Subject: File - ruleset

From: [email-masked]
Date: 22 Dec 2002 10:49:00 -0000

T h e r m o d y N o m i c R u l e s e t

Please note that this is a draft, and is not necessarily the exact ruleset text we will use when we begin the game.

THERMODYNOMIC

0.0 The full name of this game of Nomic shall be 'ThermodyNomic'.

0.1 Those who need a shorter name for this Nomic may refer to it by the nickname 'Thermo'.

0.2 Because Thermo is a relatively new Nomic, players are not to try to kill it.

0.3 To ensure that random selections really are random, HotBits (accessible at http://www.fourmilab.ch/hotbits/) shall be used whenever anything random is called for.

0.4 The Official Mailing List is http://groups.yahoo.com/group/thermodynomic/ and can be accessed by e-mail at [email-masked]

THE RULESET

4.0 A rule is a single sentence.

4.1 Every rule shall include a real number which uniquely identifies it.

4.2 A group of rules is any number of rules under a common heading, followed by a short commentary on the rules of that group.

4.3 The commentary within a group of rules shall not affect what is and is not legal.

4.4 Anything not prohibited by the rules is permitted.

4.5 The Ruleset shall consist of all groups of rules.

4.6 A group of rules is not a Thing, it is a collection of Things.

Comment: Groups of rules serve as a coherent whole, acting as a single rule would in most Nomics. However, individual rules are not ammendable, but groups are, so it is helpful to have short individual rules.

PROPOSALS

5.0 A proposal consists of any number of suggested creations or destructions
of Things, and the creation, destruction, or alteration of any number of
comments and group headings in the ruleset.

5.1 A proposal belongs to the person who submits it.

5.2 A pending proposal is a proposal which obeys the Three Sacred Laws, has been submitted to the official mailing list, and has not expired.

5.3 A proposal may expire in only as directed in the rules within the group headed by the word PROPOSALS.

5.4 A proposal expires if all players vote on it.

5.5 A legal vote consists of FOR, AGAINST, or ABSTAIN.

5.6 To vote on a proposal, a player must announce what pending proposal they are voting on and how they choose to vote.

5.7 A proposal expires if one week has passed since it was submitted.

5.8 No player may vote on a proposal which is not pending.

Comment: This defines the process of submitting proposals, and voting on them.

CHANGING THE GAMESTATE

6.0 The Three Sacred Laws are the groups of rules headed FIRST SACRED LAW, SECOND SACRED LAW, and THIRD SACRED LAW.

6.1 A proposal may pass only as defined in the rules within the group headed by the phrase CHANGING THE GAMESTATE.

6.2 A proposal which does not suggest altering one or more of the Three Sacred Laws passes if and only if, at the time it expires, the number of votes cast FOR it exceeds the number of votes cast AGAINST it.

6.3 A proposal which suggests altering one or more of the Three Sacred Laws passes if and only if, at the time it expires, the number of votes cast FOR it exceeds the number of ABSTAIN votes it recieves, and it recieves no votes AGAINST it.

6.4 When a proposal passes, the changes it suggests are adopted.

6.5 No changes to the gamestate may occur except as defined in the ruleset.

6.6 No proposal may modify any individual rule, aside from adding or removing it.

6.7 Destruction of a Thing shall be considered to alter that thing, but not modify it.

Comment: This defines what a proposal is and what is needed for a proposal to pass. 6.7 clarifies why you can destroy a rule but not rewrite the TSLs with a single dissenting vote despite 6.1, 6.2, and 6.6.

DEREGISTRATION

7.0 A player is someone who has registered more recently than ey has deregistered.

7.1 A player may deregister by announcing that ey wishes to do so.

7.2 A player deregisters if ey fails to post a message to the official mailing list in a week.

7.3 Whenever a player deregisters, one of eir points is destroyed, while the rest are distributed randomly among all players.

Comment: This defines how to not be a player.

REGISTRATION

8.0 A proposal submitted by a non-player is called a registration proposal.

8.1 Nobody may submit a registration proposal if a registration propsal ey submitted is currently a pending proposal.

8.2 A person who submits a registration proposal which subsequently passes is considered to have registered.

Comment: This group of rules prevents a player who does not have any good ideas from joining.

