PROPOSAL ARCHIVE (1801-1850)




Proposal 1801 - Sun, 16 Mar 1997 22:28:44 -0600
Dealing With The Paranormal
Calvin N Hobbes (Thierry Joffrain)
Decision: Accepted
{{ [this proposal will develop the use of the W-File Pair while giving no extra required work of the officers, save for one random determination from time to time and perhaps keeping track of a few things (optional). It is also an attempt to give serious credibility to this part of the rules, make it more coherent while keeping and adding some fun. It also makes use of the Evil Twin rule. It has five parts. There are a number of easter egg type of references, most for the x-philes among us, but one reference especially for the musically inclined]

[The following cleans up R1117 to create a clean new rule about the W-File Pair]

1. Amend proposal R1117 by replacing its last two paragraphs by the following:

"So long as a player has the ability to use telepathy and/or telekinesis, she may make as many uses of it as she likes. However, if a player uses either telepathy or telekinesis within 17 days (408 hours) of the last time she used one of them, then that use is considered a Paranormal Power by a player. Otherwise, it's just considered to be another wind sheared weather balloon and it is good form for senators to publicly deny everything about the incident."

[The following creates a new rule that defines the W-File Pair. It also grants them two powers when paranormal things happen, one over players, one over nonplayers. Both of these designate someone to be "krykec", who then writes a report to be rebuffed. This naming has effect only for this rule]

2. Create a new proposal, renumbered to R251 to read:

"The W-File Pair is a team of two agents, Mold and Scold. They investigate paranormal activities and the use of unnatural abilities.

If a player has made use of a Paranormal Power then that player (also called Krykec for the purposes of this rule) is taken in for questioning. Krykec will be injected with an alien sedative which destroys one of her doses of psi-enhancer if she has at least one, and which otherwise removes whichever Paranoral Power that player has most recently used. They will then question Krykec about 'alien colonization' for 48 hours, during which time Krykec may neither take any action that would be prohibited if she were in Gaol, nor make any use of Paranormal Powers. Krykec is not actually in Gaol during that time, however, and she is released after the 48 hours are over.

If a non-player entity makes use of a Paranormal Power, then the W-File Pair will investigate the incident. The first player to volunteer within 24 hours will be assigned to help them, otherwise one player will be randomly assigned by the officer in charge of random things, to be called Krykec for the purposes of this rule.

Within seven days of being called Krykec for the purposes of this rule, the player must write a report to be called 'W-File Case #number' (where number is the report number). It is good form for all players to sneer publicly at the contents of the report. At least one Scientist must write a refuting report that should contain the phrases 'violates the laws of physics' and 'a claw is a claw and nobody has seen a talking claw'.

If Krykec has an evil twin, then the twin will be considered to have volunteered first for the next time this rule needs a volunteer. If Krykec has more than one evil twin, she may choose one among them.

The W-File pair is a named, unownable entity."

[The following makes the truly harfy and weird Alien attack paranormal]

3. Amend R1743 to read, at the end:

"The selection of an existing Rule to be abducted by Sinister Aliens is considered a Paranormal Power use by a non player entity.

[The following ensures that special powers granted to organizations can also be paranormal. Perhaps time for the Alchemist/Illuminati/Cuthulu Organizations to start collecting them]

4. Amend R1764 to read, at the end:

Any Powers that contain the word 'alien', 'ufo', 'gray', 'green', 'occult', 'subterfuge', 'abduction', 'unnatural' or plural thereof, shall also be considered Paranormal Powers. Use by an organization of such a power counts as a non-player entity use of such."

[The following makes using bonus votes a paranormal activity, which, arguably, it is]

5. Amend R317, replacing part 1 by:

" 1. Bonus Votes are tradeable entities. Use of a bonus vote by a player constitutes the use of a Paranormal Power by a player entity."
}}


Proposal 1802 - Sun, 16 Mar 1997 22:28:49 -0600
time standardization
Narf (Joshua Nave)
Decision: Accepted

This is a modest proposal

{{

[In light of the recent fervor to standardize times, I thought this one should also get standardized]

Ammend rule #911 as follows:

