Subject: Ackanomic Digest V1 #68
From: [email-masked] (Ackanomic Digest)
To: ackanomic-digest

Ackanomic Digest        Tuesday, June 25 1996        Volume 01 : Number 068

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Mon, 24 Jun 1996 23:59:25 -0500
From: Kelly Martin <[email-masked]> 
Subject: Re: Acka: CFJ 190 Verdict 

"T" == T Joffrain <[email-masked]> writes:

T> Whatever sophistry you want to put in this, the user of the gadget
T> is still _proposing_ a rule change, so it applies. 

i don't see that at all.  the owner of the Frobnotzer is not
_proposing_ a rule change; his actions are not subject to approval, as
a proposal would be.  he is, by using the device, _requiring_ one.
Rule 105 does not regulate changing the rules; it regulates proposals
(which, per some rule which i've forgotten the number of and don't
feel like looking up right now, are synonymous with proposed rule
changes).

T> But since R105 only allows changes through voting on written
T> proposed changes,

no, Rule 105 does not _only_ allow changes in that manner; this is so
obvious to me that it baffles me how you could make such a claim with
a straight face.

T> No rule change can be the single random act of an
T> individual. That's what R105 is about. 

you've not read any of Suber's commentary, eh?  Rule 105's original
intent is to avoid debates over just what the proposal that was just
adopted was, by requiring that it be written out.  Suber did not
intend for Rule 105 to act to guarantee voting upon all changes to the
Rules.  of course, i consider intent irrelevant, for the purpose of
making judgements.

T> _Obviously_, R105 states that every change to the rules must be
T> written down, and a vote taken on the written change as proposed.

this is not only not obvious, it's wrong.

k.

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 25 Jun 1996 00:03:46 -0500 (CDT)
From: "Joseph W. DeVincentis" <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Ackanomic: Official

> 1) The Fat Lady is singing. She is singing "The Lamest of the
> Lame", by Garbage, as the first tune of her set. I shall announce
> publically when she has completed her singing.

I agree, that win was lame, but after I realized early yesterday evening
that the problem we tried to fix in the ConCon was still in the rules,
I submitted the proposal "Duh" to fix it, and a while later I realized
that nothing seemed to prevent me from declaring another win by paradox
on the same paradox; after all, part of the intent of R829 was to avoid
exactly this problem.

Somewhat appropriately, the proposal "Duh" is proposal number 911.
For those who don't know (especially non-Americans), in many parts
of the United States, 911 is the emergency phone number.

> 2) She is being accompanied by Malenkai on the Great Trombone
> of Ackanomia, who sees no rule which grants the Web-Harfer the
> right to adjudicate who has which objects without due process of
> law.

I have added the Trombone next to Malenkai's name in the player/title
records.  However, the Great Trombone of Ackanomia is protected
(by rule 762) and therefore Malenkai may not manipulate it except as
specified by the rules (see rule 592).  Nowhere do the rules permit
any player to accompany the Fat Lady on the Great Trombone of Ackanomia;
in fact, you can't do much of anything at all with it except claim
possession of it, or lose it to Somewhere Else.  You can't even play
it while leading a parade.

> 6) I am claiming 14 points from having the Magic Potato last week. The
> Scorekeeper and/or Financier can, or not, as they wish, adjust the 
> appropriate books.

Hmm.... I'll examine the scores and see if Malenkai indeed ever had
exactly 76 points.  You also gained 5 points for one short proposal,
and there was the error associated with voting results on one
proposal which had actually been retracted, but both of these happened
later than P887, where Malenkai claimed the trombone.
This should be the scorekeeper's job, though.

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 25 Jun 1996 04:40:47 -0800
From: [email-masked] (Phil Ackley)
Subject: Acka: News: Underground 

This up to the minute news is being distributed by an underground press.
It would be distributed by The Ackanomic Steel Flea Gazette, but it appears
that I, among with all of you, are flat broke.  When we somehow get some
A$, I will announce the URL for the web based paper

***

First Blue Crosses Awarded

Ackanomic (AckPress) - Four Ackanomic players were awarded a Blue Cross
today by President /dev/joe at a surprise awards ceremony. The crosses,
awarded to Malenkai, Calvin N Hobbes, Mohammed, and Robert Sevin, are the
first blue crosses to be handed out.  President /dev/joe noted that the
players with a Blue Cross may now begin working towards receiving the first
Silver Stripe.  He quoted from Rule 549, saying, "for each 10 additional
proposals submitted by a Blue Cross owner and subsequently adopted by
Ackanomic, that Blue Cross owner shall be awarded a Silver Stripe."

A Blue Cross can be awarded for several reasons.  Malenkai received his for
having more than 20 of his proposals pass, as did Calvin N Hobbes.
Mohammed was awarded a Blue Cross for completing his term as a senator, and
Robert Sevin gained his for completing a term as President.

