at least one office
               during that month gains a number of Eb Notes equal to
               the highest interest index among all such offices.

      (3) (D)  At the end of each week, each player who published at
               least one on-time judgement during that week gains a
               number of D Notes equal to the highest interest index
               among all such cases.

      (4) (C)  At the end of each week, each player who gained at
               least one Point during that week gains a C Note.

          (C#) At the end of each week, each contestmaster who awarded
               at least one Point during that week gains a C# Note.

      (5) (B)  At the end of each week, each player who authored at
               least one proposal with an Interest Index of 2 that
               passed during that week gains a B note.

          (Bb) At the end of each week, each player who authored at
               least one proposal with an Interest Index of 3 that
               passed during that week gains a Bb note.

      Notes CAN be spent (destroyed) as follows:

      (1) A player CAN, except in the last 24 hours of a month, spend
          three Notes forming a major chord to increase another
          non-Alpha player's caste by 1 level.

      (2) A non-Alpha player CAN spend five Notes forming the start of
          a major scale to increase eir own caste by 1 level.

      (3) A player CAN, except in the last 24 hours of a month, spend
          three Notes forming a minor chord to decrease another
          non-Savage player's caste by 1 level.

      (4) A non-Savage player CAN spend five Notes forming the start
          of a minor scale to decrease eir own caste by 1 level.

      (5) A player CAN spend two Notes of the same pitch to make
          another player gain one Note of that pitch.

      (6) During B's Birthday, a player CAN spend Notes forming the
          melody "Happy Birthday" (GGAGCB GGAGDC GGGECBA FFECDC or a
          translation thereof) to satisfy the Winning Condition of
          Musicianship,

      (7) A player CAN spend one Note to increase another player's
          voting limit on an ordinary proposal whose voting period is
          in progress by 1.

      (8) A player CAN spend two Notes to increase eir voting limit on
          an ordinary proposal whose voting period is in progress by
          1.

      (9) A player CAN spend three Notes to gain a Note whose pitch is
          as many semitones distant from one of the Notes spent as the
          distance between the other two Notes spent.

      The maximum FINE amount for each pitch of note is 2.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 93/0 (Power=1)
Win by Proposal

      Upon a win announcement that a proposal awarding a win to one or
      more persons has been adopted, all those persons satisfy the
      Winning Condition of Legislation.

      Cleanup procedure: The condition cannot be satisfied again for
      the same proposal.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

======================================================================
Adjudication
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 54/0 (Power=2)
Judicial Cases Generally

      A judicial case, also known as a call for judgement (CFJ), is a
      procedure to settle a matter of controversy.

      Each judicial case has exactly one subclass, with particular
      features as defined by other rules.  Subclasses of judicial case
      exist only as defined by the rules.  Defining a subclass of
      judicial case is secured, with a power threshold of 1.7.  A
      judicial case's subclass CAN be specified by its initiator, or
      otherwise defaults to inquiry.

      The Clerk of the Courts (CotC) is an office, responsible for
      managing judicial activity.  The CotC's report includes the
      status of all judicial cases that either require a judge or have
      at least one applicable judicial question that has no judgement.

      Judicial cases (other than appeal cases, which have historically
      been identified by reference to the prior case) have ID numbers,
      to be assigned by the Clerk of the Courts.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 94/0 (Power=1.5)
Interest Index of Judicial Cases

      Each judicial case has an interest index, which CAN be set by
      its initiator at the time of initiation, and CAN be changed
      by any player without 2 objections, or by the Clerk of the
      Courts or Justiciar without 3 objections.

      When a player recuses emself from a judicial case whose interest
      index equals eir rank, the cases interest index is increased by 1
      unless the recusing player announces that it should not.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 55/0 (Power=2)
Judicial Questions

      A judicial question is a question that arises within a judicial
      case.  Judicial questions arise only as defined by the rules.
      Defining a judicial question is secured, with a power threshold
      of 1.7.

      At any time, each judicial question is either inapplicable
      (default) or applicable.  This is not a persistent status, but
      is evaluated instantaneously.

      At any time, each judicial question is either open (default),
      suspended, or has exactly one judgement.  This is a persistent
      status that changes only according to the rules.  The possible
      types of judgement for a judicial question depend on the type of
      question.

      When a judicial question is applicable and open, its case
      requires a judge.

      When a judicial question is applicable and open, and its case
      has a judge assigned to it, the judge CAN assign a valid
      judgement to it by announcement, and SHALL do so as soon as
      possible.  A judge SHOULD NOT assign an inappropriate judgement
      to any judicial question.  A judgement is valid and/or
      appropriate only as defined by the rules.  Defining these things
      is secured, with a power threshold of 1.7.  If more than one
      judgement is valid and appropriate, then the choice between them
      is left to the judge's discretion.

