Subject: ackanomic digest V2 #401
From: [email-masked] (ackanomic digest)
To: [email-masked]

ackanomic digest       Monday, December 8 1997       Volume 02 : Number 401

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

Date: Mon, 08 Dec 1997 22:40:27 -0800
From: **Alexandre Muniz <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: acka: The Rex Times, vol. 9, no. 18

> The following back issues are now available:
> vol. 5, no. 6
> vol. 3, no. 5
> vol. 14, no. 22
> vol. 18, no. 8
> vol. 25, no. 4
> vol. 10, no. 5
> vol. 7, no. 20
> vol. 20, no. 16
> vol. 9, no. 18
> If you have a request for a particular issue not shown above, please feel
> free to ask.
> 
> Rex Mundi, Editor.

I request vol 8, no 14

**two-star

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

Date: Mon, 8 Dec 1997 12:29:16 -0600
From: "Crackfoo" <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Public Request

I approve of this.

Crackfoo

- ----------
> From: Tom Walmsley <[email-masked]>
> To: [email-masked]
> Subject: Public Request
> Date: Saturday, December 06, 1997 5:59 PM
> 
> I am hereby applying to join the Harf political party.
> 
> 
> The Gingham Wearer.

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

Date: Mon, 8 Dec 1997 13:53:08 -0500 (EST)
From: "A.K.A. TheWiz" <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: acka: The earth is round!

> What does it take to be burned as a witch these days?

  Too much email.  :-)
  I am calling a witchhunt against Rex Mundi.

___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: Mon, 8 Dec 1997 12:55:29 -0600
From: "Crackfoo" <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Acka: Prez (Crackfoo)

You may please disregard me as a choice for President.  The mail was hungup
in my outbox and did not send until after the deadline.

Crackfoo

- ----------
> From: Malenkai <[email-masked]>
> To: Ackanomic <[email-masked]>
> Subject: Acka: Prez (Crackfoo)
> Date: Monday, December 08, 1997 12:11 PM
> 
> I just received mail from Crackfoo, dated Friday, asking
> that he be a candidate for President.  ITW says they received
> it this morning at 10:28 AM.
> 
> I do not have time to check the rules on this; please act
> accordingly.
> ----------------------------------------------------------
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>                  To: 
>                     <[email-masked]>
>               Subject: 
>                     Re: Acka: Prez
>                 Date: 
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> 
> 
> 
> 
> Please put my name in the running.  Thanks.
> 
> Crackfoo
> 
> ----------
> > From: Malenkai <[email-masked]>
> > To: Acka Priv <[email-masked]>
> > Subject: Acka: Prez
> > Date: Thursday, December 04, 1997 5:28 PM
> > 
> > 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: Mon, 8 Dec 1997 13:03:15 -0600 (CST)
From: "Joseph W. DeVincentis" <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: acka: The earth is round!

Rex Mundi wrote:
> What does it take to be burned as a witch these days?

Didn't anybody tell you? We attached the top half of the earth; the
earth is now hemispherical and it is no longer heretical to say that
the earth is round.

/dev/joe

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

Date: Mon, 8 Dec 1997 13:08:52 -0600 (CST)
From: "Joseph W. DeVincentis" <[email-masked]>
Subject: Acka: On mathematics

breadbox wrote:
> <math-geek-rant>
> Are you people NUTS? This proposal flies in the face of the natural
> order of the universe! It's an abomination! Why don't you just make a
> rule saying that pi is 3?! Sure, you think one little bit of fudging
> is harmless, but mark my words! This sort of thing eats away at our
> moral fiber! At this rate it won't be long before we're mercilessly
> rounding off fractions and ignoring any number higher than a million!

No, you have to play Magic: the Gathering to seriously consider rules
that would ignore numbers higher than a million. :-)

Seriously, Magic has an infinity problem.  For years now it has been
possible for players to set up loops, perpetual motion machines, which
make more resources (usually mana, cards, creatures, life) than they
use up, while leaving the rest of the game unchanged, *and* there is one
truly-infinite triggered loop which would result in the game stalling
out except that they made a special ruling to "jump out" of the loop,
continuing on with the game, while the loop goes on its merry way.

However, more recently, there have been more and more perpetual motion
machines, due to the introduction of many new cards, and some of these
PMM's are simple enough that competitive decks can be built around them,
and a second truly-infinite loop has been created which is much easier
to harness with effects that trigger on the events in the loop.  As a
result, they have more and more questions of the variety "What happens
if I deal infinite damage to a player with infinite life?"

