Subject: BUS: Agoran Weekly Journal From: Ed Murphy Date: Sat, 25 Jun 2005 17:52:24 -0700 To: Agora Business THE AGORAN WEEKLY JOURNAL VOLUME 49, BACK ISSUE 21 Thursday, March 31, 2005 THIS IS A WORLD YOU'LL NEVER UNDERSTAND --------------------------------------- Andre - Old CFJs http://www.win.tue.nl/~engels/stare.txt Elysion - Thesis archive http://www.msu.edu/~boehmejo/agora.html Goethe - Claustronomic http://faculty.washington.edu/kerim/nomic/ Michael - First Speaker http://web.rsise.anu.edu.au/~michaeln/agora/ RCS SLR ~michaeln/yoyo/RCS/short-ruleset,v RCS FLR ~michaeln/yoyo/RCS/full-ruleset,v Murphy - CotC Web http://zenith.homelinux.net/cotc/ Riail - AgoraMOO telnet://mail.feoh.org:4781 root - Proposal Pool http://www.periware.org/agora/ ERRATA ------ ADOPTED PROPOSALS ----------------- "Fix CFJ Linkage" by root - Proposal 4659 adopted 3/29 Automatic recusal from multiple linked CFJs preserves their linkage. "Fix Winning" by root - Proposal 4644 adopted 3/12 Pending draws gained from Rule 2080 (Cards for Proposals) are deemed not to have been gained until now. A redundant no-fee clause is removed from the rule. If the Deckmastor incorrectly processes post-win conditions, then gamblers are still un-frozen, but the Deckmastor commits the Crime of Stacking the Deck if the error was not in good faith. "Grafty is not a bribe, for the fourth time" by Quazie - Proposal 4640 adopted 3/6 The Card element Grafty does not trigger Rule 1561 (Illegality of Bonus Clauses). "How my garden grows" by Quazie - Proposal 4643 adopted 3/12 All active non-quiet players receive a Daffodil five days after this proposal is adopted, unless the Herald has repealed Rule 2050 (The Garden) first. "Kudos for Cards" by Quazie - Proposal 4647 adopted 3/22 New card Greedy Bastard (Budgeted[3]; gain a kudo and an albatross). New card Charity Brings Happiness (Budgeted[6]; transfer a kudo to a poorer player and gain a boon). New card Thieves in the Night (Grafty, Delayed[5]; if less than half of non-Deck gamblers have this card, and the target does not have it, steal a kudo from em; for each prerequisite that is false, gain an albatross). "Late Announcement of Elections for Offices" by Murphy - Proposal 4650 adopted 3/22 The result of an office election is still effective if announced late, unless another election for that office has already started. "Look, Ma, No Hand-Waving (It's Invisibilitated)" by root - Proposal 4660 adopted 3/29 All requirements to discard that arose from Rules 2075 (Winning Hands) or 2083 (Win Resolution) before March 19, 2005, are nullified. The Deckmastor may discard from eir own frozen hand as required by the rules. "Magical Mute Exemption Tour" by Quazie - Proposal 4649 adopted 3/22 A mute Legislator may, with 2 support, submit a proposal with Mute Exemption, provided that all requirements other than non-muteness are met. If adopted, the author loses a number of Blots equal to its Adoption Index, but gains no boons. "Saving Throw vs. Failed Saving Throw" by root - Proposal 4641 adopted 3/6 Proposal 4623 (Vote Cards) is retroactively exempted from Rule 1561 (Illegality of Bonus Clauses). "Slow play CFJ assignments" by Kolja - Proposal 4648 adopted 3/22 The Clerk of the Courts may, without 2 objections, flip players to turned if e expects em to Judge slowly or not at all. "Slow Play Reporting" by Kolja - Proposal 4655 adopted 3/29 Weekly reports need not be published if they would be substantially the same as the previous one. "Some Things Are More Trouble Than They're Worth" by root - Proposal 4658 adopted 3/29 Repeal the three-week limit on re-submitting a proposal unchanged; do not require an explicit announcement of intent to re-submit. "The Rimmer Experience" by Murphy - Proposal 4642 adopted 3/12 New Patent Titles (Three/Six/Nine/Twelve) Months Long Service, for holding an office continuously for that long. Each player only gets one of each. "The University of Agora" by Sherlock - Proposal 4657 adopted 3/29 The Speaker is President and executor of the University, but may only act on its behalf as explicitly permitted by the rules. Education (Student, Faculty) is a stuck player switch. The Herald shall