      When a judicial question is applicable and open, and its judge
      has violated a time limit to assign a judgement to it, the Clerk
      of the Courts SHALL recuse that judge with cause by announcement
      as soon as possible; however, this requirement is waived if the
      judge assigns a judgement to it first.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 95/0 (Power=1.7)
Inquiry Cases

      Inquiry cases are a subclass of judicial cases.  An inquiry
      case's purpose is to determine the veracity of a particular
      statement.  An inquiry case CAN be initiated by any first-class
      person, by announcement which includes the statement to be
      inquired into.  (Including a yes/no question is equivalent to
      including a statement that the answer to that question is yes,
      and for such a case, YES and NO are synonymous with the
      judgements TRUE and FALSE respectively.)

      The initiator is unqualified to be assigned as judge of the
      case, and in the initiating announcement e CAN disqualify one
      person from assignment as judge of the case.

      An inquiry case has a judicial question on veracity, which is
      always applicable.  The valid judgements for this question are
      as follows, based on the truth or falsity of the statement at
      the time the inquiry case was initiated:

      * FALSE, appropriate if the statement was factually and
        logically false

      * TRUE, appropriate if the statement was factually and logically
        true

      * UNDECIDABLE, appropriate if the statement was logically
        undecidable or otherwise not capable of being accurately
        described as either false or true

      * IRRELEVANT, appropriate if the veracity of the statement is
        not relevant to the game or is an overly hypothetical
        extrapolation of the game or its rules to conditions that
        don't actually exist

      * UNDETERMINED, appropriate if the statement is nonsensical or
        too vague, or if the information available to the judge is
        insufficient to determine which of the FALSE, TRUE, and
        UNDECIDABLE judgements is appropriate; however, uncertainty as
        to how to interpret or apply the rules cannot constitute
        insufficiency of information for this purpose

      * MALFORMED, appropriate if the text identified by the initiator
        as the statement cannot be parsed as a single statement in the
        ordinary-language sense; however, a compound statement (e.g.
        "X and Y", "X or Y") counts as a single statement

      The judgement of the question in an inquiry case, and the
      reasoning by which it was reached, SHOULD guide future play
      (including future judgements), but do not directly affect the
      veracity of the statement.  The Rulekeepor is ENCOURAGED to
      annotate rules to draw attention to relevant inquiry case
      judgements.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 56/0 (Power=2)
Notices of Violation

      A player MAY publish a Notice of Violation (with N support,
      where N is the number of valid un-Closed Notices of Violation e
      previously published during the same week, or by announcement if
      N is zero) alleging that a single entity (the Accused) has
      broken a Rule.  A notice of violation is invalid if it lacks any
      of the following information, and the lack is correctly
      identified within one week after the notice is published:
       (a) The identity of the Accused;
       (b) The allegedly illegal action/inaction in question;
       (c) The Rule that was allegedly broken;
       (d) If the Rules specify exactly one Class-N Crime (where N is
           a positive integer) as being associated with the alleged
           breach, then the name of that Crime and the value of N;
           otherwise, the Power of the Rule that was allegedly broken.

      Knowingly issuing a Notice of Violation with incorrect
      information is ILLEGAL, and the Class-4 Crime of Libel.

      A Notice of Violation is valid if and only if:
        (1) it clearly specifies the required information for a Notice
            of Violation;
        (2) no previous valid notice specified substantially identical
            information (i.e. the same violation for the same specific
            act).
        (3) when a crime is named, the crime is specified within the
            Rules.

      Neither a Notice's incorrectness (i.e. whether its allegation is
      false) nor its unfairness (i.e. whether the punishment resulting
      from leaving it Uncontested would be manifestly unfair according
      to the guidance of the Rules) affects its validity.

      As soon as possible after a player makes an announcement that is
      reasonably recognizable as an attempt to issue such a notice,
      the Insulator SHALL announce whether the Notice was valid.  Such
      an announcement is self-ratifying.  Affirming the validity of
      the notice does not in itself certify the correctness of the
      allegation.

      A valid Notice of Violation is initially Uncontested unless a
      Crime is named, Contested otherwise.  Within four days after the
      publication of an Uncontested Notice, any player CAN make it
      Contested by announcement; a player SHOULD do so if e believes
      it is incorrect and/or unfair.  An Uncontested Notice becomes
      Contested upon the initiation of a judicial case questioning its
      incorrectness and/or unfairness (but not merely by questioning
      its validity).

