Subject: ackanomic digest V2 #393
From: [email-masked] (ackanomic digest)
To: [email-masked]

ackanomic digest      Thursday, December 4 1997      Volume 02 : Number 393

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

Date: Thu, 4 Dec 1997 07:52:20 +0000 ()
From: Duncan Richer <[email-masked]>
Subject: Acka: Wormhole

I approve the action of converting the Cult of Odo on the Wormhole into
a Church.

Yours,
Slakko of Tarak Nine

- --
Duncan "" Richer aka
Duncan C. Richer - aka Slakko the Lost Warner Brother - Now Really Lost!
Queens' College -- PhD, Pure Maths, Graph Theory -- Cambridge University

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

Date: Thu, 4 Dec 1997 10:28:49 +0200 (EET)
From: Uri Bruck <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Acka: Proposal 2447

I'll have to look it up, but I seem to recall a section that an instanceof
a game is played according to the rules that wre in effect when the
instance was started.

Niccolo Flychuck

On Wed, 3 Dec 1997, Aaron V. Humphrey wrote:

> > Replace the text "A round must last at least three days" in Rule 1250.17
> > with the following OPTION delimited text:
> 
> > OPTION
> > A round must last at least three days, or at least until all players other
> > than the Moderator have submitted a legitimate number to the Moderator,
> > whichever comes first.
> > OPTION
> 
> This is not actually the clause that's the problem.  The problem is the
> one that states if the round ends because of the expiration of six days,
> then the Moderator is @kicked.
> 
> Besides, I _am_ working on a Proposal that will replace the Moderator
> with a Referee.  Hmmmm...what will happen if the Rule changes while the
> Game is in progress?
> 
> 
> - --
> - --Alfvaen(Web page: http://www.telusplanet.net/public/alfvaen/ )
> Song In My Head--C&C Music Factory:Things That Make You Go Hmmm
> Current Book--TesseractsQ
> Heck's Angels: Born to be Mild.
> 
> ------------------------------
> 

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

Date: Thu, 4 Dec 1997 10:31:12 +0200 (EET)
From: Uri Bruck <[email-masked]>
Subject: acka :AMBASSADOR -  MetaMorph public action - query the Patch again

The first action, requires the Ambassador to query the Patch Liasion
again.
Perhaps now that they've had time to think about it, they'll give us a
reply.

Niccolo Flychuck

On Wed, 3 Dec 1997, Aaron V. Humphrey wrote:

> > Uri Bruck wrote:
> 
> > > MetaMorph will accept Pumpkin Patch as a member of MetaMorph pending the
> > > consent of the Pumpkin Patch.
> 
> > I support this action.
> 
> > > I also propose the following Public Action:
> > > Purchase a Trade License.
> 
> > I support this as well.
> 
> Okay, these actions occur, then.
> 
> 
> - --
> - --Alfvaen(Web page: http://www.telusplanet.net/public/alfvaen/ )
> Song In My Head--Madness:One Step Beyond
> Current Book--TesseractsQ
> Might as well go for a soda, nobody hurts, nobody cries.
> 
> ------------------------------
> 

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

Date: Thu, 4 Dec 1997 08:41:01 +0000 ()
From: Duncan Richer <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Acka: Proposal 2447

On Thu, 4 Dec 1997, Uri Bruck wrote:

> 
> 
> 
> I'll have to look it up, but I seem to recall a section that an instanceof
> a game is played according to the rules that wre in effect when the
> instance was started.

Well, still, it might help in future games.  There is that.
- --
Duncan "" Richer aka
Duncan C. Richer - aka Slakko the Lost Warner Brother - Now Really Lost!
Queens' College -- PhD, Pure Maths, Graph Theory -- Cambridge University

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

Date: Thu, 4 Dec 1997 10:47:54 +0200 (EET)
From: Ackanomic <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Acka: Proposal 2441

At first I wasn't sure about this. But Parties do have the option of not
appointing a Swinger at all, and if Swingers who do not play bow out of
the game, more Capital Swingers can join,

I'm voting Yes. 

If Party Hall were ever used for anything other than Party Chess, then a
different solution would need to be found for this, such as a designation
for an Unchess Swinger, which, for Party Chess, would be the same as
vacant office, and for other business, which we currently do not have, be
the same as a regular Swinger.

