Daniel Lepage on Thu, 7 Apr 2005 11:26:11 -0500 (CDT)


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[s-d] A Proposed new Ruleset


Ok, if we're going to discuss wiping the ruleset and starting from scratch, here's a "scratch" ruleset we could use. It tries to incorporate the most important parts of the current ruleset, but only those needed to run the game. I also tried to organize the rules in as readable a way as possible.

The kind of interesting thing is that I drafted this (as a modification to my ruleset on the wiki) *before* receiving Peter's comments about the wiki version. I just decided on my own that I didn't like the rolling proposals, and I'd rather keep the CFIs as Props mentality.

I have now added that r2-2 takes precedence over all other rules.

Thoughts?

= Section I: Basics =

== Rule 1-1: The Game of B ==

The name of this game is B Nomic.

== Rule 1-2: Objects ==

A Game Object is anything which exists within the context of the game, that is, its existence must be sactioned by the rules; the term Object shall be an unambiguous synonym for Game Object in all Game Documents except where specified otherwise. [[Note that this does not require the object's definition to be in the ruleset; an object could be defined by reference to an outside Document]]

An External Force is anything which exists independantly of the game.

An Outsider is an External Force which is also an Object. [[ i.e., something that exists outside of the game but is also acknowledge by the rules as influencing the gamestate, and thus exists within the game as well, such as a player]]

A Game Document is a body of text specified as a Game Document by the Rules. Game Documents are Game Objects. [[ which is true by definition, but we might as well state it.]]

== Rule 1-3: Actions ==

A Game Action is defined as any activity specified by the rules to be a Game Action. Any Outsider may take any Game Action at any time unless the rules say otherwise. To do this, e must specify to a Public Forum that e is taking that action. E must also specify any targets necessary for that action [[for example, you must specify a proposal in order to vote against a proposal]]. E may list multiple actions that e wishes to take, in which case e takes them in the order e lists them. E may also state that e performs an action multiple times, in which case e performs the action that many times (if legal, of course) sequentially. The Rules also have the power to cause an Outsider to take Game Actions whether e posts or not.

An Outsider does not take a game action if the number of times the action is repeated is infinite or cannot be determined [[so "I do X until my score hits 100" is legal only if you can show that your score will hit 100 and that it is possible to figure out how many times you do X before it happens]].

Game Actions occur upon reaching the appropriate fora, in the order they arrived, unless a rule states otherwise. A Game Action that is caused by a Rule instead of by a Forum Post takes place at the time specified by the rule.

A text to the effect that "any player may do X" should be interpreted to mean that X is a Game Action; but such a declaration implies that only players may take the Game Action X (unless another declaration permits other Outsiders to as well).

== Rule 1-4: Fora ==

A Forum is a means by which Outsiders can communicate. Fora may be Private or Public; all Fora are Private until a rule makes them otherwise.

== Rule 1-5: Revision ==

Game Documents may be specified by the rules as Revisable. Every Revisable Document has a revision number associated with it. This is an integer that is equal to zero when the Document is created and is increased by one every time it is modified.

Note that an object that is not Revisable may still be changeable; it simply will not be assigned revision numbers according to this rule.

== Rule 1-6: Submission ==

The rules may state that it is legal for Outsiders to Submit certain document types as a Game Action. To Submit a Game Document, an Outsider must provide a full description of the Document in the Public Forum message where they take the Action of Submitting.

= Section II: Rules and Proposals =

== Rule 2-1: The Rules ==

Rules are Revisable Game Documents. They govern how the game is played. All Outsiders must abide by all current rules at all times.

Rules may only be modified as described in the rules.

A Rulebook is a collection of Rules. Every Rule must be in a Rulebook; no rule may be in more than one Rulebook.

The Ruleset is a Rulebook; all rules that are not in other Rulebooks are in the Ruleset. Rulebooks themselves may be divided into Sections.

In each Rulebook, every Rule and Section is assigned an id number. Section id numbers must be unique within that Rulebook; Rule id numbers must be unique within each Section.

