Logical Ruleset

Immutable Rules

101(0) Obey the Rules All players must always abide by all the rules then in effect, in the form in which they are then in effect. The rules in the Initial Set are in effect at the beginning of the first game. The Initial Set consists of rules 101-116 (immutable) and 201-219 (mutable).

Initial Set, Rule 101

116(0) Whatever is not Prohibited is Allowed Whatever is not prohibited or regulated by a rule is permitted and unregulated, with the sole exception of changing the rules, which is permitted only when a rule or set of rules explicitly or implicitly permits it.

Initial Set, Rule 116

103(0) Players At any time, each player shall be either a Voter or the Speaker; no player may simultaneously be a Voter and a Speaker. At any time there shall be exactly one Speaker. The term "player" in the rules shall specifically include both the Voters and the Speaker.

Initial Set, Rule 103

113(0) No Play Under Duress A player always has the option to forfeit the game rather than continue to play or incur a game penalty. No penalty worse than losing, in the judgment of the player to incur it, may be imposed.

Initial Set, Rule 113

112(0) Points Mean Prizes The state of affairs that constitutes winning may not be altered from achieving n points to any other state of affairs. The magnitude of n and the means of earning points may be changed, and rules that establish a winner when play cannot continue may be enacted and (while they are mutable) be amended or repealed.

Initial Set, Rule 112

102(0) Mutability Initially rules in the 100s are immutable and rules in the 200s are mutable. Rules subsequently enacted or transmuted (that is, changed from immutable to mutable or vice versa) may be immutable or mutable regardless of their numbers, and rules in the Initial Set may be transmuted regardless of their numbers.

Initial Set, Rule 102

105(0) Rule Changes A rule change is any of the following:

the enactment, repeal, or amendment of a mutable rule;
the transmutation of an immutable rule into a mutable rule or vice versa.

Initial Set, Rule 105

[Note from Peter Suber: This definition implies that, at least initially, all new rules are mutable; immutable rules, as long as they are immutable, may not be amended or repealed; mutable rules, as long as they are mutable, may be amended or repealed; any rule of any status may be transmuted; no rule is absolutely immune to change.]

0(0) Safeguarding Immutability No immutable rule may under any circumstances be enacted, amended or repealed. The only change to an immutable rule permitted is its transmutation to being mutable, in accordance with the rules. Any Proposal which may at any time result in the transmutation of an immutable rule shall fail if at least one vote is cast against it. This rule takes precedence over any other rule regarding the enactment, amendment, repeal or transmutation of immutable rules.

Created and transmuted to Immutable in Proposal 414, Mark Rigby-Jones, proposed 29.i.1997.

110(0) Transmutation Rule changes that transmute immutable rules into mutable rules may be adopted if and only if the vote is unanimous among votes legally cast. Transmutation shall not be implied, but must be stated explicitly in a proposal to take effect.

Initial Set, Rule 110

114(0) Change is the Only Constant There must always be at least one mutable rule. The adoption of rule changes must never become completely impermissible.

Initial Set, Rule 114

115(0) Self-Reference and Meta-Rules Rule changes that affect rules needed to allow or apply rule changes are as permissible as other rule changes. Even rule changes that amend or repeal their own authority are permissible. No rule change or type of move is impermissible solely on account of the self-reference or self-application of a rule.

Initial Set, Rule 115

109(0) Numbering Proposals The Speaker shall give each Proposal a number for reference. The numbers shall begin with 'P1', and each new Proposal submitted in the proper way shall receive a number which is the next successive integer prefaced by the letter 'P', whether or not the Proposal is adopted.

Initial Set, Rule 109
Amended in Proposal 414, Mark Rigby-Jones, proposed 29.i.1997.

106(0) Democracy All Proposals made in the proper way shall be voted on. They shall be adopted if and only if:

It was not withdrawn by the proposer
A Quorate number of votes was cast
The required number of votes was achieved

Initial Set, Rule 106
Amended in Proposal 414, Mark Rigby-Jones, proposed 29.i.1997.

200(2) Use of Quorum A Quorate number of votes is said to have been cast whenever the number of players having personally cast their votes is greater than or equal to the Quorum in force. If no Quorum is in force then a Quorate number of votes is deemed to have been cast.

There shall be no rule which prevents a Proposal from being adopted if no vote is cast against it, provided a Quorate number of votes is cast on it and the Proposal has not been withdrawn.

Created and transmuted to Immutable in Proposal P83, Ian Collier, proposed 18.ii.1998.
Renumbered in Proposal P117, Ian Snell, 11.v.1998.

107(0) Transparency Any Proposal must be communicated to all players before it is voted on. If adopted, it must guide play in the form in which it was voted on.

Initial Set, Rule 107
Amended in Proposal 414, Mark Rigby-Jones, proposed 29.i.1997.

108(0) No Retroaction No rule change may take effect earlier than the moment of the completion of the vote that adopted it, even if its wording explicitly states otherwise. No rule change may have retroactive application.

Initial Set, Rule 108

453(2) Bypassing Proposals Rules may be enacted, repealed or amended without a proposal if, and only if, the rules currently in force explicitly allow it. Any such enactment, repeal or amendment has the same authority as one which has been proposed and upon which a successful vote has been cast. For the purposes of rule 108, any rule changed in this manner shall be deemed to have been voted upon at the same time as this rule.

Created in Proposal P24, Ian Snell, proposed 24.x.1997.
Amended in Proposal FT1, Ian Snell, proposed 20.xi.1997. Transmuted to Immutable in Proposal P131, Gordon Aickin, proposed 15.v.1998.

[Rule 108 is "No Retroaction".]

111(0) Immutables Come First In a conflict between a mutable and an immutable rule, the immutable rule takes precedence and the mutable rule shall be entirely void. For the purposes of this rule a proposal to transmute an immutable rule does not "conflict" with that immutable rule.

Initial Set, Rule 111

384(0) 3-2-1 with Dusty Bin.

Created in Proposal 321, Chris Dickson, proposed 6.xi.1996.
Transmuted to Immutable in Proposal 384, Matthew Barratt, proposed 27.xi.1996.

[Note: This rule was originally numbered 321. There have been a number of calls for judgement on its effect on the game; it must be followed, since it is part of the ruleset, but no-one has yet found a way to break it.]

461(1) 1-2-3 Without Dusty Bin.

Created in Proposal P44, Nick Fortescue, proposed 20.xi.1997.

Transmuted to Immutable in Proposal P109, Ian Snell, proposed 29.iv.1998.

Mutable Rules

The Players

443(0) Helping Hand Any player joining partway through a game shall be awarded 10% of the highest score in that game.

Created in Proposal P5, Ian Snell, proposed 13.ii.1997.

442(0) Commission Any player who entices a non-player into becoming a player shall receive a reward of CV20 and 20 points.

Created in Proposal P4, Ian Snell, proposed 13.ii.1997.

