Subject: Ackanomic Digest V1 #446
From: [email-masked] (Ackanomic Digest)
To: ackanomic-digest

Ackanomic Digest       Friday, January 10 1997       Volume 01 : Number 446

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Date: Fri, 10 Jan 1997 01:36:12 +0200 (EET)
From: Uri Bruck <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Acka: Official

Snowgod had been appointed as Registrar.

Niccolo Flychuck
President

On Thu, 9 Jan 1997, Phil Ackley wrote:

> I volunteer for the functional office of Registrar
> 
> snowgod
> 
> 

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

Date: Thu, 09 Jan 1997 18:34:44 -0500
From: Malenkai <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Acka  Auction

John Martin Lotz wrote:
> 
>  I did 65 for the Evil Ballot stuffer Thingie

This is the winning bid for the Evil Ballot Stuffer.

In other news, ITW is still not serving personal homepages.  My
pages will be available as soon as feaseable, perhaps on another
server.

Chief Cheese
who is looking at sticker shock for dedicated connectivity to the house

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

Date: Thu, 09 Jan 1997 18:39:47 -0500
From: Malenkai <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Acka  Auction Again

Malenkai wrote:
> 
> John Martin Lotz wrote:
> >
> >  I did 65 for the Evil Ballot stuffer Thingie
> 
> This is the winning bid for the Evil Ballot Stuffer.

I was wrong.  Swann wins it for A$60.  A$65 was not a valid
bid, as each bid must be at least 10% greater than the previous one.

I note that now that the EBS is owned, it causes a rule change
as specified by its Blueprint (or at least attempts to).

Malenkai

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

Date: Thu, 09 Jan 1997 21:47:42 -0500
From: Malenkai <[email-masked]>
Subject: Acka: RFC newbie packet rewrite

[I have attempted to rewrite the newbie packet to make it flow in
parallel with the rules, assuming Reorg II passes.  It suggested
another minor reorg, that being put the winning conditions 219-235
in the low 600s with the end of cycle stuff.

In any case, any comments on this as a newbie packet, or do we like
the current one?

Malenkai
]
- --------------------------------------------------------------------
Hello, welcome to Ackanomic, a play by email Nomic game.  Nomic games
are categorized by the ability of the players to change the rules of
the game during the normal course of gameplay.

This letter includes some basic information about Ackanomic.
 
Ackanomic has a web page at http://wilma.che.utexas.edu/~devjoe/acka/
It's maintained by /dev/joe and contains links to all ackanomic related
web-pages. On the web page you will links to the current rule-set.

- ----------
I.  Mentor
- ----------

Your mentor is [mentor],([email-masked]).  It is eir job to
answer any questions you may have about the the game or the rules.
It is also the Registrar's ([email-masked]) and the Speaker's
([email-masked]) to answer any questions you may have, if your mentor
is unavailable.

- ----------
II.  Rules
- ----------  

     All the rules of the game are at 
     http://wilma.che.utexas.edu/~devjoe/acka/current.html

A categorization of the rules can be found at

     http://wilma.che.utexas.edu/~devjoe/acka/rulecat.html

The rules roughly break down in categories as follows:

     [put that here, if reorg II passes]
 
If you are overwhelmed by the rules, or have a question finding the 
rule or rules that pertain to a particular situation, ask your mentor.

- ---------------------------------------------------
III.  Changing the Rules and Voting, basic gameplay
- ---------------------------------------------------

For the most part, rules are changed as follows:

a) A player authors a "Proposal" which contains one or more rule changes:
typicially the creation of a new rule, the repeal of an existing rule,
or the change (amendment) of an existing rule.

b) The player then submits it to the Promoter, who will assign it a
number, and distribute it for voting.  Currently, Promoter is Mohammed
([email-masked]).

c) Once the Proposal is distributed, each active player may cast a vote
of Yes, No, or Present on it; this voting period lasts for seven days.
The proposal passes if at least half the active players cast a vote
on it (quorum), and at least 2/3 of the votes, not counting Present
votes, cast on it were Yes (acceptance).  There are various entities in
the game that can cast extra votes on proposals, but you need not worry
about them until you are confortable with the basics.

d) It is recommended that before you submit a proposal, that you watch
a few go by to get confortable with the format, content, and the way
they are written.  Every proposal ever made in Ackanomic can be found
at:
     http://wilma.che.utexas.edu/~devjoe/acka/propmenu.html

Additionally, sometimes you will see a post with "RFC" in its subject
line.  This stands for "Request for Comment", and is generally used to
bounce a proposal idea off of the other players before submitting it.
It is recommended that you RFC your Proposal ideas before submitting
them.  You may also RFC your proposal ideas with your mentor.  Use
the RFC acronym.

e) The rules related to proposals and voting are in the low 100s.  Support
rules for this area are in the low 300s.