Replace "Whenever the Great Trombone is Somewhere Else, the first player to make a valid public claim will take possession of it. A claim is only valid if the player concerned has had a publically knowable score of exactly 76 points at any time within the past 2 days. "

with
"Whenever the Great Trombone is Somewhere Else, the first player to make a valid public claim will take possession of it. A claim is only valid if the player concerned has had a publically knowable score of exactly 76 points at any time within the past 3 days. "

****************************************************************************** ****************

Transfer the Great Trombone to Narf [after /Dev/Joe lost it, I did in fact have a publicly knowable score of exactly 76, but I didn't realize it until 3 days after. In keeping with the push of making the game playable by those who only check in every 3 days, I think this fix should be made and I should get the Great Trombone]

}}


Proposal 1803 - Mon, 17 Mar 1997 01:03:30 -0600
Ad Hoc Committees
Niccolo Flychuck (Uri Bruck)
Decision: Accepted

Create a new rule entitled "ad hoc comittees" which contains the following text:
"
1. An ad hoc comittee can be called in one of the following ways:
a. By a proposal which has been accepted according to the rules.
b. By any Institution which is session provided the President approves within three days of the Institution's anouncement that it is calling for an ad hoc comittee.
c. By any player posting a public message to that effect, provided at least 5 additional players publically support this call within three days.

2. Regardless of who makes the original call, the call must specify the matter on which the comittee is to be called, and the specific case this matter pertains to. If a call to an ad hoc calls specifies a matter, and there exists no rules that empowers an ad hoc comittee for such a matter, then the call is void and is ignored.

3. When an ad hoc comittee has been legally called for it shall be constructed according to the following criteria:

a. One player shall be randomly selected from among active players who are or have been Presidents.
b. One player shall be selected randomly from among the Swingers, excluding Capital Swingers.
c. One player shall be selected randomly from among the active players who are Bronze Torch holders.
d. One player shall be selected randomly from among the players who won past cycles of Ackanomic.
e. One player shall be selected randomly from among the players who own or posses unique entities.
f. One player shall be selected randomly from the players who have less than A$100 or a non-positive number of points.
g. If the specified matter deals with extra nomic relations or entities, then one player shall be appointed by the Ambassador.
h. One player shall be selected randomly from among the active players, who fit none of the above criteria, if such players exist.
i. Up to two additional players may be selected according to criteria defined by the rule empowering the specific ad hoc comittee.

Once a player has been selected for a given comitte according to two of the above criteria e is no longer eligible to be selected to the same comittee by other criteria. Players may decline to be on an ad hoc comittee. If at the end of this process there are fewer than five members in the comittee, then additional players are appointed to replace the ones that have declined until the comittee has been filled. If possible, they should be selected according to criteria that are not filled by the members of the ad hoc comittee. If the comittee still has fewer than five members, than Senators and President are added to the comittee by alphabetical order of their Ackanomic names, until the comittee has five members.

4. Once a comittee has been appointed it has seven days in which to post its decision. In its consideration it must follow the rules which empower that specific comittee. All ad hoc comittee decision are voted on by all members of the comittee the outcome is determined according to a simple majority rule. If any members go on Vacation before he comittee posted its decisions, they are not replaced by other players. If they voted before they went on Vacation, then their votes are counted, otherwise, they are considered to have abstained. In case of a tie, the President breaks the tie.

5. Once a comittee has posted its decision, it dissolves. Each member of the comittee receives A$25 from the Treasury, as compensation for eir trouble, unless they indicate a favorite charity, in which case the money is transferred to that charity instead.


Proposal 1804 - Mon, 17 Mar 1997 11:51:16 -0600
Bored
Mohammed (Jason Orendorff)
Decision: Accepted

This is a Modest proposal.

[Just keeping the rules in their categories.]

1. Renumber 1743 (the Sinister Alien Abduction Act) to 1131.

2. Renumber 723 (Big Tents...) to 725.

3. Renumber 1764 (Organizational Powers) to 723.


Proposal 1805 - Mon, 17 Mar 1997 12:53:21 -0600
The Flat Earth Preservation Society
Red Barn (Daniel Knapp)
Decision: Rejected

The Flat Earth Preservation Society exists. Its goal to prevent the Round Earth Restoration Society from restoring a round shape to the Earth by building enormous scissor-like machines to cut the tethers of the Earth's two dangling fragments. Unfortunately, the cost of such machines is very high -- 15,000 A$.