      If a Notice is Uncontested and was published at least four days
      ago, any player CAN cause it to become Closed by announcement.
      Any player CAN cause a Notice specifying em as Accused to become
      Closed by announcement. When a Notice becomes Closed, a number
      of Rests are created in the possession of the Accused equal to
      the power of the violated Rule, rounded up.  If a Closed notice
      becomes Contested, these Rests remain, but CAN be later
      destroyed by judicial processes as described elsewhere.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 57/0 (Power=2)
Criminal Cases

      Criminal cases are a subclass of judicial cases.  Any
      first-class person can initiate a criminal case by an
      announcement calling for judgement on the circumstances
      surrounding a specified valid Notice of Violation alleging a
      rules breach by a single entity (the Accused).  The initiator
      and each member of the Accused's basis are unqualified to be
      assigned as judge of the case.

      A criminal case has a judicial question on culpability, which is
      applicable at all times following the call for judgement.  The
      valid judgements for this question are:

      * GUILTY, appropriate if the judge finds, beyond a reasonable
        doubt, that ALL of the following are true:
       (a) the Accused breached the specified rule via the specified
           act;
       (b) the breach occurred within 90 days prior to the case being
           initiated;
       (c) judgement has not already been reached in another criminal
           case, or punishment already applied through another
           uncontested notice of violation, with the same Accused, the
           same rule, and substantially the same alleged act;
       (d) the Accused could not have reasonably believed that the
           alleged act did not violate the specified rule;
       (e) the Accused could have reasonably avoided committing the
           breach without committing a different breach of equal or
           greater severity.

      * NOT GUILTY, appropriate if GUILTY is not appropriate.  In
        delivering this verdict, the judge SHOULD indicate which of of
        the sub-requirements for a finding of guilty were not found to
        be true beyond a reasonable doubt.

      When a judicial question on culpability is judged after a number
      of rests have been created in the Accused's possession due to
      the associated notice, the judge CAN and SHALL destroy any such
      rests by announcement as soon as possible.

      A criminal case has a judicial question on sentencing, which is
      applicable if the question on culpability is applicable and has
      a judgement of GUILTY.  If a criminal case has an applicable
      question on sentencing which has a judgement, the Accused is
      hereafter known as the ninny, the judgement in the question on
      sentencing is known as the sentence, and the sentence is in
      effect.

      The valid sentences are:

      * DISCHARGE, appropriate only in extraordinary circumstances, if
        any available non-null punishment would be manifestly unjust.
        Has no effect.

      * APOLOGY with a set of up to ten words (the prescribed words),
        appropriate for rule breaches of small consequence.  When in
        effect, the ninny SHALL as soon as possible publish a formal
        apology of at least 200 words, including all the prescribed
        words, explaining eir error, shame, remorse, and ardent desire
        for self-improvement.   Failure to do so is a Class-3 Crime of
        Failure to Apologize.

      * SILENCE, a number of Rests, equal to the defined Class of the
        Crime or (if the breach is not a defined crime) the power of
        the breached Rule, rounded to the nearest integer with ties
        broken by rounding up, are created in the possession of the
        Ninny.  The judge CAN, with 2 Support, set the fine at a
        different integral level between one half and double that
        amount, and SHOULD attempt to do so if necessary to ensure
        that the correlation between the fine and the severity of the
        breach is appropriate, or to account for the faith (good or
        bad) shown by the Ninny in contesting the notice or in aiding
        or obstructing the course of justice.

      Players SHOULD NOT create rules defining Crimes of a Class
      greater than 14.

      An appeal concerning any assignment of judgment in a criminal
      case within the past week CAN be initiated by the accused by
      announcement. Unless otherwise specified, an appeal of a
      judgment in a criminal case is assumed to be appealing the
      question of culpability. If a verdict or sentence that led to
      the creation of Rests is overruled, remanded, or reassigned, the
      Rests are still considered to have been created, but the appeals
      panel CAN and SHALL destroy any created Rests by announcement.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 96/0 (Power=1.7)
Equity Cases

      Equity cases are a subclass of judicial cases. An equity case's
      purpose is to correct a potential injustice in the operation of
      a particular contract.  An equity case CAN be initiated by any
      party to the contract, by announcement which clearly identifies
      the contract and a state of affairs whereby events have not
      proceeded as envisioned by the contract (such as, but not
      limited to, a party acting in contravention of eir contractual
      obligations).  This announcement SHALL also clearly identify the
      set of parties to the contract.

      For the purpose of this rule, the parties to a contract are
      measured as of the time the case was initiated; however, if the
      initiating message specifies a different time that falls within
      the week before the case was initiated, then that time is used
      instead.