A simple (and reasonable, IMHO) solution would be to say that the PMM's
can't reach infinity, only any arbitrarily large finite number, and it
has sometimes been ruled this way, but it is entirely possible for
both players to have used the second true-infinite engine in a game,
with one of them ending up with infinite life, and the other with a
creature with infinite power.  Which brings us back to "What happens if
I deal infinite damage to a player with infinite life?" :-)

The answer Wizards of the Coast has given is that any infinite quantity
can never be reduced by mere subtraction, even if you are subtracting
infinity from it (but something could still reduce it by setting it to
a specific number, such as a card which changes a creature's power to 0,
or by affecting "all" of something, such as a card which removes all
of a player's life, or destroys all creatures, etc.) A lot of players
dislike this ruling, sometimes to the point of suggesting that infinite
loops be limited to some specific number of iterations; one player
suggested a "rule of 10000" where any quantity that exceeds 10000 is
reduced to 10000. (Not 1000, because, in his experience, there were
rare but possible instances where 1000 could be reached by non-infinite
means; I've witnessed this once myself. But then somebody else said
they got up to 10000 due to many copies of this infamous doubling card
being in play at once...)

I *think* that the "arbitrarily large" and "inf - inf = inf" rulings
cover all situations which can arise with the current card set (except
one possible way somebody recently devised which *might* give a
true-infinity of creatures in play, dependent on some other rulings),
given a very strict interpretation of the "arbitrarily large" rule
with respect to one particular card.  But with 500 new cards being
added to the mix each year, it will undoubtedly not be long before
this is no longer the case.

/dev/joe

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

Date: Mon, 8 Dec 1997 22:42:24 +0200 (EET)
From: Uri Bruck <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Acka: CFJ 482 (mr cwm)

Melankai said that he doesn't know why he bothers, and that's good enough
reason for me not to bother, or at least almost not to bother.

On Mon, 8 Dec 1997, Malenkai wrote:

> I'll be frank here. You're comments in debates, both with ThinMan,
> myself, on the internomic list, and elsewhere are really starting to
> bother me.  What does the above have to do with the reasoned, rational
> argument I have presented in this CFJ? 
I didn't think it was a very good reasoned rational argument. And I don't
mean this sentence as a personal offense to you. I think you sometimes
write very good CFJs, both statements and judgements. This one just wasn't
one of them.

As for recent comments on the Internomic mailing list, I already sent you
a private response.

>       The fact that I have presented 3
> arguments, rather than 1, was an attempt to get *all* of the issues on
> the table, even though argument 1, IMO, is strongenough.  I have stated
> as much in the CFJ text.

Then why not just leave it at one argument?
The judge can reach a True verdict on an entirely different argument, if e
prefers.

Niccolo Flychuck

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

Date: Mon, 8 Dec 1997 22:44:25 +0200 (EET)
From: Uri Bruck <[email-masked]>
Subject: RE: acka : suggest MetaMorph action - join Synod

I don't know about that. But I'm waiting for a verdict on Malenkai's CFJ
before I suggest any further action. 

Niccolo Flychuck

On Mon, 8 Dec 1997, Bollinger, John C. wrote:

> Given Niccolo Flychuck's recent comments:
> 
> > The appeal for CFJ 473 is immaterial, since it applies to a Game State
> > which no longer exists. 
> > I don't see the relevance of it to the Synod. A Synod Seat can be
> > occupied
> > by any one of us.
> > 
> I would like to ask whether the Metamorph membership is currently
> being harfed as including Pumpkin Patch Nomic.
> 
> 
> ThinMan
> 
> ------------------------------
> 

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

Date: Mon, 8 Dec 1997 14:16:17 -0700 (MST)
From: [email-masked] (Aaron V. Humphrey)
Subject: Re: acka : suggest MetaMorph action - join Synod

> > I would like to ask whether the Metamorph membership is currently
> > being harfed as including Pumpkin Patch Nomic.