Reaction among the recipients was mixed.  While fighting back a wave of
emotion, Calvin N Hobbes thanked the crowd that had massed to witness the
ceremony.  Malenkai and Mohammed received their Crosses without comment.
Rumor has it that they were too choked up to speak.  Robert Sevin is still
on vacation, and was unavailable for comment.

*****

Fat Lady Sings!

Ackanomia (AckPress) - In a move described by some a "weak" and "lame",
/dev/joe won by paradox today, when CFJ 192 came back TRUE.  The CFJ, which
repeated the claims made in CFJ 182, the CFJ which allowed Malenkai's
paradox win, was made possible by the flawed nature of R829 (Handling
Paradox Wins).  To the surprise of many players, it turned out that the
constitutional convention which solved the original paradox was never, in
fact, even held.  One player, who wishes to remain anonymous, said it was
most likely a "mass hallucination, caused by the stresses of temporal
crises".

ThinMan, when returning judgement, was surprisingly harsh on President
/dev/joe.  He said " I consider this CFJ to be in questionable taste, but
it does an excellent job of underscoring the problem.  It is my opinion
that no further demonstration is necessary, and I will personally consider
any other CFJ along these lines to be in very poor taste indeed."

Shortly after the announcement of /dev/joe's win The Fat Lady began to
sing.  To the delight of the masses, she began her set with "the Lamest of
the Lame".  There is some confusion as to whether Malenkai, who may or may
not hold The Great Trombone of Ackanomia, did or did not accompany her in
song.

snowgod
Ambassador
 Former CSRR
Acting Senator (seat c)
Wearing a prosthetic forehead
The Witchfinder General never declared me a heretic
Founder, Church of the Markovian Dream

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 25 Jun 96 15:03:47 MET DST
From: [email-masked] (Julian Richardson)
Subject: Re: Acka: No news

Dear All,

I am just about to leave the University here to take a month's holiday
and then progress to Zurich University. Since I will be out of touch
so long, I think it makes sense for me to bow out of the game.

I'm sorry (*sniff*) I haven't been able to put as much time into
Ackanomic as I would have liked. I do, of course, love each and every
one of you. Especially the magic potato.

HOWEVER, before I leave I would like, if possible to donate some A$ so
that those who wish to start newspapers are able to. Until I have done
that I am still in the game.

Ackacheers,

Dr McSpong

PS Any news from Coca Cola? :-)

In a previous message, John Bollinger wrote:
> 
> 
> I regret to inform our intrepid, entrepreneurial newsmen (Niccolo
> Flychuck and snowgod, I believe) that they do not currently have the
> A$20 fees required to start newspapers.  In fact, they do not have an
> ackadime between them.  Until they get some cash, their newspapers
> will have to wait.
> 
> 
> ThinMan
> Financier
> 
> 

- -- 
- ---------------- Ce sont mes avis, pas les avis de l'ecole. ----------------
Julian Richardson  http://www.dmi.ens.fr/~richard  mailto:[email-masked]
Departement de Mathematiques et d'Informatique, Ecole Normale Superieure,
45 Rue D'Ulm, PARIS 75230 Cedex 05, FRANCE
Tel: +33 (1) 44 32 32 77  Fax: +33 (1) 44 32 20 80 

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 25 Jun 1996 09:14:39 -0700
From: Malenkai <[email-masked]>
Subject: Acka: p forehead

I am buying and wearing a Prosthetic Forehead. The P.F. will be green
with a big happy face on it. Above that will be a 3 dimensional golden
frog.

I will spend A$7 for the P.F. According to my records, I have A$1091 to
spend, therefore I can afford it. I ask the financier to debit my account
in accordance with the P.F. rule.

It seems to me there has been some debate as to what my account balance
really is, A$4, or 0, etc, or A$1091. As far as I can tell, debate is not
sufficient to legally adjust it from what it legally is. Therefore,
until rule of law, or CFJ indicates that my balance is not A$1091 (- 7),
I shall continue to play the game with my legal balance. If someone
disagrees with my balance, they should propose a rule change or a CFJ.
As far as I can remember, and I am not sure, currency is Protected, and
is beyond the reach of contentious debate. It seems to me we should be
consistent in when to apply debate to objects. Ie, apply the same philosophy
to determining the disposition of the Trombone and the currency.

Malenkai
Wearing a Prosthetic Forehead

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 25 Jun 1996 09:17:30 -0700
From: Malenkai <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Ackanomic: Official

Joseph W. DeVincentis wrote:

> Nowhere do the rules permit
> any player to accompany the Fat Lady on the Great Trombone of Ackanomia;
> in fact, you can't do much of anything at all with it except claim
> possession of it, or lose it to Somewhere Else.  You can't even play
> it while leading a parade.

I believe Protection Loophole (i think CFJ 181), will allow me to do
whatever I want with it, as long as it is in accordance with R 115.
Protection has the wording "in accordance with the rules", therefore
in accordance with R 115 is good enough for Protection. I'm sorry I do
not remember the CFJ number.