      The initiation of an equity case begins its pre-trial phase.  In
      the pre-trial phase the CotC SHALL in a timely fashion inform
      all the contracting parties of the case and invite them to
      submit arguments regarding the equitability of the situation.
      The pre-trial phase ends one week after the parties have been so
      informed, or immediately when all parties have announced that
      they wish to terminate the pre-trial phase.

      The initiator is unqualified to be assigned as judge of the
      case.  All other members of the bases of the parties to the
      contract are also unqualified, except while this would result in
      all entities being unqualified.

      An equity case has a judicial question on equation, which is
      applicable at all times following the pre-trial phase.  The
      valid judgements for this question are the possible agreements
      that the parties could make that would be governed by the rules.
      A judgement is appropriate if and only if it is a reasonably
      equitable resolution of the situation at hand with respect to
      the matters raised in the initiation of the case and by the
      parties in the course of the case.

      When an applicable question on equation in an equity case has a
      judgement, and has had that judgement continuously for the past
      week (or all parties to the contract have approved that
      judgement), the judgement becomes Enforceable as a set of
      regulated requirements imposed by this Rule.

      Every party to the contract SHALL act to ensure the terms of an
      enforceable equity judgement specific to that party are
      satisfied, though this requirement does not create the ability
      to perform regulated actions that the party CANNOT otherwise
      perform.

      If a party fails to act as specified, e is in violation of this
      Rule; in such a situation, the judge CAN act on the party's
      behalf to fulfill said obligations Without 3 Objections, or the
      party may be subjected to a criminal punishment other than
      DISCHARGE for violating this Rule, but not both.

      The judge CAN, Without Objection from the parties, nullify a
      specified term or terms of the judgement, thereby removing the
      requirement of parties to act as specified.

      An appeal concerning any assignment of judgement in an equity
      case CAN be initiated by any party to the contract in question
      by announcement.  If the judgement is Enforceable when it is
      appealed, the Appeals Court SHOULD assume that the judgement was
      fundamentally fair when made, and SHALL restrict its appeals
      judgement to nullifying terms of the judgement which are no
      longer applicable due to changed circumstances.

      If an announcement claiming to initiate an equity case regarding
      a private contract would otherwise be invalid solely because the
      contract does not exist or the initiator is not party to it,
      then it is valid, but its judge SHALL assign it a null
      judgement.

      For the purpose of an equity case regarding a scam, it is
      generally equitable to let the scammers retain at least some
      absolute gains as reward for their cleverness, while
      compensating others for at least some absolute losses.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 97/0 (Power=1)
Judicial Arguments and Evidence

      Each of the following participants in a judicial case SHOULD
      present such arguments and/or evidence (explicitly labeled)
      relevant to that case as e is reasonably able to collect:

      1) The initiator, when initiating the case.

      2) For a criminal case, the defendant, during the pre-trial
         phase.

      3) For an equity case, the parties to the agreement in question,
         during the pre-trial phase.

      4) The judge, when delivering judgement.

      Matters of legal interpretation SHOULD be classified as
      arguments; matters of fact SHOULD be classified as evidence.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 98/0 (Power=1.7)
Judicial Panels

      A judicial panel is a structure whereby a group of two or more
      persons (its members) act together for the purpose of judging
      judicial cases.  A judicial panel's membership cannot change,
      and if two panels have the same membership then they are the
      same panel.  Judicial panels exist implicitly, without any
      specific act of formation.

      A judicial panel CAN send messages by means of any of its
      members sending a message identified as being from the panel,
      with the unanimous Support of the panel's other members.  By
      this mechanism a judicial panel can act, in situations where the
      rules state that an action is performed by sending a message.
      The rules may specify other mechanisms by which the judicial
      panel CAN act.

      A judicial panel can incur obligations.  The members of a panel
      SHALL act collectively to ensure that the panel satisfies all of
      its obligations.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 99/0 (Power=1.7)
Appeal Cases

      Appeal cases are a subclass of judicial cases.  An appeal case's
      purpose is to determine the appropriateness of a judgement that
      has been assigned to a judicial question, and make remedy if the
      judgement was poorly chosen.  The assignment of judgement being
      questioned (appealed against, or appealed) is referred to as the
      prior assignment; the word "prior" in this rule is used to refer
      to the circumstances of the prior assignment.

      An appeal concerning any assignment of judgement in a non-appeal
      case within the past two weeks CAN be initiated by any player
      with 2 support.  However, rules to the contrary notwithstanding,
      an appeal CANNOT be initiated concerning an assignment caused by
      a judgement in an appeal case, nor an assignment for which an
      appeal has already been initiated.

      The entities qualified to be assigned as judge of an appeal case
      are the judicial panels consisting of max(3,1+2*R) members
      (where R is the rank of the prior case), where each of the
      members is qualified to be assigned as judge of the prior case
      and none of the members is the prior judge.

