(Reponomic) Initial Set of Rules Immutable Rules * 101. All players must always abide by all the rules then in effect, in the form in which they are then in effect. The rules in the Initial Set are in effect whenever a game begins. The Initial Set consists of Rules 101-117 (immutable) and 201-2? (mutable). * 102. Initially rules in the 100's are immutable and rules in the 200's are mutable. Rules subsequently enacted or transmuted (that is, changed from immutable to mutable or vice versa) may be immutable or mutable regardless of their numbers, and rules in the Initial Set may be transmuted regardless of their numbers. * 103. A rule-change is any of the following: (1) the enactment, repeal, or amendment of a mutable rule; (2) the enactment, repeal, or amendment of an amendment of a mutable rule; or (3) the transmutation of an immutable rule into a mutable rule or vice versa. (Note: This definition implies that, at least initially, all new rules are mutable; immutable rules, as long as they are immutable, may not be amended or repealed; mutable rules, as long as they are mutable, may be amended or repealed; any rule of any status may be transmuted; no rule is absolutely immune to change.) * 104. All rule-changes proposed in the proper way shall be voted on. They will be adopted if and only if they receive the required number of votes. * 105. Every Senator is an eligible voter. Every eligible voter must participate in every vote on rule-changes, unless there is an Emergency Session. Economists, Postmasters, and Scribes are also eligable voters. * 106. All proposed rule-changes shall be written down before they are voted on. If they are adopted, they shall guide play in the form in which they were voted on. * 107. No rule-change may take effect earlier than the moment of the completion of the vote that adopted it, even if its wording explicitly states otherwise. * 108. Each proposed rule-change shall be given a number for reference. The numbers shall begin with 301, and each rule-change proposed in the proper way shall receive the next successive integer, whether or not the proposal is adopted. If a rule is repealed it ceases to exist. Once a rule ceases to exist, no renumbering process shall begin. The other rules shall remain numbered as before, even if there is a gap. * 109. Rule-changes that transmute immutable rules into mutable rules may be adopted if and only if there is a majority of votes among the Senate in favor of it. Transmutation shall not be implied, but must be stated explicitly in a proposal to take effect. * 110. In a conflict between a mutable and an immutable rule, the immutable rule takes precedence and the mutable rule shall be entirely void. For the purposes of this rule a proposal to transmute an immutable rule does not "conflict" with that immutable rule. * 111. If a rule-change as proposed is unclear, ambiguous, paradoxical, or destructive of play, or if it arguably consists of two or more rule-changes compounded or is an amendment that makes no difference, or if it is otherwise of questionable value, then the other Senators may suggest amendments or argue against the proposal before the vote. A reasonable time must be allowed for this debate. The proponent decides the final form in which the proposal is to be voted on and, unless the Judge has been asked to do so, also decides the time to end debate and vote. * 112. The state of affairs that constitutes winning may not be altered from achieving n points to any other state of affairs. The magnitude of n and the means of earning points may be changed, and rules that establish a winner when play cannot continue may be enacted and (while they are mutable) be amended or repealed. * 113. A Senator may not forfeit. * 114. There must always be at least one mutable rule. The adoption of rule-changes must never become completely impermissible. * 115. 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 or type of move is impermissible solely on account of the self-reference or self-application of a rule. * 116. Whatever is not 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. * 117. The body of players ("Senators") which governs this Canon of Rules shall be known as "The Big Fun Doodle Nation Senate". If players are refered to in rules, their name must be preceded by their given title: Big Fun Doodle Nation Senator Soinso. * Mutable Rules * 201. Players shall alternate in clockwise order, taking one whole turn apiece. Turns may not be skipped or passed, and parts of turns may not be omitted. All players begin with zero points. In mail and computer games, players shall alternate in alphabetical order by surname. * 202. One turn consists of two parts in this order: (1) proposing one rule-change and having it voted on, and (2) recieving 1 point for each passed proposal. * 203. A rule-change is adopted if and only if there is a majority vote among the eligible voters. * 204. If and when rule-changes can be adopted without unanimity, the players who vote against winning proposals shall receive 10 points each. * 205. An adopted rule-change takes full effect at the moment of the completion of the vote that adopted it. * 206. When a proposed rule-change is defeated, the player who proposed it loses 10 points. * 207. Each player always has exactly one vote, except for Pages, which have none. * 208. The winner is the first player to achieve 100 (positive) points. In mail and computer games, the winner is the first player to achieve 200 (positive) points. * 209. At no time may there be more than 300 mutable rules. * 210. Players may not conspire or consult on the making of future rule-changes unless they are team-mates, and even then it must be sent through the Post-Master, in Postong. * 211. 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 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 supersede 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 again governs. * 212. If players disagree about the legality of a move or the interpretation or application of a rule, then the player preceding the one moving is to be the Judge and decide the question. Disagreement for the purposes of this rule may be created by the insistence of any player. This process is called invoking Judgment. When Judgment has been invoked, the next player may not begin his or her turn without the consent of a majority of the other players. The Judge's Judgment may be overruled only by a unanimous vote of the other players taken before the next turn is begun. If a Judge's Judgment is overruled, then the player preceding the Judge in the playing order becomes the new Judge for the question, and so on, except that no player is to be Judge during his or her own turn or during the turn of a team-mate. Unless a Judge is overruled, one Judge settles all questions arising from the game until the next