Malenkai

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 25 Jun 1996 07:59:42 -0500 (CDT)
From: Jerome Herrman <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Acka: CFCJ 104 (Techno)

On Sun, 23 Jun 1996, Malenkai wrote:

> Techno has been selected to judge the following CFCJ. He has 3 days
> to accept or decline the appointment: Please note that the Financier
> should deduct a A$50 court fee from the initiator.
> 
> Clerk of the Courts
>  
> Call for Criminal Judgement 104
>   Subject: Voting No
> Initiator: Malenkai
>     Judge: Techno (selected 24-Jun-96 23:45h New York Time)
> 
> Statement:
> 
> Player Dr McSpong violated R 101.
> 
> Malenkai's Reasoning:
> 
> Dr McSpong voted no in excess of 7 times consecutively on the recent 
> string of proposals. This violates R 431, and thus R101. I refer the
> Judge to e-mail public messages entitled "Acka: Results 870-879" and
> "Acka: Results 880-889" for evidence.
> 
> This is not to pick on anyone, but the illegal NO voting could affect
> the passage of proposals that people spent alot of time on. Furthermore,
> it brings up the issue of rule enforcement in general, and gives us a
> chance to possibly test drive the Gaol and Criminal Justice system before
> some rule ripper "overhauls" it. Its nice to at least use the rules before
> "overhauling" them.
> 
> Penalty:
> 
> A 3 day sentence in the Gaol.
> 

I judge this to be true. The penalty shall be a 3 day sentence in the Gaol.

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 25 Jun 1996 08:58:25 -0500
From: [email-masked] (John Bollinger)
Subject: Re: Acka: CFJ 187 Appeal

Malenkai wrote:

>Kelly Martin wrote:
>> it is my belief that the "further play is impossible" clause of Rule
>> 219 can never be successfully invoked.  i ruled the CFJ FALSE solely
>> because it attempted to invoke this obviously pointless clause.
>> however, it remains possible to invoke 219 via either of its other two
>> clauses.  a proposal to amend Rule 219 is currently under private
>> discussion.
>
>One thing that seems to be lost in this argument is the game custom of
>"grace period" with retrocative effecrts vis-a-vis CFJs. The examples
>that come to mind are CFJ 113, CFJ 153, and expecially CFJ 157. Not
>everyone agrees with these verdicts, but I don't agree with the CSRR.
>Can we just ignore the body of the game we don't like ? :)

Of course we cannot ignore parts of the game we don't like.  But that is
not at issue here.  In fact, the "grace period" is not at issue here,
either.  This is a question of definitions, the definition of "impossible"
in particular.  Submission and judgement of a CFJ alleging that play is
impossible is, if legal, a _demonstration_ that play is, in fact, possible.

Moreover, game custom may never superceed the Rules.  Insomuchas the
requirements of the Rules may be unclear on an issue, there may be
justification for a "grace period," provided that the Rules do not specify
timing.  In the case of the disputed section of R 219, if the combined
effect of the Rules is to forbid further play then no game custom may
set aside the Rules to allow play to continue.

>There are those that would like to ignore this body of game custom. There
>are also those who would like to eliminate the Voting Gnome. Those who
>are against the Gnome have used the rules to try to get rid of it. I
>suggest that those who want to disregard game custom read R 101 and 
>R 215, and follow the rules.

There are also those who try to make more of game custom than it is.  I may
once have been one of them.  I suggest that those who depend heavilly on
game custom read R 216.

ThinMan

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 25 Jun 1996 09:03:38 -0500
From: [email-masked] (John Bollinger)
Subject: Re:  acka: change of property name 

Kelly Martin wrote:

>i hereby name my residence "The Lair of the Pink Bimbo".

*innocent look*

And that makes you... what?

ThinMan

P.S.: I hereby rename my residence "The Inpenetrable Asbestos Bunker."  ;-)

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 25 Jun 1996 09:15:00 -0500
From: [email-masked] (John Bollinger)
Subject: Re:  Acka: p forehead 

>I am buying and wearing a Prosthetic Forehead. The P.F. will be green
>with a big happy face on it. Above that will be a 3 dimensional golden
>frog.
>
>I will spend A$7 for the P.F. According to my records, I have A$1091 to
>spend, therefore I can afford it. I ask the financier to debit my account
>in accordance with the P.F. rule.

Your records are inaccurate.  See below.

>It seems to me there has been some debate as to what my account balance
>really is, A$4, or 0, etc, or A$1091. As far as I can tell, debate is not
>sufficient to legally adjust it from what it legally is. Therefore,
>until rule of law, or CFJ indicates that my balance is not A$1091 (- 7),
>I shall continue to play the game with my legal balance. If someone
>disagrees with my balance, they should propose a rule change or a CFJ.
>As far as I can remember, and I am not sure, currency is Protected, and
>is beyond the reach of contentious debate. It seems to me we should be
>consistent in when to apply debate to objects. Ie, apply the same philosophy
>to determining the disposition of the Trombone and the currency.