At any time, a player may make a contribution to the Flat Earth Preservation Society by posting a public message containing a non-negative amount of A$ less than that player's current balance that they wish to transfer to the Treasury on behalf of the Flat Earth Preservation Society. If taxes should ever exist in Acka, such contributions are tax-deductible.

The first player to make such a contribution becomes Chairman of the Flat Earth Preservation Society, and it is his duty to keep track of how much money has been transferred to the Treasury on the Society's behalf.
Should this player ever go on vacation or leave the game, the next player to contribute shall take over this title and duty.

Once the Round Earth Restoration Society has raised 15,000 A$, a large machine shall be built, and the southern fragment severed from the earth, and causing the text in R1319 which reads "Once an additional 15,000 A$ has been raised, the southern fragment will be likewise joined, restoring a spherical shape to the Earth" to be removed.
Once an additional 15,000 A$ has been raised, the southern fragment will be likewise severed, maintaining a flat shape to the Earth. When that happens, the text reading "Once the Round Earth Restoration Society has raised 15,000 A$, a large machine shall be built, and the northern fragment joined to the earth, giving it a roughly hemispherical shape." shall be removed from R1319.
{{[This leaves the Round Earth Restoration Society in existence, since it may well wish to undertake new, prohibitively expensive, lifting-machines to recover the fragments (or even to become an organization), but revokes its power.]}}


Proposal 1806 - Mon, 17 Mar 1997 12:53:22 -0600
One of many
Red Barn (Daniel Knapp)
Decision: retracted by author

{{ A$3000 is transferred from the treasury to Red Barn. [Else null] }}

Proposal 1807 - Mon, 17 Mar 1997 12:53:22 -0600
Another of many
Red Barn (Daniel Knapp)
Decision: Deemed invalid by Rule 309.

{{ A$3000 is transferred from the treasury to Red Barn. [Else null] }}

Proposal 1808 - Mon, 17 Mar 1997 12:53:23 -0600
Yet another of many
Red Barn (Daniel Knapp)
Decision: Deemed invalid by Rule 309.

{{ A$3000 is transferred from the treasury to Red Barn. [Else null] }}

Proposal 1809 - Mon, 17 Mar 1997 12:53:23 -0600
Fixing R101
Red Barn (Daniel Knapp)
Decision: Deemed invalid by Rule 309.

{{ A$3000 is transferred from the treasury to Red Barn. [Else null] }}

Proposal 1810 - Mon, 17 Mar 1997 12:53:24 -0600
Repairing R1428
Red Barn (Daniel Knapp)
Decision: Deemed invalid by Rule 309.

{{ A$3000 is transferred from the treasury to Red Barn. [Else null] }}

Proposal 1811 - Mon, 17 Mar 1997 12:53:24 -0600
Giving PCPDs a thourough touch-up
Red Barn (Daniel Knapp)
Decision: Deemed invalid by Rule 309.

{{ A$3000 is transferred from the treasury to Red Barn. [Else null] }}

Proposal 1812 - Mon, 17 Mar 1997 12:53:24 -0600
Miscellaneous villianry
Red Barn (Daniel Knapp)
Decision: Deemed invalid by Rule 309.

{{ A$3000 is transferred from the treasury to Red Barn. [Else null] }}

Proposal 1813 - Mon, 17 Mar 1997 12:53:25 -0600
Further difficulties
Red Barn (Daniel Knapp)
Decision: Deemed invalid by Rule 309.

{{ A$3000 is transferred from the treasury to Red Barn. [Else null] }}

Proposal 1814 - Mon, 17 Mar 1997 12:53:25 -0600
Indeed muchnes
Red Barn (Daniel Knapp)
Decision: Deemed invalid by Rule 309.

{{ A$3000 is transferred from the treasury to Red Barn. [Else null] }}

Proposal 1815 - Mon, 17 Mar 1997 12:53:26 -0600
A true plethora of props
Red Barn (Daniel Knapp)
Decision: Deemed invalid by Rule 309.