382(0) Suspended Animation At any time, a player may choose to enter Suspended Animation by informing the Speaker of the dates between which it is to be effective; a player may leave Suspended Animation before the due date by informing the Speaker. During their period of Suspended Animation, no player may conduct any Nomic business other than discussion; in particular, they shall not be selected as a Judge, nor appointed to any office.

The message informing the Speaker of the player's desire to enter Suspended Animation is deemed to be a legally cast counting vote which is an abstention on any rule change whose voting period falls wholly within the period during which they are in Suspended Animation.

A player who holds an office defined in the ruleset may appoint any other player not currently in Suspended Animation as their deputy for their period of Suspended Animation, provided the proposed deputy gives their consent. The deputy must fulfil all of that office's duties and be liable to all of that office's benefits and penalties during this time.

Created in Proposal 382, Owen Massey, proposed 26.xi.1996.

447(0) Farewell Any player may leave the game at any time by informing the Speaker of their desire to do so.

Any player not in Suspended Animation who has failed to cast a vote on the previous ten Proposals by the end of their voting periods may be removed from the game, and the Speaker shall inform remaining players of their removal.

An Officer who leaves the game shall be deemed to have resigned from each of the Offices which they hold.

Players may only leave, or be required to leave, the game as defined in the rules.

Created in Proposal P17, Owen Massey, proposed 19.ii.1997.

457(0) Rejoining A player who leaves a game of OxNomic may not rejoin for at least one term unless that game has ended or the Speaker allows them to. If they do rejoin they will be counted as a new player for the purposes of all other rules.

Created in Proposal P30, Helen Broadie, proposed 5.xi.1997.

The Rules

409(1) Conflict If two or more mutable rules conflict with one another then the rule with the highest ordinal number takes precedence.

If two or more immutable rules conflict with one another then the one with the lowest ordinal number shall take 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 supersede 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.

Initial Set, Rule 212
Amended in Proposal 350, Matthew Barratt, proposed 13.xi.1996.
Amended in Proposal 392, Gordon Aickin, proposed 3.xii.1996.
Amended in Proposal 395, Mark Rigby-Jones, proposed 12.xii.1996.
Amended in Proposal 409, Mark Rigby-Jones, proposed 22.i.1997.
Modified by the Speaker (Ian Collier) under Rule 430, 3.xi.1997.

454(1) Breaking the Rules If a player believes that an action, or the omission of an action, violates the rules of OxNomic, then they may make a Call for Judgement on the statement "<PLAYER> has broken Rule(s) <RULES>." and its negation, where <PLAYER> is replaced with the name of some player of OxNomic and <RULES> is replaced with a non-empty list of Rule Numbers. Such a Call for Judgement is called an Accusation and the player named in it is called the Defendant. The list of rules broken may not include Rule 101.

Created in Proposal P26, Owen Massey, proposed 27.x.1997.
Amended in Proposal P98, Colin Batchelor, proposed 10.iii.1998.

446(1) Statute of Limitations No player shall incur a penalty in respect of a rule, or violation of the rules, if the offence concerned can be identified as having taken place before the current game of OxNomic started or more than two weeks before the suggested time for the application of the penalty. This rule takes precedence over any rule which gives details of penalties, or procedures for giving penalties, for the violation of a rule or rules.

Created in Proposal P16, Owen Massey, proposed 19.ii.1997.
Amended in Proposal P26, Owen Massey, proposed 27.x.1997.

452(1) Assigning Reference Numbers If a new rule is enacted then that rule shall receive the Reference Number x(0), where x is the successor of the greatest Rule Number so far assigned to a rule. If rule x(n) is amended (for some natural numbers x and n) then the rule's Reference Number shall be altered to x(n+1). If rule x (for some natural number x) does not have a full Reference Number and it is amended or transmuted then the rule shall be assigned the number which is the successor of the greatest number not so far assigned to a rule.

Created in Proposal P22, Owen Massey, proposed 9.v.1997.
Modified by the Speaker (Ian Collier) under Rule 430, 3.xi.1997.

465(1) Renumbering Rules "Change the Reference Number of Rule x(m) to y(n).", where m, n, x and y are replaced by natural numbers, is a valid Motion, called a Motion of Renumbering. If the Motion is carried then any rule with Reference Number x(m) shall immediately have its Reference Number changed to y(n), provided y is not the Rule Number of any rule other than x(m).

Created in Proposal P47, Owen Massey, proposed 22.xi.1997.
Amended in Proposal P71, Owen Massey, proposed 3.ii.1998.

Scores

202(0) Points All players begin with 0 points. Points may not be gained, lost, or traded except as explicitly stated in the rules.

Initial Set, Rule 202

455(0) No Half Measures In any case where a player has a non-integral number of any form of scoring (points, CV points, or any other forms, which should be added to this rule when they are created), this should be rounded up, unless specifically stated otherwise in the rules.

Created in Proposal P27, Ian Snell, proposed 2.xi.1997.

376(0) Style Points Style points may be awarded to the proposer of any rule for blatant cleverness, silliness and general style in the wording or submission of a proposal. Each player except the proposer may e-mail the Speaker to nominate the rule proposer for a style point. The number of style point nominations is then added on to the proposer's score. These additions take place as soon as possible AFTER the voting period is completed, and this is when the Speaker must reveal their donation.

Created in Proposal 376, Chris Dickson, proposed 24.xi.1996.

[It appears that a player may nominate the proposer many times to give them more than one style point.]

C.V. Points

405(1) C.V. Points OxNomic shall have a currency called the C.V. point. Each player shall possess a non-negative, whole number of C.V. points. The number of C.V. points held by a player may only change if required or allowed by a rule. The abbreviation for a quantity (x) of C.V. points will be of the form CVx thus one C.V. point is written CV1.

In the event of a fine or penalty which reduces a player's CV points below zero, the fine or penalty is reduced instead to leave the player with zero CV points.

Created in Proposal 352, Matthew Barratt, proposed 13.xi.1996.
Amended in Proposal 405, Ian Snell, proposed 21.i.1997.
Modified by the Speaker (Ian Collier) under Rule 430, 3.xi.1997.

416(1) The Bank There will be an institution called the Bank. This institution will be administered by the Banker. The Bank will possess a number of CV points.

Created in Proposal 416, Gordon Aickin, proposed 27.i.1997.
Modified by the Speaker (Ian Collier) under Rule 430, 3.xi.1997.

417(1) Conservation of C.V. Points Every four days CV1 will be lost by every player with more than CV1. If the Bank ever has more CV points than twice the number of players then every player will gain CV1.

Whenever CV points are gained by a player the Bank will lose an equal number. Whenever CV points are lost by a player the bank will gain an equal number.

If the bank is ever required to take any action which would require it to lose more CV points than it possesses then CV1 will be removed from every player and given to the bank (this step is to be repeated until the bank does have enough CV points) before the action is carried out.

Created in Proposal 417, Gordon Aickin, proposed 27.i.1997.
Modified by the Speaker (Ian Collier) under Rule 430, 3.xi.1997.