Unfortunately for you, it is my duty as Financier to maintain the _official_
records of everyone's account balances.  Kelly Martin pointed out an error in
my accounting, so I am happy to inform everyone that they each have A$4,
which is A$4 more than I last said they had.  That is not, however, enough
to purchase a prosthetic forehead or to start a newspaper.  If anyone
disagrees with this, then it is incumbent upon _them_, not upon me, to submit
a CFJ on the issue.

According to Rule 510, Malenkai may not perform the transaction he is
attempting.

ThinMan
Financier

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 25 Jun 1996 09:19:57 -0500
From: [email-masked] (John Bollinger)
Subject: Re: Ackanomic: Official

Malenkai wrote:

>Joseph W. DeVincentis wrote:
>
>> Nowhere do the rules permit
>> any player to accompany the Fat Lady on the Great Trombone of Ackanomia;
>> in fact, you can't do much of anything at all with it except claim
>> possession of it, or lose it to Somewhere Else.  You can't even play
>> it while leading a parade.
>
>I believe Protection Loophole (i think CFJ 181), will allow me to do
>whatever I want with it, as long as it is in accordance with R 115.
>Protection has the wording "in accordance with the rules", therefore
>in accordance with R 115 is good enough for Protection. I'm sorry I do
>not remember the CFJ number.

You would be correct if the Protection loophole still existed.  However,
P 869 changed the wording of R592 in a way that I believe closes the
loophole completely.  CFJ 181 is no longer applicable.

ThinMan

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 25 Jun 1996 11:19:18 -0400 (EDT)
From: John Spickes <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Acka: CFJ 193 (De'ghew)

> De'ghew has been selected to judge the following. He has 3 days to
> accept or decline the appointment.
> 
> Clerk of the Courts
>  
> Call for Judgement 193
>   Subject: R 666, take four
> Initiator: mr cwm
>     Judge: De'ghew (selected 24-Jun-96 19:30h New York Time)

	<chuckle>  I think I'll pass on this one.. I'm too involved in 
this debate.  I decline to judge on CFJ193.  }}:-)

	De'ghew

- -- 
  John Spickes - Undergraduate - UMCP - http://www.wam.umd.edu/~jspickes
   PGP encrypted email preferred - finger [email-masked] for key

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 25 Jun 1996 10:46:07 -0500 (CDT)
From: Mohammed <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Acka: Invoking R 762

> I maintain this attitude is ridiculous. We all know how the voting
> results are distributed by Wayne. For him to do otherwise would be
> an impractical hardship. It is this kind of attitude that is making the
> game less enjoyable for several players. Do I need to CFJ to get my
> ******** Trombone?
	I have taken this in the best of humor for quite a while now, but
I can't stand it anymore.  This habit of turning every little game quirk
into a polical/philosophical debate is getting under my skin.  (This is 
in reference to the fourth sentence quoted above.)
	/dev/joe has a perfectly good point.  I think you took it the 
wrong way.

- --Mohammed

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 25 Jun 1996 10:56:28 -0500 (CDT)
From: Mohammed <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Acka: CFJ 190 Verdict 

> >Rule 105 applies only to _proposed_ rule changes. 
> 
> Whatever sophistry you want to put in this, the user of the gadget is still
> _proposing_ a rule change, so it applies. It may be a more unconventional
> form but there it is.
	I disagree.  There is not a single place in the rules where 
"propose" or "proposal" or any form of either word is used to refer to
anything other than one specific process for setting up a vote and 
possibly enacting a rule change.
	The Pyraic Frobnotzer action has nothing to do with this process. 
Therefore it falls outside the jurisdiction of rule 105. 
	The Supreme Court will rule on this shortly, I suppose; it'll 
become a moot point.

- --Mohammed

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 25 Jun 1996 11:21:45 -0500 (CDT)
From: Mohammed <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Acka: News: Underground

> Reaction among the recipients was mixed.  While fighting back a wave of
> emotion, Calvin N Hobbes thanked the crowd that had massed to witness the
> ceremony.  Malenkai and Mohammed received their Crosses without comment.
> Rumor has it that they were too choked up to speak.  Robert Sevin is still
> on vacation, and was unavailable for comment.
	*all-knotted-up look*
	*sniff*

- --Mohammed

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 25 Jun 1996 11:50:12 -0500 (CDT)
From: Mohammed <[email-masked]>
Subject: Ackanomic:  Appointer (nomination period)

The Map-Harfer Nomination Period is open.  Anyone who wishes to nominate 
himself or herself may do so for the next two days.  Everyone's eligible.

- --Mohammed

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 25 Jun 1996 12:36:02 -0500 (CDT)
From: "Joseph W. DeVincentis" <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Ackanomic: Official

> Joseph W. DeVincentis wrote:
> > Nowhere do the rules permit
> > any player to accompany the Fat Lady on the Great Trombone of Ackanomia;
> > in fact, you can't do much of anything at all with it except claim
> > possession of it, or lose it to Somewhere Else.  You can't even play
> > it while leading a parade.