turn is begun, including questions as to his or her own legitimacy and jurisdiction as Judge. New Judges are not bound by the decisions of old Judges. New Judges may, however, settle only those questions on which the players currently disagree and that affect the completion of the turn in which Judgment was invoked. All decisions by Judges shall be in accordance with all the rules then in effect; but when the rules are silent, inconsistent, or unclear on the point at issue, then the Judge shall consider game-custom and the spirit of the game before applying other standards. * 213. If the rules are changed so that further play is impossible, or if the legality of a move cannot be determined with finality, or if by the Judge's best reasoning, not overruled, a move appears equally legal and illegal, then the first player unable to complete a turn is the winner. This rule takes precedence over every other rule determining the winner. * 214. In the event that 2 or more players cannot be found to vote on a proposal, an Emergency Session shall be called, and the proposal will be voted upon anyway. This applies in e-mail games only if the players in question cannot be reached by summons. * 215. In the event that unruliness is achieved, Martial Law may be declared by 2 or more Big Fun Doodle Nation Senators. In the event that Martial Law is declared, the two declaritive Senators are pronounced Dictats, and have full control of the rules for 6 of there respecive turns. Within these six turns, the Senators in question may suspend the function of a rule, veto proposals, and delay other Senator's turns, they may also propose laws, but not vote on them. They may not, however, prolong their term as Dictats, because once their term has elapsed, Martial Law may not be declared until 10 turn cycles after it has ceased. Dictats may not alter this rule. * 216. Martial Law may not be declared until Two full turn cycles have elapsed since the beginning of the game. Emergency Sessions are not included in turn cycles. * 218. Senators, if necessary, may band together into "parties". These parties shall have a unified vote of 1, while all the induvidual votes of it's members shall be counted as well. If the membership of a party rises above 10, it's unified vote shall be of 3. If all members of a party do not vote the same way, the unified vote is not counted. * 219. The following rule only applies in e-mail games. New members shall be known as "Pages" and may submit rules, but may note vote on them. After 3 turn cycles after their joining-of-the-game, their election to the Big Fun Doodle Nation Senate shall be voted upon. If they win by majority, they shall become a Big Fun Doodle Nation Senator. If they lose by majority, they have the option of waiting another 3 turn cycles, or quitting. They may not run for any other office until they are a Senator. * 220. Asside from the office of Senator, there are the offices of Scribe, Economist, Biographer, and Post-Master. Annual Electons shall be held for Scribe and Economist, but not Biographer and Post-Master. *Offices* 221. The office of Scribe shall be elected from the first five Senators nominated. These first five shall be voted upon, and from among them shall be selected the three who have to highest amount of votes. As in all cases, the votes will be tallyed by the Economist and a list shall be given to all players. The duties of these scribes will be to record, in their own inimitible style, the goings-on of the Big Fun Doodle Nation Senate. Debates, votes, arguments, etc. Elections shall be held every 10 turn cycles. * 222. The Office of Economist shall be given to anyone who runs for it and wins by a majority vote. Posters must be included in the campaign, though. The first Economist elections shall be held 5 turn cycles after the game has begun and hence every five turn cycles after that. Old economists may run for reelection, but if they lose they must transfer their records to the new Economist. Up till the first election, all votes and scores must be tallied by Raymond Myers. The Economist's duties shall be to keep a record of Senator's scores, and tally votes. In e-mail games, all votes must be sent to hir. * 223. The Office of Biographer is elected only if elections are held. Since this is not a required office, the proposition of elections must first be voted upon, then those who run for Biographer must be voted upon. The duties of a biographer include, well, biography. It is their duty to select some great Senator, and write a short history of hir. Although, they may modify the person's background in anyway they see fit to make hir seem Great. The may only biograph Senators, or other Biographers. The frequency of elections must also be decided by a vote. * 224. The following rule need only apply in e-mail games. The Office of Post-Master is a highly imporant one, and the elections must voted upon only after GREAT deliberation. Elections are first held after the first turn cycle is complete. Up till then, all message are sent to, and frowarded by Jcravens@chambana.com. The duties of the Post-Master are simply, but VERY important. He collects mail, and sends it to it's recipient. That is to say, if you want to send a personal message to a player, you send a message to the Post-Master addressed as such: TO: <soinso><partyifany>&jdoe@nowhere.com FROM: <title><soinso><partyifany> SUBJECT:<subject> BODY: and the Post-Master will Forward it to them by e-mail. Whenever letters are to all players, simply address it to "ALL". * 225. All postals (mail sent to the Post-Master) shall be written in Postong. * 226. Anyone found sending mail directly to a player, except the Post-Master, will be severely punished by an Elected Tribunal of YIDS. Once an Elected Tribunal of YIDS has been established, it will have Eight members, and have the power to pass judgement on the offending player in question. These judgements, and those who made them, shall be recorded by the Scribe. The procedure for election is this: When a player has been accused of a Postal Infraction, Senators may openly nominate candidates for High YIDS-Master. Once the nominations have ceased, the nominees will be voted upon, and whoever has a majority vote will win the office. After that, the High YIDS-Master will pick the other Seven members of the Elected Tribunal of YIDS. Then, the case and evidence will be presented by he/her who placed the blame. After that has been done, the Accused will present hir case. Quod Vide, The Elected Tribunal of YIDS will converse with each other, via the Post-Master, and come to a decision. Judgements must be carried out in full, and obeyed by all in the Senate, including the Economist, the Scribes, the Biographers, and the Post-Master. Any judgements affecting the rules will be recorded in the Rules starting with 400.