418(2) Setting up C.V. Points Whenever a new player joins OxNomic they receive CV100. These C.V. points do not come from the Bank. This takes precedence over any rule concerning transfer of CV points. Whenever a player leaves the game all their C.V. points will be transferred to the Bank and the Bank will lose CV100.

Created in Proposal 418, Gordon Aickin, proposed 27.i.1997.
Modified by the Speaker (Ian Collier) under Rule 430, 3.xi.1997.
Amended in Proposal P130, Gordon Aickin, proposed 15.v.1998.

363(1) Salaries If C.V. points exist then the speaker receives a salary of CV2 every 4 days, the banker receives a salary of CV1 every 4 days, the Leader receives a salary of CV1 every 8 days and a judge receives CV2 upon making a judgement.

Created in Proposal 354, Matthew Barratt, proposed 13.xi.1996.
Amended in Proposal 363, Ian Collier, proposed 20.xi.1996.
Modified by the Speaker (Ian Collier) under Rule 430, 3.xi.1997.

415(1) Unpaid Leave No CV salaries shall be awarded to a player while they are in suspended animation. Nor shall CV salaries be awarded when 75% or more of the players are in suspended animation.

Created in Proposal 415, Gordon Aickin, proposed 27.i.1997.
Modified by the Speaker (Ian Collier) under Rule 430, 3.xi.1997.

Black and White Marks

480(0) Black Marks OxNomic shall have a penalty called the Black Mark. Each Player shall possess a non-negative, whole number of Black Marks. The number of Black Marks may only be changed according to the rules.

Created in Proposal P98, Colin Batchelor, proposed 10.iii.1998.

486(0) White Marks OxNomic shall have an award called the White Mark. Each Player shall possess a non-negative, whole number of White Marks. The number of White Marks nay only be changed according to the rules.

Created in Proposal P106, Ian Snell, proposed 27.iv.1998.

481(0) Punitive Measures A player who is judged to have broken the rules may be awarded 1 Black Mark, regardless of any other punishment. The Speaker may decree that the situation currently obtaining in OxNomic shall be that which would have been the case had the rules not been broken. Such a decree has instant effect.

Created in Proposal P98, Colin Batchelor, proposed 10.iii.1998.

488(0) Ultra Style A Player who is awarded more than three style points for any single Proposal shall also be awarded a White Mark.

Created in Proposal P106, Ian Snell, proposed 27.iv.1998.

487(0) Black and White Destruction Should any Player simultaneously possess both a White Mark and a Black Mark, then the White Mark and the Black Mark may mutually annihilate if that Player so wishes. This wish must be made known to the Recorder for annihilation to occur.

Created in Proposal P106, Ian Snell, proposed 27.iv.1998.

489(0) Votes for Marks A Player may exchange any White Mark they possess for two extra votes for or against any single Proposal. The Speaker shall not make this known until the Voting Period has ended. If, at the end of the Voting Period, that Player has no White Marks then that Player shall be awarded a Black Mark. Otherwise, the Recorder shall note that that Player has lost a White Mark.

Created in Proposal P106, Ian Snell, proposed 27.iv.1998.

Courtesy Titles and similar

463(0) Courtesy Titles A Courtesy Title may be awarded to any player, and shall be recorded by the Speaker in the list of all players. A player maintains their Courtesy Title until it is rescinded.

Created in Proposal P46, Owen Massey, proposed 21.xi.1997.

464(0) Jester A player who makes a particularly amusing or ridiculous Proposal may be awarded the Courtesy Title of Jester. The award is made upon the Speaker's receipt of a nomination; a player may not submit their own name. When the Title is awarded the Jester shall receive CV10 and the right to make one Proposal without incurring any penalties if it fails.

Created in Proposal P46, Owen Massey, proposed 21.xi.1997.

468(0) Pedant A Player may be awarded the Courtesy Title of Pedant if, in the majority opinion of a Referendum initiated by the Speaker upon receipt of a nomination by a Voter other than the Voter who is the possible recipient of the Courtesy Title, any posting of theirs on the newsgroup ox.games.nomic is thought to be overly pedantic, and upon receipt of this title the recipient of the Courtesy Title receives an immediate award of CV10, _unless_ the aforementioned posting contained a spelling or grammatical error, in which case the recipient is immediately penalised CV10.

Created in Proposal P62, Ian Snell, proposed 19.i.1998.

406(3) The Ultimate Answer Any player who has exactly 42 points may declare himself the answer to life, the universe and everything by announcing the fact to the newsgroup, and notifying the speaker. The player immediately gains CV10 and 1 White Mark. If the player loses any points whilst the answer, he loses CV42 or his total number of CV points, whichever is the smaller. The player loses his status as the answer as soon as his score changes, with the exception that if his points decrease then he remains the answer until his CV penalty has been imposed and no longer. The end of a game immediately cancels all players' status as the answer, such that no penalty is incurred. If a player mistakenly declares himself the answer, he is both penalised CV10, or all his CV points, whichever is the smaller, loses 10 points and is given 1 Black Mark. The use of the masculine in this proposal is not to be taken as gender-specific.

Created in Proposal 406, Ian Snell, proposed 21.i.1997.
Modified by the Speaker (Ian Collier) under Rule 430, 3.xi.1997.
Amended in Proposal P106, Ian Snell, proposed 27.iv.1998.
Amended in Proposal P116, Ian Snell, proposed 7.v.1998.

466(0) Joker Any player may officially tell a joke by mailing it, suitably labelled, to the speaker, who will then distribute it to all the players. A Referendum is then held on whether the joke is thought to be amusing or not. If the joke is thought to be amusing, the player whose joke it was becomes the Joker (any previous Joker loses their status) and immediately earns 5 CV points. If the joke is not thought to be amusing, the player whose joke it was immediately loses 5 CV points. The speaker is entitled (but not obliged) not to distribute a joke, at their discretion, if a Referendum is currently taking place, or if a Referendum has taken place too recently in their opinion.

Created in Proposal P48, Chris Dickson, proposed 22.xi.1997.

Proposing a Rule Change

428(0) Proposals A Proposal is an ordered finite non-empty list whose elements (Items) are all rule changes or Motions. If a Proposal is adopted, the rule changes shall take effect and the Motions shall be deemed to have been carried. The items in the list do not take effect simultaneously, but in the order in which they are listed in the Proposal, with an infinitesimal period of time being deemed to have occurred between each one and the next.

Created in Proposal 414, Mark Rigby-Jones, proposed 29.i.1997.

436(0) Motions A Motion is text of one of the forms specified by some rule as being the form of a valid Motion.

Created in Proposal 426, Terry Boon, proposed 3.ii.1997.

[Those currently defined are Motions of No Confidence, Motions of Overturning and Motions of Renumbering.]

204(0) Making a Proposal A proposal shall be made by submitting it to the Speaker. Only Voters may make proposals. As soon as possible after receiving a proposal, the Speaker shall assign the proposal a number and distribute the proposal along with its number to all players.