THINGS

9.0 A Thing is any item declared by the rules to be a Thing.

9.1 Rules, players, proposals, offices, and points are Things.

9.2 No new type of Thing may be created without adding it to the list of Things.

9.3 Whenever a Thing is destroyed, the number of Therms is increased by one.

9.4 A player who deregisters is considered to have been destroyed.

9.5 A player who is destroyed automatically deregisters.

9.6 A rule which is destroyed is automatically removed from the ruleset.

9.7 Any Thing which is not a player or a Rule must be posessed by a player.

Comment: This defines Things.

OFFICES

10.0 Each individual office shall be declared to exist by the rules of the group headed OFFICES

10.1 Each individual office carries with it its own duties.

10.2 An office exists known as the Office of the Speaker, whose possessor shall be called the Speaker.

10.3 The Speaker shall be in charge of tabulating votes and making any random decisions necessary.

10.4 The Speaker shall also be in charge of keeping track of Things.

Comment: This group lists offices, of which the initial ruleset only has one.

JUDGEMENT

11.0 Any player may post a message containing a clearly labelled Call For
Judgement.

11.1 A Call For Judgement must be a statement which does not concern any
other Call For Judgement.

11.2 When a Call For Judgement is issued, the Speaker shall randomly
choose a player, who shall be known as the Judge.

11.3 The Judge of a Call For Judgement must be a player other than the one
who posted the Call For Judgement.

11.4 The Judge of a Call For Judgement shall post a message indicating
whether ey judges it to be true or false.

11.5 The statement of a Judge shall be binding, unless it is appealed.

11.6 Calls For Judgement shall be appealed only as defined by the rules in
the group headed APPEALS.

Comment: This group lays the groundwork for Calls For Judgement.

APPEALS

12.0 When a player feels that a Call For Judgement ey has issued has been
judged unfairly, ey may post a message announcing eir intent to appeal it.

12.1 When a player appeals a Call For Judgement, three players, to be
known as Appelate Justices, shall be randomly chosen, who shall not include
the Judge or the player who called the Call For Judgement.

12.2 All Appelate Justices shall announce whether they consider the Call
For Judgement in question to be true or false.

(4 pi) The decision of the majority of Appelate Justices shall be binding,
and not subject to appeal.

Comment: This allows for Calls For Judgement to be appealed.

PAST JUDGEMENTS

13.0 Whenever a decision on a Call For Judgement is not appealed within
two weeks, and the Call For Judgment is judged true, the sentences of the
Call For Judgement shall be added, one by one, to the ruleset in the group
headed PAST JUDGEMENTS and may edit the comment for said group.

13.1 When a rule is added to PAST JUDGEMENTS, its number must be higher
than any previously existing rule.

Comment:

FIRST SACRED LAW

1.1 No proposal may be submitted whose passage would directly increase the number of Things in the game, unless it is explicitly permitted by rules in the group headed FIRST SACRED LAW.

1.2 A Registration Proposal may, if passed, increase the number of Things in the game by up to two, one of which is of course the player who submits that proposal.

1.3 Whenever a player Registers and the number of Therms exceeds the number of players by at least five, all players recieve a point and the number of Therms is set to zero.

1.4 Whenever the number of Things is decreased, the removed Things of that type are destroyed.

Comment: The number of things can only increase when the game is influenced by external people.

SECOND SACRED LAW

2.1 Any player who submits a proposal that would destroy at least three Things recieves a point if that proposal passes.

2.2 If two weeks have gone by without a proposal passing, a Thing is chosen at random and destroyed.

Comment: Without external influence, the number of Things may slowly decrease as they are replaced by Therms.

THIRD SACRED LAW

3.1 If a rule in one of the Three Sacred Laws conflicts with another rule which is not in one of the Three Sacred Laws, the rule in the Sacred Law takes precedence.

3.2 If two rules contradict one another, the rule with the lower number takes precedence.

3.3 No proposal to alter one of the Three Sacred Laws may pass if any player votes against the proposal.

Comment: This makes sure the Three Sacred Laws remain inviolate. It has some redundancies, but they are a safety net in case parts of the Second Sacred Law destroy the other locations of them.