I guess that I did put PPN on the MetaMorph Party's page.  On the other
hand, I don't know if we've gotten any Unity Votes since it possibly
joined...or would it interfere with those?  And PPN isn't up on the PE
page either.  :-)

- --
- --Alfvaen(Web page: http://www.telusplanet.net/public/alfvaen/ )
Current Album--Supertramp:Breakfast In America
Current Book--TesseractsQ
I've got a love and it won't stop burning

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

Date: Mon, 8 Dec 1997 16:23:22 -0500
From: "Bollinger, John C." <[email-masked]>
Subject: RE: acka : suggest MetaMorph action - join Synod

Alfvaen wrote:

> > > I would like to ask whether the Metamorph membership is currently
> > > being harfed as including Pumpkin Patch Nomic.
> 
> I guess that I did put PPN on the MetaMorph Party's page.  On the
> other
> hand, I don't know if we've gotten any Unity Votes since it possibly
> joined...or would it interfere with those?  And PPN isn't up on the PE
> page either.  :-)
> 
I guess that's a "yes and no."  I hereby observe that I believe it
to be in error that Alfvaen put PPN on the Metamorph Party's page,
as I believe that PPN is not a member of Metamorph.  I will wait to
file a CFJ on this matter, however, until I see the final result of CFJ
482.

ThinMan

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

Date: Mon, 8 Dec 1997 14:35:30 -0700 (MST)
From: [email-masked] (Aaron V. Humphrey)
Subject: Re: acka : suggest MetaMorph action - join Synod

> I guess that's a "yes and no."  I hereby observe that I believe it
> to be in error that Alfvaen put PPN on the Metamorph Party's page,
> as I believe that PPN is not a member of Metamorph.  I will wait to
> file a CFJ on this matter, however, until I see the final result of CFJ
> 482.

I'll take it off for now, until the matter is more firmly settled.
It won't affect the game state that much unless we make it our Swinger
or Synod Delegate or something.  (Which, out of courtesy, we won't try
just yet.  :-)

- --
- --Alfvaen(Web page: http://www.telusplanet.net/public/alfvaen/ )
Song In My Head--Bruce Cockburn:More Not More
Current Book--TesseractsQ
a^n+b^n=c^n. No solutions for n>2, as can be seen by |#@}NO_CARRI

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

Date: Mon, 8 Dec 1997 17:17:47 -0500 (EST)
From: mr cwm <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Acka: CFJ 482 (mr cwm)

This looks like fun, and I just got my grades turned in.  I accept.

- -mr cwm

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

Date: Mon, 8 Dec 1997 17:20:28 -0500
From: "Bollinger, John C." <[email-masked]>
Subject: RE: Acka: CFJ 482 (mr cwm)

Niccolo Flychuck wrote:

> > There are three separate arguments, only one of which need be
> > accepted for a verdict of TRUE.  I also note that this can
> > probably be judged trivially TRUE based on the Supreme Court's
> > reasoning on CFJ 473,
> 
> No, it can't. Those comments of the Court that relate to the current
> game
> state are wrong, as I already explained.
> 
It is your opinion that it can't.  It is my opinion that it can.  It is
mr cwm's opinion that matters.

	 But I'd like to focus on this CFJ.

Excellent.

> > is rule 1015 (quoted following in part).  No other rules allow
> > such: 
> > 
> > > An Organization that has a More Than Human is allowed to have
> > > non-player Entities as members, provided that said Entities
> > > are capable of expressing eir consent in the public forum,
> > > or that the rules allow for some method by which said Entities can
> > > become members of Organizations.
> > 
> > Argument 1:
> > 
> > Can PPN be a member of an organization under the auspices of 
> > rule 1015 and the related org rules?  Rule 1015 allows "non-player
> > Entities as members".  PPN is not a "non-player Entity"; in fact,
> > it is not even an entity at all.  Rule 500 defines what an entity
> is:
> > 
> > > Something is an entity if and only if the rules specify that it
> is,
> > > or it is defined by the Rules and Ackanomic tradition indicates
> > > that it is an entity.
> > 
> > The rules do not specify PPN as an entity.  
> 
> The rule quoted by Malenkai also appeals to Ackanomic Tradition.
> Ackanomic
> rules explicitly recognize the of extra-nomic entities. And there is
> strong Custom to indicate that other nomics are such entities.
> 
Custom from where?  Never have we treated other Nomics as entities.  We
have largely not treated them at all.  If I had not overlooked that
provision of R 500 then I would have included it in my CFJ 473
reasoning.  I see no basis whatsoever for claims that other nomics are
customarilly recognized as entities, and hesitate to characterize it is
much more than either an insult to our intelligence or an appeal to the
ignorant that such a claim is extended without a shred of justification.
If the tradition is there then, by all means, give us the details.

