Think you might be interested in joining Agora as a Player? Read on!
Disclaimer: a purely personal answer by Chuck.
Peter Suber, inventor of Nomic, makes a distinction between substantive and procedural games. He writes,
In substantive games, players play to earn points and win. In procedural games, they try to tie the rules into knots, either for the logical fun of it or in order to win by paradox rather than by points.
Nomics, of course, are generally procedural, but even so, some are more procedural than others. The more substantive nomics are more like game-testing groups--players try to make interesting games, and if they don't work well, they can change the Rules. The more procedural nomics focus more on changing the basic mechnisms of nomic--the legislative and judicial systems. Agora is probably the most procedural nomic around. If you're looking for a very procedural nomic, then Agora might be for you. If you like nomics with lots of pretty trinkets, it probably isn't. Not that we don't get silly once in a while, but a lot less so than most other nomics. Among other nomics, Agora is known as "the serious nomic."
Also, as the oldest Internet nomic, we have one of the most developed Rulesets. If you don't want to have to hash out many of the problems that young nomics face, Agora might be for you. If you're interested in hashing them out, and looking for new solutions to old problems, it might not be. (Not that we don't welcome new ideas on how to fix the many problems we do have!)
I find that Agora Players tend to be very blunt in their comments. If I float an idea that someone else thinks is stupid, I'm likely to be told so, quite clearly. Don't let me scare you--we make every effort to be kind and helpful to new players. But Agorans generally don't waste time mincing words. This style of play isn't for everyone--many previous players have Left in a Huff. But I rather enjoy it--if I'm told that a Judgement of mine is well-reasoned, I know that the praise is deserved.
Then come and watch us for a while! Join us, if you feel comfortable. How? Subscribe to the mailing lists. Agora is played on five (yes, five) mailing lists. Subscription to four of those five is required of all Players; the fifth is optional, though highly recommended.
To subscribe to these three lists, send a message to majordomo@gecko.serc.rmit.edu.au with the body of the message:
subscribe agora-official
subscribe agora-business
subscribe agora-discussion
Normally there's no traffic on these. The only time you'll see anything on these two lists is when there's a problem with the main lists.
It's probably a good idea to observe for a week or so before joining (although it's certainly not required) to get a feel for the game. If you like, introduce yourself to us on agora-discussion. Choose a nickname, if you want. Ask the Registrar to list you as a Watcher in the Registrar's Report. (There's no official significance to being a Watcher, but you'll get your nickname and address listed in the Registrar's report, making it easier for others to find you.) Feel free to jump in with questions.
While you're observing, read one of the Rulesets, or at least read the important parts and skim through the rest. Don't try to do it all at one sitting--it's long. The easiest format of the Ruleset to read is probably the Short Logical Ruleset. (Take the "Short" in "Short Logical Ruleset" with a very large grain of salt; it's only short in comparison to the Full Logical Ruleset. Heck, for that matter, take the "Logical" with a large grain of salt too. It's only logical in its ordering of the Rules, as opposed to the Numerical Ruleset.) In addition to being available on the web, the Short Logical Ruleset is posted weekly to agora-official.
Another document which is very useful (although more so once you become a Player) is the Registrar's Report [off-site link], which lists the names and email addresses of Players, and the identity of the various Officers. The Registrar's Report is also posted weekly to agora-official.
When you're ready to join as a Player, all you have to do is send a message to a Public Forum--preferably agora-business--requesting to become a Player. Then the fun begins!
Hits since May 25, 1998:
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Most recent modification:
Wednesday, 05-Apr-2000 23:44:30 CDT
Charles E. Carroll
YEXSTIUDQAOG@spammotel.com
See http://www.spammotel.com/
for information about the above address.