flip it to Faculty upon the award of a Degree. The Speaker may announce a Research Grant, specifying a task and a number between one and five. If a player completes the task within a month, e may (without 2 objections) award em that many Boons of Achievement (only one award per task). During the first week of each month, players may specify a rule as that month's Book Club Selection; only the first specification is effective, and that player becomes moderator. If a proposal amends or repeals that rule within the next 30 days, then the moderator and the author of the first such proposal each gain a boon. The University (Gardner Library) is a gambler, and gets free deals to bring its hand size up to five. A player may check out a card from the Library for a fee of 2 (Students) or 1 (Faculty); the Speaker shall transfer it to em. "Tiny spelling error fix" by Quazie - Proposal 4656 adopted 3/29 Amend Rule 1841 (Granting Power of Attorney) by replacing "seven says" with "seven days". REJECTED PROPOSALS ------------------ "Bye Bye Blob" by Quazie - Proposal 4654 rejected 3/29 Remove Blob's vanity clause from Rule 1686 (Official Reports). "Forgiving the new" by Quazie - Proposal 4645 rejected 3/22 Time limits for unready players are extended by 50% (before Holiday extensions are calculated). "More Awesomer than not" by Quazie - Proposal 4662 rejected 3/29 New Patent Titles Nano-Awesome, Micro-Awesome, Semi-Awesome, Quasi-Awesome, Awesome, Uber-Awesome, to accompany a player's first, second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth Boons of Gold Star. Each player only gets the highest one to which e is entitled. "More Cards" by Quazie - Proposal 4661 rejected 3/29 New card Dud Development (Quota 2; discard X Duds to get X free draws). New card Fish your Wish (Quota 5, Handed[2], Limited [Quazie while his hand is frozen][1]; specify a gambler not already targeted by this card, and a card [your Wish]; if eir next draw is the Wish, you get it and a free draw; if not, you may pay a kudo to draw a card, and get a free draw if it is the Wish). "Sticky Situation" by Quazie - Proposal 4652 rejected 3/22 New card trait Sticky (cannot be discarded unless a player's hand is frozen). Hot Potato gains this trait. "Testing the rules" by Quazie - Proposal 4653 rejected 3/22 [Written in International Morse Code - all typos are the author's:] Create a new rule called "Spivak Pronouns "who's text is identicle to the text of Rule 29 in Nomic Sidekick Nomic ,except the words "Nomic Sidekick Nomic" shall be replaced with "Agora "(the word Agora shall appear in English letters not Morse Code )in the text of this new rule "Those boons must get out somehow now with infractions" by Quazie - Proposal 4651 rejected 3/22 Failing to award the Boon of Prodigy or Zeitgeist within a day after voting results are published is a Class 0.25 Infraction. "Tic Tac Toe" by Quazie - Proposal 4646 rejected 3/22 For every three boons (other than 3 in a row) or albatrosses gained in a week, a player gains the boon of 3 in a row. If this occurs three times in a month, the player earns the Patent Title of Tic Tac Toe champ; e then receives the boon of O and the albatross of X immediately after each Turning of a New Parchment, and may transfer both to another player within two weeks of the Turning. PENDING PROPOSALS ----------------- "absolve-o-mo-matic" by Goethe Immaculate players may play Absolv-o-Matic to expunge any number of blots from an entity, for a fee of 1 kudo per blot beyond the first. "Bye Bye Garden" by Quazie Repeal Rule 2050 (The Garden) upon the first Turning of a New Parchment after April 1, 2005. "Bye Bye Michael Norrish" by Quazie Repeal Rule 104 (First Speaker). "Card-Carrying Contests" by Goethe Each player may be Contestmaster of up to one Card-Carrying Contest at a time. It is a gambler, and e is its limited executor. It may (as explicitly permitted by its regulations) draw up to N/3 cards per month (N = number of members at beginning of month), transfer, and discard, but not play. Existing contests may be converted with 2 support and without 2 objections. "Card Counting" by Goethe The Discard Pile is a gambler. Cards played or