Initial Set, Rule 204

[The Speaker may make any Proposal which will be given a number divisible by 25.]

491(0) Uniformity No Proposal may be made which explicitly alters the score of one or more players, or specifies once-only conditions for the alteration of a score.

Created in Proposal P129, Colin Batchelor, proposed 14.v.1998.

430(2) Format of Proposals The Speaker shall have the right to refuse to accept any proposals which:

have errors of spelling, grammar or syntax;
are not "correctly formatted" (justified flush left with width no more than 78 characters. Use of HTML tags for lists, emphasis etc. is encouraged but such tags may be altered by the Speaker);
conflict with an immutable rule in such a way as to have no effect, or
make no sense or are otherwise incomprehensible.

The Speaker may optionally correct the flaws in a proposal before distributing it among the players. In this case the proposer will have the right during the first half of the voting period either to withdraw the proposal without incurring a penalty or to submit a corrected replacement. Such a replacement will be given the same number as the original proposal and the voting period on the proposal will continue uninterrupted. This paragraph takes precedence over other rules which impose penalties upon the withdrawer of a proposal.

In any case, the Speaker is obliged to accept and forbidden to change any proposal which is free from such errors.

If any existing rule is found to contain an error of spelling, grammar or syntax then the Speaker has the right to correct such a rule. If any player disagrees with the correction then the correction must be undone. If and when all rules are found to be correct, this paragraph shall be repealed.

What holds here for the Speaker with respect to proposals shall also hold for the Recorder with respect to Calls for Judgements and Judgements.

Created in Proposal 380, Mark Rigby-Jones, proposed 26.xi.1996.
Amended in Proposal 420, Ian Collier, proposed 31.i.1997.
Modified by the Speaker (Ian Collier) under Rule 430, 3.xi.1997.
Amended in Proposal P126, Colin Batchelor, proposed 12.v.1998.

[It has been judged that correcting a rule in the manner of the last paragraph counts as an amendment of that rule. This has two consequences: only mutable rules may be corrected, and when they are corrected their Version Number shall be increased by one.]

404(0) Negative Points Disallow Proposals At the beginning of a game, three proposals are allowed to be made by any voter, regardless of his or her points. With effect from the submission of his/her third proposal, a voter is allowed to make new proposals only while his/her score is non-negative. This rule takes precedence over any other rule limiting the number of proposals which may be made by a voter.

Created in Proposal 336, Daniel Bor, proposed 7.xi.1996.

Amended in Proposal 404, Daniel Bor, proposed 19.i.1997.

[The intention of the proposer of this rule was that each Voter has the right to make three Proposals before the requirement to have a non-negative score takes effect, but some people have read the first sentence differently.]

440(0) Invalid Amendments If in the opinion of the speaker the text of an amendment contained within a Proposal is unrelated to the text of the unamended rule then the Proposal shall be declared improperly proposed and shall not be voted on.

Created in Proposal 341, Simon Cozens, proposed 10.xi.1996.
Amended in Proposal 361, Matthew Barratt, proposed 17.xi.1996.
[Note - Matthew cunningly amended an unrelated rule on style points to create this rule.]
Amended in Proposal P3, Mark Rigby-Jones, proposed 11.ii.1997.

313(2) One Amendment at a Time If a Proposal contains an amendment of a rule, an amendment to which is currently being voted upon, the Speaker may at his or her discretion reject the Proposal or force it to be withdrawn at any time up to the the closing of the vote on the earlier amendment. The Speaker must do this if requested by the proposer of the earlier amendment.

If a Proposal is adopted which contains an amendment to a rule which does not exist at the time of adoption then the amendment in question will be ignored.

Created in Proposal 313, Stuart Adamson, proposed 4.xi.1996.
Modified by the Speaker (Ian Collier) under Rule 430, 3.xi.1997.
Amended in Proposal P89, Ian Collier, proposed 25.ii.1998.

470(1) Transmutations are Amendments An Item which is a transmutation shall be considered as an amendment for the purposes of any rule that does not specify its effect on transmutations, but does specify an effect for amendments.

Created in Proposal P65, Owen Massey, proposed 26.i.1998.
Amended in Proposal P134, Gordon Aickin, proposed 15.v.1998.

441(0) Withdrawing a Proposal A player may withdraw his/her own Proposal provided the voting period for it has not expired. A player withdrawing a Proposal shall lose 2 points. All other changes of the score of any player caused by making a Proposal subsequently withdrawn or voting on it shall be reversed.

Created in Proposal 337, Borislav Deianov, proposed 8.xi.1996.
Amended in Proposal 362, Matthew Barratt, proposed 17.xi.1996.
Amended in Proposal 386, Matthew Barratt, proposed 27.xi.1996.
Amended in Proposal P3, Mark Rigby-Jones, proposed 11.ii.1997.

Objections

412(1) Objections If one player believes that another has made a proposal on a very similar theme to an idea they had already made public then they may Object by informing the Speaker of their objection to the proposal and their grounds for objection. If they are going to object then they must do so during the first half of the voting period for the proposal. There is no need for the Proposer to have actually taken the idea from the Objector - only for the Objector to have published the idea before the proposal was made.

If a player objects to a proposal on the grounds that they published the idea first, the vote for said proposal will continue unaffected and if the proposal passes then it shall become a rule. However, any points awarded as a result of the vote will not be awarded until the Objection is resolved. If the objection is later found to be correct then the Objector shall receive exactly the same benefits or penalties as if they had made the proposal. (This is to include the counting of proposals made for any rule that requires a count of proposals made.) The Proposer shall receive benefits or penalties as if they were only an ordinary voter.

If the objection is found to be false then the objector shall be penalised five points.

Created in Proposal 412, Gordon Aickin, proposed 24.i.1997.
Modified by the Speaker (Ian Collier) under Rule 430, 3.xi.1997.

413(0) Deciding an Objection When an Objection is made the Speaker will inform the player who made the Proposal of the Objection and the grounds for the Objection. The Proposer may either agree the Objection is justified or deny that it is. If the proposer denies that the Objection is justified then a player who is not in suspended animation shall be selected at random by the Speaker to decide if the Objection is justified. This player shall be neither the Objector nor the player whose proposal is being objected to.

The player selected to make the decision shall have a period of time equal to the voting period in which to make a decision. This player shall receive exactly the same reward for making a decision as a Judge does when ruling on a call for judgement. If they fail to make a decision then they shall be penalised by an amount equal to the reward they would have received had they made a decision and the process of selection and decision making shall be repeated.

Created in Proposal 413, Gordon Aickin, proposed 24.i.1997.

Voting on a Proposal

207(1) Manner of Voting Voters may cast a vote on any Proposal within its prescribed voting period by informing the Speaker. The possible legal votes are: double-for, for, abstain, against and double-against (denoted ++, +, A, - and --, respectively). Any vote on a particular Proposal which is received by the Speaker outside the prescribed voting period for that Proposal but before the result of the vote is announced may be accepted or rejected at the discretion of the Speaker. The Speaker may not reveal any votes until the end of the prescribed voting period.

