Rules are listed in order of precedence. * Rule 101. [immutable] (Initial Rule) Obey The Rules All players must always abide by all the rules then in effect, in the form in which they are then in effect, and interpreted in accordance with currently existing game custom. * Rule 102. [immutable] (Initial Rule) Mutable/Immutable Rules Until such time as they are legally transmuted, Rules 101-115 are immutable, and Rules 201-219 are mutable. 103: transmuted by 1064 * Rule 104. [immutable] (Initial Rule) Adopting Proposals All proposals made in the proper way shall be voted on. Three conditions must be satisfied for a proposal to be adopted: (1) a quorum must have been achieved; (2) the required number of votes must have been cast in favor of the proposal; and (3) the prescribed voting period must have elapsed. * Rule 105. [immutable] (Initial Rule) Proposals Must Be Written Down Any proposed rule change must be written down (or otherwise communicated in print media) before it is voted on. If adopted, it must guide play in the form in which it was voted on. * Rule 106. [immutable] (Initial Rule) When Proposals Can Not Take Effect No rule change may take effect before the end of the prescribed voting period on that proposed rule change, even if its wording explicitly states otherwise. No rule change may have retroactive application. 107: transmuted by 1078 * Rule 108. [immutable] (Initial Rule) Mutable/Immutable Inconsistencies Mutable rules that are inconsistent in some way with some immutable rule (except by proposing to transmute it) are wholly void and without effect. They do not implicitly transmute immutable rules into mutable rules and at the same time amend them. Rule changes that transmute immutable rules into mutable rules will be effective only if they explicitly state their transmuting effect. 109: transmuted by 1034 110: transmuted by 1041, amended by 1068 * Rule 111. [immutable] (Initial Rule) Forfeiting The Game A player always has the option to forfeit the game rather than continue to play or incur a game penalty. No penalty worse than losing, in the judgement of the player to incur it, may be imposed. * Rule 112. [immutable] (Initial Rule) At Least One Mutable Rule There must always be at least one mutable rule. The adoption of rule changes must never become completely inpermissible. * Rule 113. [immutable] (Initial Rule) Rule Changes That Affect Rule Changing Rules Rule changes that affect rules needed to allow or apply rule changes are as permissible as other rule changes. Even rule changes that amend or repeal their own authority are permissible. No rule change is impermissible solely on account of the self-reference or self-application of a rule. 114: transmuted by 1033, amended by 1048 * Rule 115. [immutable] (Initial Rule) Permissibility Of The Unprohibited Whatever is not explicitly prohibited or regulated by a rule is permitted and unregulated, with the sole exception of changing the rules, which is permitted only when a rule or set of rules explicitly or implicitly permits it. *** Rule 201. [mutable] (Initial Rule) Quorum Quorum is defined to be 20% of the recently active registered players. 202: amended by 1059 203: amended by 1011 * Rule 204. [mutable] (Initial Rule) One Player One Vote Each player has exactly one vote. 205: amended by 1012, amendment repealed by 1044. * Rule 206. [mutable] (Initial Rule) When Proposals Take Effect An adopted proposal takes effect at the moment that the prescribed voting period ends. 207: amended by 1014, 1042, 1080 208: amended by 1043, 1070 * Rule 209. [mutable] (Initial Rule) Required Number Of Points To Win The winner is the first player to achieve a score of 100 points. * Rule 210. [mutable] (Initial Rule) Resolving Conflicts If two or more mutable rules conflict with one another, or if two or more immutable rules conflict with one another, then the rule with the lowest effective ordinal 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 two or more rules claim to take precedence over one another, or to defer to one another, then the numerical method must again govern. 211: amended by 1060. 212: amended by 1072. * Rule 213. [mutable] (Initial Rule) Delivering Judgement Having accepted the appointment, a Judge has exactly one week in which to post an official Judgement. A Judge who fails to deliver Judgement within that period is penalized 10 points. 214: amended by 1061. * Rule 215. [mutable] (Initial Rule) Judgements Must Accord With The Rules All Judgements must be in accordance with all the rules then in effect. When the rules are silent, inconsistent, or unclear on the statement in question, however, then the Judge shall consider currently existing game custom and the spirit of the game in reaching a decision. * Rule 216. [mutable] (Initial Rule) Judgements Are Not Rules If a statement on which Judgement has been called is Judged to be true, and that Judgement is not overruled, it does not thereby become a rule, or any part of a rule. It merely becomes an explicit part of currently accepted game custom. 