discarded go to it, unless transferred as part of the Deckmastor's duties. Whenever total pending draws exceed the size of the Deck, the Deckmastor shall Reshuffle (transfer all cards in the Discard Pile to the Deck) before dealing. Discard Picking takes cards from the Discard Pile. New card Reshuffle (Quota 3, Asleep[15]; Deckmastor must Reshuffle now). "Changeable shares" by Quazie - Proposal 4668 New card Divide or Conquer Your Stock (Quota 8, Restricted [Shareholders]; specify a set of your Shares and a set of the deck's Shares with the same total, and discard the first to get the second). "Civil Service pay raise" by Goethe Paperwork (Low, High) is a stuck office/Speaker/Distributor switch, tracked by the Assistant Director of Personnel. E and the Speaker may flip an office with 2 support and without 2 objections. Once a month, each holder of a High Paperwork office gets an extra boon, and may invoke eir Civil Service Exemption to make one proposal distributable for free. The Herald, Deckmastor, Clerk of the Courts, Promotor, and Assessor are initially High Paperwork. "Clarify Ineffectiveness, Mark III" by Murphy Rule 1561 (Illegality of Bonus Clauses) is retroactively given immunity from the "must guide play" clause of Rule 107 (Rule Changes Must Be Written Down). Coercive, bribing, and vetoed proposals are blocked and thus not adopted. "Co-authorship" by Sherlock - Proposal 4664 The Rulekeepor shall record explicitly named proposal co-authors. "Deckmastor perks" by Kolja - Proposal 4665 The Deckmastor's Voting Power on Ordinary Proposals is increased by the number of Shares in the deck, for a maximum increase of three, and e may vote and count toward quorum even if e is not a Shareholder. "Fix Patronage" by root - Proposal 4663 Patronage gains Powered[2], but is free of the usual Powered[X] fee because it specifies its own fee. "Goethe's Idea in Proposal Form" by Quazie The Herald, Deckmastor, Clerk of the Courts, Promotor, and Assessor get an extra boon each month. "History Lengthened" by Goethe - Proposal 4671 The subject of a Doctor of Nomic History thesis need not have occurred within the past 8 weeks. "More cards 3 part 1" by Quazie - Proposal 4666 New card Dud Development (Quota 2; discard X Duds to get X free draws). "More cards 3 part 2" by Quazie - Proposal 4667 New card Fish your Wish (Quota 5, Handed[2]; pay 1 kudo, specify a gambler not already targeted by this card, and a card [your Wish]; if eir next draw is the Wish, you get it and a free draw; if not, you may pay a kudo to draw a card, and get a free draw if it is the Wish). "Office Condensation" by Goethe Award a boon to the Notary, then repeal it and give its duties to the Justiciar, then retire the Justiciar (forcing an election). "One Revolution per Quarter" by Goethe On May 1, any non-officer may remove an officer by announcement; the non-officer becomes holder but not electee. For CFJs called on March 21, the caller is eligible to judge, and the Clerk of the Courts must assign em as Trial Judge. "Proposals for All" by Sherlock Each player may have at most three proposals in the pool at once. The Promotor may distribute proposals at any time. During each week, e is required to distribute the proposals that were in the pool at the beginning of the week, or (if the pool was empty) announce such. Repeal Depth, Distribution Cost, and Distrib-u-Matic (grant free draws in place of the latter). "Queue Cards" by Manu New card First In Last Out (Budgeted; reverse the order of the Proposal Queue). New card Twenty Bucks To The Doorman (Budgeted; move a proposal to the top of the Queue). New card Sucks To Be You! (Budgeted; move the proposal at the top of the Queue to the bottom). New card QueueMania! (Quota 1; shuffle the Proposal Queue). New card Information Wants To Be Free (Budgeted; double the size of the next distribution). New card Statu Quo (Budgeted; halve the size of the next distribution). "Reduce the Linked CFJ Penalty" by OscarMeyr - Proposal 4670 A Judge recused from multiple linked CFJs is penalized the standard 3 Blots for the first, but only 1 for each additional. "Shareholders are not liable" by Manu - Proposal 4672 Penalties