Niccolo Flychuck

 On Wed, 3 Dec 1997, Brian Raiter wrote:

> Proposal 2441
> You Must Play to Stay
> Slakko (Duncan Richer)
> 
> {{[If you want to play Party Chess, then you will submit turns from time
> to time.  If you don't want to play, then what point is there being
> Swinger?  It also means that everyone else has to wait 3 days for you to
> not play each round - which slows down the game unnecessarily.  Note
> that this rule has no effect on people on vacation, who do not make
> moves, and it only renders the office vacant, so we have to wait 7 days 
> for it to becomewarn.]}}
> 
> Append the following RIP-VAN-WINKLE to section 4 of Rule 1230.2:
> 
> RIP-VAN-WINKLE
> If a Swinger is forced to make a default play as described in this rule,
> and eir previous two moves while holding that Office of Swinger were also
> default plays as described in this rule, then the Office of Swinger they
> possess becomes vacant.
> RIP-VAN-WINKLE
> 
> ------------------------------
> 

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

Date: Thu, 04 Dec 1997 13:44:36 -0800
From: **Alexandre Muniz <[email-masked]>
Subject: Acka: W-files Report #137

...Continued from two-star's last Phoebe post.

QUESTION VIRTUAL REALITY

Ackanomic, two-star's house, December 4, 1997 3:00 AM

A sharp rap on my door broke my deep dreamless slumber. Peering out the
window, I saw debris floating around, as if there had been a great
storm. "Just a minute," I called, and threw on a t-shirt and jeans. I
opened the door. A man and a woman, both altogether too well dressed,
stood outside.

"I'm Mold, and this is Scold. We're with the Ackanomic Bureau of
Infestatio-- Investment. Um. Snooping around."

"Come in. Would you like something to snack on?"

"No thanks. We just want to ask you a few questions.

Mold looked pleadingly at her. "Well, maybe just a tiny morsel?"

"Certainly, Mr. Mold" I went to the kitchen.

"If we may get to business, can you tell us what you were doing on the
night of November 15th."

"What Phoebe said to me is a matter of public record." I said
defensively. The only thing in the refridgerator was a strange fruit
shaped like the letter W. I handed it to Mold, who began nibbling
voraciously, while Scold looked on with disgust.

"What we're interested in are the events after you spoke with Phoebe,"
Scold continued.

I blinked blankly.

"The Tornado, damn it! Was the whirlwind the work of warlike worms from
Worchester? Were you, or were you not the one who woke the twirling
twister?"

"I don't remember. There was a book..."

Mold huffed impatiantly. Scold said, "Take it easy on him Mold, he's
obviously suffering from Post Traumatic Tornado Tripping."

I thought carefully about that night. The memories that I had been
pushing back suddenly began flooding into my mind. "Phoebe and I were
close to uncovering Malenkai's sinister plot. But as I entered the
Vault, I could not keep myself from reading the first page I saw, which
was obviously the wrong one. Or so I thought. When I looked at the page
it was just filled with meaningless syllables, but as I read it, the air
around me started to vibrate and a fierce wind blew into the room. It
grew stronger, spinning around the room, until suddenly it picked me up,
and I was transported for what seemed like an eterernity, into a sky
that had suddenly turned an inky black. I was struck by a stray trinket
in the maelstrom and lost consciousness. When I came to, I was in a
great city, far larger than Acka.