{{ A$3000 is transferred from the treasury to Red Barn. [Else null] }}

Proposal 1816 - Mon, 17 Mar 1997 12:53:26 -0600
A truly unforgivable one
Red Barn (Daniel Knapp)
Decision: Deemed invalid by Rule 309.

{{ A$3000 is transferred from the treasury to Red Barn. [Else null] }}

Proposal 1817 - Mon, 17 Mar 1997 12:53:27 -0600
Repairing Big Tents
Red Barn (Daniel Knapp)
Decision: Deemed invalid by Rule 309.

{{ A$3000 is transferred from the treasury to Red Barn. [Else null] }}

Proposal 1818 - Mon, 17 Mar 1997 12:53:27 -0600
Redefining Organizations
Red Barn (Daniel Knapp)
Decision: Deemed invalid by Rule 309.

{{ A$3000 is transferred from the treasury to Red Barn. [Else null] }}

Proposal 1819 - Mon, 17 Mar 1997 12:53:27 -0600
Improving PCPDs
Red Barn (Daniel Knapp)
Decision: Deemed invalid by Rule 309.

{{ A$3000 is transferred from the treasury to Red Barn. [Else null] }}

Proposal 1820 - Mon, 17 Mar 1997 12:53:28 -0600
Giving a thourough tune-up to many things
Red Barn (Daniel Knapp)
Decision: Deemed invalid by Rule 309.

{{ A$3000 is transferred from the treasury to Red Barn. [Else null] }}

Proposal 1821 - Mon, 17 Mar 1997 12:53:28 -0600
Completely repairing all difficulties with far-too-long t
Red Barn (Daniel Knapp)
Decision: Deemed invalid by Rule 309.

{{ A$3000 is transferred from the treasury to Red Barn. [Else null] }}

Proposal 1822 - Mon, 17 Mar 1997 12:53:29 -0600
What happens now?
Red Barn (Daniel Knapp)
Decision: Deemed invalid by Rule 309.

{{ A$3000 is transferred from the treasury to Red Barn. [Else null] }}

Proposal 1823 - Mon, 17 Mar 1997 12:53:30 -0600
I suppose you all see where I'm going with this?
Red Barn (Daniel Knapp)
Decision: Deemed invalid by Rule 309.

{{ A$3000 is transferred from the treasury to Red Barn. [Else null] }}

Proposal 1824 - Mon, 17 Mar 1997 12:53:31 -0600
Well, I don't!
Red Barn (Daniel Knapp)
Decision: Deemed invalid by Rule 309.

{{ A$3000 is transferred from the treasury to Red Barn. [Else null] }}

Proposal 1825 - Mon, 17 Mar 1997 12:53:31 -0600
Fixing the dice (rules)
Red Barn (Daniel Knapp)
Decision: Deemed invalid by Rule 309.

{{ A$3000 is transferred from the treasury to Red Barn. [Else null] }}

Proposal 1826 - Mon, 17 Mar 1997 12:53:31 -0600
Untimely Undeath
Red Barn (Daniel Knapp)
Decision: Deemed invalid by Rule 309.

{{ A$3000 is transferred from the treasury to Red Barn. [Else null] }}

Proposal 1827 - Mon, 17 Mar 1997 12:53:32 -0600
The Bronze Monkey
Red Barn (Daniel Knapp)
Decision: Deemed invalid by Rule 309.

{{ A$3000 is transferred from the treasury to Red Barn. [Else null] }}

Proposal 1828 - Mon, 17 Mar 1997 12:53:32 -0600
The Granite Banana Tree
Red Barn (Daniel Knapp)
Decision: Deemed invalid by Rule 309.

{{ A$3000 is transferred from the treasury to Red Barn. [Else null] }}

Proposal 1829 - Mon, 17 Mar 1997 12:53:33 -0600
Subterranean Towers
Red Barn (Daniel Knapp)
Decision: Deemed invalid by Rule 309.

{{ A$3000 is transferred from the treasury to Red Barn. [Else null] }}

Proposal 1830 - Mon, 17 Mar 1997 12:53:33 -0600
Requiring Barnyard Animals
Red Barn (Daniel Knapp)
Decision: Deemed invalid by Rule 309.