for Infractions are reduced by one's Share holdings, but not below 1. "Simple free distribution" by Goethe Players may flip others' proposals to distributable by paying the distribution cost minus one, minimum zero. "Taking over Takeovers" by Goethe New Card element Asleep (same as Delayed, except you are limited by anyone playing the card recently, not just yourself). Mainsail (Tyrannical, Piratical) is a stuck proposal switch. Proposals that become Piratical become democratic and sane. If a proposal is Piratical at the end of its voting period, and specifies a set of Raiders at least a Minimal Crew (one-third the number of active noisy players) but no more than twice a Minimal Crew, then the Raiders gain Sente and everyone else gains Gote (if it is adopted), or vice versa (if it is rejected). New card Hoist the Flag (Quota 5, Asleep[30]; make a proposal Piratical). New card Royal Navy (Quota 2; make a proposal Tyrannical). New card Cannon Fire (Quota 3; abort a Piratical proposal and send it back to the pool). New card Dread Pirate Roberts (Quota 3; make a Piratical proposal Tyrannical and make a different Tyrannical proposal Piratical). New card Not Your Turn (Budgeted[3], Delayed[2]; retroactively undo a card play within the past 48 hours, and prevent the gambler from re-playing it for 72 hours). "Takeover Takeover" by root Takeover Proposal. Corporate Raiders are Eris, Goethe, Kolja, Manu, OscarMeyr, Quazie, and Riail. Repeal Rule 2078 (Takeover Proposals). All players have Voting Power on Democratic Proposals equal to their Voting Potential. "The Enemies of Agora" by Sherlock A player may create a Threat by announcing its name, nature (Disaster/ Villain), potency (fee to create), and target (for Disasters, a Rule; for Villains, a player). E is its Prime Executor. The Notary shall announce the Threat's creation, initiating its seven-day Incubation Period. A Threat may be Thwarted by paying (potency+1) kudos, or (potency/2 rounded up) kudos with the support of one-third of active players; the player who does so receives (potency/2 rounded up) kudos. If a Threat is not Thwarted by the end of its Incubation Period, it is Hatched. When a Disaster is Hatched, the creator has seven days to submit a proposal to repeal the target (and nothing else), and is considered to cast (potency) extra votes FOR; the Disaster then ceases to exist. When a Villain is Hatched, the target loses (potency+1) kudos; the Villain then ceases to exist. "The Proposal Queue" by Sherlock - Proposal 4673 Repeal Distrib-u-Matic (grant free draws in its place). The Proposal Pool becomes the Proposal Queue. Proposals enter the Queue in the order they are submitted, each one starting at the bottom unless otherwise specified. Each player may have at most four interested proposals in the Queue at once. Each proposal's Priority is the number of proposals above it in the Queue. A player may move a proposal up or down one place by paying its Queuing Fee (replacing Distribution Cost). Each week's Minimum and Maximum Distribution are the minimum and maximum of the number of proposers with proposals in the Queue and half the number of proposals in the Queue (rounded up). These are measured at the beginning of the week. The Promotor shall distribute the top (Minimum Distribution) proposals, any disinterested proposals, and any proposals that entered the Queue more than a month ago. E may additionally distribute any portion of the remainder of the top (Maximum Distribution) proposals. If the Queue is empty, e shall announce it. Urgent proposals shall be distributed within five days after they move to the top half or exact middle of the Queue. Aborted proposals go to the top of the Queue. Procedure moves a proposal to the bottom of the Queue. Proposals submitted on Guy Fawkes Day go to the top of the Queue. "The Secretary as an office" by Quazie - Proposal 4669 The Secretary of the University is an office. Eir report includes Research Grants, Book Club selections, Educations, and cards checked out. Quazie is installed as Secretary. "Tiny addition to Illegality" by Quazie Bribes nullify only the text of a proposal, not any rule-based side effects