"Everyone spoke a strange tongue, and nobody could understand me. I
wandered aimlessly through the streets, passing minarets with what
appeared to be huge advertising banners and opulecent guild houses and
palaces. Finally, in the city's grand marketplace my pleas for help
caught the attention of a religious zealot who was haranguing the
masses. 'By Xicatclapgu's tears, my son. Have you need of aid?'
"He spoke Ackan, but it was a strange, archaic dialect. 'Can you tell me
where I am?' I said, 'I mean, what is the name of this city?'
"'You truly do not know?' It was more a statement then a question. He
laughed. 'Would that this nest of heathens, and the name of Jara were
forgotten ever. But if only one may suvive it is best that it be only
the name.' Jara! If what he said were true, I might yet find some
answers here.
"'I'm two-star' I said, feeling awkward. 'I'm looking for a map.'
My name is Izban Haruf.'  These people laugh at my prophecies. The will
blindly follow Talenz and the other Scientists to their doom. I have
warned them about the huge explosion that will fling the buildings of
Jara to the winds, but who will believe a madman?'
'I believe you,' I said. And I did, even though I did not understand him
truly.
He laughed again, a weary, humorless laugh. "The Xicatclapgu fearing
people of A'qa alone have heeded my warning, strengthening their
emergency tethers against the tornados that will follow the Cataclysm. I
see that you are one of them, although you speak their language not as I
have heard it.
He looked at me with eyes as sharp as needles, piercing into my soul.
'What need have you of a map? Are you not Map Harfer? Can not you not
find the Map within yourself?' I closed my eyes for a moment, and it was
as if I was flying; I could see the hills, the river, and the streets of
Jara, their future and their past.
And then I knew."
"Knew what?" Mold asked.
"Jara, and the Patch, the lay of the land around each is the same. The
Pumpkin Patch is built on the ruins of ancient Jara. Malenkai knew this.
He was afraid that with the expedition underway and the Map of Jara
unearthed, someone would make the connection. The legacy of Jara is
well-loved in Acka. If the connection were widely known it would do much
to raise public sympathy for the Patch.
"In any case, I bid farewell to Haruf, whose name I recognized as the
antecedent of that of a very important Ackan value. I saw the Golden
Monkey, that great idol of which our own brass monkey is but a shabby
replica. I kept walking past the gates of the city and some distance
along the road outside it. And then it happened as Haruf described. A
tremendous flash came from the center of the city, followed by a
shockwave a few seconds later. I was flung off the ground, and pulled
into a tornado greater than any I had ever seen." I paused for a moment.
"And then?" Scold prompted.

"And then I was back in the Library, sitteng next to the book as though
nothing had happened. In fact, until I went outside to go home, I didn't
know the tornado was real. But first I went back to the Natural Science
room to pick up the jacket I had left there. Phoebe was gone, but I
figured she could take care of herself.
The Kra translation was open to the entry on the life cycle of the amber
banana, and next to that was a, a letter product. A 'W', which I know I
have around here somewhere." I looked around in my pantry.

Mold burped.

"Mold, you just ate vital evidence of internomic espionage," said Scold.

"Well, as far as I'm concerned I'm glad it's gone." I said. "That
'evidence' is the last thing I would want to fall into the hands of Vynd
and his ilk."

"So Mr. W really was a spy from the Patch." Scold mused. "But I don't
understand. Why didn't he just ask for the information? The Amber Banana
is no secret, surely our Ackaphysicist is no friend to the anti-Orange
fear mongers."

"Communication between the Patch and Acka has been spotty at best," I
reasoned. And if you consider the importance the Patchkins place on
agriculture, something like the Amber Banana probably would be
considered a state secret in the Patch. You know, when I think about it,
I can't say that Malenkai's real motive was to estrange the Patch from
Acka.  His efforts have all been towards repealing certain rules lately.
Rather Harfy rules generally. I woudn't be surprised if his reason for
concealing Jara's fate is to keep people from knowing the Patch's
connection to the origin of Harf"

"Anyway, it all turned out for the best." Mold pointed out. "Phoebe
wasn't repealed,  Acka has enacted a much friendlier official stance
toward the Patch, and the expedition is proceding rather well. And when
this gets out, Malenkai's attempts to gut the ruleset will be
discredited."

"I'm not so sure. With Alfvaen sharing a cycle win attempt with
Malenkai, it's possible that he may have joined the conspiracy.
Certainly by silencing the Widget of Yendor, he shows his commitment
towards destroying Harf in the ruleset. If Alfvaen has turned against
Harf, nobody who has seen the Map of Jara can be trusted.  It's up to
you two to make sure everyone knows the truth."

Scold's cellular phone rang at that moment. "Hello? This is she."
Suddenly her face blanched. "Oh God..."

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

Date: Thu, 4 Dec 1997 08:20:49 -0500
From: "Bollinger, John C." <[email-masked]>
Subject: RE: Acka: Not Subscribed

K2 wrote:

>  Since my induction 'in to the fold' (25 Nov. '97) I have:
>     received 538 Ackranomic related messages
>     totalling 1306 kb
> 
> thus:    1306/9 = 145 kb/day on average over the past 9 days.
> 
Ahhhh.  Volume is picking up again.  It feels like the good ole days.
:-)

ThinMan
Ackanomic Oldster

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

Date: Thu, 4 Dec 1997 05:46:07 -0800 (PST)
From: Brian Raiter <[email-masked]>
Subject: Acka: Postmasterness

Item 1:

Mail to observer [email-masked] has been bouncing in an irregular
fashion for about a month now, so by Rule 370 I am removing em from
the mailing lists.