Malenkai responded:
> I believe Protection Loophole (i think CFJ 181), will allow me to do
> whatever I want with it, as long as it is in accordance with R 115.
> Protection has the wording "in accordance with the rules", therefore
> in accordance with R 115 is good enough for Protection. I'm sorry I do
> not remember the CFJ number.

Not any more.  Proposal 869 changed that to "as specified by the rules".

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 25 Jun 1996 13:12:53 -0500 (CDT)
From: "Joseph W. DeVincentis" <[email-masked]>
Subject: Acka: Map-Harfer nomination

> The Map-Harfer Nomination Period is open.  Anyone who wishes to nominate 
> himself or herself may do so for the next two days.  Everyone's eligible.

I nominate myself for Map-Harfer.

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 25 Jun 96 14:38:13 EDT 
From: [email-masked] ()
Subject: Ackanomic: Proposal 915

Proposal 915 - Tue Jun 25 14:38:13 EDT 1996
Refixing Cycles
Kelly Martin  (Kelly Martin)

I. Rule 904 shall be amended to read:

    Ackanomic is a game without end.  The Game shall consist of a
    sequence of "Cycles", played in sequence according to the Rules.
    Cycles end when required by the Rules.  The period of time between
    the end of one Cycle and the beginning of the next is called an
    "Intermission".  At most one Cycle is in progress at any one time.

    Any Rule which purports to define conditions under which a Player
    wins the Game shall be interpreted instead to be defining
    conditions under which a Player wins a Cycle.  This Rule takes
    precedence over any Rule which specifies conditions under which a
    Player wins the Game, or conditions under which the Game would
    end.

II.  Rule 110 shall be amended to read:

    A Player wins the current Cycle when that Player achieves one or
    more of the Winning Conditions defined in the Rules.  If two or
    more Players achieve the same or different Winning Conditions at
    the same time, all such Players jointly win the current Cycle at
    that time.  A Player who wins a Cycle is a Winner of that Cycle.

    If there are no Winning Conditions defined by the Rules, nobody
    can win a Cycle.

    Nobody can win during an Intermission.

III.  Rule 790 shall be amended to read:

    A Cycle ends when one or more Players Win that Cycle.  When the
    current Cycle ends because of one or more Players winning it, an
    Intermission begins.

    Upon the beginning of an Intermission, all events which the Rules
    require to take place at the end of a Game take place.  The
    Intermission ends when all such events are complete.

    When the Intermission ends, a new Cycle is begun.  All Rules,
    Proposals, and other Nomic Entities remain unchanged from the
    state they had at the end of the prior Cycle, except for those
    changes required by the Rules.

IV. Rule 219 shall be amended to read:

    A CFJ which alleges that 
      a) the Rules have been changed such that further play is
	 impossible, that the legality of some action cannot be determined
	 with finality, or that some action is both equally legal and
	 illegal; and
      b) that the condition alleged to exist in part (a) can be
         rectified by the creation, amendment, or repeal of exactly
         one mutable Rule other than this Rule, and explicitly states
         the exact Rule Change which is thus alleged
    is a "Paradox Win CFJ".

    If a Paradox Win CFJ is judged TRUE, it shall be automatically
    appealed to the Supreme Court; there is no fee for this automatic
    appeal, even if one would normally apply.  A FALSE ruling may be
    appealed in the normal fashion, and the following paragraph does
    not apply to appeals of a FALSE judgement.

    While the Supreme Court is reviewing a Paradox Win CFJ which was
    originally found TRUE, voting upon all Proposals shall be
    suspended, no new Proposal shall be distributed, no new CFJs shall
    be assigned, and no Judgement on any outstanding CFJ other than
    the Paradox Win CFJ shall be accepted.  Any time limits for legal
    action pertaining to any suspended activity is extended for the
    duration of the Supreme Court's deliberations.  The Supreme Court
    shall review the Paradox Win CFJ with all deliberate haste; the
    usual time for deliberation is shortened to three days in this
    case.

    If the Supreme Court, upon review, finds that the correct
    Judgement of a Paradox Win CFJ is TRUE, the Player who made the
    Paradox Win CFJ wins the current Cycle (this is a Winning
    Condition).  At the end of that Cycle, all Proposals under vote
    and all CFJs not judged are removed from consideration without
    penalty to any Player, and the single Rule Change alleged per (b)
    above is applied to the Rules, before the next Cycle begins.

    A Player who wins a Cycle in the fashion specified in this Rule
    receives a Left-Handed Kumquat, in addition to any other awards e
    may receive.

    This Rule takes precedence over any Rule which conflicts with any
    of its provisions.

V. Rule 422 shall be amended to read:

    The Magic Number is the number of Points required to win a Cycle.
    Being the only Player whose Score exactly matches the Magic Number
    is a Winning Condition.  The Magic Number may be different for
    each Cycle, and the Magic Number of a given Cycle may vary during
    the course of that Cycle, as specified by the Rules.