Each Rulebook must have a rule which mandates its existence; these rules must always be in the Ruleset [[And thus not in any other book]].

== Rule 2-2: Precedence ==

Should it happen that the text of one rule contradicts or otherwise invalidates the text of another, the two rules are considered to be in conflict. If one of the rules explicitly states that it takes precedence over or defers to the other, and the other does not make a contrary claim, these claims are used to determine which shall take precedence.

If this is not the case, then:
* If the two rules are in the same Section of the same Rulebook, the one with the lower id number shall take precedence. * If the two rules are in different Sections of the same Rulebook, the one with the lower Section number shall take precedence. * If the two rules are in different Rulebooks, precedence is determined as if the conflict were between the rules defining the Rulebooks.

In the case of conflicting passages within the text of a single rule, the text occurring later in the rule will take precedence over the earlier text.

This rule takes precedence over all other rules.

== Rule 2-3: Proposals ==

Proposals are Revisable Game Documents. Each Proposal consists of a list of Gamestate Changes, that is, changes to the state and/or existence of some number of Game Objects.

Proposals may be in one of three states: Pending, Open, or Historical. Historical Proposals are for all intents and purposes not part of the Gamestate; they are kept merely for reference.

Proposals are owned by the entities that submit them.

Proposals are numbered in the order they are made, with the first proposal numbered one and every subsequent proposal numbered one higher than the previous.

= Section III: Gameplay =

== Rule 3-1: NTime ==

There exist two entities known as The Clock and The Watch. The Clock shall consist of two numbers, representing nweeks and ndays. The Watch shall consist of two numbers, representing wweeks and wdays. The Clock shall always be either On or Off.

For the purposes of this rule, 'X' denotes the number 6, and 'Y' denotes the number 8 [[X is the length of an nweek, Y is the length of an nyear]]

If The Clock is On, then at 00:00:00 UTC, the number of ndays on The Clock shall increase by one, unless the number of ndays on The Clock is equal to X, in which case it shall become equal to 1 and the number of nweeks on The Clock shall increase by one.

If The Clock is Off, then at 00:00:00 UTC, the number of wdays on The Watch shall increase by one, unless the number of wdays on The Watch is equal to X, in which case it shall become equal to 1 and the number of wweeks on The Watch shall increase by one.

One nday shall be defined as the time between two consecutive changes in the number of ndays on The Clock. One nweek shall be defined to be X ndays, or the time between two consecutive changes in the number of nweeks on The Clock.

One wday shall be defined as the time between two consecutive changes in the number of wdays on The Watch. One wweek shall be defined to be X wdays, or the time between two consecutive changes in the number of wweeks on The Clock.

Whenever any rule other than this one specifies a certain amount of time, that time shall be measured according to The Clock, unless that rule specifies otherwise. [[Thus, if a rule gives someone 1 nweek to do something, and The Clock is turned Off when the person has 6 days left, then the person still has 6 days left once The Clock is turned back on]]

If the Clock is Off, any game-related actions taken by players are implemented when the Clock is turned On and in the order in which they occurred.

The Clock may not be changed from On to Off or from Off to On except in ways explicitly permitted by the rules. When the Clock is turned Off, the number of wdays and wweeks on The Watch shall be set to zero.

Whenever the current value of The Clock is displayed or referred to, it shall be displayed or referred to with the number of nweeks increased by one and the number of ndays increased by one. [[because The Clock is zero-based]].

A period of Y nweeks is known as an nyear. A period of Y wweeks is known as a wyear. Hence the first Y nweeks (1-Y on the Clock) comprise nyear 1, the second (Y+1-2Y on the Clock) comprise nyear 2 and so on.

== Rule 3-2: Joining and Leaving ==

A Player is an Outsider who consents to be governed by the rules, fulfills all requirements for continued playerhood specified by the rules, and has become a player in a manner specified by the rules.