      An appeal case has a judicial question on disposition, which is
      applicable if and only if the prior question is applicable.  The
      valid judgements for the question on disposition, and their
      effects, are as follows, based on the appropriateness of the
      prior judgement at the time it was delivered:

      * AFFIRM, appropriate if the prior judgement was appropriate for
        the prior question; the prior judgement is assigned to the
        prior question again

      * REMAND, appropriate if there is serious doubt about the
        appropriateness of the prior judgement; the prior question is
        rendered open again; this judgement SHOULD be assigned if the
        judge believes that the judge of the prior case will make a
        better judgement if given a new opportunity

      * REASSIGN, appropriate if there is serious doubt about the
        appropriateness of the prior judgement, or if the prior judge
        exhibited corruptive self-interest (material, with a specific
        and obvious impact on eir judgement and arguments, and not
        arising merely due to a difference of opinion or a wholly
        incidental material benefit common among many players); the
        judge of the prior case (if any) is recused, and the prior
        question is rendered open again; this judgement SHOULD be
        assigned if the judge believes that the judge of the prior
        case will not make a better judgement if given a new
        opportunity

      * OVERRULE with a valid replacement judgement for the prior
        question, appropriate if the prior judgement was inappropriate
        in the prior question and the replacement judgement is
        appropriate for the prior question; the replacement judgement
        is assigned to the prior question

      When an appeal case is initiated, the prior question is
      suspended, and remains so until the question on disposition in
      the appeal case is judged.

      As soon as possible after a judicial panel is assigned, each
      member of the panel SHALL publish an appeals opinion indicating
      a valid judgement to assign to the case -- only the last such
      published opinion for each member is used to determine the
      outcome.  Each member SHOULD choose an appropriate judgement,
      and include arguments for eir choice.  If, immediately after
      either all members have so published or the time limit for so
      publishing has ended, a majority of the members have opined for
      the same judgement, the panel acts to deliver the judgement in
      question.  If the time period ends with no majority judgement,
      the panel acts to deliver a judgement of REMAND.  If the panel
      publishes a valid judgement via another mechanism specified in
      the Rules, the requirement for individual members to publish
      individual opinions is waived.

      A panel CAN publish a concurring opinion when judging AFFIRM,
      and SHALL do so if and only if the reasoning by which the prior
      judge reached eir judgement was incorrect in whole or part.
      Each concurring opinion SHALL explain the nature of the error(s)
      in the prior judge's reasoning.  Each concurring opinion has an
      error rating, an integer from 1 to 99; it CAN be specified by
      the panel when the concurring opinion is published, or else
      defaults to 50.

      In the week after the panel publishes a valid judgement, any
      panel member may publish a formal Dissenting Opinion with
      Support.  This Dissenting Opinion becomes a part of the record
      of the case, and SHOULD aid in interpreting the decision.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 100/0 (Power=1)
Judicial Retraction and Excess

      A new case is a judicial case (other than an appeal case) that
      has not had any judge assigned to it.  The initiator of a new
      case CAN retract it by announcement, thus causing it to cease to
      be a judicial case.

      An excess case is a new case whose initiator previously
      initiated five or more cases during the same week as that case.
      The Clerk of the Courts CAN refuse an excess case by
      announcement, thus causing it to cease to be a judicial case.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 58/0 (Power=2)
Judge Assignment Generally

      At any time, a judicial case either has no judge assigned to it
      (default) or has exactly one entity assigned to it as judge.
      This is a persistent status that changes only according to the
      rules.

      At any time, a judicial case either does not require a judge
      (default) or requires a judge.  This is not a persistent status,
      but is evaluated instantaneously.

      When a judicial case requires a judge and has no judge assigned,
      the CotC CAN assign a qualified entity to be its judge by
      announcement, and SHALL do so as soon as possible.

      The entities qualified to be assigned as judge of a judicial
      case are the active first-class players, subject to modification
      by other rules.  Being unqualified to be assigned as a judge
      does not inherently prevent an entity from continuing to be
      judge of a case to which e is already assigned.

      When a player is poorly qualified to be assigned as judge of a
      judicial case, the Clerk of the Courts SHALL not assign em to be
      the judge of that case; if e has done so, and that player is
      still the judge of that case, then e CAN recuse that judge from
      that case by announcement.

      Making an entity unqualified or poorly qualified to judge is
      secured, with a power threshold of 1.5.

      To recuse a judge from a case is to deassign em as its judge.
      Assigning a judge to a case implicitly recuses its existing
      judge, if any.  A recusal "with cause" is a recusal defined as
      such by the rules.