> > Argument 2:
> > 
> > 'Entity' in rule 1015 has to be construed as an Ackanomic entity. 
>  
> Once again - Acka explicitly recognizes extra nomic entities. Thus the
> phrase entity can refer to things which are not acka  -entities, or to
> things which are outsied acka.
> 
Some justification of this claim would again be in order.  I think that
the rules indicate quite the opposite.  We do have rule 501,
"ExtraNomic Entities," but not only does it not grant entityhood to
other Nomics (should they happen to exist) it also does not grant
entityhood to anything native to such nomics.  Instead it defines what
it means to "'import' an entity from another nomic" as to create an
Ackanomic entity (with specific properties): "When the Rules specify
that an entity is 'imported' from another nomic, that entity is, for the
purposes of Ackanomic, created at that time."  To me that suggests that
according to the rules, it isn't an entity of any sort until it is an
Ackanomic entity.  Whether or not Niccolo agrees with me on that
matter is not really the point.  The point is that I am tiring of
listening to unsupported "yes it is"-type arguments which conveniently
try to brush the facts under the rug.

> > Argument3:
> > 
> > One could argue that ExtraNomic entities, especially nomics, are
> Entities
> > w.r.t. the Acka rules, or more narrowly, w.r.t. rule 1015.  What do
> > the rules say about ExtraNomic entities?  Rule 501 entitled
> "ExtraNomic
> > Entities" reads (in part):
> > 
> > >Other nomics may exist, although it is uncertain exactly where 
> > > they might reside (maybe in some of the smaller cells of the
> > > Gaol.) 
> > 
> > This sentence uses the weasel word "may", thus it has no meaning,
> 
> Sorry?  Half the ruleset uses the so-called 'weasel' may, in the sense
> if
> 'it is allowed to' 'it is possible', accepting this argument would
> mean
> throwing away a large bulk of the ruleset.
> 
I don't know what to think.  I generally credit Niccolo with enough
intelligence to recognize the difference between the two usages of
"may," and indeed, he certainly seems to indicate that he does so.  I
can therefore only assume that he is deliberately misappropriating
Malenkai's argument, but I don't understand the intent of such
misappropriation unless it is merely to annoy.  Surely that is not his
intent.  Is it?

> The rules explicitly  recognize Internomic, and by implication the
> fact
> that it has other members.  Game Custom recognizes the existence o
> other
> nomics.
> 
	And so on and so forth...

The rules recognize Internomic, and custom recognizes the existence
of other nomics.  The existence by implication of other Internomic
members is less firm, but irrelevant.  Indeed, whether or not other
Nomics, Internomic members or otherwise, are recognized as existing is
beside the point.  And I'm not sure what the last comment is supposed
to mean.  It seems unreasonable for Niccolo to ask others to construct
his argument for him.

> This CFJ is trivially False.
> 
It is that sort of statement that really irritates me.  Perhaps Niccolo
has such a high opinion of himself that he believes his argumentation,
such as it is, to be infallible.  Only such a belief, at least with
respect to this particular case, could justify a claim such as the
above.  I should hope Niccolo would have learned from experience,
however, that, at least in Ackanomic, the Courts do not always agree
with him.  I don't mind an assertion that the CFJ is false, but to
suggest that it is _trivially_ false is to claim that all possible
arguments for its truth, and especially those already presented, are
so weak as to be beneath consideration.  I will optimistically assume
that it is not Niccolo's intent to irritate, annoy, or offend other
players, and therefore alert him that irritating, annoying, and/or
offending other players is what he is doing.  I will realistically
suggest, however, that if my optimism is misplaced then Niccolo is more
than welcome to leave.

> The fact that Malenkai need to go such great lengths and to endlessly
> repeat words is sufficient to show just how nearly impossible for him
> it
> was to find anything in the rules that could imply a verdict of True.
> 
And then Niccolo goes and makes me doubt my optimism.  Do we really
need to resort to personal attacks?  Is Niccolo's best debate strategy
to throw blanket denunciations at the opposing arguments without
addressing the points they raise?  Niccolo at least made gestures at
counterargumentation among his other comments, but I don't see where
there is any redeeming value whatsoever in this.

> This is a clear instance of so called strict-constructionism go
> hay-wire 
> (no personal offense intended - I've done it at times myself, when it
> suited me)
> 
In my opinion, strict constructionism is the lifeblood of a Nomic.  I
am sure Niccolo and I differ on that.  Nevertheless, I think it an
exercise in misdirection, at best, to throw such aspersions at
Malenkai's arguments.  His first and third arguments draw on very
specific provisions of the rules, which I guess Niccolo prefers
to ignore.  I don't blame Niccolo for wanting to have his way, but I
object to his trying to pooh-pooh the rules and sling mud at other
players to get it.