217: amended by 1084 * Rule 218. [mutable] (Initial Rule) Registered Players A player is any person who is registered as a player. No person may register as a player more than once concurrently. Anyone is allowed to observe the game and parrticipate in discussion of any issue, but no person who is not a player may make a proposal, or vote on any proposal, or call for judgement, or judge, or score points, or win the game. * Rule 219. [mutable] (Initial Rule) Winning By Paradox If the rules are changed so that further play is impossible, or if the legality of some action cannot be determined with finality, or if some action appears equally legal and illegal, then a player may call for judgement on a statement to that effect. If the statement is judged true, and the judgement is not overruled, then the player who called for judgement is declared the winner of the game. This rule takes precedence over every other rule for determining the winner of the game. 1001: failed. 1002: failed. 1003: failed. 1004: failed. 1005: failed. 1006: failed. 1007: failed. 1008: failed. 1009: failed. 1010: repealed by 1055. * 1011: Rule 203. [mutable] by Steve, last changed Wed Oct 28 03:07:36 1992 Simple Majorities The number of votes required to pass a proposal is a simple majority of the votes legally cast within the prescribed voting period. 1012: repealed by 1044 1013: repealed by 1056 1014: amended by 1042 1015: failed. 1016: failed. * Rule 1017. [mutable] by Ilt, last changed Wed Oct 28 08:52:14 1992 A last attempt Any rule, with an identification number above 1017, that awards points or subtracts points based on how players voted cannot be applied to any votes cast before the enactment of that rule and cannot be applied to particular proposal numbers. All players who voted FOR this rule (proposal 1017) shall receive twelve (12) points each. 1018: failed. 1019: failed. 1020: failed. 1021: failed. 1022: failed. 1023: failed. 1024: failed. 1025: failed. 1026: failed. 1027: failed. 1028: failed. * Rule 1029. [mutable] by Geoff, last changed Wed Oct 28 11:47:46 1992 Resetting the scores. On the adoption of this proposal all points shall be reset to 0. No points may be gained, lost or traded unless explicitly permitted by the rules. 1030: failed. * Rule 1031. [mutable] by Geoff, last changed Wed Oct 28 12:30:38 1992 Maximum Two Proposals Per Player. At any time, no player shall have more than two proposals up for vote on the voting noticeboard. 1032: amended by 1088 1033: amended by 1048 * 1034: transmutation of 109 Rule 109. [mutable] (Initial Rule) Making Proposals The proper way to make a proposal is to place it on the voting noticeboard. The prescribed voting period begins at the moment that the proposal is placed on the voting noticeboard, and the proposal then cannot be removed from the voting noticeboard until the end of the prescribed voting period. * Rule 1035. [mutable] by Evantine, last changed Wed Oct 28 11:35:52 1992 Seconding Proposals Before a proposal may be placed on the voting noticeboard, it must be signed (also called "seconded") by another player. The player making the proposal may ask any other player to sign his/her proposal. The player who is asked then has three options. He or she may: (a) privately refuse to sign. No record is kept of the transaction. (b) publically sign. The signature indicates that the proposal has been examined and approved. (c) publically refuse to sign. Public refusals and signatures are appended to the proposal when it is moved to the voting notice board. * Rule 1036. [mutable] by Evantine, last changed Wed Oct 28 12:24:47 1992 Scoring for Seconding When a proposal passes, the player(s) who seconded the proposal receive 2 points. Players who publically refused to second the proposal lose 8 points. When a proposal fails, players who seconded the proposal lose 2 points, and players who publically refused to second the proposal gain 8 points. * Rule 1037. [mutable] by Evantine, last changed Wed Oct 28 12:25:21 1992 Special Scoring for Unanimous Votes In the case that a proposal is passed unanimously, all players who gain points based on the outcome of the vote shall receive double the number of points they would if the vote were not unanimous, and all players who would otherwise lose points because of the outcome of the vote, shall not lose those points. 