An External Force may become a Player by posting a message to a Public Forum containing a request to become a player and a uniquely identifying name that e wishes to be known by. It may do this if and only if it fulfills the following requirements:

    * It is capable of passing a Turing Test
* Either it is a Lost Soul, or it is not already a Game Object at all.
    * It has a working e-mail address

A Player may cease to be a player by Forfeiting the game; this must be done in a Public Forum unless there are no working public fora, in which case e may notify all players privately instead.

No restrictions may be placed on when a player may forfeit; any player may forfeit the game at any time (regardless of the clock, the watch, etc.)

When a Player ceases to be a player for any reason, e loses all game defined properties and attributes except for eir Name, and becomes a Lost Soul. Lost Souls are game objects.

== Rule 3-3: Proposing and Voting ==

Proposals are initially Pending. On the eighth nday of each nweek, every Pending Proposal becomes Open; at the end of each nweek, every Open Proposal becomes Historical.

Any player may Submit a Proposal at any time while the Clock is On, unless e already owns 5 or more Proposals that aren't Historical.

Any player may revise a Proposal e owns by resubmitting it, but only if the Proposal in question is Pending.

Any player may cast a Vote (as a Game Action) on any Proposal that is Open. This vote may be either FOR or AGAINST. Players may cast multiple votes, but only the last one cast by a given player will be counted.

When a Proposal changes from Open to Historical, it is said to have Resolved. At this point, the final votes cast by each player are counted, and if the number of FOR votes exceeds the number of AGAINST votes, the Proposal Passes; otherwise, it Fails.

When a Proposal Passes, the gamestate changes listed within it are implemented by whoever is responsible for them.

= Section IV: Tracking the Game =

== Rule 4-1: Ministers ==

Ministries are Game Objects. Each Ministry must be held by at most one player at any given time; this player is the 'Minister' of that Ministry. Each Ministry has a list of powers and responsibilities; the Minister is empowered to use those powers and expected to fulfill those responsibilities. If a Ministry has a Minister, that Ministry is 'Filled'; otherwise, it is 'Free'.

There exists a Ministry called the Meta-Ministry, whose Minister may be called the Meta-Minister, or Kurt Godel [[alternate spellings of Godel are also acceptable, for you umlaut fans out there]]. The Meta-Minister is responsible for maintain a Public Display of the current status of all Ministries.

Any player may start an Election for any Open Ministry as a Game Action, provided that there is not already an Election in progress for that Ministry.

For five ndays following the start of an Election, players may Nominate other players or themselves to be Candidates in that Election. Players so Nominated may accept or reject their nominations; those that accept become candidates in the election. After these five ndays have passed, the Election enters the Voting phase, when every player may cast a vote for a single candidate (players may cast multiple votes, but only the last vote cast by each player shall be counted). Three ndays later, the Election ends, and the candidate who received the most votes becomes the Minister of the Open Ministry.

In the event of a tie, the Meta-Minister is empowered and required to choose one of the candidates who tied for first.

== Rule 4-2: Duties ==

Duties are Game Objects.
A Duty is a list of tasks to be performed. Each Duty must be either Dormant or Active; every Duty is Dormant until made Active.

If a Duty is Active, any player may fulfill the Duty by performing all tasks associated with it; this causes the Duty to become Dormant (including any relating to the recognition of the Duty itself).

The Meta-Duty is a Duty. It becomes Active whenever the state of another Duty changes. The Meta-Duty is fulfilled when a Public Display has been updated to reflect the new state of that Duty, and a post has been made to a Public Forum announcing that the Meta-Duty has been fulfilled.

== Rule 4-3: Public Displays ==

A Public Display is a document [[possibly, but not necessarily, a body of text]] containing information as specified by the Rules. Public Displays must be reasonably accessible to all players. For the purposes of this rule, reasonably accessible objects include:
 * Wiki pages
 * other websites
* information held by an individual but released to a public forum no less frequently than once every eight ndays and communicated to any Outsider on demand

The Public Metadisplay is a Public Display, containing a list of the names and locations of all other Public Displays.