    At the beginning of a new Cycle, the Magic Number of that Cycle is
    257.

    If, at a single time, there are two or more Players, all of whose
    Scores exactly match the Magic Number, the Magic Number of that
    Cycle shall immediately be incremented by 13.

    If the Scorekeeper cannot, in good faith, determine which of two
    or more Players achieved a score exactly matching the Magic Number
    first, all such Players shall be considered to have achieved it
    simultaneously.

VI. Rule 666 shall be amended to read:

    Whenever a Cycle ends, the following events shall take place,
    before the start of the next Cycle:

    a) All Chartreuse Goose Eggs and Right-Handed Grapefruit are
       eliminated.
    b) The Winner (or Winners) of the Cycle just ended shall each
       receive a Right-Handed Grapefruit, if the Rules define such an
       entity.
    c) All Players who, at the time the just-ended Cycle ended, had
       zero or fewer points shall each receive a Chartreuse Goose Egg,
       if the Rules define such an entity.
    d) 20% (rounded down) of the Ackadollars held by each non-winning
       Player, and 10% (rounded down) of the Ackadollars held by each
       Winner shall be transferred to the Treasury.
    e) 25% (rounded up) of each species of Bond held by each Player
       shall be transferred to the Player in whose name the Bonds were
       issued.
    f) Each Player shall receives from the Treasury a number of
       Ackadollars equal to the lesser of his score in the Cycle just
       ended and the Magic Number of the Cycle just ended.
    g) The current Bond Payment cycle is aborted, and the time of the
       next payment of bond dividends is adjusted to be two weeks
       after the start of the next Cycle.
    h) The Score of every Player is set to zero.

VII.  Rule 425 shall be amended, by replacing the words "winning the
game" with the words "winning a cycle".

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 25 Jun 96 14:39:27 EDT 
From: [email-masked] ()
Subject: Ackanomic: Proposal 916

Proposal 916 - Tue Jun 25 14:39:26 EDT 1996
Surgery
snowgod  (Phil Ackley)

Part A:

There shall exist the following ackanomic enitities:

A pencil
paper
a #20 beading needle
an X-Acto knife handle
matches
a sterile gauze pad
a medium sized adhesive-bandage strip
topical disinfectant
a nice hot cup of coffee

These entities shall not be owned by any one player.  However any player
may control any of these entities at any time he desires to.

Part B:

If at any time a player completes the following procedure the treasury
shall transfer A$40 into his account.  A player may only complete the
following procedure once per game cycle.  To complete the procedure, a
player needs to post a step by step description of the procedure.  The
player may add colorful embellishments so long as he also describes each
step in the procedure.

Procedure:

1) Place #20 beading needle in X-Acto knife handle.

2) Light match, and sterilize needle by holding it in the flame for at
least 15 seconds, or until the needle is red hot.

3) Remove pants (being careful to first remove shoes), and sit down.
Thoroughly swab an acessible area of your upper thigh with topical
disinfectant. Grip needle firmly by X-Acto knife handle, and with a quick
pwerful motion, plunge deeply into fat and muscle of thigh within swabbed
area.

4) With needle still embedded in thigh, pick up pencil and paper and note
your immediate reaction to having a red-hot needle plunged into your leg.

5) Upon completing step 4, put down pencil and paper, grasp handle, and
extract needle carefully, pulling backward directly alon original
trajectory of needle.  Remove sterile gauze from packaging and hold over
wound until bleeding stops.  Dress wound and put pants back on.

6) Pour yourself a nice hot cup of coffee and review your notes.  Post some
commentary about your notes to the end of your message describing the
procedure.

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 25 Jun 96 14:39:56 EDT 
From: [email-masked] ()
Subject: Ackanomic: Proposal 917

Proposal 917 - Tue Jun 25 14:39:56 EDT 1996
More fixing offices
/dev/joe  (Joseph DeVincentis)

[[ Summary: This fixes up the creation rules for the Supreme Court, Promoter,
   Financier, Historian, Postmaster, and CSRR as was done with other offices
   already.  Also rule 612's precedence clause is reduced in scope, and the
   Gaoler rule is amended to allow it to really be filled by election.  The
   CSRR and ConCon rules are amended to replace the undefined term
   "Official Voting Period" with "Prescribed Voting Period". ]]

1. Amend R612, 'Functional Offices, Commonalities' as follows:
   Change the first sentence from 
       "This rule takes precedence over all mutable rules." 
   to:
       "This rule takes precedence over rule 609."

   [[ Eliminating a blanket precedence clause; this will allow elected
      functional offices (like Gaoler already claims to be). ]]

2. Amend rule 712, 'Gaoler, Creation of'.
   Change section (ii) from:
     "There shall be one seat for this office. This seat is filled by
      election."
   to:
     "There shall be one seat for this office. This seat is filled by
      election.  This rule takes precedence over rule 612."