A Voter who casts a vote which is ++ or + on a Proposal will be deemed to have voted FOR the Proposal. A Voter who casts a vote which is -- or - on a Proposal will be deemed to have voted AGAINST the Proposal. A voter who casts a vote which is A on a Proposal, or who neither casts a legal vote within the prescribed voting period nor has a vote accepted by the Speaker in any other manner on that Proposal, will be deemed to have voted neither FOR nor AGAINST the Proposal.

If the vote of any Voter may be defined in two or more different ways by any rule or set of rules (including cases in which a Voter sends two or more votes to the Speaker) then the vote whose definition came into effect at the latest time will be the ruling vote and the other votes will be deemed invalid. This takes precedence over all other rules, but only in the event that no other rule determines a unique vote for the Voter.

Any vote so defined by this rule shall be a counting vote.

Initial Set, Rule 207
Amended in Proposal P50, Ian Collier, proposed 25.xi.1997.

[Note that double votes are currently not implemented - a vote of ++ is effectively the same as one of +, and likewise for votes against.]

339(2) Changing a Vote Each Voter has only one counting vote. The Speaker has no counting vote on any proposal unless it is explicitly stated otherwise elsewhere in the rules. Only counting votes shall be counted when the count of votes for and against a proposal is made, and in determining whether the Quorum was achieved.

If the Speaker receives a vote from a Voter which is in all respects legal and then subsequently receives a vote on the same proposal from the same Voter which is for some reason not valid then the Speaker shall have the right to continue to treat the previously received vote as that Voter's counting vote.

Initial Set, Rule 206 Amended in Proposal 339, Gordon Aickin, proposed 8.xi.1996.
Amended in Proposal FT5, Helen Broadie, proposed 26.i.1998.

[The Speaker may cast a vote on any Proposal with number divisible by 25.]

445(2) Voting Period Players may only cast votes during the voting period. The voting period for any proposal shall be a period of 168 hours starting at the moment the speaker makes the proposal public.

During the first 72 hours of the voting period the proposer may make changes to the proposal provided that:

it remains a valid Proposal as defined in the rules, and
it does not attempt to amend a rule which is already subject to an amendment for which the voting period has not finished.

The change is carried out by posting the full text of the amended proposal to the news group and making clear what the differences are. The subject line must make clear the nature of the post.

If the proposal is adopted then it will be adopted in the form which was posted nearest to the end of the first 72 hours.

During 72 hours after the Speaker posts the Proposal, the player who submitted the Proposal has the right to withdraw the Proposal if this is allowed by the rules, and the player shall incur no penalty for doing so.

The voting period will never be less than 96 hours.

Initial Set, Rule 205
Amended in Proposal 302, Stuart Adamson, proposed 30.x.1996.
Amended in Proposal 391, Colin Batchelor, proposed 29.xi.1996.
Amended in Proposal P1, Owen Massey, proposed 7.ii.1997.
Amended in Proposal P15, Gordon Aickin, proposed 19.ii.1997.
Modified by the Speaker (Ian Collier) under Rule 430, 3.xi.1997.
Amended in Proposal P133, Gordon Aickin, proposed 15.v.1998.

[The voting period for a Fast-Track Proposal is less than 96 hours.]

364(0) Follow My Leader Any proposal submitted by the Leader starts off with an extra vote in favour.

Created in Proposal 364, Ian Collier, proposed 20.xi.1996.

449(3) Bribes A player with 5 or more points may e-mail the Speaker to request a Bribe. This is done by informing the Speaker of the name of a Voter, the Proposal to which the Bribe applies, and a vote. The player giving the Bribe shall lose 5 points; the nominated Voter shall gain 3 points and the Speaker shall gain 3 points. Each player may use a Bribe on a Proposal at most once during the voting period for that Proposal.

If the voting period for the Proposal to which the Bribe applies has not been completed and the nominated Voter is eligible to vote on the specified Proposal then the counting vote of that Voter on that Proposal shall be the vote which the player giving the Bribe decided.

If any Voter is Bribed more than once on any Proposal in an otherwise legal manner the counting vote of that Voter shall be the vote which the player giving the latest legal Bribe decided.

This rule takes precedence over any other rule determining the counting vote of any player.

Created in Proposal P19, Owen Massey, proposed 22.ii.1997.
Amended in Proposal P21, Owen Massey, proposed 7.iii.1997.
Modified by the Speaker (Ian Collier) under Rule 430, 3.xi.1997.
Amended in Proposal FT2, Helen Broadie, proposed 4.xii.1997.

471(0) Automatic Votes Don't Hurt Votes cast by random or automated methods AGAINST any Proposal which causes the transmutation of a rule when it passes shall be deemed to be an abstention, unless the Proposal fails despite these votes or unless the method used for determining these votes specifically states that they may be cast AGAINST such a Proposal. This rule overrules all other rules determining the results of random or automated votes.

Created in Proposal P68, Ian Snell, proposed 1.ii.1998.

After a Vote

411(1) Result of a Vote At the end of the prescribed voting period on a proposal, the Speaker shall reveal how each player voted on that proposal and shall declare how many votes of each type were cast. If the Speaker's consent may be required for a proposal to be adopted then the Speaker should indicate at that time whether or not such consent is given. If the Speaker does not explicitly indicate refusal to consent to the proposal, it shall be assumed that such consent is given.

Initial Set, Rule 208
Amended in Proposal 411, Terry Boon, proposed 22.i.1997.
Modified by the Speaker (Ian Collier) under Rule 430, 3.xi.1997.

201(2) Quorum Quorum for a proposed rule change is defined to be 20% of all human Voters at the beginning of the prescribed voting period for that proposal.

Initial Set, Rule 201
Amended in Proposal P69, Ian Snell, proposed 1.ii.1998.
Amended in Proposal P83, Ian Collier, proposed 18.ii.1998.

444(3) Majorities For a Proposal to be adopted the number of votes FOR the proposal must be equal to, or greater than the minimum allowed Quota of every item in the Proposal.

The Turnout shall be defined as the total number of votes cast FOR and AGAINST the Proposal. For each Item of the Proposal, its Quota of votes shall be determined as follows:

If the Item is a rule change which would directly alter the actions which are required of and/or forbidden to the Speaker, the Quota shall be at least two-thirds of the Turnout if the Speaker does not consent.
If the Item is a rule change which would directly alter the actions which are required of and/or forbidden to any other Officer, the Quota shall be at least two-thirds of the Turnout if the Officer does not consent. If the Officer does not consent then they may not vote on the proposal. They are not deemed to have abstained, but they suffer no penalty for failing to vote.
If the qItem is a proposal to transmute to immutable a rule which claims precedence over an immutable rule then the Quota shall be 100% of the turnout.
If the item involves changing the number assigned to any rule then the Quota shall be 100% of the Turnout if the new number is to be less than 200.
If the Item is a rule change of any other sort then its Quota shall be at least one-half of the Turnout.
If the Item is a Motion, then its Quota shall be at least one-half of the Turnout.