{{ A$3000 is transferred from the treasury to Red Barn. [Else null] }}

Proposal 1831 - Mon, 17 Mar 1997 12:53:34 -0600
These titles are just nonsense!
Red Barn (Daniel Knapp)
Decision: Deemed invalid by Rule 309.

{{ A$3000 is transferred from the treasury to Red Barn. [Else null] }}

Proposal 1832 - Mon, 17 Mar 1997 12:53:34 -0600
It's an evil trap, I tell you!
Red Barn (Daniel Knapp)
Decision: Deemed invalid by Rule 309.

{{ A$3000 is transferred from the treasury to Red Barn. [Else null] }}

Proposal 1833 - Mon, 17 Mar 1997 12:53:35 -0600
Please, oh please, STOP!
Red Barn (Daniel Knapp)
Decision: Deemed invalid by Rule 309.

{{ A$3000 is transferred from the treasury to Red Barn. [Else null] }}

Proposal 1834 - Mon, 17 Mar 1997 12:53:35 -0600
Too much!
Red Barn (Daniel Knapp)
Decision: Deemed invalid by Rule 309.

{{ A$3000 is transferred from the treasury to Red Barn. [Else null] }}

Proposal 1835 - Mon, 17 Mar 1997 12:53:35 -0600
Argh.
Red Barn (Daniel Knapp)
Decision: Deemed invalid by Rule 309.

{{ A$3000 is transferred from the treasury to Red Barn. [Else null] }}

Proposal 1836 - Mon, 17 Mar 1997 12:53:36 -0600
NOOO!
Red Barn (Daniel Knapp)
Decision: Deemed invalid by Rule 309.

{{ A$3000 is transferred from the treasury to Red Barn. [Else null] }}

Proposal 1837 - Mon, 17 Mar 1997 12:53:36 -0600
Far too much.
Red Barn (Daniel Knapp)
Decision: Deemed invalid by Rule 309.

{{ A$3000 is transferred from the treasury to Red Barn. [Else null] }}

Proposal 1838 - Mon, 17 Mar 1997 12:53:37 -0600
Indeed, quite.
Red Barn (Daniel Knapp)
Decision: Deemed invalid by Rule 309.

{{ A$3000 is transferred from the treasury to Red Barn. [Else null] }}

Proposal 1839 - Mon, 17 Mar 1997 12:53:37 -0600
Just so.
Red Barn (Daniel Knapp)
Decision: Deemed invalid by Rule 309.

{{ A$3000 is transferred from the treasury to Red Barn. [Else null] }}

Proposal 1840 - Mon, 17 Mar 1997 18:56:00 -0600
Saving sendmail (or - I always hoped this sort of
Malenkai (Randy Hall)
Decision: retracted by author

legislation would not be needed in Acka)

This is a Modest Proposal.

Amend R 309, "Substantially Similar Proposals" to append the following text to the end of the rule:

"
It is a Crime to be the author of both Proposal A and Proposal B. (as the terms 'Proposal A' and 'Proposal B' are used in this rule).
"


Proposal 1841 - Mon, 17 Mar 1997 19:02:05 -0600
Saving sendmail
Malenkai (Randy Hall)
Decision: Accepted

This is a Modest Proposal.

Amend R 309, "Substantially Similar Proposals" to append the following text to the end of the rule:

"
It is a Crime to be the author of both Proposal A and Proposal B. (as the terms 'Proposal A' and 'Proposal B' are used in this rule).
"


Proposal 1842 - Mon, 17 Mar 1997 19:24:16 -0600
Speaking in Double Talk
Malenkai (Randy Hall)
Decision: Rejected

Amend R 330, "Retractions", to remove the following text:

"
The player retracting the proposal loses 2 points, except during the first three weeks of eir being a new player (as opposed to a returning player) in Ackanomic, in which case the player instead will lose no points.
"

{{[For some reason, there seems to be a reluctance lately to retract flawed proposals; rather, sometimes it seems players would rather follow them with a CSR or score another round of points on fixup proposals. This doesn't seem like gaming to me -- I'd rather just get the dis-incentive to retract out of there so we can get the *correct* proposal through faster.]}}


Proposal 1843 - Mon, 17 Mar 1997 23:43:39 -0600
Calling an Ad Hoc Committee
Robert Sevin (Mitchell Harding)
Decision: Accepted

An ad hoc committee is hereby called. It is called on the matter of Harf Names. In particular, it is called upon to determine whether Matthew Harding, biological brother of Mitchell Harding (Acka name: Robert Sevin), whose email address is harf@netcom.com, should be permitted to use the name (delimited by quotation marks) "Harf" as his Ackanomic name. This committee should deliver a report on this matter in accordance with the Sanctity of Harf rule.