Item 2:

On the subject of observers, I would like to request that Slakko
retract Proposal 2443. There is no need to have Alfvaen track the
current list of observers, because majordomo necessarily does this
already. If you want to know who our observers are, you can find out
right now without Alfvaen's help. Just send email to
[email-masked] with the following message:

who ackanomic
who ackanomic-digest

and you'll get back the full list of subscribers. You can do this for
any mailing list that you yourself are subscribed to. In case you're
curious, there are currently 31 subscribers in ackanomic, and another
7 in ackanomic-digest. (By the way, this and other majordomo commands
are documented on the Postmaster's web page.)

It seems to me that an important aspect of the observer idea is that
their presence doesn't really affect the game state at all. As long as
their email doesn't bounce, they are free to come and go as they
please, without making any work for us.

breadbox

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

Date: Thu, 4 Dec 1997 14:33:07 +0000 ()
From: Duncan Richer <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Acka: Postmasterness

On Thu, 4 Dec 1997, Brian Raiter wrote:

> On the subject of observers, I would like to request that Slakko
> retract Proposal 2443. There is no need to have Alfvaen track the
> current list of observers, because majordomo necessarily does this
> already. 

Okay.  I hereby retract Proposal 2443.
It appears I'll be setting the record for retractions any time soon.
Perhaps we need a Retracted Cross...
- --
Duncan "" Richer aka
Duncan C. Richer - aka Slakko the Lost Warner Brother - Now Really Lost!
Queens' College -- PhD, Pure Maths, Graph Theory -- Cambridge University

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

Date: Thu, 4 Dec 1997 09:28:23 -0500 (EST)
From: "A.K.A. TheWiz" <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Acka: Not Subscribed

> Besides, provided he keeps his mailbox clean, I can't see why his ISP
> should be so mad.  It's not like we're sending terabytes down the lines.
> Does anybody know exactly how much gizz we're sending per day on average?

  60-70 messages.  More recently.

___Dan_Knapp____The_Mauve_Baron______________________Beep Blip Bonk_______
<[email-masked]><[email-masked]> http://users.bergen.org/~dankna
Change Nomic!   http://funnelweb.utcc.utk.edu/~chatham/nomicfaq.html
Great minds think differently.

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

Date: Thu, 4 Dec 1997 09:31:07 -0500 (EST)
From: "A.K.A. TheWiz" <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Acka: Being Saucy

> > Either "August 17" or "August 28".
> > 
>                     That ^^^^^^^^^  is my birthday.  Whats so saucy about
> it?

  Statistics...

___Dan_Knapp____The_Mauve_Baron______________________Beep Blip Bonk_______
<[email-masked]><[email-masked]> http://users.bergen.org/~dankna
Visit rec.games.video.classic and find out about Pac-Man's contemporaries!
It's still paranoia, even if they really are out to get you.

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

Date: Thu, 4 Dec 1997 09:50:26 -0500
From: "Vivian Norwood" <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: acka :AMBASSADOR -  MetaMorph public action - query the Patch again

> The first action, requires the Ambassador to query the Patch Liasion
> again.
> Perhaps now that they've had time to think about it, they'll give us a
> reply.
> 
> Niccolo Flychuck

I have sent them your offer and will let you know when they respond.

Balsamic Dragon
Ambassadorness

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

Date: Thu, 4 Dec 1997 17:22:35 +0000 ()
From: Duncan Richer <[email-masked]>
Subject: Acka: Treasure 183

Alfvaen, was the requirement for a Top 50 finish, or did it include
a Top 50 intermediate position?

/dev/joe achieved 43rd place in Week 1 just finished with Godel Escher
Bach Records.

Yours,
Slakko

- --
Duncan "" Richer aka
Duncan C. Richer - aka Slakko the Lost Warner Brother - Now Really Lost!
Queens' College -- PhD, Pure Maths, Graph Theory -- Cambridge University

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

Date: Thu, 4 Dec 1997 17:57:08 +0000 ()
From: Duncan Richer <[email-masked]>
Subject: Acka: Harf

I would just like to congratulate two-star on his 7 hour and 14 minute
reign as Harfmeister.  Well done mate.

And also to congratulate the new Harfmeister, Alfvaen!

