====================================================================== CFJ 928 "No Currency transfers occured as a result of the application of Proposal 3482." ====================================================================== Judge: Morendil Judgement: TRUE Eligible: Andre, Antimatter, Blob, Chuck, Crito, Elde, elJefe, Harlequin, Michael, Morendil, Murphy, Oerjan, Swann, Zefram Not eligible: Caller: General Chaos Barred: Steve Disqualified: Vanyel On hold: - ====================================================================== History: Called by General Chaos, Wed, 25 Jun 1997 00:51:39 -0500 Assigned to Morendil, Wed, 25 Jun 1997 09:38:17 +0100 Judged TRUE, Wed, 25 Jun 1997 10:43:35 +0200 Published, Thu, 26 Jun 1997 10:00:59 +0100 Concurring opinion attached, Wed, 2 Jul 1997 13:49:47 +1000 (EST) ====================================================================== Judgement: TRUE Reasons and arguments: I see nothing substantial to add to the Caller's arguments, which present not one, but two convincing reasons for finding thus, either of which would be sufficient. ====================================================================== Concurring Opinion: We agree with the Caller, General Chaos, and the Judge, Morendil, that Proposal 3482 did not cause any Currency Transfers to legally take place. This can be certainly concluded, and concluded alone, from the second of the arguments given by the Caller, namely, that the Proposal did not and could not meet the requirement in R1472(d) that some Rule specify a Player to detect and report the transfers it sought to effect. However, we would like it noted that the question of whether, in the absence of this requirement in R1472(d), the Currency Transfers in P3482 would still have been ineffective as the Caller alleged and the Judge accepted, or whether on the other hand, the authorization granted by R594 for Proposals to alter Nomic Properties is sufficient to count as specific authorization to cause Currency Transfers, is a question that has not been definitively settled in this CFJ. Signatures: Steve, Murphy, Eljefe, Michael, Crito ====================================================================== (Caller's) Arguments: Proposal 3482 sought to require several Currency transfers. I argue that it is not permissible for an adopted Proposal to directly require Currency Transfers, for two reasons. First, Rule 1596 states: The Rules have the power to require the transfer of Currencies; no other Entity also has this power unless explicitly granted it by the Rules, and then only to the extent granted by the Rules. An adopted Proposal is not a Rule. It therefore only has the power to cause Currency transfers if explicitly granted it by the Rules. No such grant exists. The only Rule that grants any sort of power to adopted Proposals is Rule 594, and nowhere in this Rule is the power to require Currency transfers explicitly granted. While it is true that Rule 594 defines the application of a Proposal as a legal procedure for changing Nomic Properties, Rule 594 also limits this ability to those changes which are permitted by the Rules. A Proposal is still limited to doing only those things the Rules do not deny of it, and one of the things denied of a Proposal is the power to require a Currency Transfer, by Rule 1596. A similar argument can be made showing that Rule 1472 also denies an adopted Proposal the power to require a Currency transfer. Furthermore, even if we grant that a Proposal can require a Currency Transfer, there is still a problem. Rule 1472 requires that, for a transfer of Currency to occur, "[s]ome Rule must specify a Player whose duty it is to report the occurence of the transfer to the Recordkeepor of the Currency involved." There is no Rule which specifies who is to report Currency transfers of the sort that Proposal 3482 sought to require. The Proposal itself does specify that the Assessor is to do so, but, as I have already noted, an adopted Proposal is not a Rule. Thus, the attempted transfer is prohibited by Rule 1472. Evidence: Rule 594/3 (Power=1) Proposals and Rule Changes When a Proposal is adopted, its Power becomes equal to its Adoption Index, and the provisions contained in the text of the Proposal are implemented to the maximal extent permitted by the Rules. Provisions which are unclear, ambiguous, or inapplicable are ignored. In a Proposal containing more than one provision, each provision is severable from the others, unless the Proposal states otherwise. For the purpose of the Rules, the application of an adopted Proposal