- ------------------------
IV.  Calls for Judgement
- ------------------------

a) If a player has a question about rules interpretation, or the legality
of some action, or thinks another player has broken the rules, they
may issue a Call For Judgement (CFJ) or Call for Criminal Judgement
(CFCJ), in the case of a player alledgedly breaking the rules.

b) CFJs are composed by the player, and submitted to the Clerk of the
Courts (currently Malenkai ([email-masked])).  The CotC will then
randomly select a Judge, who has 3 days to accept or decline appoinment,
and 7 days after acceptance to render a judgement on the Truth of the
statement in question.

c) As a new player, you will not be selected as a judge until you have at
least voted once in the game.  If you are selected, you can always ask
your mentor or others for assistance, but resist any temptation to have
your mentor judge it for you.  If you feel overwhelmed, you may always
decline judgement.  Acceptance, declination, and rendering of verdicts
are made by e-mailing the CotC.

d) As for submitting a new CFJ, it is recommended that you read some of
the more recent ones, at

     http://wilma.che.utexas.edu/~devjoe/acka/cfjmenu.html

e) The rules governing CFJs are in the low 200s.

- -----------
V.  Players
- -----------

a) Players have 3 states; you are either pending, active, or on vacation.
You will not be active until you have voted, and you will not be
selected for anything until you become active.

b) The players in the game, and all the offices they have, possessions
they have, etc, can be found at:

     http://www.itw.com/~malenkai/ackayp.htm

c) Rules about players are in the mid 200s.

- -----------
VI.  E-mail
- -----------

a) All e-mail messages in Ackanomic should start with "Acka:" or 
"Re: Acka:" in the subject line.

b) You can expect to receive 30 to 80 Ackanomic e-mail messages a day.
You can skim through most of the posts until you get comfortable with
the game, and many of the posts are one-liners.

If you have any questions, ask your mentor.  It is an unwritten standard
that e-mails which require action on your part will have your Ackanomic
name in the subject line.  Proposal distributions will have the word
"Proposal" in the subject line.

c) Ackanomic uses a Majordomo server, and has several e-mail lists.
They are:

[email-masked]: 
    this is the main list, or "public forum"; all players are subscribed
to it.  All official ackanomic mail and some discussion are on this list.
 
[email-masked]: 
    this is where we post some RFCs, have discussions about developing
and changing the game, bounce ideas off each other, etc.  If the e-mail
volume is overwhelming, you can unsubscribe from this list.

[email-masked]: 
    there is virtually no volume on this list.

[email-masked]: 
    the game of Party Chess is played on this list.

d) Rules regulating e-mail are in the high 300s.

- -------------
VII.  Offices
- -------------

a) Ackanomic has many officers.  There are functional and political
officers.  Functional officers are generally in charge of doing the
work of the game, and maintaining and distributing information.  The
Promoter, Tabulator, and Clerk of the Courts are examples, as is the
Web-Harfer, the player responsible for maintaining the web pages.

b) Political officers are officers that generally have various privileges
and powers in the game, and are filled by election.  

c) The Speaker is sort of both a functional and political officer,
and is ultimately responsible for tracking the game state, but in 
reality, all of the officers track various parts of it.  You can always
e-mail the Speaker with any question about the game state, or you may
e-mail the appropriate officer.

d) Rules regulating and defining all of the offices are in the 400s.

- ---------------------------
VIII.  Entities and Finance
- ---------------------------

a) There are many entities in Ackanomic.  They all have diverse properties,
and its beyond the scope of this introduction to define them.  Some
entities may be traded, some may not be.  Some are acquired under certain
circumstances, some are randomly assigned, and others may be bought,
sold, or auctioned.  The specific rules for each entity describe how it
works.  

b) One entity is the Ackadollar (A$).  That is the currency.  You will
be given a starting amount of A$ by the Financier when you join the
game.

c) Sometimes an entity will be randomly assigned to you, and you
will be required to take some action as a result.  Search the rules
for the entity name, or ask your mentor.

d) The rules of Entities and Finance are in the low 500s, the actual
entities are implemented in the 900 - 1000 series rules.

- ----------
IX.  Crime
- ----------

a) Players must always follow the rules.  Ackanomic has a criminal justice
system for rulebreakers, described in the 700 series of the rules.  We
generally have a fairly silly outlook on crime.

- -------------
X.  Locations
- -------------

a) There are various places in Ackanomic, called locations.  This part
of the game is not very far developed yet, and is described in the
800 series of the rules.

- -------------
XI.  Subgames
- -------------

a) Ackanomic has several subgames.  Some may be going on at the time
you joined.  Some you may join in progress, some you may not.  Most
are played on the main forum, but Party Chess is played on its own
list, acka-chess.  Subgames are described in the 1200 series, and
you may safely ignore subgame messages until you get more comfortable.

- -------------
XII.  Summary
- -------------

This does not cover all the rules, there are several categories left
out.  Remember, you can always ask your mentor.

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

Date: Thu, 09 Jan 1997 22:05:05 -0500
From: Malenkai <[email-masked]>
Subject: Acka: Monopole Auction.

The Gravitational Monopole is complete, and is now being
auctioned.  A player has asked that I post the blueprint as well.

Malenkai

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

      The Gravitational Monopole is an ancient wonder that brings gravity to 
world otherwise lacking in
      that area. It has a large red button with an enscription in the ancient 
language on it, which roughly
      translates to: "Don't push me unless you know what you are doing". 