Yours,
Slakko

- --
Duncan "" Richer aka
Duncan C. Richer - aka Slakko the Lost Warner Brother - Now Really Lost!
Queens' College -- PhD, Pure Maths, Graph Theory -- Cambridge University

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

Date: Thu, 4 Dec 1997 14:20:58 -0500
From: "Bollinger, John C." <[email-masked]>
Subject: Acka: SBOC

Despite the danger, the Book drew me like a moth to a flame.  Unable to
resist, I gave in and opened the book.  The next page was there,
inviting me to greater heights of knowledge and power.  I read the
words one by one.  The letters didn't glow.  The runes did not turn
to smoke.  I got to the end of the page and waited, but the page didn't
explode.  I was almost ready to chalk it up as a dud when, without
warning, the page disappeared in a sudden flash as bright as a magnesium
flame.  When I can see again, maybe I'll figure out what I have learned.

Oh, one more thing:

aeaean
borscht
facetiously

ThinMan
P.S.: I read the fourth page of my Spell Book of Chorg.  TM

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

Date: Thu, 4 Dec 1997 12:27:29 -0800 (PST)
From: Brian Raiter <[email-masked]>
Subject: Acka: Proposal Archive change

I've made a minor modification to the proposal archive. Now, proposals
that are still in the voting queue are all kept on one separate web
page. As their voting period expires, they will get moved into the
archive proper. I've also explicitly noted the time that each
proposal's voting period expires.

This should make it easier for people to check on what they need to
vote for. It should also make things easier for me....

breadbox

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

Date: Thu, 04 Dec 1997 12:27:32 -0800
From: Alexandre Muniz <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Acka: Harf

Duncan Richer wrote:
> 
> I would just like to congratulate two-star on his 7 hour and 14 minute
> reign as Harfmeister.  Well done mate.

Darn. I wanted to be able to actually use the office. That's what I get
for subscribing to the digest version of acka-voting.

**two-star

Illuminatus?

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

Date: Thu, 04 Dec 1997 16:07:33 -0500
From: Malenkai <[email-masked]>
Subject: Acka: CFJ 479 (Fortunato)

CFJ 479 has been assigned to Fortunato

Clerk of the Courts
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------
Call For Judgment 479
  Subject: Taken out of context
Initiator: breadbox
Submitted: 97-12-03 20:00
    Judge: Fortunato (selected 97-12-04 16:07)
Judgement: 

Statement:

If Proposal 2436 passes, then immediately following the Undead 23
Skidoo will be destroyed.

breadbox's Reasoning:

I believe this should be judged True, but as it turns out there are a
couple of issues here.

Proposal 2436 contains the sentence: "Undead who exist for 90 days
{{(or more)}} decompose." Now, Rule 346 states that "rule text in
double curly braces {{eg, this}}, shall be applied exactly once, then
shall be deleted from the rule." It is my understanding that the
self-deleting text is not applied in its context, but is taken
separately. That is, upon the passage of the proposal, the text "(or
more)" will be applied exactly once, not the entire sentence. This
will have no effect on the game state.

But, it is also my belief that despite this, 23 Skidoo (et al.) will
still qualify as having existed for 90 days - though not exactly 90
days - and will therefore decompose.

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

Date: Thu, 4 Dec 1997 15:12:57 -0600
From: AARON KEESLER <[email-masked]>
Subject: RE: Acka: CFJ 479 (Fortunato)

I accept.

>----------
>From: 	Malenkai[SMTP:[email-masked]]
>Sent: 	Thursday, December 04, 1997 3:07 PM
>To: 	Ackanomic
>Subject: 	Acka: CFJ 479 (Fortunato)
>
>CFJ 479 has been assigned to Fortunato
>

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

Date: Thu, 04 Dec 1997 16:16:09 -0500
From: Malenkai <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Acka: CFJ 479 (Fortunato)

> Call For Judgment 479

> breadbox's Reasoning:

> Proposal 2436 contains the sentence: "Undead who exist for 90 days
> {{(or more)}} decompose." Now, Rule 346 states that "rule text in
> double curly braces {{eg, this}}, shall be applied exactly once, then
> shall be deleted from the rule." It is my understanding that the
> self-deleting text is not applied in its context, but is taken
> separately. 

It is interesting to note that rule 346 no longer exists.  Assuming
there is game custom to support breadbox's "understanding", the question
is does the customary interpretation of the rules get toasted with 
the rule, or does it stay with the construct if it shows up in a 
different rule :)

Also, I'm not sure if there is any game custom to support the initiator's
comments anyway, that may be for the judge to decide.  In any case, it
would be cool if, in general, we could zap game custom by repealing the
rule(s) to which it applies, and then start reinterpreting.  In this case,
the construct to be added to the rules by P2436 could be handy elsewhere,
if applied "in context".