1038: failed. * Rule 1039. [mutable] by Ilt, last changed Mon Nov 2 17:24:20 1992 Restrictions on Rules The following restrictions apply: a) No proposal or rule can make any event conditional on the identity of a player. A player's identity is represented by their player name, real name, e-mail address, or similar enduring characteristic. b) No proposal or rule can make any event conditional on the nature of events that occurred before the rule was enacted. c) A proposal or rule that makes an event conditional on the way a player voted for failed or successful proposals cannot refer to particular proposals or rules except to specify precedence. 1040: amended by 1051 1041: amended by 1068 1042: amended by 1080 1043: amended by 1070 * 1044: repeal 1012, an amendment of 205. Rule 205. [mutable] (Initial Rule) The Prescribed Voting Period The prescribed voting period on a proposal is seven days, starting from the moment that the proposal is placed on the voting noticeboard. * Rule 1045. [mutable] by Steve, last changed Tue Nov 3 12:27:27 1992 Old Players An old player is a person who has deregistered as a player, then reregistered again, under the same or a different name than that under which they were previously registered, within a 6 week period. When an old player reregisters, they resume play with the score they possessed at the time of their deregistration, unless all scores have been set to 0 in the interim. In that case, the old player resumes with a score of 0. 1046: failed. * Rule 1047. [mutable] by Blob, last changed Tue Nov 3 13:19:28 1992 New players New players begin with zero points. A new player is a player who registers for the first time. If the player has been registered within the past 6 weeks, then e is not counted as a new player. * 1048: Rule 114. [mutable] by Goethe, last changed Mon Nov 2 10:56:07 1992 Voting Options Players may vote either for or against any proposal on the voting noticeboard during the prescribed voting period. Voting shall remain secret until the close of that voting period. Players who do not vote within the prescribed period shall be deemed to have abstained. 1049: failed. 1050: failed. * 1051: Rule 1040. [mutable] by Jono, last changed Tue Nov 3 12:20:53 1992 Definition of Randomness That any rules that require that a player be chosen randomly have that player be selected in the following way: (A) Determine the number of players, N (B) Number off the players 0, ...., N-1 allocating each player exactly one unique number in the range 0 to N-1 (C) Use a uniform distribution to select a number between 0 and N-1. (D) Select the player numbered off in step (B) according to the number chosen in step (C) In the case that a rule requires that a player be selected randomly from a subset of all the players, then N shall be the size of the subset, and the players numbered off shall be exactly those in the subset. * Rule 1052. [mutable] by Blob, last changed Tue Nov 10 14:04:37 1992 Deregistration and Forfeiture A player may not deregister himself or herself from the game, except by forfeiting. When a player forfeits, he or she remains registered for a length of time equal to the longest possible voting period on a proposal. At the end of this time, he or she is deregistered. During the time between forfeiting and being deregistered, the player may not vote or make a proposal. The player automatically refuses any selection for judgement. If, at any time during this period, the player decides against forfeiting, then these restrcitions are instantly revoked, and the deregistration does not take place. * Rule 1053. [mutable] by Jono, last changed Tue Nov 10 16:53:33 1992 Student Welfare That all players with scores below 25 points get 10 points effective at the time that this proposal is passed. * 1055: repeal of 1010 1056: repeal of 1013 1057: failed * Rule 1058. [mutable] by Joe, last changed Mon Nov 16 12:33:07 1992. Scoring for the proposer of a rule When a proposal passes, the person who proposed it shall receive 10 points. When a proposal fails, the person who proposed it shall lose 9 points. * 1059: Rule 202. [mutable] by Steve, last changed Tue Nov 17 05:52:17 1992 Recently Active Players A registered player is recently active with respect to a proposal if he or she has logged on to the game at least once in the two weeks before the beginning of the voting period on that proposal. A registered player is recently active generally with respect to the game at a time, if he or she has logged into the game at least once in the previous week. 1060: repealed by 1085 1061: repealed by 1086 1062: failed 1063: failed * 1064: transmutation of 103 Rule 103. [mutable] (Initial Rule), last changed Thu Nov 19 16:08:54 1992 What Is A Rule Change? A rule change must be one of the following: (1) the enactment repeal, or amendment of a mutable rule; (2) the enactment, repeal, or amendment of an amendment; or (3) the transmutation of an immutable rule into a mutable rule, or vice versa. * 1065: Rule 1054. [mutable] by Evantine, last changed Tue Nov 17 06:34:12 1992 Undoing Rules Violations If a statement claiming that a player's action was in violation the