triggered by its adoption. PROTO-PROPOSALS --------------- "A Few Small Steps" by Maud Coin flips are no longer explicitly accepted for making random choices with reasonably-close-to-uniform probability. Grace Period holiday extensions are simplified to "sixty days, not including Holidays". A Hive of at least two players may jointly register as a single player. "Dear Assessor, Please Boon Me" by Quazie Failing to award the Boon of Prodigy or Zeitgeist before the next Turning of a New Parchment, unless it was earned within one week of the end of a Turning, is a Class 0.25 Infraction (halved if the Assessor apologizes for all of them within a week of the beginning of the Turning). "Hanging Chad" by Murphy Multiple simultaneous votes are deemed to be cast one at a time, e.g. 2F+A = FOR, FOR, AGAINST. "Judgement Referenda" by Sherlock A player may call a CFJ to be decided by referendum. The vote collector is the Justiciar, the caller cannot vote, and vote values are TRUE/FALSE/ DISMISSED. "keeping the volume down" by Quazie At the end of a week in which proposals were distributed, players who do not vote on any proposal may be made quiet by the Assessor. "passing has yet to be defined for proposals" by Quazie Adopted proposals are considered to have passed. "Put your money where your mouth is" by Murphy A player may pay a kudo to overturn-and-remand dismissal due to item (iii) (matter is irrelevant to the rules) of Rule 1565 (Dismissal of a CFJ), as if a Board of Appeals had remanded it. "Release the fnords" by Quazie Fnords cease to exist unless they become visible within a week after this proposal takes effect. "Repeal Rule 1561" by Goethe Allow proposals to offer bribes. "The Agoran Book Club" by Sherlock (mute, thus ineffective) During the first week of each month, players may specify a rule as that month's Agoran Book Club Selection; only the first specification is effective, and that player becomes moderator. If a proposal amends or repeals that rule within the next 30 days, then the moderator and the author of the first such proposal each gain a boon. "The Computer Is Your Friend" by Manu All active players are traitors and gain 20 blots. Players with more than 20 blots must report to the nearest Termination Center. "The Customer is Always Right" by Maud Once a month, each player may pay a kudo to request review of a specified appellate decision. As soon as possible after the Turning of a New Parchment, if the list of requests is non-empty, the Justiciar shall publish a Docket containing zero or more of them. This empties the list. Each month, if the list of unreviewed Docket items is non-empty, the Clerk of the Courts shall convene a Board of Appeals for the first one. It may not be reviewed again, but its review may be reviewed. "The Map of Agora" by Maud (condensed form below) ,-_|\ / \ \_,-._* <- Port Macquarie v "What are spivak pronouns" by Quazie A Spivak pronoun is a gender neutral way to refer to an entity. The uses of said Spivak Pronouns are located below. subject: he/she becomes ey (or, alternatively, e). object: him/her becomes em. possessive adjective: his/her becomes eir. possessive pronoun: his/hers becomes eirs. reflexive: himself/herself becomes eirself (or, alternatively, emself). The use of Spivak Pronouns is encouraged when writing rules and addressing others. CALLS FOR JUDGEMENT ------------------- Requests for ineligibility: 2/22 Maud (all) - revoked 3/4 CFJ 1531 "Proposal 4639 was Aborted." [FALSE] 2/27 Called by root 3/6-12 Assigned to Maud, who judges FALSE Caller's argument (summary): Rule 2078 (Takeover Proposals) says that Takeover Proposals are both Democratic and Sane. When Proposal 4639 ceased to be a Takeover Proposal (see CFJ 1528), it may have ceased to be Democratic as well, in which case it was aborted by Rule 1933 (A Proposal's Chamber) for having its chamber changed. Judge's refutation (summary): Rule 2078 set its initial chamber, but no instrument with sufficient power changed its chamber. CFJ 1532 "Proposals containing rule changes that were submitted after Rule [FALSE] 1561 was created have taken effect." 