Officers consent to an item which is a rule change which would directly alter the actions which are required of and/or forbidden to them, by default. If they do not consent then they must make this clear on the newsgroup and inform the Speaker during the voting period on that proposal. If an Officer states that they do not consent to an item then they may only change their mind if the item is modified.

[Note that since the number of votes must *exceed* the Quota, which is 100%, no immutable rule may be transmuted, however 480(1) says they can.]

Initial Set, Rule 209
Amended in Proposal 414, Mark Rigby-Jones, proposed 29.i.1997.
Amended in Proposal P14, Gordon Aickin, proposed 14.ii.1997.
Modified by the Speaker (Ian Collier) under Rule 430, 3.xi.1997.
Amended in Proposal P41, Gordon Aickin, proposed 14.xi.1997.
Amended in Proposal P132,Gordon Aickin, proposed 15.v.1998.

210(0) Instant Effect An adopted rule change takes full effect at the moment of the completion of the vote that adopted it.

Initial Set, Rule 210

[Successive Items in a Proposal take effect consecutively with an infinitesimal amount of time between them.]

358(2) Points for Voting If a Proposal is adopted then:

Each Player who legally voted against the proposal receives 10 points.
The Player who proposed it receives a random number of points in the range 5-10 inclusive.

If a Proposal is neither adopted nor withdrawn then:

Each Player who legally voted for the proposal receives 5 points.
The Player who proposed it shall lose a random number of points in the range 5-10 inclusive unless there exists a Player and a legal vote for that Player such that the proposal would have been adopted had that Player chosen that vote.

Initial Set, Rule 211
Amended in Proposal 308, Gordon Aickin, proposed 2.xi.1996.
Amended in Proposal 358, Terry Boon, proposed 15.xi.1996.
Modified by the Speaker (Ian Collier) under Rule 430, 3.xi.1997.
Amended in Proposal P82, Ian Collier, proposed 18.ii.1998.

315(1) Proposer's Points When a proposal is accepted, the proposer must nominate another player. This player has 5 points added to his/her score.

When a proposal is rejected, the proposer must nominate another player. This player has 5 points deducted from his/her score.

In either case failure to inform the Speaker of the nomination of another player within a week of the proposed rule being accepted or rejected results in 5 points being deducted from the proposer's score. If the proposer enters Suspended Animation during this week before nominating another player, then he/she shall have the same amount of time after return from Suspended Animation to nominate another player without penalty as he/she had remaining before entering Suspended Animation.

Created in Proposal 315, Juliette White, proposed 5.xi.1996.
Amended in Proposal P112, Ian Snell, proposed 4.v.1998.

448(0) Pith If a Proposal is adopted then the player who proposed it shall receive 2 points for each Item of the Proposal, other than transmutations, repeals and Motions, which contains fifty words or fewer. For the purposes of this rule, contractions count as two words and hyphenated phrases count as if the hyphens were replaced by spaces.

Created in Proposal 381, Owen Massey, proposed 26.xi.1996.
Amended in Proposal P18, Owen Massey, proposed 19.ii.1997.

Appealing a Vote

378(0) Successful Appeals Any call for appeal made within the rules will be accepted if and only if the following is satisfied.

For votes which required a simple majority: the difference between the number of nonrandom votes for and the number of nonrandom votes against was at most two.
For votes which required a unanimous decision: the vote resulted in the rejection of the proposal and the number of nonrandom votes against the proposal was at most one.
For other votes: the result of the vote differed from the result which would have resulted from the exclusion of random votes.

Created in Proposal 378, Ian Collier, proposed 25.xi.1996.

[Note that no rules currently define a procedure for calling for appeal, which (with the first sentence) suggests that an appeal cannot be made.]

379(0) Conduct of an Appeal The result of an appeal is decided by holding another vote on the proposal. The vote is entirely similar to a normal vote, except that each player is allowed at most one vote. If the appeal results in the acceptance of a rule which previously was rejected and caused the proposer to lose points then the proposer will regain those points. Apart from this, no changes in score will result from an appeal.

Created in Proposal 379, Ian Collier, proposed 25.xi.1996.

Referendux

460(0) Referendux There exists a procedure to be referred to as a Referendum. The plural of Referendum, for the purpose of this game, is Referendux. This procedure works in the same way that a normal vote did at the time of proposal of this rule with the following amendments:

Quorum is one vote.
The voting period is one half of what it otherwise would be.
No bribes may take place.

Referendux may not be used to ratify or reject proposals and are not intended for use in the creation of new rules.

Created in Proposal P38, Chris Dickson, proposed 11.xi.1997.

467(0) Numbering Referendux The Speaker will assign each Referendum a reference number of the form Rx, where x is usually a positive integer, and generally speaking one more than the x used in the previous reference number.

Created in Proposal P53, Simon Cozens, proposed 26.xi.1997.

Judgements

398(3) Judgements Judgement is invoked by a player who is not in Suspended Animation sending in a Call for Judgement to the Recorder. When judgement is invoked, the Recorder must, as soon as possible, select a Judge as described in the Rules. The Recorder must then distribute the statement to be judged, along with the identity of the Judge, to all players. A judgement can only be invoked by a player who isn't in Suspended Animation.

Initial Set, Rule 213
Amended in Proposal 398, Gordon Aickin, proposed 19.i.1997.
Amended in Proposal FT3, Colin Batchelor, proposed 9.xii.1997.
Amended in Proposal P80, Colin Batchelor, proposed 17.ii.1998.
Amended in Proposal P87, Colin Batchelor, proposed 25.ii.1998.

484(0) One CfJ at a time If a Call for Judgement applies to a Rule or situation which is covered by a pending Call for Judgement, the Recorder is required to consult the author of the pending Call for Judgement on whether the new Call for Judgement should be accepted.

Created in Proposal P104, Colin Batchelor, proposed 27.iv.1998.

327(2) Selection of a Judge Any Judge selected shall be randomly selected from those Voters who are either human or who are automated but have explicit instructions on how to make Judgements, excluding the player most recently selected as Judge for that statement and the player who invoked judgement. If the Recorder selects an illegal Judge, the penalty is the loss of 10 points and CV5.

Initial Set, Rule 214
Amended in Proposal 327, Mark Rigby-Jones, proposed 7.xi.1996.
Amended in Proposal FT6, Helen Broadie, proposed 25.ii.1998.
Amended in Proposal P98, Colin Batchelor, proposed 10.iii.1998.

328(3) Delivering Judgement After the Recorder has distributed the statement to be judged and the identity of the Judge, the Judge has four days in which to deliver a legal judgement. If a legal Judgement is not delivered within this time, the Judge is penalised 10 points and a new Judge selected. A judgement is delivered by submitting that judgement to the Recorder, who must then distribute that judgement to all players as soon as possible.