Proposal 1844 - Tue, 18 Mar 1997 01:49:58 -0600
Riding The Integrity Test
Calvin N Hobbes (Thierry Joffrain)
Decision: Rejected

{{ This is a Modest proposal

[ This proposal would create riders to be attached to proposals. Note that the constraints put on when and how a rider is attached make it difficult to use. As a way to counter this new device, the president is granted a new Presidential Decision, which itself is subject to review by the Supreme Court, as well as subject to various impeachment proceedings at the senatorial or presidential levels (phew!). This rule would add more power and levels of interaction between political offices themselves, as well as interactions between political bodies and player groupings. These may be controversial at times but the system of checks and balances prevails. Note that Riders have a very good use: correcting spelling and rule number errors asap ]

1. Create a new rule numbered R428 called "Riding the Integrity Test" to read:

"Each Player that is elected or reelected Senator for a term of office gets 2 Riders. No one may have less than 0 Riders at any one time. If anyone owns more than 2 Riders at any one time, ((#riders they own) - 2) Riders they own are destroyed. Riders can be sold by the owning Senator to organizations, churches or political parties.

At any time during the first 24 hours after a proposal is distributed, a Senator may attach one rider to that proposal by publicly stating he is doing so. The Senator may write anything on the rider, all as self deleting text (and all the text should also be made public). If a group or person that is not a Senator, but owns a Rider, wants to use that Rider, they should publicly post the self deleting text of the Rider, asking a Senator to attach it to a certain proposal. Any Senator may then attach it to that proposal by replying in the same forum with a message to that effect. No Rider may be attached if more than 24 hours have passed since a proposal was made public. Any Rider made public but not attached by a Senator before the 24 hour deadline is considered void and destroyed.

If the proposal to which the rider is attached passes then the Rider takes effect before the proposal becomes a rule. The Rider is then destroyed as the proposal becomes a rule. If a Rider repeals the proposal it was attached to, then both are immediately destroyed. If a proposal is retracted or destroyed before becoming a rule, or fails to pass, any and all Riders are attached are made void and destroyed.

Attaching a Rider to a proposal does not affect change the votes already cast on it nor does it alter the deadline for the proposal."

[Note that the chronology is clear: the rider takes effect before the proposal. This allows for patches to the proposal before it has a chances to "hit the rule set".]

2. Amend R415 to add at the end:

"IV. Line Item Veto

The President may destroy a Rider from a proposal. This is considered a use of the Line-Item Veto and should be accompanied by a speech, preferably short. Newspapers are encouraged to report this use of the LIV, although the president can only be criticized for it. It is good form for the newspapers to misquote the president. The Senator who attached the Rider is fined A$100 to be paid to the treasury as penalty from the Ethics Commission."

[Just a bit of extra fun added with the rather bland LIV. Note the fine to discourage abuse and ensure the price of the Rider itself is never cheap]


Proposal 1845 - Tue, 18 Mar 1997 01:49:58 -0600
Sick Days for Sick Players
Calvin N Hobbes
Decision: Rejected

{{ This is a Modest proposal.

[This allows two things. First, that if someone should have technical problems, then implicitly, there is an additional grace period if the player kept Sick Days in reserve, that kicks in for him. It also allows players to take short breaks, without actually going on vacation. Certain players who are officers have a lot of stuff that comes in waves, this would allow the work to be spread out more, over another day for example. 24 hours can be the whole difference between a convenient time and one that isn't ]

Create a rule called "Sick Days for Sick Players", numbered R671 that reads:

"At the beginning of every Cycle, the number of Sick Days a player has is reset to 3. Then each player will get 1 extra Sick Day for each office they hold.