Malenkai

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

Date: Thu, 4 Dec 1997 13:24:36 -0800 (PST)
From: Brian Raiter <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Acka: CFJ 479 (Fortunato)

> Also, I'm not sure if there is any game custom to support the
> initiator's comments anyway, that may be for the judge to decide.

Funny - Proposal 972 implies that you might have actually agreed with
my comments at one time.

breadbox

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

Date: Thu, 04 Dec 1997 16:41:22 -0500
From: Malenkai <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Acka: CFJ 479 (Fortunato)

> > Also, I'm not sure if there is any game custom to support the
> > initiator's comments anyway, that may be for the judge to decide.
> 
> Funny - Proposal 972 implies that you might have actually agreed with
> my comments at one time.

Proposal 972:

    {{ {{ any player possessing {{ a Chartreuse Goose Egg may may change its 
color to fuschia [thereby creating]}} a Fuschia Goose Egg [.] gains 43
points.}} }}

I'm actually not sure on the "in context" thing.  I almost resubmitted P972 as
Foolish to see what would happen.  When I submitted P972, I wasn't sure then
either, but that was closer to the time of the original {{ }} rule.  Perhaps
the out of context thing has evolved one way or the other since then.

Malenkai

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

Date: Thu, 4 Dec 1997 22:15:49 +0000 ()
From: Duncan Richer <[email-masked]>
Subject: Acka: Pyraic Frobnotzer

I hereby attach the positive (+) node of my Pyraic Frobnotzer to the noun
phrase "a Spell Book of Chorg" in the sentence
"Otherwise, if the page number was evenly divisible by 5, a random Gadget
other than a Spell Book of Chorg is created and transferred to the
reader." in Rule 594.9.

Yours,
Slakko

- --
Duncan "" Richer aka
Duncan C. Richer - aka Slakko the Lost Warner Brother - Now Really Lost!
Queens' College -- PhD, Pure Maths, Graph Theory -- Cambridge University

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

Date: Thu, 4 Dec 1997 22:25:09 +0000 ()
From: Duncan Richer <[email-masked]>
Subject: Acka: Pyraic Frobnotzing Again

I attach the negative (-) end of my Pyraic Frobnotzer to the 
noun phrase "the Pyraic Frobnotzer" in the sentence
"When a Pyraic Frobnotzer has been gyrating continuously for one week, the
following happens: If the Pyraic Frobnotzer's two nodes are attached to
two noun phrases which are both plural or both singular, and the two noun
phrases do not share the same occurrence of the same word, then those two
noun phrases trade location within the Rule set, and the Pyraic Frobnotzer
is destroyed in a magnificent gout of golden flame."
in Rule 594.19.

An infinitesimal amount of time after this attachment has occurred, I set
my Pyraic Frobnotzer off.  It starts spinning its little heart out, and I
wonder about its fate.  Will it be destroyed?  Will it be broken?  Will it
tear down the foundations of Acka?  Who knows?

Yours,
Slakko-with-the-too-many-question-marks-already

- --
Duncan "Mmmmmmmmmm... CFJs" Richer aka
Duncan C. Richer - aka Slakko the Lost Warner Brother - Now Really Lost!
Queens' College -- PhD, Pure Maths, Graph Theory -- Cambridge University

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

Date: Thu, 04 Dec 1997 17:30:42 -0500
From: Malenkai <[email-masked]>
Subject: Acka: CFJ 480 (Vynd)

CFJ 480 has been assigned to Vynd.

Clerk of the Courts
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------
Call For Judgment 480
  Subject: Frobnotzing
Initiator: Slakko
Submitted: 97-12-04 17:12
    Judge: Vynd (selected 97-12-04 17:30)
Judgement: 

Statement:

If an unbroken, non-gyrating Pyraic Frobnotzer were to have its + node
attached to the noun phrase "Pyraic Frobnotzer" in the phrase
"the Pyraic Frobnotzer is destroyed in a magnificent gout of golden flame"
in Rule 594.19, and its - node attached to the noun phrase "The
Ackanomicon" in the phrase "The Ackanomicon is a powerful book of
magic" in Rule 940, and then set gyrating an infinitesimal amount of time
later, without any further attachments being made, then The Ackanomicon
would be destroyed one week after the Pyraic Frobnotzer described in this
statement was set gyrating.

