THE SHORT LOGICAL RULESET ====================================================================== Table of Contents: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ====================================================================== The Game of Agora ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Rule 2105/2 (Power=1) The Map of Agora ____ _ /| DARWIN -> \_ |/ | / \ __/ / | | <- DSV / / | \ _ \ \_ | \ MORNINGTON CRESCENT -> / | <- GOETHE BARRIER REEF _ _/ | \_/\_/ \ / \\ <- SHARK BAY | | / | | \ <- TOWNSVILLE ___/ | | \_ __/ | | .___o ) | / | | ~~vv ===~~~ <-OSCAR'S MIRE / O <- SHERLOCK NESS | |/\ | | | |_ | | | EMERALD -> \ \ |__________=_____, \ / | | | <- BRISBANE \ O <- LT. ANNE MOORE | __ _\ \ | |_______/ \/ | | __/\ <- TARCOOLA / LORD HOWE -> \ __/ \_ / / PERTH -> | _ __/ | /| IVANHOE -> | <- WOLLONGONG / _/ \/ \ / / | / |_ / <- ESPERANTO v /__ |_ / <- CANBERRA \_/ \ | \_ _| __ __ | | \__/ __ \ / __ \___=_ ___| / \ | / \ MANUBOURNE -> \/ \|/ _,.---v---._ /\__ /\__/\ / \ | | \_ _/ / \ | / \ \_| @ __| \_/ <- HOBART \ \_ \ ,__/ / ~~~`~~~~~~~~~~~~~~/~~~~ ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Rule 101/5 (Power=3) Agoran Rights and Privileges The rules may define persons as possessing specific rights or privileges. Be it hereby proclaimed that no binding agreement or interpretation of Agoran law may abridge, reduce, limit, or remove a person's defined rights. A person's defined privileges are assumed to exist in the absence of an explicit, binding agreement to the contrary. This rule takes precedence over any rule which would allow restrictions of a person's rights or privileges. i. Every person has the privilege of doing what e wilt. ii. Every player has the right to perform an action which is not regulated. iii. Every person has the right to invoke judgement, appeal a judgement, and to initiate an appeal on a sentencing or judicial order binding em. iv. Every person has the right to refuse to become party to a binding agreement. The absence of a person's explicit, willful consent shall be considered a refusal. v. Every person has the right to not be considered bound by an agreement, or an amendment to an agreement, which e has not had the reasonable opportunity to review. vi. Every player has the right of participation in the fora. vii. Every person has the right to not be penalized more than once for any single action or inaction. viii. Every player besides the Speaker has the right to deregister rather than continue to play. Please treat Agora right good forever. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Rule 2125/0 (Power=3) Regulation Regulations An action is regulated if: (a) the action is prohibited; (b) the rules indicate that if certain conditions are satisfied, then some player is permitted to perform the action; (c) the action would, as part of its effect, modify information for which some player is required to be a recordkeepor; (d) the action would, as part of its effect, make it impossible to make arbitrary modifications to the rules by any combinations of actions by players; or (e) the courts have held that the action is regulated, and this finding has not been overturned. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Rule 1586/2 (Power=2) Definition and Continuity of Entities No two Rule-defined entities shall have the same name or nickname. If the Rules defining some entity are repealed or amended such that they no longer define that entity, then that entity along with all its properties shall cease to exist. If the Rules defining an entity are amended such that they still define that entity but with different properties, that entity and its properties shall continue to exist to whatever extent is possible under the new definitions. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Rule 1688/2 (Power=3) Power The power of an entity is a natural number, which is zero unless otherwise defined or modified according to procedures defined by the rules. An instrument is an entity with positive power. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Rule 1482/1 (Power=3) Precedence between Rules with Unequal Power In a conflict between Rules with different Power, the Rule with the higher Power takes precedence over the Rule with the lower Power. CFJ 1103 (Judged TRUE, Aug. 21 1998): "In the case of conflict between Rules of unequal Power, the higher Powered Rule cannot defer to the lower Powered Rule, unless the higher Powered Rule takes precedence over Rule 1482." ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Rule 1030/5 (Power=3) Precedence between Rules with Equal Power If two or more Rules with the same Power conflict with one another, then the Rule with the lower Number takes precedence. If at least one of the Rules in conflict explicitly says of itself that it defers to another Rule (or type of Rule) or takes precedence over another Rule (or type of Rule), then such provisions shall supercede the numerical method for determining precedence. If all of the Rules in conflict explicitly say that their precedence relations are determined by some other Rule for determining precedence relations, then the determinations of the precedence-determining Rule shall supercede the numerical method for determining precedence. If two or more Rules claim to take precedence over one another or defer to one another, then the numerical method again governs. CFJ 1104 (Judged TRUE, Sep. 9 1998): "The presence in a Rule of deference clause, claiming that the Rule defers to another Rule, does not prevent a conflict with the other Rule arising, but shows only how the Rule says that conflict is to be resolved when it does arise." ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Rule 2110/1 (Power=3) Win by Paradox If the legality of an action cannot be determined with finality, or if by a Judge's best reasoning, not appealed within a week of eir Judgement, an action appears equally legal and illegal, then the first player to announce this fact wins the game. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Rule 2128/0 (Power=1) Winning The current Speaker may, with two supporters, invite players to enter into a specified agreement (hereafter a Contest) to determine who wins the game. The contest must be open to all players. Winners determined by the procedures of the contest do in fact win the game. When the initiating Speaker ceases to be Speaker, the contest loses the legal authority to determine winners. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Rule 1727/16 (Power=1) Happy Birthday WHEREAS, in June 1993, the world's only MUD-based nomic, Nomic World, had recently collapsed; yet, many of its players enjoyed nomic and did not wish to forego such a noble pursuit; And WHEREAS, Originator Chuck Carroll therefore composed an Initial Ruleset for an email nomic, based on the Initial Rulesets of Peter Suber, inventor of Nomic, and on the Rulesets of Nomic World and other nomics, And WHEREAS, a nomic thus rose like a phoenix from the ashes of Nomic World, played on the mailing list originally set up for discussion of Nomic World, and coming into existence at June 30, 1993, 00:04:30 GMT +1200, with a message sent by FIRST SPEAKER Michael Norrish, which read, in part, "I see no reason to let this get bogged down; there are no precedents or rules that cover this situation, so I think we may as well begin directly.... Proposals for new rules are invited. In accordance with the rules, these will be published, numbered and distributed by me at my earliest convenience." And WHEREAS, this nomic began as a humble and nameless nomic, known unofficially as yoyo, after the mailing list it was played on, until its Players, much later, gave it its OFFICIAL NAME of Agora, And WHEREAS, Agora has now become the wisest, noblest, eldest, and most interesting of all active email nomics, due to the hard work and diligence of Agorans as well as the frequent advice of Agoraphobes, And WHEREAS, Agorans desire to joyously commemorate Agora's founding, BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED that Agora's Birthday is defined to be the entire day of June 30, GMT +1200, of each year. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Rule 104/0 (Power=3) First Speaker The Speaker for the first game shall be Michael Norrish. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ====================================================================== Players ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Rule 869/17 (Power=1) How to Join and Leave Agora A person who is not currently registered as a player and is not prohibited from registering is permitted to register. A person registers or deregisters by announcement. Whenever a person registers, e becomes a player. Whenever a player deregisters or is deregistered, e ceases to be a player and is prohibited from registering for the next thirty days. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Rule 1789/3 (Power=1) Cantus Cygneus Whenever a Player feels that e has been treated so egregiously by the Agoran community that e can no longer abide to be a part of it, e may submit a document to the Clerk of the Courts, clearly labeled a Cantus Cygneus, detailing eir grievances and expressing eir reproach for those who e feels have treated em so badly. As soon as possible after receiving a Cantus Cygneus, the Clerk of the Courts shall publish this document along with a Writ of Fugere Agorae Grandissima Exprobratione, commanding the Player to be deregistered and instructing the Registrar to note the method of deregistration for that Player in subsequent Registrar Reports, as long as the Player remains deregistered. The Player is deregistered as of the posting of the Writ, and the notation in the Registrar's Report will ensure that, henceforth, all may know said Player deregistered in a Writ of FAGE. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Rule 2130/0 (Power=1) Inactivity A player may become active or inactive by announcement. A player may, without objection, make another player inactive. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ====================================================================== Definitions ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Rule 478/16 (Power=3) Fora Freedom of speech being essential for the healthy functioning of any non-Imperial nomic, it is hereby resolved that No Player shall be prohibited from participating in the Fora. A Forum's Publicity may be either null, Discussion, or Public (default null). A forum's publicity may not be changed except as described in this rule. The Herald may change the publicity of a forum without objection as long as: (a) e sends eir announcement of intent to that forum; and (b) if the forum is to be made public, the announcement by which the Herald makes that forum public is sent to all existing public fora. Each active player should ensure e can receive messages via each public forum. The Herald's report shall include a list of all public or discussion fora and sufficient data regarding each to allow players to receive messages via that medium. The Herald need not keep track of null fora. A message is public if and only if it is sent via a public forum or is sent to all players and contains a clear designation of intent to be public. A player "publishes" or "announces" something by sending a public message. A player performs an action "by announcement" by announcing that e performs it. A player performs an action "by private message" to some player by sending an appropriate private message to the specified player. Any action performed by sending a message is performed at the time date-stamped on that message. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Rule 754/6 (Power=3) Definition Definitions Regularity of communication being essential for the healthy function of any nomic, it is hereby resolved: (1) A difference in spelling, grammar, or dialect, or the use of a synonym or abbreviation in place of a word or phrase, is inconsequential in all forms of communication, as long as the difference does not create an ambiguity in meaning. (2) A term explicitly defined by the Rules shall be interpreted as having that meaning, as shall its ordinary-language synonyms not explicitly defined by the rules. (3) Any term primarily used in mathematical or legal contexts, and not addressed by previous provisions of this Rule, shall be interpreted as having the meaning it has in those contexts. (4) Any term not addressed by previous provisions of this Rule shall be interpreted as having its ordinary-language meaning. This rule takes precedence over any other rules which dictate terminology or grammar. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Rule 1023/17 (Power=2) Common Definitions The following terms are defined: - Agoran days begin at midnight GMT. Agoran weeks begin at midnight GMT on Monday. Agoran months begin at midnight GMT on the first day of each Gregorian month. Agoran quarters begin when the Agoran months of January, April, July, and October begin. Agoran years begin when the Agoran month of January begins. - A requirement to perform an action "as soon as possible" is a requirement to perform the action within seven days. - The term "number" shall be interpreted as "real number". - The term "random" shall mean a choice drawn with a process whose probability distribution among the possible outcomes is reasonably close to that required by the Rules, using a uniform distribution if not otherwise specified. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Rule 1728/12 (Power=2) Dependent Actions An action is dependent, or may be performed dependently, if and only if it is an Action Without N Objections or an Action With N Supporters, where N is a nonnegative integer. The phrase "Without Objection" is synonymous with "Without 1 Objection", and the phrase "With Support" is synonymous with "With 1 Supporter". A player may publicly announce eir intent to perform an unambiguously described dependent action. A player may perform a previously unambiguously described dependent action if and only if: (a) no more than fourteen days have passed since the announcement of intent to perform the action; (b) if the action to be performed is an Action Without N Objections, at least four days have passed since the announcement made under (a) of this rule; (c) either the player who attempts to perform the action is the player who made the announcement under (a) of this rule, or (1) the player who made the announcement under (a) of this rule did so by a privilege or duty granted em by virtue of holding a rules-defined position; and (2) the player who attempts to perform the action is the holder of that position when e attempts to perform the action; (d) the rules explicitly authorise the player to perform the action dependently; (e) during the time between the announcement made under (a) of this rule and the attempt to perform the action, (1) if the action is to be performed Without N Objections, fewer than N players have publicly posted objections (and not publicly retracted eir objections) to the performance of the action; or (2) if the action is to be performed With N Supporters, at least N players other than the player who made the announcement under (a) of this rule have publicly posted support for the performance of the action; (f) the announcement made under (a) of this rule specifies whether the action is to be performed Without N Objections or With N Supporters, unless the rules either do not permit the action to be performed Without N Objections or do not permit the action to be performed With N Supporters; and (g) e announces that e performs the described action. A dependent action is not performed until announced as in (g). The specification in the rules that an action may be performed dependently does not prohibit performing that action independently if doing so would otherwise be permissible. A rule authorising the performance of a dependent action may restrict the eligibility of players to support or object to that specific action. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Rule 2124/2 (Power=1) Agoran Consent An entity that may perform an action with Agoran Consent can do so by announcement if all of the following are true: (a) e has published eir intent to perform the action, unambiguously describing the action to be performed, at least four days and no more than fourteen days before attempting to perform the action; (b) at least one other player has announced (and not withdrawn) support for the intended action since intent was published; and (c) more players have announced (and not withdrawn) support than have announced (and not withdrawn) objections to the action since the intent was published. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Rule 1769/3 (Power=2) Holidays A Holiday is a period of time designated as such by the Rules. During a Holiday, no Proposal may be distributed by the Promotor, nor may any Call for Judgement, Judgement, notice of Appeal, Decision of Appeals Boards, or Opinion be published by the Clerk of the Courts; however, if any of the above do take place during the Holiday in violation of this Rule, this Rule does not deprive them of their usual effects. If some Rule requires that an action be done prior to a given time, and that given time falls during a Holiday, or within the 72-hour period immediately following that Holiday, then that action need not be done until 72 hours after that Holiday ends. If some Rule bases the time of a future event upon the time of another event, or requires that a Player perform some action within some time of another event, and that other event occurs during a Holiday, the time at which the Holiday ends shall be used instead for the purpose of determining the time of the future event or of the time by which the Player must perform the specified action. This Rule takes precedence over all Rules pertaining to the timing of events, and over all Rules which require Players to perform events before a specified time. The period each year from midnight GMT on the morning of 24 December to the beginning of the first Agoran week to begin after 2 January is a Holiday. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Rule 1750/1 (Power=1) Read the Ruleset Week The first Agoran week each year which falls entirely in February is Read the Ruleset Week. Agorans are encouraged to read the ruleset during Read the Ruleset Week. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ====================================================================== Offices ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Rule 103/1 (Power=3) The Speaker May Not Deregister At any time, there is exactly one Player who is the Speaker. The Speaker may not deregister or be deregistered for any reason, any other Rule to the contrary notwithstanding. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Rule 402/18 (Power=1) Church and State A cardinal is an active, ready player who is not the current Speaker. For seven days after a cardinal wins the game with no other players simultaneously winning, then any player may announce that the winning cardinal becomes a pope. Upon this announcement, that player becomes a pope, so please treat em right good forever. Also upon this announcement, the current Speaker ceases to be Speaker, and the new pope is installed as the new Speaker. If the legality of an installation is not challenged within seven days of it being attempted, then it shall be allowed to stand, even if is subsequently found to be illegal. Rules to the contrary notwithstanding, if a Player becomes Speaker via this method, e may not be removed from the Speakership for 90 days without eir own consent. If no cardinal has become a pope in the past six months, or a judge finds that the current Speaker has been inactive, inattentive, unwilling, or unable to perform eir Agoran duties, then a cardinal may be named a pope (and therefore Speaker as above) by Agoran Consent. This is not considered winning. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Rule 1006/12 (Power=1) Offices The Rules may designate positions to be offices. No office may be held by more than one player. Each office that would otherwise not be held by any player shall be held by the Speaker, unless it is not possible for the Speaker to hold that office. The holder of an office may be referred to by the name of the office. The Herald's Report shall list the holder of each office, and the date upon which each holder last came to hold that office. Any Player may make an active Player the holder of an office, thus removing any previous holder from the office, with Agoran Consent, provided: (a) that office has not changed hands with this method in the previous 30 days, and (b) the potential officer consents to hold the office after the announcement of intent is made. If no attempt to achieve Agoran Consent for changing the holder of particular office is announced in a given quarter, then the Speaker shall make at least one such attempt to change the officeholder in the following quarter, and make the change if consent is achieved. If the duty of an office is to maintain certain information, then the officer shall publish that information at least once a month, or as soon as possible after a substantial change occurs in the information or the officer receives a request for the information. A weekly report shall be sufficient to satisfy these last two requirements. If an Officer or the Speaker fails to satisfy a Timing Order to perform a certain official duty, than the player who executed the order may perform the duty as if e were the officer. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Rule 1551/7 (Power=3) Ratification An officer is permitted to ratify, without objection, an official report e produced and was required to maintain by virtue of holding that office. The Speaker is permitted to ratify, without objection, any official report. When a document is ratified, the gamestate is modified so that the ratified document was completely true and accurate at the time it was published. Nevertheless, the ratification of a document does not invalidate, reverse, alter, or cancel any messages or actions, even if they were unrecorded or overlooked, or change the legality of any attempted action. A document's maintainer shall annotate all publications of that document with the date of its most recent ratification. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Rule 1377/20 (Power=1) The Herald The Herald is an office; its holder is responsible for keeping track of the History of Agora and its players. The Herald's Weekly Report shall include the following: (i) A list of each Patent Title and Degree that at least one person Bears, with a list of which persons Bear it. (ii) a list of all registered players, with their nicknames, if any, and listed email addresses; (iii) the most recent date on which each registered player registered; (iv) the current Officers and their dates of service. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Rule 1051/17 (Power=1) The Rulekeepor The Rulekeepor is an office; its holder is responsible for maintaining the text of the rules of Agora. The Rulekeepor's Weekly Report shall include the Short Logical Ruleset. The Rulekeepor's Monthly Report shall include the Full Logical Ruleset. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Rule 1681/9 (Power=1) The Logical Rulesets There is a format of the ruleset known as the Short Logical Ruleset (SLR). In this format, each rule is assigned to a category, and the rules are grouped according to their category. Rules are assigned to, ordered within, or moved between categories, and categories are added, changed, or empty categories removed, as the Rulekeepor sees fit. The listing of each rule in the SLR must include the rule's number, revision number, power, title, and text, and must also include any annotations to the rule required by order. The Rulekeepor is strongly encouraged not to include any additional information in the SLR, except that which increases the readability of the SLR. There is a format of the ruleset known as the Full Logical Ruleset (FLR). In this format, rules are assigned to the same category and presented in the same order as in the SLR. The FLR must contain all the information required to be in the SLR, and any historical annotations which the Rulekeepor is required to record. The Rulekeepor is also free to include any other information which e feels may be helpful in the use of the ruleset in the FLR. Whenever a rule is changed in any way, the Rulekeepor shall record a historical annotation to the rule indicating the type of change, the date on which the change took effect, the mechanism which specified the change, and if the rule was changed due to a proposal, a reference to that proposal, its proposer, and any coauthors explicitly named in that proposal. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Rule 889/14 (Power=1) The Clerk of the Courts The Clerk of the Courts (CotC) is an office; its holder is responsible for receiving and distributing Calls for Judgement (CFJs) and Appeals. The CotC's Monthly Report shall include the Stare Decisis, which is a list of past CFJs. The following information shall be included for each CFJ: (i) its statement; (ii) the date on which it was called; (iii) its outcome (if any) on Judgement; and (iv) its outcome (if any) on Appeal. Whenever a CFJ is made, the CotC shall add it to the list. E may, at eir discretion, add earlier CFJs. E may Without Objection remove any CFJ e deems no longer relevant from the list. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Rule 1450/5 (Power=2) Separation of Powers The Speaker, Clerk of the Courts, and Promotor are mutually exclusive offices. A Player holding one of these offices may not come to simultaneously hold another of them, unless there are no other Players in the game eligible. This Rule takes precedence over any other Rule that governs offices. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ====================================================================== Agoran Decisions ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Rule 693/9 (Power=3) Agoran Decisions When the rules calls for an Agoran decision to be made, the decision-making process takes place in the following three stages, each described elsewhere: (a) Initiation of the decision. (b) Voting of the people. (c) Resolution of the decision. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Rule 107/3 (Power=3) Initiating Agoran Decisions An Agoran decision is initiated when a person authorized to initiate it publishes a valid notice which sets forth the intent to initiate the decision. To be valid, this notice must contain the following information: (a) The matter to be decided (for example, "the adoption of proposal 4781"). (b) A description of the class of eligible voters sufficient to enable public agreement on which persons are eligible. In particular, an explicit list of the eligible voters is always sufficient for this purpose. (c) The identity of the vote collector. (d) Any additional information required by the rules for this announcement. The publication of such a valid notice initiates the voting period for the decision. By default, the voting period lasts for seven days. This rule takes precedence over any rule which would require a voting period for some decision to be shorter than seven days. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Rule 683/12 (Power=3) Voting on Agoran Decisions An eligible voter on a particular Agoran decision submits a ballot to the vote collector by publishing a valid notice indicating which one of the available options e selects. To be valid, the ballot must satisfy the following conditions: (a) The ballot is submitted by an eligible voter during the voting period for the decision. (b) The ballot clearly identifies the matter to be decided. (c) The ballot clearly identifies the option selected by the voter. (d) The voter has not publicly retracted the ballot during the voting period. The strength of an option is the number of valid ballots selecting that option. Other rules may place further constraints on the validity of ballots. This rule takes precedence over any rule that would loosen the constraints specified by this rule. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Rule 2127/0 (Power=1) Conditional Votes A ballot option (vote) on an Agoran decision may be submitted conditionally, and the truth or falsity of the condition and thus the selected option will be determined as it exists at the end of the voting period. The option selected shall be considered to be clearly identified if and only if the truth or falsity of the specified condition(s) can be reasonably determined, without circularity or paradox, from information published within the voting period. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Rule 2117/0 (Power=3) Replacing the Vote Collector If the rules indicate that an office is to be responsible for collecting votes on a particular Agoran decision, then the holder of that office is the default vote collector for that decision. The vote collector for a particular Agoran decision is tardy if and only if the voting collector has continuously held that role for at least seven days following the end of the voting period and the decision has not yet been resolved. If a vote collector is tardy, then the first player to announce that e takes up the role of vote collector becomes the vote collector for that decision. This rule takes precedence over any rule that would allow the vote collector for an Agoran decision to be changed. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Rule 1950/13 (Power=3) Voting Limits The voting limit of an eligible voter on a democratic proposal is always one and cannot be changed. The voting limit of an eligible voter on an ordinary proposal is one, if not explicitly modified by other rules. After the voting period for an Agoran decision has ended, the vote collector shall permit the first valid ballots submitted by an eligible voter to remain valid, up to a number equal to that person's voting limit on that decision as determined when the voting period for that decision began, and shall invalidate all subsequent ballots submitted by that voter on that decision. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Rule 208/3 (Power=3) Resolving Agoran decisions The vote collector for a particular Agoran decision is authorized to resolve that decision, and does so by publishing a valid notice which states that the matter has been resolved, indicating the option selected by Agora. To be valid, this notice must satisfy the following conditions: (a) It is published after the voting period has ended. (b) It clearly identifies the matter to be resolved. (c) It clearly identifies the options available. (d) It specifies which option was selected by Agora, as described elsewhere, and provides a tally of the voters' valid ballots on the various options. Each Agoran decision shall have at most one vote collector at a time. The identity of the vote collector is set by the message initiating the decision, and can only be changed as specified by other rules with power at least as great as that of this rule. This rule takes precedence over any rule that would provide another mechanism by which an Agoran decision may be resolved. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Rule 955/10 (Power=3) Determining the Will of Agora To determine which option on a particular Agoran decision was selected by Agora, the vote collector shall perform the following steps in order after the voting period has ended. (a) E shall invalidate any ballots which the rules require em to invalidate, and no others. (b) E shall count the number of distinct voters who submitted ballots which remain valid. If this number is less than the quorum and there is more than one available option, then the option selected by Agora is FAILED QUORUM. Otherwise, the decision achieved quorum. (c) If the decision is whether to adopt a proposal, e shall determine the voting index as follows: (1) if the strength of FOR is positive and the strength of AGAINST is zero, then the voting index is Unanimity; but (2) if the strength of FOR is zero, then the voting index is zero; otherwise, (3) the voting index is the ratio of the strength of FOR to the strength of AGAINST. If the voting index exceeds one and meets or exceeds the adoption index of the decision, and if further quorum was achieved, then the option selected by Agora is ADOPTED. Otherwise, the option selected by Agora is REJECTED. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Rule 879/22 (Power=2) Quorum The quorum for an Agoran decision is one third the number of eligible voters, rounded up, with a minimum of five (unless there are fewer than five eligible voters, in which case the quorum level is the number of eligible voters). CFJ 1562 (Judged TRUE, 6 May 2005): "A cancelled vote on a Proposal does not count towards quorum." ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Rule 2034/2 (Power=3) Vote Protection and Cutoff for Challenges Any proposal that, as all or part of its effect, would change the validity of one or more of a voter's ballots on an Agoran decision whose voting period has begun but which has not yet been resolved shall be wholly without effect, any rule to the contrary notwithstanding. Once an Agoran decision has been resolved, no ballots on that decision may be validly submitted or retracted, and the outcome of the decision may not be changed in any way, any rule to the contrary notwithstanding. Nothing in this rule shall be construed as preventing the correction of errors in reporting the resolution of an Agoran decision. If the success of the resolution of an Agoran decision is not challenged within one week from the time the vote collector announces it, then the announced result is the true result of that decision, even if it would otherwise be in error. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ====================================================================== Proposals ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Rule 106/4 (Power=3) Adopting Proposals A proposal is a document outlining changes to be made to Agora, including enacting, repealing, or amending rules, or making other explicit changes to the gamestate. A player submits a proposal by publishing it with a clear indication that it is intended to become a proposal, which places the proposal in the Proposal Pool. The proposer of a proposal may remove it from the Pool by announcement. Determining whether to adopt a proposal is an Agoran decision. For this decision, the available options are FOR, AGAINST, and PRESENT, and by default, the eligible voters are the active players, the adoption index is the adoption index of the proposal, and the vote collector is the Speaker. The adoption index of a proposal is an integral multiple of 0.1, with a default and minimum value of 1.0. Before the Promotor distributes a proposal, its proposer may modify its adoption index by announcement. A Proposal with an Adoption Index of 1 is Ordinary. All other Proposals are Democratic. If the option selected by Agora on this decision is ADOPTED, then the proposal is adopted, and unless other rules prevent it from taking effect, its power is set to the minimum of four and its adoption index, and then it takes effect. It does not otherwise take effect. This rule takes precedence over any rule which would permit a proposal to take effect. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Rule 1607/12 (Power=1) The Promotor The Promotor is an office; its holder is responsible for receiving and distributing proposals. The Promotor is permitted to distribute a proposal in the Proposal Pool at any time. During each week, the Promotor must distribute each proposal in the proposal pool which was in the Proposal Pool at the beginning of the week. The Promotor legally distributes a proposal by publishing it accompanied by an explicit indication that it is being distributed. When a proposal is distributed, it is removed from the Proposal Pool. The distribution of a proposal initiates the Agoran decision of whether to adopt the proposal, as described elsewhere. The Promotor shall include with the distribution of each proposal the identity of its proposer, the proposal's coauthors, if any, its chamber, and its adoption index. However, the failure of the Promotor to include any of these with a proposal does not deprive the distribution of the proposal of any legal effect. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Rule 1698/0 (Power=3) The Proposal System Is Protected It must always be possible to adopt Proposals within a 4 week period. Any change to the game state which would result in this condition becoming false is cancelled and does not take place, any Rule to the contrary notwithstanding. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Rule 2126/3 (Power=3) Voting Credits Voting Credits (VCs) are a measure of each player's ability to affect voting limits on ordinary proposals. A player's VC is at all times a non-negative integer. The Promotor is the recordkeepor of VCs. VCs are not any form of property and cannot be traded. VCs can be affected only as described in this rule. When one or more players win the game, all players' voting limits on ordinary proposals are reset to one, subject to modification by other rules. When a player joins Agora, eir VCs are set to zero. When a proposal is adopted, its proposer gains VCs equal to the integer portion of the proposal's adoption index, and each co-author of the proposal gains one VC. At the end of each quarter, for each office, the player (if any) who held that office for the majority of that quarter gains one VC. A player who submits a judgement during eir Deliberation Period gains one VC. A player whose judgement is overturned loses one VC, if e has any. A player may expend two VCs to increase eir own voting limit on ordinary proposals by one. A player may expend one VC to increase any other player's voting limit on ordinary proposals by one. A player may expend two VCs to decrease any other player's voting limit on ordinary proposals by one, down to a minimum voting limit of zero. Attempts to decrease a player's voting limit on ordinary proposals below this minimum fail. If a player attempts to expend more VCs than e currently has, the action fails, and the VCs are not expended. Changes to voting limits under this rule take effect at the beginning of the next week. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Rule 105/1 (Power=3) Rule Changes A proposal generally can, as part of its effect: (a) Enact a rule. When a rule is enacted, the Rulekeepor shall assign it a number, which must be greater than any number previously assigned. If the enacting proposal does not specify the power, the rule shall have power equal to one. If the proposal specifies the power, then the rule shall have power equal to the minimum of four, the power of the proposal, and the power specified by the proposal. If the title is not specified, the Rulekeepor may select any title e sees fit. (b) Modify the power, title, or text of a rule. A Proposal can modify the power, title, or text of a rule with power no greater than its own. However, a proposal cannot cause a rule to have power greater than its own. Any ambiguity in a modification specified by a proposal causes that modification to be void and without effect. A variation in whitespace or capitalization in the quotation of an existing rule does not constitute ambiguity for the purposes of this rule, but any other variation does. (c) Repeal a rule. A Proposal can repeal a rule with power no greater than its own. When a proposal repeals a rule, it ceases to be a rule, and the Rulekeepor need no longer maintain a record of it. This rule provides the only mechanism by which rules can be enacted, modified, or repealed. CFJ 1626: A rule cannot directly enact, modify, or repeal a rule (including itself), unless it takes precedence over the last paragraph of Rule 105. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Rule 1891/1 (Power=1) Legislative Orders (a) A Proposal may contain one or more Orders. (b) The effect of adopting a Proposal which contains Orders is to execute those Orders. Such Orders are known as Legislative Orders, and are executed by that Proposal as of the date of the proclamation of the Proposal's adoption. (c) Legislative Orders may not be stayed, vacated, or amended except: (1) by a subsequent Legislative Order; (2) by a Judicial Order issued only after a judicial finding that the Proposal containing the Legislative Order was not adopted, was barred from taking effect, or was invalid; or (3) by the Clerk of the Courts, but only for the purpose of staying such an Order during the pendency of a dispute which might reasonably lead to a judicial finding of the sort mentioned in subdivision (c)(2) of this Rule. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Rule 2019/7 (Power=2) The Speaker's Veto The Speaker may veto an Ordinary Proposal in its voting period by announcement. Whenever a proposal is vetoed, its quorum is set to the current number of eligible voters on that proposal plus one, other rules governing quorum notwithstanding. As soon as possible after a vetoed proposal fails quorum, the Promotor shall add a copy of that proposal to the Proposal Pool. When e does so, that copy shall become distributable and democratic, and its adoption index shall be increased by one. The Speaker may Rubberstamp an Ordinary Proposal in its voting period by announcement. Quorum for a rubberstamped ordinary proposal is three, other rules governing quorum notwithstanding. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ====================================================================== Orders ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Rule 1793/2 (Power=1) Orders An Order is a command, executed by a player and directed to some entity requiring that entity to perform exactly one action, or to refrain from performing one or more actions. An Order may be directed to the holder of an official position in eir capacity in that official position, and if the position changes hands before the Order is satisfied, the duty to abide by the Order automatically attaches to the new holder of that position. An Order may also be directed at a prior order so as to affect the prior order's operation, as the Rules permit. All Orders executed in the manner prescribed by the Rules for their class are presumed valid and enforceable until proven otherwise by CFJ. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Rule 1794/8 (Power=1) Classes of Orders Each Order is of exactly one of the following classes. If an Order could be of more than one of these classes, then it is of the first class that matches. (a) A Legislative Order is an Order executed as part of the effect of the adoption of a Proposal. (b) An Appellate Order is an Order executed by a Board of Appeals. (c) A Judicial Order is an Order executed by a Judge in the course of performing eir duties or privileges as Judge. (d) A Timing Order is an Order which may be executed by any person and directed at any entity. A timing order is valid if and only if it orders the entity to perform, as soon as possible, a duty specifically required of em by the Rules that does not otherwise have a specified timing requirement, or for which the otherwise specified timing requirement will have been exceeded as soon as possible after the Order is executed. No other types of Orders are valid. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Rule 1795/6 (Power=1) Order Timing Orders to perform an action shall be satisfied as soon as possible, unless the Order specifies a different time limit. The minimum time limit is 72 hours after the Order takes effect; any time limit that would be shorter is extended to the minimum. If an Order to perform an action is directed to an Office or other position of authority, and the holder of that position changes after the Order takes effect, but before the Order is satisfied, then the time limit is extended (if needed) to one week after the change. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Rule 1799/3 (Power=1) Stay and Vacation of Orders The effect of staying an Order is to temporarily prevent the stayed Order from having any effect. A stay may be specified to expire after a fixed time. If no specification is made in the Order to Stay, the stay shall not expire. When the stay expires or is vacated, the previously stayed order again has effect as if it had been originally executed at the moment the stay ceases to be effective. However, if at the time the staying Order expires or otherwise ceases to have effect, the stayed Order has been vacated or is subject to another staying Order, it does not regain effect. The effect of vacating an Order is to permanently deny the vacated Order from having any effect. Vacating an Order to Vacate reinstates the ability of the vacated Order to have effect, as of the moment the Order to Vacate is itself vacated. Any Order may always be stayed or vacated by the Player (or, in the case of Appellate Orders, Board of Appeal) who executed it. Certain classes of Orders may be stayed or vacated in other circumstances as well, but only as the Rules allow. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Rule 1810/5 (Power=1) Satisfying Orders An Order requiring an entity to perform an action is satisfied when that entity performs that action. Other Rules may define other ways for Orders to be satisfied. Except when otherwise specified, a single action can result in the satisfaction of at most one Order. If an action would satisfy more than one Order, and no other specification is made, the Action satisfies the oldest Order which it would satisfy. Willfully performing contrary to valid orders, either through action or inaction, is a violation of this Rule. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ====================================================================== Calling for Judgement ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Rule 991/6 (Power=2) Invoking Judgement Any person may request formal resolution of a dispute pertaining to this Nomic by submitting a Call for Judgement (CFJ) to the Clerk of the Courts. The submission of a CFJ constitutes proof of the existence of such a dispute. A CFJ should be a single clearly-labeled Statement whose truth or falsity can be determined using logical reasoning, assuming perfect knowledge. A CFJ may be accompanied by Arguments, Evidence, or other related material; the Judge is encouraged, but not required, to take notice of these things. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Rule 897/5 (Power=1) Court Procedure The Clerk of the Courts shall publish the text of a CFJ, along with any additional material submitted by the Caller and the Defendant if any (including but not limited to Arguments and Evidence), no later than the time e announces the identity of the first Judge assigned to that CFJ. When a Civil CFJ is submitted, the Clerk of the Courts shall publish the text of the CFJ and send a copy of the CFJ to the Defendant's registered e-mail address, if any, and inform the Defendant that e has one week to publish a defense and/or bar a Player from judging as described below. The CotC will not assign a Civil CFJ to a judge until one week has passed since after a publication. During this time, any evidence or arguments, published or submitted to the CotC by the Defendant with the clear intent of being part of a defense, will become part of the material of that CFJ. A Player Barred from Judging a CFJ is ineligible to Judge that CFJ. When submitting a general CFJ, the Caller may Bar up to three Players from Judging that CFJ. The defendant of a Civil CFJ is automatically barred from judging it. The Plaintiff may bar one other Player when e submits the CFJ. The Defendant may bar one other Player from judging any time before the CFJ is assigned to a judge. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Rule 2024/6 (Power=1) Linked Statements Linked CFJs are multiple Calls for Judgement deemed to be sufficiently similar that they should have a single judge. Linkage is transitive. When a set of one or more linked CFJs change jurisdiction, they remain linked to each other, but become unlinked from any other CFJs; they may become linked to one or more CFJs within the new jurisdiction. Multiple CFJs, submitted in a single message and clearly labelled as Linked CFJs, become linked. The players (if any) barred by the caller from judging the first CFJ are the only players e may bar from judging the others. The Clerk of the Courts shall not assign judges directly to the members of a set of Linked CFJs, but shall assign a judge to the set, as if it was a single CFJ. The judge must be eligible to judge each member of the set, and is simultaneously assigned as judge of each member of the set. The judge of a set of Linked CFJs shall submit eir judgement of each of those CFJs in a single message. A trial judge may remand one or more linked CFJs to the Clerk of the Courts by announcement. E ceases to be their judge. A trial judge may transfer one or more of eir CFJs to a second trial judge by announcement (identifying one of the second judge's CFJs), provided that the second judge consents, and is eligible to judge all of them. The transferred CFJs become linked to the second judge's CFJ (and any others to which it is already linked). ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Rule 2132/0 (Power=1) Excess CFJs A CFJ made by a person who has previously made five or more CFJs during the same Agoran Week as that CFJ is an Excess CFJ. The Clerk of the Courts may dismiss an Excess CFJ by announcement. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ====================================================================== Selecting a Judge ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Rule 1868/4 (Power=1) Selecting a Judge A CFJ is open if it has not been Judged, or if an outstanding judicial motion pertaining to it has been neither granted nor denied. A CFJ is closed if it is not open. As soon as possible after becoming aware that an open CFJ has no Judge assigned to it, the Clerk of the Courts shall choose a Player eligible to Judge it, and announce them as its Trial Judge. That Player remains the Trial Judge of that CFJ until e is recused from it or becomes ineligible to Judge it. Other rules may explicitly delay the timing requirement of making assignments, for example with respect to providing the Defendant with response time in a Civil CFJ. CFJ 1186 (Judged TRUE, Dec. 9 1999): "The Clerk of the Courts is required by Rule 1868 to select a Judge who is eligible at the time that the Judge is selected, regardless of whether that Player was eligible at the time that the CFJ was actually called for or when the identity of that Player is announced." ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Rule 698/15 (Power=1) Always an Eligible Judge (a) Each active player is eligible to judge a given Call for Judgement (CFJ), unless a rule specifically makes em ineligible. (b) If the Clerk of the Courts is required to select a Judge, but after taking all other rules affecting eligibility into account, no player is eligible to judge that CFJ, then: (1) all non-barred players become eligible to judge that CFJ; then (2) if there is still no player eligible to judge, then all barred players, other than the caller emself, become eligible to judge that increasingly annoying CFJ; then (3) if there is still no player eligible to judge, then don't panic. Somebody's bound to register someday; let em deal with it. (c) This rule takes precedence over other rules concerning who is and is not eligible to judge CFJs. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Rule 1871/9 (Power=1) Turns for All When a player is selected as Trial Judge of a CFJ, e becomes turned. A player is ineligible to be Trial Judge of a CFJ if e was turned when it was called. When a player registers, e becomes turned. The Clerk of the Courts may (without 2 objections) turn a player. E is encouraged to do this only if e expects the player to judge CFJs slowly or not at all. When the Clerk of the Courts publishes a Notice of Rotation, all players become unturned. The Clerk of the Courts shall only do so when all open CFJs without a Trial Judge have no players eligible to be assigned, and at least one of them has at least one player ineligible solely to being turned; e shall list all CFJs in the first set, and at least one in the second. However, failing to meet these requirements does not deprive the Notice of effect. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Rule 2133/0 (Power=1) Pragmatic Judicial Assignments If the Clerk of the Courts errs in good faith by assigning an ineligible judge, then the selection stands. However, if the player has not yet delivered judgement, then the Clerk of the Courts may point out eir error and recuse the player. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ====================================================================== Delivering Judgement ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Rule 591/18 (Power=1) Legal Judgements The Judge of a CFJ Judges it by submitting eir Judgement to the Clerk of the Courts. "Decision", "Finding", and "Response" are unambiguous synonyms for "Judgement". For a Trial Judge, a Judgement is exactly one of the following: TRUE, FALSE, or DISMISSED. As soon as possible after receiving a Judgement, the Clerk of the Courts shall publish it, along with any arguments, evidence, or other material included with the Judgement. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Rule 408/18 (Power=1) Late Judgement For each Judge assigned to a CFJ, eir Deliberation Period begins when the Clerk of the Courts announces eir assignment, and lasts seven days; eir Overtime Period begins when eir Deliberation Period ends, and lasts seven days. During a Judge's Overtime Period, if e has not yet Judged the CFJ, then the Clerk of the Courts may recuse em by announcement. Upon the end of a Judge's Overtime Period, if e has not yet Judged the CFJ, then the Clerk of the Courts shall recuse em by announcement as soon as possible. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Rule 217/5 (Power=3) Judgements Must Accord with the Rules All Judgements must be in accordance with the Rules; however, if the Rules are silent, inconsistent, or unclear on the Statement to be Judged, then the Judge shall consider game custom, common sense, past Judgements, and the best interests of the game before applying other standards. When a Judge is considering eir Judgement of a Statement contained in a CFJ, e shall make eir evaluation based on the truth or falsity of the Statement at the time the CFJ was issued. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Rule 1575/6 (Power=1) Standards of Proof Unless otherwise specified, all Judgements shall be consistent with the preponderance of the evidence. A defendant may not be assessed punitive damages for Rules Violations any worse than a formal apology, unless a Judge finds that evidence for the violation is beyond a reasonable doubt. The published Report of an Officer constitutes prima facie evidence of the truth of those matters reported therein which that Officer is required by law to report. This presumption may be set aside only by clear and convincing evidence to the contrary. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Rule 1565/10 (Power=1) Dismissal of a CFJ A Judgement of DISMISSED should be delivered if and only if one or more of the following is true: i) The CFJ does not contain a single clearly-identified Statement. ii) After a reasonable effort to obtain all relevant information, the Judge can neither determine the Statement to be true nor determine it to be false. iii) The Statement does not relate to a matter relevant to the Rules. iv) The CFJ lacks standing, as defined elsewhere. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Rule 1803/2 (Power=1) Judicial and Sentencing Orders Judicial Orders and Sentencing Orders are executed by being sent to the Clerk of the Courts, but do not take effect until their publication by the Clerk of the Courts. The Clerk of the Courts shall publish each Judicial Order and Sentencing Order as soon as possible after receiving it from the Judge who executed it. Any Player may formally request a Judge issue any Judicial Order by filing a motion requesting that Order. If granted, the Judge shall issue the Order requested. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Rule 1826/1 (Power=1) Motions A Motion is a formal request made by a Player to the Judge of a CFJ. A Motion is made by submitting it to the Clerk of the Courts, clearly identifying the CFJ to which the Motion applies. The Clerk of the Courts shall forward each properly-filed Motion to the Judge of the CFJ to which the Motion applies as soon as possible after receiving it. A Judge must either grant or deny each Motion so forwarded within five days of receiving it. A Judge grants or denies a Motion by sending eir determination on that Motion to the Clerk of the Courts, along with any reasons e chooses to provide. The effect of granting a Motion depends on its nature, but generally amounts to requiring the Judge to perform as requested by the Motion. Upon receipt of a Judge's determination on a Motion, the Clerk shall note the determination made and the reasons, if any, on the record of the CFJ, and shall notify the Player who made the Motion of that determination. If a Judge fails to Grant or Deny a Motion within five days of when it was forwarded to em by the Clerk of the Courts, the Clerk of the Courts shall Recuse the Judge and assign a new one as usual. If a Motion is made after a case is closed, and the original Judge of that case is not active or is not a player, then a new Judge shall be assigned to the case as usual. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Rule 1509/4 (Power=1) Orders to Compel Upon a judicial finding that a Player has failed to perform a duty required of em by the Rules, the Judge so finding shall execute an Order, requiring that Player to perform that duty as soon as possible. Such an Order is known as an Order to Compel. If the duty in question arises because the Player in question holds a specific Office or other position of official responsibility, the Order shall be directed to that Office or position. If the Player holding that Office fails to perform the duty in question as ordered, the Judge shall Order that that Player be removed from Office or position. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Rule 1830/2 (Power=1) No Compulsion of Judges Any Order to Compel directed to a Judge, or requiring the performance of a duty required of a Player because that Player is a Judge, is invalid, unless that Order is a valid Appellate Order. Any CFJ alleging that a Judgement is incorrect, or that a Judge has failed to perform a judicial duty, lacks standing. Such a claim should instead be pursued via Appeal. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Rule 789/7 (Power=1) Orders to Annotate Rules The Judge of any CFJ, the Statement of which alleges that a Rule should be interpreted in a certain way, which is judged TRUE or FALSE, may, at eir discretion, issue an Order requiring the Rulekeepor to annotate the Rule in question accordingly. If the CFJ was judged TRUE then the annotation shall be the Statement of the CFJ, and if the CFJ was judged FALSE then the annotation shall be the contrary of the Statement of the CFJ. Such an annotation, while it exists, shall guide application of that Rule. The Rulekeepor may remove such an annotation only if that Rule is repealed; if required to do so by a valid Order; or if the original Order to annotate is amended, stayed, or vacated. The Rulekeepor may vacate an Order to annotate a Rule Without Objection. Annotations to a Rule may not be modified in any way except as specified in this Rule. If a Player believes that an annotation is no longer pertinent, e may file, in the original CFJ from which the Order of Annotation arises, a Motion to Vacate the Order of Annotation. If such a Motion is granted, the Judge granting it shall Order the original Order Vacated and shall Order the Rulekeepor to remove the annotation in question. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Rule 1365/10 (Power=1) Concurring and Dissenting Opinions Two or more players may submit a Concurring or Dissenting Opinion for a given CFJ trial or appeals decision, via a single application to the Clerk of the Courts signed by all submitters. The opinion must include reference to the CFJ and the particular judgement or appeals decision to which it applies and be accompanied by reasons or arguments for the opinion. The Clerk of the Courts shall publish any properly submitted Opinion and append it to the text of the legal judgement. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ====================================================================== Overturning Judgement ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Rule 1564/13 (Power=1) Initiating Appeals The following are subject to Appeal: a) The Judgement of a Trial Judge. b) The grant or denial of a Motion. c) The execution of a Judicial or Sentencing Order. d) A claim that a Trial Judge has failed to perform a required judicial duty. A subject is Appealed when any of the following occurs: i) Three Players Appeal it. ii) A Player Appeals a Judicial or Sentencing Order binding em. iii) A Player Appeals a Trial Judgement convicting em of a Crime. A single subject (e.g. a specific judgement, motion, or order) may only be appealed once. As soon as possible after an Appeal is initiated, or a Player becomes or ceases to be an Appellate judge, the Clerk of the Courts shall announce the event. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Rule 911/14 (Power=1) The Board of Appeals When an Appeal is initiated, a Board of Appeals shall be selected to reach a decision about the subject of the Appeal. A Board of Appeals consists of three Appellate Judges. Any Judge assigned according to this Rule is an Appellate Judge. A Board of Appeals is selected when the Clerk of the Courts correctly announces the identity of all Appellate Judges, determined as follows: a) The Speaker is selected, if eligible. b) The Clerk of the Courts is selected, if eligible. c) Any remaining positions are filled by selection by the Clerk of the Courts from all remaining eligible Players. A Player is ineligible for selection if any of the following is true: i) E has already been selected for that Board. ii) E has been dismissed from that Board. iii) E has been Trial Judge of the subject of the Appeal. iv) E is ineligible to Judge the CFJ at the time of selection. An Appellate Judge may appoint another eligible Player as eir replacement by informing the Clerk of the Courts, provided the Player consents. As soon as possible after an Appellate Judge is recused, the Clerk of the Courts shall randomly select an eligible Player to replace em. The last Appellate Judge selected is the Lead Judge for that Board. If the Lead Judge is replaced, then the replacement becomes Lead Judge. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Rule 1447/20 (Power=1) Final Judgement upon Appeal For an Appellate Judge assigned to the Appeal of a Judgement, a Judgement is exactly one of the following: SUSTAIN, REVERSE, REASSIGN, or REMAND. For the appeal of other matters, a Judgement is exactly one of the following: SUSTAIN or OVERTURN. Other Rules may modify this based on the subject of the Appeal. If a Judgement of TRUE or FALSE is Appealed, the Board of Appeals shall consider the correctness of that Judgement. If a Judgement of DISMISSED is Appealed, the Board shall not consider the truth or falsity of the original CFJ; they shall only consider whether a Judgement of DISMISSED should have been delivered. If a majority of the Appellate Judges Judge SUSTAIN, then the subject of the Appeal is sustained. Otherwise, it is overturned. The Board of Appeals shall execute whatever Appellate Orders are necessary to enforce its determination. When a Judgement is overturned: a) If a majority of the Appellate Judges Judge REVERSE, then the CFJ shall be treated as if it were Judged normally, with the Judgement being that which a majority of the Appellate Judges agree on. b) If a majority of the Appellate Judges Judge REASSIGN, then the original Judgement is ignored, the original Judge is recused, and the Clerk of the Courts shall reassign the CFJ to a new Judge in the same fashion as it was originally assigned. The new Judge cannot make the same Judgement as the original Judge for the same reason. c) If a majority of the Appellate Judges Judge REMAND, then the original Judgement shall be ignored, and the Clerk of the Courts shall reassign the CFJ to the original Judge as if it were being originally assigned. The Judge may not make the same Judgement for the same reason. d) If none of the above is true, then the CFJ shall be reassigned as described above. As soon as possible after all members of a Board of Appeals have submitted eir Judgement, the Clerk of the Courts shall announce that this has happened. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Rule 1804/3 (Power=1) Appeal of Judicial and Sentencing Orders As soon as possible after a Judicial Order or Sentencing Order is Appealed, the Clerk of the Courts shall stay it. If the Appeal is sustained, then the Board of Appeals shall vacate this stay as soon as possible. If the Appeal is overturned, then the Board of Appeals shall vacate the stayed Order as soon as possible. In the Appeal of a Judicial Order or Sentencing Order, the Board of Appeals shall consider whether the Order was properly and validly executed. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Rule 1805/2 (Power=1) Appellate Orders Appellate Orders are executed by being sent to the Clerk of the Courts by the Lead Judge of a Board of Appeals, but do not take effect until their publication by the Clerk of the Courts. The Lead Judge must certify in the execution that the order is executed by the concurrence of the majority of the Justices comprising that Board of Appeals; failure to do so deprives the Order of effect. Appellate Orders are not subject to appeal. However, upon a judicial finding that the required certification was falsely provided, the Clerk of the Courts shall vacate the Order which was accompanied by that false certification. Appellate Orders are valid only if addressed to: a) The Clerk of the Courts in eir Official capacity; b) an Order issued by the Clerk of the Courts in eir Official Capacity; c) The Judge of the CFJ which that Board of Appeals was convened to consider, or any Order issued by that Judge in that particular CFJ; or d) any combination of the above. All other Appellate Orders are presumptively invalid. The Clerk of the Courts shall publish each Appellate Order as soon as possible after receiving it from the Board of Appeal which executed it. This Rule takes precedence over all Rules pertaining to the validity of Appellate Orders. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ====================================================================== Rule Violations ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Rule 1504/9 (Power=1) Sentencing Orders Upon a finding in a Civil CFJ that the defendant has broken one or more Rules, the Trial Judge must execute exactly one of the following types of sentencing orders as punitive damages: (1) Without Objection and with 1 Support, an order the defendant to make a formal apology; (2) Without 2 Objections and with 2 Supporters, an order for the defendant to perform a specified service for the benefit of the Agoran community proportionate to the seriousness of the breach; (3) An order for the Herald to place the defendant in the Chokey for a number of months equal to the power of the highest powered Rule that was broken; (4) If and only if the trial judge finds the defendant to have acted willfully in breaking the rules, an order for the Herald to place the defendant in the Chokey for twice number of months equal to the power of the highest-powered Rule that was broken; (5) If and only if the judge finds the defendant to have acted egregiously, maliciously, or with a consistent pattern of abuse, with Agoran Consent, an order for the Registrar to deregister the defendant in disgrace (make em lawless). An order to be made lawless is automatically appealed upon its initial execution. These punishments are considered ranked with "worse" punishments being later in the list. If an attempted sentencing order does not receive the proper support or receives too many objections, the trial judge must execute another type of sentencing order. No other punitive damages may be assessed for Rules violations. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Rule 908/16 (Power=1) Formal Apologies A sentencing order may require a defendant (hereafter the Ninny) to publish a Formal Apology. A Formal Apology must be at least 200 words, and must explain the Ninny's error, shame, remorse, and ardent desire for self-improvement. Furthermore, the Order to Apologize may include up to ten Prescribed Words of the Judge's choice, all of which must appear in the Formal Apology. A defendant must obey an Order to Apologize within 72 hours of its execution. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ====================================================================== Patent Titles and Degrees ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Rule 649/18 (Power=1) Patent Titles A Patent Title is a legal item of recognition of a person's distinction. When a Patent Title is awarded to a person, that person is said to Bear that Patent Title. When a Patent Title is revoked from a person, that person ceases to Bear that Patent Title. The status of Bearing a Patent Title can only be changed as explicitly set out in the Rules. As soon as possible after the Rules state that a Patent title shall be awarded or revoked, the Herald shall publicly award or revoke that Patent Title. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Rule 1922/12 (Power=1) Defined Regular Patent Titles The following are Patent Titles: (a) Scamster, which may be awarded to any Player who has shown great enthusiasm, persistence, or skill in the perpetrating of scams. This title may not be declined, retracted, or revoked. (b) A Patent Title (non-unique) now will Be known as "Bard", and granted those with wit. In order for the Title to be filled, A level of Support must call for it. Three players to a fourth may grant this name If these three write as one, with two Support. A current Bard may also grant the same, Provided that a second Bard's a sport. And so we don't the name of Bard debase, A Player with three Supporters can conspire To (from a Bard), this Title to erase: Or Bard (plus two Bards) make a Bard retire. But lest we ruin some poor minstrel's fun No bard will be dis-bard for eir bad pun. (c) Three Months Long Service, Six Months Long Service, Nine Months Long Service, Twelve Months Long Service, to be awarded to any player who has held a particular Office continuously for the specified duration. Each of these titles shall be awarded only once per player. (d) Champion, to be awarded to players who win the game. (d) Champion, to be awarded to any player who wins the game. The Herald's report shall record how the player won. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Rule 1367/7 (Power=1) Degrees A Patent Title is only a Degree if it is specifically made such by a Rule. Persons may come to Bear Degrees only as specified in the Rules. Once a person Bears a Degree, e shall keep that Degree forever. This Rule takes precedence over any Rule specifying default properties of Patent Titles. The following Degrees are hereby made legal: - Associate of Nomic (A.N.) - Bachelor of Nomic (B.N.) - Master of Nomic (M.N.) - Doctor of Nomic History (D.N. Hist) - Doctor of Nomic Science (D.N. Sci) - Doctor of Nomic Philosophy (D.N.Phil) Degrees shall be ranked in the order they appear in this Rule, with Degrees listed latest in the Rule being ranked higher. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Rule 1370/16 (Power=1) How to Get a Degree A person becomes a Candidate for a Degree when e publishes a Thesis along with a statement explicitly indicating that the Thesis is being submitted with the intent to qualify for a particular degree. A Thesis (plural: Theses) is an essay whose topic is any facet of Agora Nomic, or Nomic in general. The Candidate shall choose a Player other than emself to be the first member of eir Thesis Committee, called eir Chair, with the Chair's consent. If the Speaker is neither the Chair nor the Candidate, the Speaker shall appoint a Player who is neither the Chair nor the Candidate to be the second Committee member. Otherwise, the Clerk of the Courts shall so appoint. The two Committee members shall then select, by mutual consent, a third person who is not the Candidate to be the third Committee member. The Committee shall examine the Candidate and eir Thesis to determine eir qualifications for the Degree. The Chair of the Thesis Committee may award that Degree to the Candidate if and only if: * the Candidate has satisfied all prerequisites in the Rules for the award of that Degree; * a majority of members of the Thesis Committee agree that the Thesis is worthy of the Degree to be granted. Attention should be paid to the originality and strength of the work, as well as the extent of the work with regard to the expectations of the particular degree. The committee may award a lesser degree if appropriate; and * fewer than seven years have passed since that Committee was formed. Each Committee Member may publish a Commentary for the Thesis. The Rulekeepor shall retain a copy of each Thesis that has resulted in a degree, along with all such Commentaries. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Rule 2092/0 (Power=2) Honorary Degrees A degree may be awarded by the operation of an adopted Proposal whose Power is at least two to any person who is not registered as a Player and who does not already bear that degree. The Proposal must specify both the recipient of the degree and the degree to be awarded. For a degree to be awarded in this manner, the recipient need not complete a Thesis, but all other requirements specific to the degree in question must be satisfied. Degrees awarded as described in this rule shall be marked as honorary degrees in the Herald's report. A person bearing an honorary degree may still be awarded the same degree by other rule-defined mechanisms. When this occurs, the person shall cease to bear the honorary degree and shall bear the new degree in its place. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Rule 2129/0 (Power=1) Dishonor Rolls When the Herald is ordered to place someone in the Chokey, e shall publically award em the patent title "In the Chokey". This title shall be automatically revoked after a length of time indicated by the sentencing order, and the Herald shall announce the revokation. If a sentencing order is executed against a defendant who already holds this title, the length of time of the new sentencing order shall be added to the time left on any previous ones. A person is considered to be In Disgrace while in the Chokey, between the execution and satisfaction of any sentencing orders binding em, or if deregistered for lawlessness. A person who leaves the game in disgrace shall be awarded the Patent Title Fugitive by the Herald. A Player may revoke the title Fugitive from emself as long as e is no longer in Disgrace. A non-player may have this title revoked by Agoran Consent. The rules may further specify actions prohibited to persons in particular types of disgrace. The Herald is encouraged to publish lists of those in disgrace separate from patent titles of honor, to indicate the disgrace. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ====================================================================== Contract Law ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Rule 1742/4 (Power=1) Agreements between Players Players may make agreements among themselves with the intention that such agreements will be binding; i.e. that they become parties to the agreement and agree to be bound by the agreement. A CFJ that alleges that a specific person (the Defendant) has broken an agreement is a Civil CFJ, for which the Caller is the Plaintiff. A CFJ that is not a Civil CFJ is a General CFJ. If the judge of a Civil CFJ finds that the agreement was entered into with the intention that the agreement be binding, and that the agreement has in fact been broken, then e may do any or all of the following: (i) order the defendant to perform according to the agreement or perform substitute acts that would fairly serve the interests of the agreement; (ii) order the other parties of the agreement to perform such acts as may be necessary to preserve fairness and justice; (iii) order that additional ("punitive") penalties or actions be applied to the defendant, if and only if the agreement in question explicitly specifies punitive penalties for the type of breach. If a Civil CFJ is called by anyone who is not party to that agreement, then it lacks standing and shall be dismissed. A Civil CFJ that specifies multiple defendants, or multiple independent breaches of contract, is improperly made and shall be dismissed. Nothing in this rule shall be construed so as to impair the enforcement of an agreement which requires a Player to violate another agreement. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Rule 1503/6 (Power=3) Rules Violations In general, the Rules shall be adjudicated as if the Rules were a binding agreement between all Players, entered into by every player as a part of becoming a Player. An actual or alleged Rule violation shall be treated as the violation of a binding agreement to be bound by the Rule or Rules in question. The proposal, fora, and registration processes shall, prima facie, be considered to be protective of a Player's rights and privileges with respect to making and changing the agreement to be bound by the rules. Other rules may further differentiate the treatment of rules violations from the treatment of violations of other types of agreements. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Rule 2109/1 (Power=2) Agoran Contracts There exists a type of binding agreement known as Agoran Contract. An Agoran Contract may only be created or amended by a Proposal and becomes effective when the Proposal takes effect. Unless otherwise specified in the Rules, all Players are bound by Agoran Contracts and no Player may leave an Agoran Contract while remaining a Player. The Proposal process shall, prima facie, be considered to be protective of a Player's rights and privileges with respect to agreements. All Rules regulating Contracts that are inconsistent with this Rule are superseded to the extent of such inconsistency. The CotC is required to keep track of all Agoran Contracts. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Rule 1626/6 (Power=1) Applications An Application is any document, which has been submitted as an Application by some person, to a Player designed by the Rules to receive Applications of that particular type. The submitter is known as the Application's Sponsor. The Sponsor of an Application may attach the signatures of other persons, or signatories, to the Application at the time e submits it. The Sponsor may not attach any signature to an Application without first having obtained the explicit consent of the signatory. A signatory may revoke eir consent, once granted, by informing the Sponsor before submission. Signatures are presumed to have been attached with the consent of the signatory. This presumption shall be rebutted only by a declaration from the alleged signatory, made within 60 days of the submission of the Application, stating that the signatory did not consent or that e consented and then subsequently revoked eir consent. The Sponsor bears the burden of proof to show that such a declaration, once made, is false. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ====================================================================== Winners' Hall of Ugly Fountains ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Rule 2029/0 (Power=4) Town Fountain /\ /\ / \ / \ T his Power-4 Rule (the first ever) was placed to honor The Agoran Spirit Of The Game by Goethe, Steve, Murphy, root and OscarMeyr, Scamsters. Look on our works, ye Marvy, but do always Dance a Powerful Dance. Hail Eris! ----------------------------------------------------------------------