3/4 Called by Quazie 3/6-11 Assigned to Sherlock, who judges FALSE Caller's argument (summary): All rule changes would improve the game for at least one player (the author) and thus count as bribes to vote FOR, which would lead to a judgement of FALSE. Judge's refutation (summary): Some of the proposals in question failed to take effect for reasons unrelated to Rule 1561. CFJ 1533 "Rule 1561 cannot prevent an adopted Rule Change from taking effect." [FALSE] 3/6 Called by Goethe 3/13-20 Assigned to Sir Toby, who is recused 3/20-27 Assigned to Murphy, who judges FALSE Caller's argument (summary): Rule 107 (Rule Changes Must Be Written Down) takes precedence over it, and says that adopted proposals guide play. Judge's refutation (summary): Guiding play is not the same as determining play; "guiding play" is satisfied by triggering the evaluation of the rules determining the effects of adopted proposals, with the specified proposal text as input. CFJ 1534 "Michael Norrish is the Speaker." [FALSE] 3/7 Called by Quazie 3/13-20 Assigned to Eris, who is recused 3/20-24 Assigned to Kolja, who judges FALSE Caller's argument (summary): Rule 104 (First Speaker) says that Michael is Speaker for the first game. There is no indication that the first game has ended. None of the other rules defining the Speakership or its transfer take precedence over Rule 104. Judge's refutation (summary): Ends of games were previously defined, and occurred, according to the rules then in effect. CFJ 1535 "Sherlock did not gain 15 Blots on June 15th, 2004." [FALSE] 3/10 Called by Sherlock 3/12-17 Assigned to root, who judges FALSE Caller's argument (summary): Sherlock's failure to judge five linked CFJs was one inaction, not five; so Rule 1816 (No Double Jeopardy for Crimes) allows only one 3-blot penalty, not five. Judge's refutation (summary): Every aspect of linked CFJs and related actions/inactions/messages strongly indicates full separability. CFJ 1536 "Murphy is not a Contestant in Pakaran's Contest." [FALSE] 3/12 Called by Murphy 3/12-17 Assigned to Michael, who judges FALSE Caller's argument (summary): "AOL!", "me too!", and "I perform the above-quoted action" are all synonymous. Judge's refutation (summary): No, they aren't, that's just an Ugly American perversion of culture. Get off my lawn, you darn kids! OFFICES ------- 3/1 Sherlock is elected Notary. 3/16 Deckmastor Goethe delegates to root until the end of March 18. 3/17 root accepts delegation. 3/20 Promotor root delegates to Sherlock for 9 days starting March 26. 3/23 Sherlock accepts delegation. SHAREHOLDERS ------------ 3/14 root receives One Share. Riail receives Two Shares. Maud receives One Share. 3/18 gazebo_dude receives Three Shares. Eris receives Two Shares. Manu receives Two Shares. 3/20 root transfers One Share to Quazie. CARDS ----- 3/14 root plays three Absolv-o-Matics (for Sherlock). Riail plays Absolv-o-Matic (for Sherlock). Quazie plays Absolv-o-Matic (for Sherlock). 3/16 Maud plays Absolv-o-Matic (for Sherlock). 3/18 Quazie plays Absolv-o-Matic (for Sherlock). Quazie plays Your Turn (for Goethe). gazebo_dude plays two Absolv-o-Matics (for Sherlock). root plays Absolv-o-Matic (for Sherlock). 3/19 Goethe plays Absolv-o-Matic (for Sherlock). Riail plays Your Turn (for Eris). Sherlock plays Distrib-u-Matic (for The University of Agora). 3/28 Riail plays It's a Surprise!. Quazie plays Absolv-o-Matic (for Sherlock). Quazie plays Enforced Charity (for Manu) and (ineffectively) specifies One Share. IN OTHER NEWS ------------- 3/8 Manu creates a new contest ChessNut, allowing one game of standard chess at a time. 3/11 gazebo_dude registers. 3/13 Quazie publishes a Notice of Abandonment for Pakaran. Registrar OscarMeyr confirms it and publishes a Notice of Intent to Deregister. Quazie makes Sir Toby quiet. 3/14 Quazie publishes two Notices of Abandonment for Sir Toby, attempting to make em silent before the second one. Registrar OscarMeyr points out that the attempt fails, and that neither notice is valid. 3/15 Kelly grants the Registrar discretion to list em as a Watcher. Manu adds number-of-games-won scorekeeping to ChessNut. 3/30 President Sherlock offers a three-Boon Research Grant for proposing a three-chamber proposal system.