>   A verdict of True will make the game completely unplayable,
> since any action can be negated by a sufficient amount of retoric.
> 
Is that a _pout_ I read?  Or is it supposed to be a joke?  I do not
find myself in a joking mood right now.

I'm guessing that Niccolo planned all along to invite PPN into
Metamorph; in particular that he had it in mind when he proposed "More
Than Human."  And now it may not work as he wanted.  That's Nomic.  Some
players have goals and ideas in opposition to his own.  That's life.

Perhaps some will think that I have done herein exactly what I'm
objecting to.  If Niccolo does, then I apologize to him for it.  I do
not apologize, however, for disliking elements of Niccolo's play, nor
for expressing my feelings to the public.  To the contrary, I think it
would be unfair to Niccolo to keep such opinions hidden, especially
when I do not think I am alone in my views on the matter.

ThinMan
Not enjoying this.

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

Date: Mon, 8 Dec 1997 17:41:33 -0500
From: Towsner <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Acka: CFJ 481 (Malenkai)

>CFJ 481 has been assigned to else...if
	Tempting as it is to go ahead and judge this, the saying is that
bias is not impropriety, but the appearence of impropriety.  Therefore I
decline judging this proposal.

- --
Omnium pro iure, ius pro omnio

- -Henry Towsner

	<[email-masked]>

	"I think the true test of a genius is the ability to see the
follies of one's own times.  The ability to change one's own times is the
true test of a leader.  And the ability to do both is the true test of a
visionary who will never be elected."
	-Marilyn vos Savant

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

Date: Mon, 8 Dec 1997 15:24:16 -0800 (PST)
From: Brian Raiter <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: acka : suggest MetaMorph action - join Synod

>>> I would like to ask whether the Metamorph membership is currently
>>> being harfed as including Pumpkin Patch Nomic.
> 
> I guess that I did put PPN on the MetaMorph Party's page.  On the other
> hand, I don't know if we've gotten any Unity Votes since it possibly
> joined...or would it interfere with those?

As it turns out, it would not. Only active player members are
considered for the purposes of Unity Votes, and PPN, were it a member,
would be neither.

breadbox

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

Date: Mon, 08 Dec 1997 19:47:10 -0500
From: Malenkai <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Acka: CFJ 482 (mr cwm)

> >       The fact that I have presented 3
> > arguments, rather than 1, was an attempt to get *all* of the issues on
> > the table, even though argument 1, IMO, is strongenough.  I have stated
> > as much in the CFJ text.
> 
> Then why not just leave it at one argument?

My short answer to that question is in the material you quote above.
Moreover, it is in the CFJ's reasoning.  A longer answer follows.
I think its a bit odd to challenge the amount of material presented
in a CFJ.

> The judge can reach a True verdict on an entirely different argument, if e
> prefers.

I know it sounds trite, but my quest is for the truth in the rules.
Perhaps the judge will disagree with the first argument, and not think
of the second or third (no offense to the selected judge, mind you :-)),
and, assuming one of them is valid, get the wrong verdict.

I regret that on a previous CFJ, I did not present a second argument.

I know it would have been easier for me as Justice if these arguments
were presented with CFJ 473; I thought of them only after breadbox 
and myself had agreed on the verdict and a draft of the reasoning.
I threw that bit about entities in at the end at the last minute,
because that is when I thought of it.  Judging CFJ 473 may have been
easier with them.

Why make it harder on the judge by holding back material that may help
lead to the proper verdict?  Moreover, I personally found the third
argument interesting in its own right, and enjoy writing these sorts
of things.

If I had an agenda to prevent other nomics from joining Ackanomic
organizations, I would have presented only one of the arguments,
waited for the rules to be patched, presented the second one, and
so on.  I think making a good faith effort to present all of them
up front is constructive, don't you?

If you want PPN to join MetaMorph, you now know of three potential
snags in the rules that may prevent that, not to mention the
"necessary" clause in rule 419.3.

I hope that answers your question.

Malenkai

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

Date: Mon, 08 Dec 1997 20:44:49 -0500
From: Malenkai <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Acka: BWG Laser shotgun attachment

> The BWG Laser shotgun attachment is done, and an auction now
> starts to last for 3 days.

Vynd's bid of A$55 is high.

Chief Cheese

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

Date: Tue, 9 Dec 1997 02:00:58 -0000
From: "Gavin M. Doig" <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: acka: The Rex Times, vol. 9, no. 18

> I request vol 8, no 14
> 
> **two-star
Unfortunately, it seems that we only have vol. 8, no. 21 in stock. Will
that do as a replacement?