Initial Set, Rule 215
Amended in Proposal 328, Mark Rigby-Jones, proposed 7.xi.1996.
Modified by the Speaker (Ian Collier) under Rule 430, 3.xi.1997.
Amended in Proposal P80, Colin Batchelor, proposed 17.ii.1998.
Amended in Proposal P124, Colin Batchelor, proposed 12.v.1998.

401(7) Form of Judgement The Call for Judgement must take the form of a list of at least two possible interpretations of a particular rule or interaction of two or more rules. The player calling for justice may if they wish explain the conflict in greater detail but the explanation is not part of the Call for Judgement.

A legal judgement will choose one of the options set out in the Call for Judgement or may choose and state another alternative. The judgement may be accompanied by reasons and arguments, but such reasons and arguments form no part of the judgement itself. If a judgement is accompanied by reasons and arguments, the Recorder must distribute the reasons and arguments along with the judgement.

A Judgement may also be called for in the case where a player feels a rule is in contrast to the intention of the proposer. If the Judge feels the rule should be corrected, a Fast-Track proposal should be used, if they exist. Only one Judgement may be made per Call for Judgement.

Initial Set, Rule 216
Amended in Proposal 401, Gordon Aickin, proposed 19.i.1997.
Amended in Proposal P29, Ian Snell, proposed 2.xi.1997.
Modified by the Speaker (Ian Collier) under Rule 430, 3.xi.1997.
Amended in Proposal P42, Gordon Aickin, proposed 14.xi.1997.
Amended in Proposal P80, Colin Batchelor, proposed 17.ii.1998.
Amended in Proposal P87, Colin Batchelor, proposed 25.ii.1998.
Modified by the Speaker (Owen Massey) under Rule 430, 12.iii.1998.
Amended in Proposal P103, Colin Batchelor, proposed 27.iv.1998.

402(2) Fixing a Hole If a Judge finds that the rules were silent, inconsistent or unclear then they should submit a rule proposal to clarify the situation which is in agreement with their judgement. The Judge shall suffer no penalty if this rule fails. However they will still get any benefits if it passes. The Proposal thus submitted may take the form of a Fast-Track Proposal, but the Speaker may refuse to accept it as Fast-Track if it involves more than just clarifying ths situation.

Initial Set, Rule 217
Amended in Proposal 402, Gordon Aickin, proposed 19.i.1997.
Amended in Proposal P35, Ian Snell, proposed 10.xi.1997.
Amended in Proposal P67, Helen Broadie, proposed 26.i.1998.

458(4) Appeals on Judgements After a judgement has been delivered, it may be appealed by any player (except the judge him or herself) as long as they inform the Recorder that they wish to do so within one voting period of the time when Judgement was delivered.

When a judgement is appealed three new Judges are selected. All the normal rules for the selection of Judges apply, except that the Player who originally called for Judgement, the Judge whose Judgement is being appealed and the Player calling for appeal are ineligible for selection. Each Judge will send a Judgement of the original statement to the Recorder within one voting period of the publicising of the Appeal When the Recorder has received the Judgement from all three Judges the result is distributed.

If two or more Judges agree then the result of the Appeal will be their Judgement; otherwise the Recorder will also make a Judgement and the result of the Appeal will be that Judgement. In either case this result supersedes the original Judgement.

The majority decision is the judgement made. In the case of a tie then the Recorder will also make a judgement and that judgement will be binding.

If the original judgement is found to be correct then the player who appealed shall be fined 10 points and CV6.

If the original Call for Judgement was an Accusation and, on appeal, the Defendant is judged not to have broken the rules then the Defendant shall have any Black Marks awarded as a result of the original Judgement removed.

The judgement made shall have the number A(n) whre n is the number of the judgement being appealed against.

Created in Proposal P33, Gordon Aickin, proposed 6.xi.1997.
Amended in Proposal P80, Colin Batchelor, proposed 17.ii.1998.
Amended in Proposal P98, Colin Batchelor, proposed 10.iii.1998.
Amended in Proposal FT11, Ian Collier, proposed 20.iii.1998.
Amended in Proposal 125, Colin Batchelor, proposed 12.v.1998.

482(0) Judgements are not binding on play. Judgements are not binding on play.

Created in Proposal FT10, Stephen Gower, proposed 20.iii.1998.

Fast-Track Proposals and Probationary Rules

456(1) Fast-Track Proposals There shall exist a Proposal called the Fast-Track Proposal. In all ways other than those listed herein, a Fast-Track Proposal is identical to a normal Proposal.

A Fast-Track Proposal needs no quorum. The Voting Period for a Fast-Track Proposal is two days, provided this is not more than a normal Voting Period, in which case the Voting Period for a Fast-Track Proposal shall be the same length as a normal Voting Period. The Proposer cannot be penalised if the vote does not pass. Fast-Track Proposals shall be given a separate numbering system from normal Proposals, referred to as FTn in the same manner as normal Proposals.

If the vote for a Fast-Track Proposal passes, any rules, amendments or repeals take the form of Probationary Rules.

Fast-Track Proposals may only be made by players under conditions stated explicitly in the rules.

Created in Proposal P28, Ian Snell, proposed 2.xi.1997.
Amended in Proposal P35, Ian Snell, proposed 10.xi.1997.

459(0) Probationary Rules There shall exist a type of rule called the Probationary Rule. The Probationary Rule shall be listed separately in the ruleset from both Immutable and Mutable rules. A Probationary Rule is neither an Immutable Rule nor a Mutable Rule. A Probationary Rule may be the repeal of an existing rule; in this case the repeal can be considered a rule for the purposes of this rule. A Probationary Rule cannot be transmuted nor amended. The only possible future for a Probationary Rule is either its adoption as a full Mutable Rule, or its repeal, unless the Probationary Rule is the repeal of an existing rule, in which case its future may be that it is no longer considered a rule, but merely enacted.

After the enactment of a Probationary Rule, the Probationary Rule exists in a Probationary Period. The Probationary Period is equal in length to one normal voting period. During the Probationary Period, the rule shall have full power as if it were a full rule. A Probationary Rule shall be referred to as PRn, where n is the full Reference number the rule would have had it been immediately given full rule status. If the Probationary Rule is an amendment to an existing rule then the Probationary Rule must state the entire rule of which it is part; during the Probationary Period, the unamended rule is kept within the ruleset, but it has no power. If the Probationary Rule is the repeal of an existing rule, then the existing rule shall be kept within the ruleset for the duration of the Probationary Period, but it has no power.

When the Probationary Period has been properly completed, the Probationary Rule takes on its status as a full Mutable rule, replacing if necessary any unamended rule, and if the Probationary Rule is the repeal of an existing rule, then that rule shall be removed from the ruleset. At any point during the Probationary Period, any player may call for the repeal of the Probationary Rule. This repeal is a valid Motion, and is called a Motion for Overturning. It shall consist of the text "I call for the Overturn of PRn". A Motion for Overturning acts as a Fast-Track Proposal, with the exception that if the vote passes, the Probationary Rule is immediately repealed, and the Motion does not go through its own Probationary Period.