rules is judged TRUE, that move shall be undone, if possible and practical, as soon as possible and practical. The player shall be penalized 15 points. No rules may be changed, repealed, or removed as a consequence of this rule. However, if the legality of a proposal's enactment, its vote, or the cirumstances of its proposition are challenged before it is enacted, then that proposal may not be enacted until the question of legality is resolved. If the judgment is challenged and successfully changed to "undecided," then the player regains his/her lost points, and may repeat the action, subject to the call of another judgment. This rule takes precedence over other mutable rules which would prevent the illegal move from being undone. 1066: failed. * Rule 1067. [mutable] by Ilt, last changed Mon Nov 23 14:05:51 1992 End of the Current Game At the passing of this proposal, the current game will end but play will continue. In particular, - all players remain registered - the scores for all players are set to 0 (zero), - the rules, the explicit game custom, and the noticeboards remain as they were at the end of the game until they are changed by later play, - and a new game is begun. * 1068: Rule 110. [mutable] by Ilt, last changed Mon Nov 23 14:07:26 1992 Matches and Games A NOMIC match ends if play cannot be continued. A NOMIC game ends in one of the following two ways: a) The match ends, or b) At any time during play, if at least one player has at least N points, then all players with at least N points at that time are the winners of that game. When a game ends, - all players remain registered - the scores for all players are set to 0 (zero), - the rules, the explicit game custom, and the noticeboards remain as they were at the end of the game until they are changed by later play, - and a new game is begun. Until a rule says otherwise, N for winning a game is 100 points. The magnitude of N and the means of earning points may be changed. Moreover, rules that reward winners, that establish when play cannot be continued, and that specify what happens when play cannot be continued may be enacted and (while mutable) be amended or repealed. This rule takes precedence over all other rules for determining the winner or winners. * Rule 1069. [mutable] by Dem, last changed Mon Nov 23 17:14:50 1992 Two records must be available to all players at all times, and must be kept consistently up-to-date: 1. The "Rule Record" which contains precisely the current active RULES in their fully amended, renumbered, or otherwise modified form 2. The "Legislative Record" which contains precisely all PROPOSALS as proposed and voted upon by players from the beginning of the game * 1070: Rule 208. [mutable] by Dem. [First amended by proposal 1043]. [Then amended by proposal 1070]. Rewarding Political Correctness, part II When a proposed rule change is defeated, those players who voted against it each receive one (1) point. * Rule 1071. [mutable] by Geoff, last changed Tue Nov 24 13:16:55 1992 Points Trading Act. Any player who has a N points, where N is a positive number of points shall be allowed to award any number of points X to another player, providing X is less than or equal to N and X is greater than 0. The player awarding the points shall lose the number of points X in question; the player receiving the points shall gain the number of points in question. A player may refuse to accept points from another player. Points may be traded in any manner in which the players doing the trading see fit. No trade is binding. * 1072: Rule 212. [mutable] by Steve, last changed Tue Nov 24 14:18:44 1992 Selecting a Recently Active Judge When Judgement has been called for, a Judge is randomly selected from among the other recently active registered players. The player selected has 3 days in which to accept or refuse the appointment by posting to the discussion noticeboard. Any player who does not respond to selection in 3 days shall be penalized 10 points, and is deemed to have refused appointment. If a selected player refuses appointment, then a further random selection is made from the remaining pool. * 1073: failed. 1074: failed. 