Rex Mundi, Editor.

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

Date: Mon, 08 Dec 1997 18:13:53 -0800
From: **Alexandre Muniz <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: acka: The Rex Times, vol. 9, no. 18

Gavin M. Doig wrote:
> 
> > I request vol 8, no 14
> >
> > **two-star
> Unfortunately, it seems that we only have vol. 8, no. 21 in stock. Will
> that do as a replacement?

I'll take it.

**two-star

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

Date: Mon, 08 Dec 1997 21:55:12 -0500
From: Malenkai <[email-masked]>
Subject: Acka: CFJ 479 Verdict

CFJ 479 has been judged TRUE.

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: TRUE

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.

Fortunato's Reasoning:

First, let me say that I wouldn't mind this getting appealed if anyone
thinks I mis-interpreted game custom.  This seems to be the best
interpretation of how the {{ }} Rule should work.

In the example, "Undead who exist for 90 days {{or more}} decompose", it
is my belief that the statement should be applied once with the braced
text, and then the {{or more}} should be removed.  Any amount of time
(even infinitesimal) afterwards, it should be harfed as "Undead who
exist for 90 days decompose".

In addition, any undead which has existed for more than 90 days would
necessarily have existed for 90 days, so the {{or more}} would make no
difference.

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

Date: Tue, 09 Dec 1997 14:37:32 -1000
From: K2 <[email-masked]>
Subject: Campaign Speech

In this situation I believe it is traditional to vilify one's opponents
while making one's self look squeaky clean. In accordance with that
tradition, I will do so.

< Conspiracy Theory >
****************<Political Campaign Speech>****************
Apologies for the length of time it took for me to get this campaign speech
out, but my campaign staff and I were researching into the fiendish
machinations of the President and Slakko, my fellow nominees.

While searching through the mail archives, looking for the copious
quantities of dirt I know must exist on these two pernicious entities, many
things became apparent. The tantalising scraps, obscure references,
circumstantial evidence and the TESTIMONY of friends of second cousins OF
ACTUAL WITNESSES, were more than sufficient for the enormity of the crimes
perpetrated by my fellow nominees to become clear.

Friends, colleges, fellow entities, the time has come for change. [Deafening
Roar]
For too long Acka has been stagnating under the same leadership. For week
after week, month after month we have borne the yolk of the same
administration, while he lines his pockets with our hard earned tax money.

"Well, I couldn't afford it before, but with my multiple
salaries..."[Alfvaen, Sun, 23 Nov 1997 15:38:44 Acka].

Money that should have been used to improve the shocking state of Ackan
roads.
Money that should have been used to improve the educational facilities for
our children.
Money that could have fed and housed the poor and destitute of Acka.
Such a waste of public money cannot be ALLOWED to continue. The time has
come for change!

Ask yourself, where was The President, when the last Solstice Tornado swept
through Acka. Where was the bomb shelter that would have protected us from
this mighty force of nature?

By the way, speaking of duties, with the upcoming Tornado, does anyone think

I should initiate the construction of a Bomb Shelter?  And, more
importantly,
is anyone willing to help underwrite the costs?  :-) [Alfvaen, Tue, 9 Sep
1997 23:30:37 Acka]

I say to you that this offer of shelter was not only an after thought, but
was also never intended to be accepted. Leaving Acka unsheltered was a ploy
by the President to improve his own score. By his own words did he condemn
himself. Not two months ago, during the ‘fall Tornado’ crisis, Alfvaen went
on record, saying :

But everybody continue to have fun, and wait for the Tornado to come.  (My
score doesn't warrant being Sheltered, this time...:-) [Alfvaen, Mon, 22 Sep
1997 11:54:35 Acka]

What callous disregard is this for life and property?
Continue to have FUN with the imminent spectre of the Tornado hanging over
our heads?
Continue to have FUN when we are uncertain if there will be shelter for us
during this most harrowing of times?
Surely this is a joke? But No! His evil designs are revealed! Such obdurate
taunts reveal his callous, unfeeling heart. But that is not enough, he then
sneered at the fact that we will go unsheltered into the eye of the storm,
knowing that his score could only improve.

Sep 22 19:56 EST: +5 Alfvaen: Fall Tornado

Such taunting must not go unpunished. Such careless disregard for life, must
not go unpunished. He MUST NOT GO UNPUNISHED! The time has come for CHANGE.