Slakko's Reasoning:

Rule 594.19 states:

When a Pyraic Frobnotzer has been gyrating continuously for one week, the
following happens: If the Pyraic Frobnotzer's two nodes are attached to
two noun phrases which are both plural or both singular, and the two noun
phrases do not share the same occurrence of the same word, then those two
noun phrases trade location within the Rule set, and the Pyraic Frobnotzer
is destroyed in a magnificent gout of golden flame. 

However, when the Pyraic Frobnotzer is to be destroyed, the rule change
either has already occurred (if you interpret the last statement as
implying an order of events), or is occurring at the same time.  What does
it mean for a rule change to occur?  Clearly the rules must have changed
at the instant that the rule change occurs, otherwise the rules have not
changed.  There is no "halfway house" for a rule to inhabit, it must
either be changed, or not be changed.  Hence, at the instant that the Rule
says "the Pyraic Frobnotzer is destroyed in a magnificent gout of golden
flame" the rule has been changed to read "The Ackanomicon is destroyed in
a magnificent gout of golden flame".  Hence The Ackanomicon is destroyed
and the Pyraic Frobnotzer is not.

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

Date: Thu, 4 Dec 1997 22:47:40 +0000 ()
From: Duncan Richer <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Acka: Pyraic Frobnotzing Again

On Thu, 4 Dec 1997, Duncan Richer wrote:

Correction.  You will note that the last effort meant that nothing
happened.  This is because the attempt to set it off last time did not
occur, because the attachment described did not occur, because the
description was ambiguous.  The following is an unambiguous attachment:

I attach the negative (-) end of my Pyraic Frobnotzer to the occurrence  
of the noun phrase "the Pyraic Frobnotzer" closest to the end of the 
sentence
"When a Pyraic Frobnotzer has been gyrating continuously for one week, the
following happens: If the Pyraic Frobnotzer's two nodes are attached to
two noun phrases which are both plural or both singular, and the two noun
phrases do not share the same occurrence of the same word, then those two
noun phrases trade location within the Rule set, and the Pyraic Frobnotzer
is destroyed in a magnificent gout of golden flame."
in Rule 594.19.

An infinitesimal amount of time after this attachment has occurred, I set
my Pyraic Frobnotzer off.  It starts spinning its little heart out, and I
wonder about its fate.  Will it be destroyed?  Will it be broken?  Will it
tear down the foundations of Acka?  Who knows?

Yours,
Slakko-with-the-too-many-question-marks-already

- --
Duncan "This will still work" Richer aka
Duncan C. Richer - aka Slakko the Lost Warner Brother - Now Really Lost!
Queens' College -- PhD, Pure Maths, Graph Theory -- Cambridge University

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

Date: Thu, 04 Dec 1997 18:28:34 -0500
From: Malenkai <[email-masked]>
Subject: Acka: Prez

Its time for Acka's 12th presidential election.  The results of the
previous ones were:

Robert Sevin 9, Mohammed 3
/dev/joe 5, this is not a name 4
snowgod 7, Niccolo Flychuck 4, /dev/joe 2
snowgod 7, Niccolo Flychuck 5, Uncle Sam 2
Niccolo Flychuck 7, breadbox 3, Robert Sevin 2
Strider (unapposed)
snowgod 4, Malenkai 4, breadbox 2, IdiotBoy 1
Niccolo Flychuck (unapposed)
Mohammed 8, Techno 5, Alfvaen 1
Alfvaen 9, Malenkai 4
Alfvaen (unapposed)

If you would like to volunteer for this office, e-mail me.  The
nomination lasts for 3 days.

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

Date: Thu, 4 Dec 1997 15:33:06 -0800
From: [email-masked] (Dice server)
Subject: Acka: SBoC Random OC determination

- -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----

Dice rolls requested by: Malenkai <[email-masked]>
Rolls also sent to:
    [email-masked]

# Player: GF - 1
# I am using the dice server to determine the random otzma card
# delivered from the spell book of chorg based on the following
# schedule:
# 1 - go fish
# 2 - map shard
# 3 - untouch me
# 4 - share my expenses
# 5 - share my income
# 6 - swinging sale
# 7 - tactical retreat
# 8 - paratroop
# 9 - foul fowl
# 10 - truthseeker
# 11 - fix my gadget
# 12 - scientist for a day
# 13 - art thief
# 14 - skeleton key
# 15 - grave robber

No. of sides on every die:     15
No. of dice for every roll:     1
No. of dice rolls requested:    1
No. of rolls per line:          1

     11

Information on the dice server:
   DO NOT REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE!
   Replies to [email-masked] vanish into a seldom-read mailbox.