3. Amend R507 'The Supreme Court of Ackanomia' to read:
   "The Supreme Court is a Political Office with two seats.  The players
   who hold these seats are called Justices.  The President, Speaker, and
   Senators may not be Justices.  Justices are appointed by the President
   and confirmed by the Senate. Should the Senate not agree on a candidate,
   then the President must propose another person until the Senate agrees
   or the Senate has already rejected three candidates."

[[ The removal from office clause can be replaced by the standard
   impeachment procedure. 

The rule now says:
"A new entity will be created called the Supreme Court. It will be composed
of two players (called Justices) who are neither President, Speaker, Senator
or already Justice. They are appointed by the President and confirmed by the
Senate. Should the Senate not agree on a candidate, then the President must
propose another person until the Senate agrees or the Senate has already
rejected three candidates.

"Once a justice, a player can never be voted out or kicked of office by any
other entity, except by a petition of at least two thirds the number of
players. A justice can resign.

"Should there not exist either/all of the above mentioned position
(president, speaker, senator) then this rule becomes dormant until there are."
]]

4. Amend Rule 396 'Office of Promoter' to read, in full:
  "There is a functional office called the Promoter.
   A proposal by a Player shall be made by submitting it to the
   Promoter. As soon as possible after receiving the proposal, 
   the Promoter shall assign the proposal a number and distribute
   it to the players for voting."

[[ R396 now says:
"Let there be officer called the Promoter. The Promoter would
be selected on a volunteer basis.  In the case of multiple 
volunteers, the Speaker will choose by random selection.
In the event of there being no volunteers for the office of
Promoter, the duties of the Promoter are to be carried out
by the Speaker.

A proposal by a Player shall be made by submitting it to the
Promoter. As soon as poosible after receiving the proposal, 
the Promoter shall assign the proposal a number and distibute
it to the players for voting." 
]]

5. Amend Rule 482 "Creation of the Office of the Financier and Free Market"
   to read in full:

"There is an office called the Financier, to be filled by election.
 There is also an office called Assistant Financier, with two seats.
 The Financier may choose or dismiss Assistant Financiers as desired.
 There shall never be Acting Assistant Financiers.  This takes precedence
 over any other mutable rule which specifies methods for filling offices.

"The Financier and Assistant Financiers are collectively called the Office
 of the Financier (OotF).  The Financier may delegate his powers to the
 assistants as he desires, but he is still ultimately responsible for his
 duties.

"A duty of the Financier shall be to keep track of the accounts (bonds,
 currencies, etc.) of the players.

"An entity called the Free Market (FM) exists.  It is a bulletin board where
 anyone may post requests for transactions, to buy, sell, or exchange assets.
 The FM is suspended at any time there is not a Financier, and exists
 starting on the first Monday after a new Financier is picked.

"When players have agreed to a transaction, they should report it to the
 Financier.  When the Financier has verified that the transaction is legal,
 it becomes official and the appropriate records shall be updated.
 A transaction is only legal if it is specifically permitted by a rule."

[[ Current text of 482:

"A new entity will be created called the Office of the Financier (OotF). This
head of the OotF will be called the Financier, and will have up to two
assistants which he/she will choose and dismiss as desired. The assistants
are official representatives of the Financier and members of the OotF. They
have the same powers as the Financier himself, except his is the final
authority. They may resign their position.

"The position of Financier shall be filled by candidates volunteering for the
job. Should there be more than one candidate for the position, a vote will
have to be taken by the Players or by another entity given that task as part
of its charter, electing the candidate with the most votes. In
case of a tie, the Speaker will randomly select one of the tied candidates.

"A new entity called the Free Market (FM) will be created. It will be the
only legal place for transactions to take place. The FM will exist in the
form of a bulletin board where anyone may post requests for transactions, to
buy, sell or exchange assets. The FM will begin to exist on the first Monday
after the Financier has been picked. If there is no longer a Financier, then
the FM will be suspended until another is found.

"When a player is interested by a transaction, then he/she should sort out
the deal with the player who posted it directly. Once the details of the
transactions have been worked out, they must report it to the Financier.
Once the Financier has verified the transaction was legal according to rules
regulating such transactions, then it will be come official, become
effective and a record will be kept. If the transaction is not specifically
permitted by a rule, then it is illegal. The Financier is responsible for
the proper maintenance of the accounts of the players, (bonds, currencies,
whatever...), whether or not that task is delegated to someone or some other
entity.

"The Financier will be directly responsible for the upkeep of the FM. He/she
may delegate any work to assistants, but is still ultimately responsible for
it. The financier is also responsible for making sure the records of every
transaction are publicly available.

"The Financier is responsible for overseeing the lawful functioning of any
entity that deals on, is related to, uses the FM, when using the FM. This
includes the authority to negotiate and resolve conflicts or disagreements
between such entities according to the rules, tradition, or to the best of
his/her judgement, in that order.