And then there is Slakko. Who has been with us since Sat, 25 Oct 1997
15:28:14. A period of time in which his true evil has not yet become fully
manifest!
I ask you, of all the disruption and chaos, during the Tornado, who's score
did not change?

"No problem.  I was the only player who got my own score back".[Slakko, Tue,
25 Nov 1997 02:19:36, Acka]

Was this just chance? The world has more chance of being square! Such an
event is too fortuitous to have occurred solely by chance. I tell you that
there were sinister forces at work behind the scenes. Forces of great evil.
Was this event a natural occurrence? Of course I hear you shout. It has
always been so. It is well known that a Tornado shall sweep though Acka at
the time of the Summer Solstice, Winter Solstice, Vernal Equinox, and
Autumnal Equinox. What I ask you is why? Why should Acka be plagued by such
mighty devastation as this, at such regular and predicable intervals?
Because, my friends, It IS NOT NATURAL! And who is responsible? The answer
is clear! Slakko is responsible for unleashing the Tornadoes upon Acka! Can
an entity who would cause such terrible destruction be entrusted with the
reigns of our mighty country?

<further unsubstantiated claims>
While, at first glance, it would appear that Alfvaen and Slakko are the fine
outstanding Acka citizens, they are, in fact, engaged in a well concealed
plot to undermine Ackan society from their positions as President and
Chess-Umpire. The undeniable power of these two offices can not be allowed
to rest in the hands of these conspirators, or indeed in the hands of any
one entity. The combined power of these two offices is sufficient to smash
the very foundations of Acka, such that it could never be rebuilt!
</further unsubstantiated claims>

As President I promise to sell presidential favours to the highest bidder
<ahem>, I mean I will :

Stamp out corruption.
Reduce the current account deficit
Lower taxes
Improve the roads
Put funding back into the universities and schools where it belongs.
By 1998 No Acka shall live in poverty!

For evidence of my ability to handle the presidency, look to my deft
handling of the Crazy-French Scotsman riots.

    Anyone still looting, burning, smashing, pillaging etc., is politely
requested to stop.[ K 2, Sat, 06 Dec 1997 05:44:12]

In conclusion, Alfvaen "lets <not> build a bomb shelter" is completely
unqualified to be President. Not only is he silly, he has heartlessly
disturbed the rest of Mr. Lunatic Fringe, controlling him as an undead. He's
done it to a lunatic, YOU could be next!. Not screaming in terror yet? Then,
imagine a world were the gum ball could not be chewed on the fourth
Wednesday and the first Thursday, this is the world envisaged by our former
president (P1998).
As for Slakko "I ‘fortuitously’ got my score back" what more need I say? To
play with the forces of nature to generate needless terror.....

The most damning fact against both of my opponents, however, is their lack
of the coveted Crazy-French Scotsman award. The bears of which represent a
group of entities who have fearlessly challenged inequality, injustice and
ambiguity in the rule set and emerged as victorious, battle scared veterans.
Should you expect any less of your president?

****************</Political Campaign Speech>****************

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

Date: Mon, 08 Dec 1997 22:51:53 -0500
From: Malenkai <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: acka: The earth is round!

As hard as this is to believe... :)

>   I am calling a witchhunt against Rex Mundi.

Reply to vote, the valid responses are:

BURN THE WITCH!
No, E said the Earth is flat

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

Date: Mon, 8 Dec 1997 20:12:34 -0800
From: [email-masked] (Dice server)
Subject: Acka: Ackanomicon Determination

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

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

# Player: The Gingham Wearer
# Ackanomicon determination
# based on the following (using a 50 sided die):
# 1 -15: arcane trivia
# 16-20: vile prophecies
# 21-25: inner workings
# 26-30: arcane lore
# 31-33: terrorizing pages
# 34-34: ancient artifact
# 35-36: mutation
# 37-38: dark domain
# 39-39: the secret
# 40-41: long lost treasure
# 42-43: doomsday
# 44-44: forbidden fruit
# 45-45: catastrophe
# 46-49: not so forbidden fruit
# 50-50: ancient one
# Malenkai

No. of sides on every die:     50
No. of dice for every roll:     1
No. of dice rolls requested:    1
No. of rolls per line:          1