      A player CAN favor or disfavor a judicial case by announcement.
      When assigning a judge to a judicial case, the CotC, if
      possible, SHALL assign a player who has favored it and SHALL NOT
      assign a player who has disfavored it.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 101/0 (Power=1.5)
The Standing Court

      Posture is a player switch, tracked by the Clerk of the Courts,
      with the following values:

      * Standing.  Standing players are generally qualified to judge.

      * Sitting.  Sitting players are poorly qualified to judge, but
        will generally become qualified when the CotC rotates the
        bench.

      * Leaning.  Leaning players are poorly qualified to judge, but
        are generally qualified to serve on appeal panels.

      * Supine (default).  Supine players are unqualified to judge.

      Changes to posture are secured.

      A player CAN flip eir posture to any non-standing value by
      announcement.

      When the CotC assigns a player as judge, that player becomes
      sitting.

      The CotC CAN rotate the bench (change all sitting players to
      standing) by announcement, but SHALL NOT do so unless there is a
      judicial case to which e is obliged to assign a judge, all
      entities qualified to be so assigned are poorly qualified, and e
      immediately afterwards (in the same announcement) assigns a
      judge to that case.

      When the CotC recuses a non-supine player with cause, e CAN flip
      that player's posture to supine by announcement in a timely
      fashion.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 102/0 (Power=1.5)
Hawkishness

      Hawkishness is a player switch, tracked by the Clerk of the
      Courts, with the following values:

      * Hanging.  Hanging players are unqualified to be assigned as
        judge of any inquiry case.

      * Hugging.  Hugging players are unqualified to be assigned as
        judge of any criminal case, and poorly qualified to be
        assigned as judge of any equity case.

      * Hemming-and-Hawing (default).

      * Hovering.  Hovering players are poorly qualified to be
        assigned as judge of any inquiry case, unless there is no
        non-inquiry case requiring assignment, at least one inquiry
        case requiring assignment, and no such inquiry case with any
        non-Hovering player well-qualified to be assigned to it.

      Changes to hawkishness are secured.

      A player CAN flip eir hawkishness by announcement.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 103/0 (Power=1.5)
Judicial Rank

      Judicial rank is a player switch, tracked by the Clerk of the
      Courts, with the same range and default as interest indices.

      A player is poorly qualified to judge judicial cases whose
      interest index exceeds eir judicial rank.

      A player CAN flip eir judicial rank to any value by
      announcement.

      When a judgement is overruled on appeal, if the prior judge's
      rank is higher than 1, then it is decreased by 1, and e CANNOT
      increase it for 30 days afterward (the rest of this rule
      notwithstanding).

      "District", "Circuit", and "Supreme" are synonymous with
      judicial ranks 1, 2, and 3, respectively.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 104/0 (Power=1.5)
Linked Assignments

      When the Clerk of the Courts assigns a player as judge of two or
      more judicial cases consecutively in the same announcement, that
      player only becomes sitting upon the last such assignment, rules
      to the contrary notwithstanding.  The CotC SHOULD NOT do this
      unless those cases are closely related in their subject matter.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 105/0 (Power=1)
Judicial Self-Recusal and Case Transfer

      The judge of a judicial case CAN recuse emself from it at any
      time by announcement.  Such a recusal is with cause if and only
      if e has been assigned to the case for at least four days.

      An entity (the transferee) CAN, with consent from the current
      judge of a judicial case (the transferor), assign emself as the
      new judge of that case, provided that e is qualified to be
      assigned as judge of that case, and e immediately (in the same
      announcement) assigns a judgement to a judicial question in that
      case.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 106/0 (Power=1.7)
Judicial Declarations

      A judicial declaration published by a judge as required by the
      rules in conjunction with a judgement is self-ratifying,
      provided that that judgement remains in effect.  Such a
      judgement may be inappropriate due to the content of this
      declaration, rules to the contrary notwithstanding.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

======================================================================
Contract Law
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 59/0 (Power=2)
Contracts

      Contracts are binding agreements governed by the rules.

      Each contract requires a certain number of parties (two if not
      otherwise specified by the rules).  Any agreement made by one or
      more persons, with the intention that it be binding on them and
      governed by the rules, becomes a contract when it comes to have
      at least the required number of parties, and terminates when it
      comes to have less than the required number of parties.