If a player misses one or more deadlines on a day then for each additional days so long as that player still has sick days left, the deadlines will be pushed back by one day and the player will have one less Sick Day. A player may explicitly use Sick Days to push back deadlines for as many days as he has Sick Days at most.

No player misses a deadline during a Sick Day: however many deadlines would have been missed are pushed back. Sick Days do not affect voting deadlines and cannot be used to vote after a vote deadline has passed.


Proposal 1846 - Tue, 18 Mar 1997 01:49:58 -0600
Dealing With The Paranormal
Calvin N Hobbes (Thierry Joffrain)
Decision: Accepted

{{ This is a Modest proposal.

[this proposal will develop the use of the W-File Pair while giving no extra required work of the officers, save for one random determination from time to time and perhaps keeping track of a few things (optional). It is also an attempt to give serious credibility to this part of the rules, make it more coherent while keeping and adding some fun. It also makes use of the Evil Twin rule. It has five parts. There are a number of easter egg type of references, most for the x-philes among us, but one reference especially for the musically inclined]

[The following cleans up R1117 to create a clean new rule about the W-File Pair]

1. Amend R1117 by replacing its last two paragraphs by the following:

"So long as a player has the ability to use telepathy and/or telekinesis, she may make as many uses of it as she likes. However, if a player uses either telepathy or telekinesis within 17 days (408 hours) of the last time she used one of them, then that use is considered a Paranormal Power by a player. Otherwise, it's just considered to be another wind sheared weather balloon and it is good form for senators to publicly deny everything about the incident."

[The following creates a new rule that defines the W-File Pair. It also grants them two powers when paranormal things happen, one over players, one over nonplayers. Both of these designate someone to be "krykec", who then writes a report to be rebuffed. This naming has effect only for this rule]

2. Create a new rule, renumbered to R261 called "Dealing with the Paranormal" to read:

"The W-File Pair is a team of two agents, Mold and Scold. They investigate paranormal activities and the use of unnatural abilities.

If a player has made use of a Paranormal Power then that player (also called Krykec for the purposes of this rule) is taken in for questioning. Krykec will be injected with an alien sedative which destroys one of her doses of psi-enhancer if she has at least one, and which otherwise removes whichever Paranoral Power that player has most recently used. They will then question Krykec about 'alien colonization' for 48 hours, during which time Krykec may neither take any action that would be prohibited if she were in Gaol, nor make any use of Paranormal Powers. Krykec is not actually in Gaol during that time, however, and she is released after the 48 hours are over.

If a non-player entity makes use of a Paranormal Power, then the W-File Pair will investigate the incident. The first player to volunteer within 24 hours will be assigned to help them, otherwise one player will be randomly assigned by the officer in charge of random things, to be called Krykec for the purposes of this rule.

Within seven days of being called Krykec for the purposes of this rule, the player must write a report to be called 'W-File Case #number' (where number is the report number). It is good form for all players to sneer publicly at the contents of the report. At least one Scientist must write a refuting report that should contain the phrases 'violates the laws of physics' and 'a claw is a claw and nobody has seen a talking claw'.

If Krykec has an evil twin, then the twin will be considered to have volunteered first for the next time this rule needs a volunteer. If Krykec has more than one evil twin, she may choose one among them.

The W-File pair is a named, unownable entity."

[The following makes the truly harfy and weird Alien attack paranormal]

3. Amend R1743 to read, at the end:

"The selection of an existing Rule to be abducted by Sinister Aliens is considered a Paranormal Power use by a non player entity.

[The following ensures that special powers granted to organizations can also be paranormal. Perhaps time for the Alchemist/Illuminati/Cuthulu Organizations to start collecting them]

4. Amend R1764 to read, at the end:

Any Powers that contain the word 'alien', 'ufo', 'gray', 'green', 'occult', 'subterfuge', 'abduction', 'unnatural' or plural thereof, shall also be considered Paranormal Powers. Use by an organization of such a power counts as a non-player entity use of such."

[The following makes using bonus votes a paranormal activity, which, arguably, it is]

5. Amend R317, replacing part 1 by:

" 1. Bonus Votes are tradeable entities. Use of a bonus vote by a player constitutes the use of a Paranormal Power by a player entity."
}}


Proposal 1847 - Wed, 19 Mar 1997 18:31:24 -0600
House Naming Fix
breadbox (Brian Raiter)
Decision: Accepted

This is a Modest proposal.

