| Mark Karasek on 7 Aug 2003 02:02:21 -0000 |
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| Re: [spoon-discuss] Re: [Spoon-business] r10 |
From the former Rule 15:"Proposals are processed in increasing integral order of serial number with respect to each other, but are otherwise considered to occur simultaneously, in the "instant" between the end of one nweek and the beginning of the next nweek."Therefore, B Nomic became a nation at the same moment that the laws of all nations were repealed. Even if this hadn't been true, since p1596 created a rule rather than performing an action, I took this to mean that it was a *continuous* action; otherwise, why bother making it a rule?This has, I believe, been discussed before; the conclusion reached was that the effects of the proposals happen 'simultaneously in order' - i.e., the gamestate changes to what it would be if they were implemented in order (that's the "processed in increasing order" bit) ; but the change itself is a single change that happens all at once.Note that the rule says that they actually *are* processed in order, while they're just *considered* to have happened simultaneously. This was put in, I believe, to prevent things like Automation scripts from stepping in between proposals ("as soon as pX passes and defines something with a hole, but before pX+1 closes the hole, I do the following:").Now that I think about it, this discussion is irrelevant. In addition to nations, the proposal also repealed laws of international bodies; since B Nomic ha(s|d) players from multiple countries, shouldn't it qualify? (hint: Yes)It's debateable whether they qualify as laws if we're a nation; they certainly aren't laws if we're not a nation. Gaming rules and laws are two very different things.(from dictionary.reference.com): Law - 1. A rule of conduct or procedure established by custom, agreement, or authority. Do our rules not fit this description?I wouldn't say so. They don't exactly cover 'conduct or procedure' in any real sense, as the entire game is fictitious.It's like the rules to Monopoly - although they dictate how one behaves when one decides to play the game, they have no actual force of law.A better way to put it would be to say that the rules do not in any sense regulate what we can do; they only regulate how an imaginary gamestate responds to what we do. I send some text through some scripts and over some cable/phone lines, and the "game" changes depending on what text I sent. But it doesn't govern our behavior.
It governs our behavior within the context of the game; it covers game procedures such as proposals and voting. Doesn't B Nomic exist, in some sense, regardless of the fact that it has no physical component? As an analogy, there is no physical object that is the United States Government; it just exists in the minds of people and in some documents declaring its existance and recording its laws. U.S. Congressmen put ink on some paper, and the "gamestate" changes. This doesn't mean that the government is "fictitious".
--The Pusher Robot _______________________________________________ spoon-discuss mailing list spoon-discuss@xxxxxxxxx http://lists.ellipsis.cx/mailman/listinfo/spoon-discuss