1075: failed. * Rule 1076. [mutable] by Steve, last changed Wed Nov 25 13:51:31 1992 Form of Amendments Any proposal which amends any other proposal must: (i) explicitly state which proposal it is amending, and (ii) fully state the amended form of that proposal. * Rule 1077. [mutable] by Evantine, last changed Wed Nov 18 15:43:56 1992 Custodian of the Rules An office shall exist, called "Custodian of the Rule Book." The responsibilities of this office are: (a) To ensure that an up-to-date record of the current rules, (the "Rule Book") is maintained. (b) To ensure that the updated record of the rules is made available to all players on a regular basis. This Rule Book must be a faithful rendering of the current rules. They do not constitute the actual "rules." The Custodian must ensure that appropriate changes are made to the Rule Book whenever a proposed rule change is adopted. He or she must ensure that the rule change directions in the proposal are precisely followed when the change is made. Any disputes must be resolved by judgment. The Custodian shall be appointed, with consent of the appointee, by the winner of the previous game, and remains in office until another winner is declared, or until he/she is removed from office. Although other rules or proposals may determine when a Custodian may be removed from office, the office of Custodian must be filled at all times. * 1078: Rule 107. [mutable] (Initial Rule) last changed Wed Nov 25 16:37:01 1992 Numbering Proposals Each proposed rule change shall be given an ordinal number for reference. The numbers shall begin with 1000, and each rule change proposed in the proper way shall receive the next successive ordinal, whether or not the proposal is adopted. The effective ordinal number of a rule is the ordinal number of the most recent change to that rule. 1079: 1080: Rule 207. [mutable] by Geoff, last changed Fri Nov 27 13:41:12 1992 Rewarding political correctness, part I When a proposed rule change is adopted, those players who voted for it each receive (1) point. 1081: failed. 1082: failed. * 1084: Rule 217. [mutable] by Dave, last changed Sat Nov 28 08:32:10 1992 Overturning Judgements At any time in the week following the posting of a judgement, any player may propose that the judgement be overruled. If that proposal is adopted, following whatever rules are then in effect for the adoption of proposals, then the judgement is changed to Undecided and the judge who posted it is penalized 20 points. 1085: repeal of amendment 1060, restoring 211: Rule 211. [mutable] (Initial Rule) Invoking Judgement Any player who has a question or complaint about any matter concerning the laws and their interpretation may place a statement on the discussion noticeboard and call for judgement on that statement. 1086: repeal of amendment 1061, restoring 214: Rule 214. [mutable] (Initial Rule) Three Possible Judgements There are only three possible Judgements: (1) True; (2) False; or (3) Undecided. A Judgement may be accompanied by reasons an arguments, but any such reasons and arguments form no part of the official Judgement itself. Rule 1087. [mutable] by Martel, last changed Tue Dec 1 12:30:18 1992 Spelling errors I hereby propose to enact the following rule: Spelling errors do not invalidate rules if there is no ambiguity in meaning. 1088: Rule 1032. [mutable] by Steve, last changed Tue Dec 1 16:19:12 1992 The Cost Of Invoking Judgement A players who invokes Judgement shall lose 1 point. The Judge who delivers Judgement on the issue shall receive 1 point. Rule 1089. [mutable] by Chuck, last changed Tue Dec 1 17:41:13 1992 Vacations A player may declare himself to be on vacation by posting a notice to that effect to the discussion board. The notice must also state the beginning and end of the period during which the player is on vacation. The beginning of the period must be described as either immediately upon posting of the notice, a date, or a date and time. The end of the period must be described as either a date or a date and time. The beginning of the period may not be before the posting of the notice; no player may declare himself to be retroactively on vacation. Neither the beginning nor the end of the period may be made conditional upon any event. A player may return from vacation earlier than the specified end of his vacation period by posting such a notice to the discussion board. This takes effect immediately upon posting of the notice. The minimum length of the specified period shall be the time a player is normally allowed to respond to an appointment to judgeship. The maximum length of the specified period shall be one day longer than it takes for a player, after logging in, to become not recently active generally with respect to the game. If a player specifies a date but not a time for either the beginning or the end of the vacation period, the period shall include the whole of that date. The date and time used shall be that of this MUD (GMT + 11), and not any other time. Any appointments to judgeship that a player receives while on vacation, or any appointments to judgeship that a player has not responded to at the beginning of his vacation period, are automatically refused and the player suffers no penalty for refusing judgeship or not responding to an appointment to judgeship. Other than accepting judgeships, a player is not prohibited from any normally allowed actions while on vacation. This rule takes precedence over all other rules concerning selecting a judge. 1090: failed. 1091: failed. 1092: failed.