is a legal procedure for changing Nomic Properties. The Adoption Index of a Proposal is the maximum of 1, the value requested by its Proposer (if any), and the value required for that Proposal by the Rules (if any). [CFJ 778: It is legal for a Proposal to contain zero Rule Changes.] History: Created by Proposal 594, Oct. 21 1994 Amended(1) by Proposal 1323, Nov. 21 1994 Amended(2) by Proposal 2399, Jan. 20 1996 Amended(3) by Proposal 3445 (General Chaos), Mar 26 1997, substantial Authors: ..., General Chaos Rule 1472/3 (Power=1) Transfer of Currencies Units of Currency are transferrable between Treasuries under the following conditions: a) The transfer shall be from exactly one Treasury to exactly one other Treasury. b) The transfer must be of a positive amount of exactly one Currency, and that amount must be an exact integral multiple of that Currency's MUQ. c) Some Rule must authorize the transfer, either by requiring it directly or by granting authority to require the transfer to some other entity. d) Some Rule must specify a Player whose duty it is to report the occurence of the transfer to the Recordkeepor of the Currency involved. This Rule takes precedence over any Rule which would permit or require a transfer prohibited by this Rule, and defers to any Rule which prohibits a transfer permitted by this Rule. [CFJ 793: Notification may take place as part of an Official Report to the Public Forum.] History: Created by Proposal 1601, Jun. 19 1995 Amended(1) by Proposal 1649, Aug. 1 1995 Amended(2) by Proposal 1702, Sep. 1 1995 Amended(3) by Proposal 2493, Feb. 16 1996 Rule 1596/1 (Power=1) Currency Transfers, generally The Rules have the power to require the transfer of Currencies; no other Entity also has this power unless explicitly granted it by the Rules, and then only to the extent granted by the Rules. No Entity other than the Rules themselves has the power to require any transfer which would result in the Treasury being transferred from containing a negative quantity of the Currency transferred. Whenever an Entity requires a transfer of Currencies to take place, the transfer takes place as required, provided that the Entity which is requiring the transfer is permitted by the Rules to require that transfer, and provided that the transfer is otherwise permitted by the Rules. Such a transfer takes place at the time specified by the Entity which requires the transfer, or, if no time is specified, at the time when the Entity first begins to require the transfer. This Rule takes precedence over any Rule which would permit or require a transfer prohibited by this Rule. When another Rule would prohibit some transfer permitted by this Rule, this Rule defers to that Rule with respect to that transfer. History: Created by Proposal 2493, Feb. 16 1996 Amended(1) by Proposal 2626, Jun. 29 1996 Proposal 3482 by Steve Restore Game Balance [Comment: In order for Voting Tokens to be interesting and valuable, they need to be at least slightly scarce. However, the taxless post-2817 regime, and Crito's scam, have combined to massively increase the number of VTs in circulation. It is my view that a desirable figure for the total number of VTs in circulation is between 200 and 300. The question is: how to achieve this fairly? One principle I want to respect is that good play should be rewarded. Another principle is that a reasonable game balance should be maintained, with no Player having a wildly disproportionate share of the VTs in circulation. Hence the scheme below curbs the wilder excesses caused by Crito's scam, while more or less preserving relative VT wealth.] Be it hereby resolved that upon this Proposal's taking effect, all Voting Tokens held in Treasuries belonging to Contests shall be transferred to the Bank. These transfers are detected and reported by the Assessor. Be it hereby resolved that upon this Proposal's taking effect, each Treasury containing more than 200 Voting Tokens shall have transferred from it to the Bank all but 200 of the Voting Tokens in it. These transfers are detected and reported by the Assessor. [Comment: using the current VT Report as a guide, this takes about 5500 VTs out of circulation, and leaves about 1950 VTs in circulation.] Be it further resolved that upon this Proposal's taking effect, seven eighths of the Voting Tokens in every Treasury except the Bank's shall be transferred to the Bank. These transfers are detected and reported by the Assessor. [Comment:...leaving about 250 VTs in circulation.] ======================================================================