   For instructions on using the dice server, send a message with
   subject "help" to [email-masked], or see http://www.pbm.com/dice/

   The dice server is provided by:

      Shadow Island Games
      http://www.pbm.com/ds.html

Original message follows:
> From [email-masked]  Thu Dec  4 15:32:55 1997
> Received: (from smtp@localhost) by xkey.com
>       id PAA29124 for <[email-masked]>; Thu, 4 Dec 1997 15:32:55 -0800
> Received: from mail.itw.net(206.138.122.6) by xkey.com via smtp (V1.3)
>       id sma029120; Thu Dec  4 15:32:46 1997
> Received: from itw.com (4-37.SURFER.TIDALWAVE.COM [208.211.4.37]) by mail.itw.net (8.8.0/8.7.3) with ESMTP id SAA09950 for <[email-masked]>; Thu, 4 Dec 1997 18:32:44 -0500
> Message-ID: <[email-masked]>
> Date: Thu, 04 Dec 1997 18:32:08 -0500
> From: Malenkai <[email-masked]>
> Reply-To: [email-masked]
> X-Mailer: Mozilla 4.02 [en] (Win95; U)
> MIME-Version: 1.0
> To: [email-masked]
> Subject: ds
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
> Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
> 
> #P [email-masked]
> #S 15
> #D 1
> #R 1
> #L 1
> #T Acka: SBoC Random OC determination
> 
> #C Player: GF - 1
> #C I am using the dice server to determine the random otzma card
> #C delivered from the spell book of chorg based on the following
> #C schedule:
> #C 1 - go fish
> #C 2 - map shard
> #C 3 - untouch me
> #C 4 - share my expenses
> #C 5 - share my income
> #C 6 - swinging sale
> #C 7 - tactical retreat
> #C 8 - paratroop
> #C 9 - foul fowl
> #C 10 - truthseeker
> #C 11 - fix my gadget
> #C 12 - scientist for a day
> #C 13 - art thief
> #C 14 - skeleton key
> #C 15 - grave robber

- -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
Version: 2.7

iQCVAwUBNIc9sj8NitsTFjcVAQGaegQAmX/1zQHeN3tKR8k465T2zxJZ8Gtlbj22
g9xVmQajsxA9SOAcwz5tEkBpoH9b6WeCNhkU1Fs4e4PsAtke1+f6uw+iQFAye8/a
iqQnQTEkAGLu2byyrVVg8mepEliq3fGzsHV4EG1EviLp0JUZHaTGkI5r0BKotEXZ
1ktEeHTLfJo=
=nqE1
- -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

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

Date: Thu, 04 Dec 1997 18:34:45 -0500
From: Malenkai <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Acka: SBoC Random OC determination

Dice server wrote:

> # Player: GF - 1
> # I am using the dice server to determine the random otzma card
> # delivered from the spell book of chorg based on the following

Player would be ThinMan.
Sorry.

Malenkai
OiCoRT

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

Date: Thu, 04 Dec 1997 18:06:52 -0800
From: **Alexandre Muniz <[email-masked]>
Subject: Acka: Gumball

Today is December 4, 1997, the first Thursday of the month, and I am
chewing the Gumball.
**two-star

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

Date: Thu, 4 Dec 1997 22:54:25 -0600 (CST)
From: "Joseph W. DeVincentis" <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Acka: CFJ 479 (Fortunato)

> Proposal 2436 contains the sentence: "Undead who exist for 90 days
> {{(or more)}} decompose." Now, Rule 346 states that "rule text in
> double curly braces {{eg, this}}, shall be applied exactly once, then
> shall be deleted from the rule." It is my understanding that the
> self-deleting text is not applied in its context, but is taken
> separately. That is, upon the passage of the proposal, the text "(or
> more)" will be applied exactly once, not the entire sentence. This
> will have no effect on the game state.

I disagree with this reasoning.  I don't have an example handy, but I'm sure
that we've had a {{bracketed}} clause in some rule which only worked due to
a precedence statement elsewhere in the rule.  This is slightly different
than the situation quoted above, but it still requires that the {{bracketed}}
text is interpreted in the context of the rule it is in.

/dev/joe

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

End of ackanomic digest V2 #393
*******************************