      Parties to a contract SHALL act in accordance with that
      contract.  This obligation is not impaired by contradiction
      between the contract and any other contract, or between the
      contract and the rules.  However, if a player is found GUILTY
      of violating this rule by failing to act in accordance with
      an Equitable contract, then the only appropriate sentence is
      DISCHARGE, unless the failure pertains to a previously-imposed
      equity judgement.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 60/0 (Power=2)
Defining Contract Changes

      The following are Contract Changes:

        a) Becoming party to a contract.
        b) Ceasing to be a party to a contract.
        c) Amending a contract.
        d) Terminating a contract.
        e) Flipping a contract switch.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 61/0 (Power=2)
Making Contract Changes

      Contract Changes CAN be performed as follows:

        a) By agreement between all parties, if the contract's minimum
           number of parties is at least two.

        b) By a party without objection (any other party CAN object),
           if the contract's minimum number of parties is less than
           two.

        c) Using a mechanism specified by the contract.

        d) By the contract by announcement, if it is a person.

      If a contract does not purport to regulate becoming a party to
      it, then any person CAN become a party to it by announcement.

      If a contract states that one or more of its switches have
      certain values, then they do.

      The rest of this rule notwithstanding, if the nature and/or
      permissibility of a Contract Changes is ambiguous, then it has
      no effect.

      Contract changes are secured.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 62/0 (Power=2)
Contract Switches

      Disclosure is a contract switch with values Private (default)
      and Public.  Rules to the contrary notwithstanding:

        a) A contract's Disclosure CANNOT be flipped to Public unless
           its text and list of parties are simultaneously published.

        b) A contract's Disclosure CANNOT be flipped away from Public.

        c) Changes to a public contract's text and/or list of parties
           do not become effective until published.

      Sentiment is a contract switch with values Equitable (default)
      and Legalistic.  Rules to the contrary notwithstanding, a
      contract's Sentiment CANNOT be flipped away from Legalistic.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 63/0 (Power=2)
The Notary

      The Notary is an office; its holder is responsible for keeping
      track of contracts.

      The parties to a public contract SHALL keep the Notary informed
      of its text and set of parties.  The Notary's weekly report
      includes a list of all public contracts; the Notary's monthly
      report includes each public contract's text and set of parties.

      The parties to a private contract SHOULD keep the Notary
      informed of its text and set of parties.  The Notary SHALL
      disclose this information (to the extent that e has been
      informed of it) to the judge of an equity case pertaining to
      that contract.  The Notary SHALL NOT disclose it otherwise,
      except as explicitly allowed by the contract, or with the
      explicit consent of all parties.

      The Notary CAN terminate any contract without objection.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 64/0 (Power=2)
Pledges

      A pledge is a public contract identifying itself as such.  A
      pledge requires at least one party.

      An equity case regarding a pledge CAN be initiated by a
      non-party, provided that all other requirements for initiating
      an equity case are met.  The initiator of such a case is
      considered to be a party to the pledge for the purpose of that
      case.

      If a pledge does not impose any ongoing or unsatisfied
      obligations on its current parties, and will not do so in the
      future in its current form, then any person CAN terminate it by
      announcing that it is obsolete.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 107/0 (Power=1)
Points

      Points are a fixed currency.  A player's score is the number of
      points e possesses.  Ownership of points is restricted to
      players.  If winning is secured, then changes to point holdings
      are secured with the same power threshold.

      The Scorekeepor is a office, and the recordkeepor of points.

      Players generally CAN transfer points they own to other players,
      subject to the restrictions that no more than 5 points can be
      transferred this way to any one player, nor from any one player,
      per week.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 108/0 (Power=1)
Contests

      Contestmaster is a public contract switch, tracked by the
      Scorekeepor, with values 'none' (default) and all first-class
      parties to that contract.  A contest is a public contract whose
      contestmaster is not 'none'.

      A contract's contestmaster CAN be flipped by any player without 3
      objections, or as specified by the contract.  Rules to the
      contrary notwithstanding, it CANNOT be flipped in any other way,
      and CANNOT be flipped to a given player if any of the following
      are true:

        a) The player has not explicitly consented to be contestmaster
           of that contest.  (Intent to flip a contract's contestmaster
           to oneself constitutes explicit consent to be contestmaster
           of that contest.)

        b) A member of that player's basis has already become a
           contestmaster within the past seven days.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 109/0 (Power=1)
Awarding and Revoking Points

      For each contest, where N is the number of its parties that were
      active first-class players at the beginning of the week, the
      contestmaster of that contest:

       a) CAN award points to its other parties by announcement
          specifying that contest, unless the total points awarded in
          this way for that contest and week would thereby exceed 5N.

       b) CAN revoke points from its other parties by announcement
          specifying that contest, unless the total points revoked in
          this way for that contest and week would thereby exceed 2N.

       c) SHALL award and revoke points as explicitly described in its
          contract (subject to the above limits), or as needed to
          counteract an award/revocation specifying that contest but
          not explicitly described in either its contract or this
          clause (in which case neither the corrected award/revocation
          nor the correction count against the contest's weekly
          limit).