"The Financier is publicly accountable and can be voted out of office by two
thirds of the votes of the Players. The Financier may also resign. The
Financier will report directly to the Players concerning his handling of the
job, especially on matter concerning his decisions in resolving disagreements.
Should any player disagree with the Financier's decision, he/she may call a
CFJ to impeach the Financier on that matter until it is dropped or a rule is
passed clearing up the situation."
]]

6. Amend Rule 621, "Historian, Creation of" as follows:

    Replace the first four sections:

    "1) The office of the Historian is hereby created. There will
     be one seat for this office.

    "2) Upon vacancy of the office, it will be filled on a volunteer basis.
     Upon multiple volunteers, the Speaker will choose one [preferably one
     with access to a web server]. In the event that no volunteers come
     forth, the office will remain vacant and its duties unfulfilled.

    "3) Salary: The Historian will draw a salary as appropriate for a
     Functional Office. Should this term be undefined or its salary be
     undefined, the salary will be 0.

    "4) Term: The Historian will hold the office until he or she resigns
     or until he or she is Impeached."

    with:

    "1) There shall be a functional office called Historian.  There shall
     never be an Acting Historian.  This takes precedence over all other
     rules for filling offices."

    And change the beginning of the last section from  "5) Duties:" 
    to  "2) Duties:"

7. Amend rule 832, 'Postmaster, Creation of', as follows:
   Change the first paragraph from:
     "There shall be a functional office called the Postmaster, with one seat.
      The office of Postmaster shall be filled by a volunteer.  If there is no
      volunteer, and at any time in which the office of Postmaster is vacant,
      there shall be no Acting Postmaster.  This rule takes precedence over the
      rules "Offices, Commonalities" and "Functional Offices, Commonalities"
      with respect to Acting Officers."
   to:
     "There shall be a functional office called the Postmaster.
      There shall never be an Acting Postmaster.
      This rule takes precedence over rule 612."
   And delete the last sentence:
     "The Postmaster shall receive the usual salary for a Functional Office."

[[ I'm guilty of adding some cruft into the ruleset myself.  Let's
eliminate some. ]]

8. Amend R695 "Office of Common Sense, Redundancy, and Redundancy"
   to read, in full:

  "(a) There shall be a functional office called Common Sense, Redundancy,
       and Redundancy.  This office may be referred to as CSRR.
   (b) A privilege of the CSRR is publishing Common Sense Reports.
       A common sense report (CSR) is a suggested change to the rules.
       A CSR is not a proposal.  The changes suggested in a CSR may
       only consist of amending and repealing mutable rules.
   (c) The CSRR shall distribute CSR's publicly, and assign each one a
       unique number.  After a CSR is distributed, any player may
       officially object to it by publishing his objection publicly.
       If no player objects to the CSR within the Prescribed Voting
       Period after it has been distributed, then at the end of that
       time, the changes it suggests will be made.  The CSRR shall
       publish a notice that the changes have been made."

[[ In addition to cutting out a lot of junk, this changes "Official Voting
Period" to "Prescribed Voting Period", a term which is actually defined in
the rules.  See also change #9 below.

The old text was:
"  (a) The Office of Common Sense, Redundancy, and Redundancy shall exist.
This office may be referred to as CSRR.
   (b) The purpose of the Office of Common Sense, Redundancy, and Redundancy
is to make changes to the rules when it finds that the rules, as written, do
not make sense, are redundant, do not conform _in fact_ to their
interpretation in game custom, or are redundant.  The Office may perform
other functions if they conform to the rules.  [The Office should make minor
changes.  But if it can get major changes past the, shall we say, review
process, it can.]
   (c) CSRR shall be a Functional Office with one seat.
   (d) (1) The CSRR Officer may publish suggested changes to the rules.  Such
a publication may be referred to as a "Common Sense Report" or "CSR."  The
CSRR Officer shall assign a unique number for reference purposes to each CSR
he publishes.
       (2) Changes to the rules suggested by a CSR shall be limited to
modifying an existing rule or repealing an existing rule.  A CSR may not
propose the modification or repeal of immutable rules.
   (e) (1) If any player objects to the changes in the CSR within the Official
Voting Period, he shall publish his objection.  The changes proposed by the
CSR shall not be made.  This subsection shall not prevent any formal
proposal from being made.  [In other words, even if there are objections to
the CSR, the CSRR Officer, or anyone else, can still propose it as a formal
rule proposal.]
       (2) If no player objects to the changes in the CSR within the
Official Voting Period, the changes proposed in the CSR shall be made.  The
CSRR Officer shall publish a notice that the changes have been made.  All
Officers responsible for modifying any official rule set(s) [e.g., the
Web-Harfer] shall modify such rule set(s) upon receipt of such publication."
]]

9. Amend Rule 629, 'Constitutional Convention; Procedure' by changing
   "Official Voting Period' and 'official voting period', each time those
   phrases occur, to 'Prescribed Voting Period'.
   [[ This term is actually defined by the rules. ]]

------------------------------

End of Ackanomic Digest V1 #68
******************************