== Rule 4-4: Ministry Listing ==

Besides the Meta-Ministry, the following Ministries exist:

==== The Ministry of Law ====

The Ministry of Law is a Ministry; its Minister may be called the Keeper of the Game, or just the Keeper. The Keeper is responsible for maintaining a Public Display of the current Ruleset, and notifying a Public Forum when the Rules change.

==== The Ministry of Change ====

The Ministry of Change is a Ministry; its Minister may be called the Manager. The Manager is responsible for maintaining a Public Display of non-historic Proposals.

==== The Ministry of Justice ====

The Ministry of Justice is a Ministry; its Minister may be called the Guardian of the Peace, or simply the Guardian. The Guardian is responsible for maintaining a Public Display of all recent and pending CFIs.

==== The Ministry of Communications ====

The Ministry of Communications is a Ministry; its Minister may be called the Fair Communications Commissioner, or the FCC. The FCC is responsible for maintaining a Public Display of all existing Public Fora. E is also empowered to designate new Public Fora; when e does so, e must notify all players of the new Forum, either by posting to a previously existing public forum, or by sending a message to every player.

==== The Ministry of Everyone ====

The Ministry of Everyone is a Ministry; its Minister may be called the Secretary. The Secretary is responsible for maintaining the Roster, a Public Display containing the names of all players and any relevant information about them that isn't tracked by any other Ministry or Duty.

==== The Ministry of Arcana ====

The Ministry of Arcana is a Ministry; its Minister may be called the Adept. The Adept is responsible for maintaining a Public Display list all Game Objects and all of their attributes, except for Objects and attributes that other Ministries or Duties are responsible for tracking.

== Rule 4-5: Duty Listing ==

In addition to the Metaduty, the following Duties exist:

=== The Backup Duty ===

The Backup Duty becomes active whenever a change has been made to the state of the game more than five days ago and a Minister responsible for presenting that portion of the gamestate in a Public Display has not updated that display or notified a Public Forum of the change. To fulfill the Backup Duty, a player must notify a Public Forum of the change and either modify the appropriate Public Display, if possible, or create a new Public Display with the corrected information.

= Section 5: Justice =

== Rule 5-1: Calls for Inquiry ==

If players disagree about the legality of an action, the interpretation or application of a rule or set of rules, or the current state of the game, any player may invoke the Second Highly Exalted Network for Active Nomic Interpration and General Analysis of Nomic States, or SHENANIGANS. This is done by submitting a Call For Inquiry, or CFI; this is called Calling Shenanigans.

A CFI is a Game Document consisting of a statement about the game and (optionally) a list of changes to the gamestate.

The entity that submitted a CFI is called its Plaintiff. When Calling Shenanigans, the Plaintiff may choose to Call Shenanigans on another player; if e does, the chosen player is the CFI's Defendant.

Both the Plaintiff and the Defendant of a CFI are encouraged to submit arguments for or against the statement of the CFI.

CFIs are initially Pending; two ndays after their issuance, they become Open, and four ndays later they become Historical.

Any player may revise a CFI e owns by resubmitting it, but only if the CFI in question is Pending.

== Rule 5-2: Judges ==

For each CFI, there is a set of Eligible Judges. All players are Eligible for a CFI except the Plaintiff and the Defendant of that CFI.

Any Eligible Judge for an Open CFI may cast a Vote (as a Game Action) on that CFI. This vote may be either YES, NO, or REFUSED. Players may cast multiple votes, but only the last one cast by a given player will be counted.

When a CFI changes from Open to Historical, it is said to have Resolved. At this point, the final votes cast by each player are counted, and the results are interpreted as follows: If a majority of the counted votes are YES, then the CFI Passes; the statement should be treated as true for the purposes of interpreting the ruleset. If a majority of the counted votes are REFUSED, then the CFI is declared Moot, and has no effect on the gamestate or the interpretation of the rules. Otherwise, the CFI Fails; the statement should be treated as false for the purposes of interpreting the ruleset.

When a CFI Passes, the gamestate changes listed within it are implemented by whoever is responsible for them.


--
Wonko

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