In Rule 252 "Joining the Game", replace the sentence:

"A player may change the name of this building by publically announcing the new name and unambiguously identifying the building they wish to rename."

with:

"The player may change the name of their building by publically announcing the new name and unambiguously identifying the building they wish to rename."


Proposal 1848 - Wed, 19 Mar 1997 18:31:27 -0600
modesty part deux
Narf (Joshua Nave)
Decision: Rejected

This is a grandiose proposal

[see my upcoming CFJ for the reasoning behind this one...]

Ammend rule 207 as follows:

Replace the following text

" If a non-Modest proposal is accepted, the player who proposed it receiv= es 10 points, and every player who voted NO on it receives 3 points. If a Mo= dest proposal is accepted, the player who proposed it receives half as many po= ints as he or she would have received otherwise, and no points are awarded for voting NO."

with

"If a non-Modest proposal is accepted, the player who proposed it receive= s 10 points, and every player who voted NO on it receives 3 points. If a Modes= t proposal is accepted, the player who proposed it receives half as many (rounded down) points as he or she would have received otherwise, and no points are awarded for voting NO."

and replace the following text

"For the first three weeks of being a new player (as opposed to a returni= ng player) in Ackanomic, a player shall lose only 4 points if one of their proposals fails; they shall receive 12 points if one of their proposals passes"

with=20

"For the first three weeks of being a new player (as opposed to a returni= ng player) in Ackanomic, a player shall lose only 4 points if one of their proposals fails; they shall receive 12 points if one of their non-modest proposals passes"

[thought I'd fix that while I was here... up until now, a new player who wrote a modest proposal would have earned 12 points for it!!]

Ammend rule #209 as follows

replace the following text

=93Whenever a Modest Proposal is adopted, the number of points scored by = its author as a direct result of authoring an adopted proposal shall be half = the number of points they would otherwise have scored (rounded down).=94

with

=93Whenever a Modest Proposal is adopted, the number of points scored by = its author as a direct result of authoring an adopted proposal shall be in accordance with Rule 207.=94

[this prevents the double (or more) halving of points]


Proposal 1849 - Wed, 19 Mar 1997 18:31:28 -0600
Let's Clear This Up
ThinMan (John Bollinger)
Decision: Accepted

This is a Modest proposal.

{{[ Summary: All scoring specific to Modest proposals is removed from R207 and handled by R209. The "As a direct result of authoring" language of R209 is replaced by a specific reference to R207. The "newbie" proposal bonus is tweaked ever-so-slightly. ]}}

Amend Rule 207 (Scoring When A Proposal's Voting Results are Reported) in the following ways:
1. Delete the second sentence of section III.
2. Insert "non-Modest" before the first occurence of "proposal" in section VI.
3. Change the text of section VII to read: "For the first three weeks of being a new player (as opposed to a returning player) in Ackanomic, a player shall receive a three-point bonus whenever one of their non-Modest proposals is accepted or any one of their proposals is rejected."
4. Replace the initial "If" of section VIII with "The above provisions notwithstanding, if".

Amend Rule 209 (Modesty and Pride) by changing the second paragraph to: "Whenever a Modest proposal is adopted, its author shall receive half the number of points that rule 207 would have directed that they receive if the proposal had not been Modest (rounded down)."


Proposal 1850 - Wed, 19 Mar 1997 21:37:45 -0600
Preventing Stiffing Scams
/dev/joe (Joseph DeVincentis)
Decision: Accepted

This is a Modest proposal.

Amend Rule 1771, "Controlling Interest" as follows:

1. Change "2 days" to "3 days".

2. After the sentence which begins "If player B does not vote in the way specified", add "If a controlling interest in player B is exercised more than once on the same proposal, he shall only be guilty of Stiffing his Shareholders if he violates the last such exercise of controlling interest."

3. In the sentence "A player may not exercise his controlling interest in any single other player more often than once per week." change "week" to "calendar week, from Sunday through Saturday."

Then renumber rule 1771 to 509.