     29

Information on the dice server:
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Original message follows:
> From [email-masked]  Mon Dec  8 20:12:18 1997
> Received: (from smtp@localhost) by xkey.com
>       id UAA12662 for <[email-masked]>; Mon, 8 Dec 1997 20:12:18 -0800
> Received: from mail.itw.net(206.138.122.6) by xkey.com via smtp (V1.3)
>       id sma012651; Mon Dec  8 20:12:12 1997
> Received: from itw.com (4-8.SURFER.TIDALWAVE.COM [208.211.4.8]) by mail.itw.net (8.8.0/8.7.3) with ESMTP id XAA32258 for <[email-masked]>; Mon, 8 Dec 1997 23:12:06 -0500
> Message-ID: <[email-masked]>
> Date: Mon, 08 Dec 1997 23:11:24 -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: f
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
> Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
> 
> #P [email-masked]
> #S 50
> #D 1
> #R 1
> #L 1
> #T Acka: Ackanomicon Determination
> 
> #C Player: The Gingham Wearer
> #C Ackanomicon determination
> #C based on the following (using a 50 sided die):
> #C 1 -15: arcane trivia
> #C 16-20: vile prophecies
> #C 21-25: inner workings
> #C 26-30: arcane lore
> #C 31-33: terrorizing pages
> #C 34-34: ancient artifact
> #C 35-36: mutation
> #C 37-38: dark domain
> #C 39-39: the secret
> #C 40-41: long lost treasure
> #C 42-43: doomsday
> #C 44-44: forbidden fruit
> #C 45-45: catastrophe
> #C 46-49: not so forbidden fruit
> #C 50-50: ancient one
> #C Malenkai

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Version: 2.7

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zo4vi3wYPgzUrYBPDCte4SjNSFR3rQilgPN12gT05EmJOEaD3uWo6c2J/dtuDMyG
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------------------------------

Date: Mon, 08 Dec 1997 23:15:40 -0500
From: Malenkai <[email-masked]>
Subject: Acka: CFJ 481 (two-star)

CFJ 481 has been reassigned to two-star.

Clerk of the Courts
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------
Call For Judgment 481
  Subject: Paying for extra heads
Initiator: The Gingham Wearer
Submitted: 97-12-07 18:51
    Judge: else...if (declined)
2nd Judge: two-star (selected 97-12-07 23:15)
Judgement: 

Statement:

else...if received A$50 from the treasury an infinitesimal amount of
time after complaining about having to pay for an extra head.

The Gingham Wearer's Reasoning:

[none]

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

Date: Tue, 9 Dec 1997 04:10:40 +0000
From: "Matt" <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Campaign Speech

Excerpts from K2's recent speech:

> For too long Acka has been stagnating under the same leadership. For week
> after week, month after month we have borne the yolk of the same
> administration, while he lines his pockets with our hard earned tax money.
> 
> "Well, I couldn't afford it before, but with my multiple
> salaries..."[Alfvaen, Sun, 23 Nov 1997 15:38:44 Acka].

> Ask yourself, where was The President, when the last Solstice Tornado swept
> through Acka. Where was the bomb shelter that would have protected us from
> this mighty force of nature?
> 
> By the way, speaking of duties, with the upcoming Tornado, does anyone think
> 
> I should initiate the construction of a Bomb Shelter?  And, more
> importantly,
> is anyone willing to help underwrite the costs?  :-) [Alfvaen, Tue, 9 Sep
> 1997 23:30:37 Acka]

> Not two months ago, during the `fall Tornado' crisis, Alfvaen went
> on record, saying :
> 
> But everybody continue to have fun, and wait for the Tornado to come.  (My
> score doesn't warrant being Sheltered, this time...:-) [Alfvaen, Mon, 22 Sep
> 1997 11:54:35 Acka]

> Sep 22 19:56 EST: +5 Alfvaen: Fall Tornado

> I ask you, of all the disruption and chaos, during the Tornado, who's score
> did not change?
> 
> "No problem.  I was the only player who got my own score back".[Slakko, Tue,
> 25 Nov 1997 02:19:36, Acka]

> <further unsubstantiated claims>
> While, at first glance, it would appear that Alfvaen and Slakko are the fine
> outstanding Acka citizens, they are, in fact, engaged in a well concealed
> plot to undermine Ackan society from their positions as President and
> Chess-Umpire. The undeniable power of these two offices can not be allowed
> to rest in the hands of these conspirators, or indeed in the hands of any
> one entity. The combined power of these two offices is sufficient to smash
> the very foundations of Acka, such that it could never be rebuilt!
> </further unsubstantiated claims>

ROFL!

Impressive research, too. You'd have won my vote.

Bascule

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

End of ackanomic digest V2 #401
*******************************