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 110/0 (Power=1)
Rewarding Contestmasters

      As soon as possible after the end of a month, for each contest,
      the player (if any) who was its contestmaster for at least 16
      days during that month MAY once announce that e performed duties
      related to that contest in a timely manner during that month,
      subject to other rules regarding truthfulness.

      As soon as possible after a player makes such an announcement,
      the Scorekeepor CAN and SHALL by announcement award, N points to
      that player, where N is either the number of players who were
      contestants of that contest at any time during that month, or
      the number of points awarded by that contest on that axis during
      that month, whichever is less.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 111/0 (Power=1)
Win by High Score

      Upon a win announcement that one or more players have a score
      greater than or equal to 100 (specifying all such players), all
      those players satisfy the Winning Condition of High Score.

      Cleanup procedure: All those players have their scores set to 0.
      Within one week afterward, any player CAN declare a skunk with
      the Consent of B.  If no player does so within the allowed week,
      then each player has eir score set to floor(P*S/10), where P is
      eir previous score.

      The Score Index is an integer from 0 to 5, and part of the
      Scorekeepor's report.  The Scorekeepor CAN change the Score
      Index with the Consent of B.

      If no players have won by High Score in the past four months,
      then any Player may place B into Overtime with 3 Support.  When
      B is in overtime, any announcement awarding or revoking points
      that is authorized by another Rule awards or revokes double the
      amount of the announcement.  B ceases being in overtime when
      someone wins by High Score.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

======================================================================
Foreign Relations
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 112/0 (Power=1)
Advertising

      Every month the ambassador shall update the page about B Nomic
      on the NomicWiki at nomic.net, provided that that wiki is
      operational.  This page, when updated, is to include a list of
      the current players.  In updating the page the ambassador shall
      ensure that information that is currently incorrect is either
      corrected or removed, and that all links on the page point to
      extant pages that are correctly described.  The ambassador may
      add new correct information to the page at eir discretion.

      The ambassador is encouraged to also advertise B in other
      suitable locations.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 113/0 (Power=1)
The Ambassador

      The ambassador is an office; its holder is responsible for
      relations with foreign nomics.

      A foreign nomic may grant certain powers (in the
      ordinary-language sense) and privileges to B's ambassador.  If
      so, the ambassador shall generally exercise such powers in such
      manner as e sees fit, subject to other rules and orders. If a
      foreign nomic allows for B to take actions in it, the ambassador
      MAY, with the Consent of B, take any action in it on behalf of
      B, provided that the nomic is Protected, Friendly or Neutral.

      All players are prohibited from falsely claiming, to any nomic,
      to be the ambassador.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 114/0 (Power=1)
Foreign Relations

      Recognition is a foreign nomic switch, tracked by the
      Ambassador, with values Unknown (default), Friendly, Neutral,
      Sanctioned, Hostile, and Abandoned.

      The Ambassador CAN, without objection, flip a foreign nomic's
      Recognition to any value. E SHALL inform that nomic of the
      change as soon as possible.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 115/0 (Power=1)
Trade Embargo

      A player SHALL NOT export assets to a foreign nomic unless its
      Recognition is Protected, Friendly, or Neutral.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

======================================================================
Trophies
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule 116/0 (Power=1)
Happy Birthday

      WHEREAS, in December 2001, the world's best fully pragmatic
      nomic, A Nomic, had recently apparently collapsed; yet, many of
      its players enjoyed nomic and did not wish to forego such a
      noble pursuit;

      And WHEREAS, David E. Smith therefore composed an Initial
      Ruleset for an email nomic, based on the Initial Rulesets of
      Peter Suber, inventor of Nomic, and on the Rulesets of other
      nomics,

      And WHEREAS, a nomic thus rose like a phoenix from the ashes of
      A Nomc, played on the mailing list originally set up for A
      Nomic, and coming into existence at Wed, 5 Dec 2001 00:33:57
      +0000 (GMT), with a message sent by Administrator David
      E. Smith, which read, in part,

          "If there are any more gaping holes in the ruleset, consider
          it your personal duty to make a proposal for their change.

          "I hereby declare this day, 5 December 2001, to be the first
          day of nweek 1 in "B Nomic" and that the game is officially
          underway."

      And WHEREAS, B has now become the wisest, noblest, craziest, and
      most interesting of all active email nomics, due to the hard
      work and diligence of its players as well as the often random
      shakeup of its rules,

      And WHEREAS, the players desire to joyously commemorate B's
      founding,

      BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED that B's Birthday is defined to be
      the entire day of December 5th of each year.

----------------------------------------------------------------------


-- 
Wooble
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