      If it is attached to any building which is dangling or otherwise 
detached from the earth, and
      successfully activated, it will cause the earth to fall to the 
building, thus reattaching it. 

      If it is attached to any building which is dangling or otherwise 
detached from the earth, and
      activated unsuccessfully, the effect will be reversed, causing the 
earth to fall away from the
      building, ripping the building's tethers apart, and leaving the 
building floating unattached in free
      space. Such buildings may still be reattached by players with wings as 
specified in Rule 1364, but
      the act is very strenuous, and all players participating in it will 
lose their wings after it is
      completed. 

      In order to use the Gravitational Monopole, the player possessing it 
must be located at a dangling
      building. They must attach the gadget, and push the red button. The 
player must accompany this
      button pushing ceremony with some sort of statement of bravado, such as 
"Hey, I know what I'm
      doing here". At this point it is considered activated. 

      The probability of the activation being unsuccessful is the building's 
size in land units divided by
      20. Any activation which is not unsuccessful is successful. If the 
player activating the gadget is
      the AckaPhysicist, however, the divisor in the above calculation is 40 
instead of 20. 

      After it is activated, the Officer in Charge of Random Things shall 
determine if the activation was
      successful or not, and the effects described above will occur. In 
addition, if the activation was
      unsuccessful, and the player activating it is the AckaPhysicist, he 
shall be deemed a quack, and
      this shall count towards his quack total. 

      Also, on an unsuccessful activation, the gadget will remain attached to 
the building in question,
      and the red button may not be pressed, nor may the gadget be moved, 
until that building is
      somehow reattached to the earth.

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

Date: Thu, 9 Jan 1997 19:27:40 -0800 (PST)
From: Brian Raiter <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Acka: RFC newbie packet rewrite

I have no criticisms. I like.

breadbox

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

Date: Thu, 09 Jan 1997 22:44:36 -0500
From: Malenkai <[email-masked]>
Subject: Acka: R 362

Clairence has not participated in the game for a period of
at least 7 days, and a player has pointed that fact out to
me.  E did not respond to an R 362 message in the two days
allowed, and thus is placed on vacation with an expected 
duration of 2 days.

Malenkai
Speaker

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

Date: Thu, 9 Jan 1997 21:13:22 -0800 (PST)
From: fnord <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Acka: RFC: Manic Rule Goblin

Swann spake thusly, unfortunately before I had a chance to comment,
but I will comment anyway.  He is proposing a rule with the 
following text.

     Anything designated by the rules as a Proposing Thing may submit a 
     proposal to be voted on.  All Proposing Things must have a player 
     designated to e-mail its Proposals to the appropriate officer. (If 
     there is no such Player, the Proposing Thing may make Proposals, 
     but not submit them.)  Players are Proposing Things, and each 
     player is designated to e-mail eir own proposals.

     If there is to be any bonus or penalty applied to a Proposing Thing 
     based on a proposal it made, or on the voting on that proposal, it 
     shall only be applied if the bonus/penalty specifically applies 
     itself to that type of Proposing Thing. [i.e. all rules that refer 
     to the "player who proposed <foo> shall only apply when the 
     Proposing Thing was a Player.]  If the bonus/penalty does not 
     specifically apply itself to a specific type of Proposing Thing, 
     then it shall only be applied to players.

Hmmm... this is an intriguing idea, although a bit wordy.

Can anything be a Proposing Thing?

- -----
Proposal XXXYYY

This proposal will create a rule, with the text below between the '%'
as its text.  The rule so created will also be a Proposing Thing,
with the player fnord being designated to e-mail the rule's proposals...

% Yadda yadda yadda %
- -----

Perhaps... *evil grin*  maybe later.

A cleaner idea might be...

~
Entities may also be classified as 'Proposing Things'.

Anthing classified as a Proposing Thing must indicate either 
1) a player or officer that is permitted to e-mail Proposals
to the appropriate officer for the Proposing Thing, or 

2) that the Proposing Thing is 'unkept', in which case it may
create proposals, but not submit them.

Any bonuses or penalties that are assigned or applied to the creator
of a proposal will only apply if the creator of the proposal can
legally have those bonuses or penalties applied to them (i.e.
gadgets cannot gain points, therefore if a proposal from a gadget
which is a Proposing Thing passes, the gadget will not gain points).

Player entities are Proposing Things, with the e-mail address
of the player as the responsible address for those entities.
~

On to the Manic Rule Goblin...

I like the basic idea (Mad Libs are a passion of mine from a long
way back), however, I had been hoping the execution would be as Mad 
Libs were, with the blanks filled in by the other players specifically.

I did notice one problem, though, with the execution of filling in the
blank.  If the Goblin rants quite similar to a very long rule, such as 
1206 ("Games and Contests"), and the rantee chooses some of the
blanks to be far down in Rule 1206.  Then players choose Rule 201 ("Quorum
and Active Players") and 622 ("Customary Subject Lines"), both very 
short Rules.  The rantee is trying to fill in the 17th noun for
the rant, but neither 201 nor 622 has a 17th noun.  What gets put in
the blank then?

fnord

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

End of Ackanomic Digest V1 #446
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