Created in Proposal P35, Ian Snell, proposed 10.xi.1997.

The Speaker

218(0) Speaker's Duties In addition to duties which may be listed elsewhere in the rules, the Speaker shall have the following duties:

register new players;
maintain a list of all players and their current scores, and make such a list available to all players;
maintain a complete list of the current rules, and make such a list available to all players;
make a random determination whenever such determination is required by the rules.

Initial Set, 218

439(4) Speaker's Proposal For the purposes of every Proposal divisible by 25 and Motions of No Confidence where their tabling is part of the Speaker's duties, the Speaker shall be an honorary Voter. This gives the Speaker a counting vote and all other rights associated with being a Voter.

Created in Proposal 324, Chris Dickson, proposed 6.xi.1996.
Amended in Proposal P3, Mark Rigby-Jones, proposed 11.ii.1997.
Modified by the Speaker (Ian Collier) under Rule 430, 3.xi.1997.
Amended in Proposal P36, Ian Snell, proposed 10.xi.1997.
Amended in Proposal FT5, Helen Broadie, proposed 26.i.1998.
Amended in Proposal P88, Colin Batchelor, proposed 25.ii.1998.

Offices

410(0) Offices A position which can be held by a player may be defined to be an Office. It shall be an Office if and only if (firstly) the rules state that it is one and (secondly) the position imposes some obligation upon the player holding it. The holder of an Office shall be called an Officer. An Office shall be defined as Vacant if no player holds that Office.

This rule shall take precedence over all other rules determining whether a position is an Office.

Created in Proposal 410, Terry Boon, proposed 22.i.1997.

[Note that the Speaker is not an Officer and therefore is not bound by the rules pertaining only to Officers.]

431(0) Officers Act Fairly Each Officer must, when exercising his/her discretion as holder of an Office, act reasonably, honestly, and without bias or prejudice.

Created in Proposal 421, Terry Boon, proposed 3.ii.1997.

432(0) Length of Office At the end of each game all officers shall have the option to resign. If they don't decide to resign then they automatically continue for another game. After two games (at least one of which is complete) those receiving a CV salary must resign, although they are allowed to resubmit their names for the election procedure, as specified by the rules.

Created in Proposal 367, Daniel Bor, proposed 20.xi.96.
Amended in Proposal 422, Terry Boon, proposed 3.ii.1997.

437(2) No Confidence Text of the form "OxNomic has no confidence in <PERSON> as the holder of the position of <POSITION>." shall be a valid Motion, where <PERSON> is replaced with the name of some player of OxNomic and <POSITION> is replaced with the title of an Office which that player currently holds. A Motion of this form shall be called a Motion of No Confidence and shall be triggered automatically when an Officer has 4 Black Marks.

If a Motion of No Confidence is carried then the player identified in the Motion shall immediately be obliged to resign the Office identified in the Motion, if (s)he is the current holder of that Office.

Created in Proposal 427, Terry Boon, proposed 3.ii.1997.
Modified by the Speaker (Ian Collier) under Rule 430, 3.xi.1997.
Amended in Proposal P98, Colin Batchelor, proposed 10.iii.1998.

435(2) Banker There shall be an Office known as Banker. The duty of the Banker shall be to maintain a list of current C.V. point holdings and make it available to all players. A player may transfer a positive whole number of C.V. points from himself or herself to any other player by e-mailing the banker.

Created in Proposal 353, Matthew Barratt, proposed 13.xi.1996.
Amended in Proposal 425, Terry Boon, proposed 3.ii.1997.
Modified by the Speaker (Ian Collier) under Rule 430, 3.xi.1997.
Amended in Proposal P130, Gordon Aickin, proposed 15.v.1998.

472(1) Master of Puppets There shall exist an Office entitled Master of Puppets. The duties of the Master of Puppets are to control all Puppets in the Game except for those Puppets for which a Deputy Master of Puppets has been appointed, and to notify all Players of any appointments, dismissals or resignations of Deputy Masters of Puppets. The appointment and dismissal of Deputy Masters of Puppets is entirely at the discretion of the Master of Puppets, but any player may decline the appointment or resign from the post. At most one Deputy Master of Puppets is appointed for each Puppet. Each Deputy Master of Puppets is a human Player.

The Master of any particular puppet is defined to be the Deputy Master of Puppets appointed for that Puppet if one exists, and the Master of Puppets otherwise. When the rules refer to the Master and the Puppet, this shall refer to all Masters and all Puppets unless specified; the rules shall refer to Puppets by name if the rules are specific to a Puppet and its Master. No Puppet may have the name `the Puppet'.

If the Office of Master of Puppets is vacant at any time, all Deputy Masters of Puppets lose their status until re-appointed by a Master of Puppets. Any Puppet which has no Master or whose Master is in Suspended Animation will be placed in Suspended Animation until a new Master is appointed or the current Master leaves Suspended Animation.

The Master is to be paid a salary for the Puppet as specified. The Master shall send the votes of the Puppet to the Speaker inside the voting period. If the Master fails to do this, the Puppet who has cast no vote shall abstain and, for the Puppet failing to vote, the Master shall be fined the sum of CV2 and 2 points. The Master must also carry out all other Actions pertaining to the Puppet, including notifying relevant Officers when required, such as the Banker if CV points are modified by the Puppet.

Created in Proposal P68, Ian Snell, proposed 1.ii.1998.
Amended in Proposal P91, Ian Snell, proposed 28.ii.1998.

469(3) RecorderThere is an Office of Recorder. The Recorder receives a salary of CV1 every 4 days. The Recorder shall maintain and make public a list of all Calls for Judgement and the Judgements delivered on them and shall record both Black and White Marks against players' names. The Recorder will also maintain a list of Referendux and their results and a copy of each Proposal, Referendum or rule, Probationary or otherwise, mentioned in each CFJ and Judgement in the state it was at the time of the Call for Judgement.

Created in Proposal P63, Owen Massey, proposed 26.i.1998.
Amended in Proposal P78, Ian Collier, proposed 13.ii.1998.
Amended in Proposal P106, Ian Snell, proposed 27.iv.1998. Amended in Proposal P125, Colin Batchelor, proposed 12.v.1998.

434(4) Rule Clerk

There shall be an Office known as the Rule Clerk.
This office shall receive a salary of CV1 every 4 days.
The duties of this officer shall be twofold:
- to assign every rule (not proposal) a unique title, and
- to make and keep a list of the rules in a logical order (rather than the current numerical order). This order should be ordered such that rules on similar subjects are close together, with the exception of immutable rules which should always be listed separately. Any rules which are deemed inapplicable due to a conflict with other rules shall be listed at the end. Any rules where only part of the rule is applicable due to a conflict with another rule shall be annotated to make this clear. The list must include: the full text of all rules; the numbers of all rules, for each rule a hyperlinked list of the proposals having led to its modification and the titles of all rules. This list may include any footnotes or annotations which in the view of the Clerk make the ruleset more easily understood.
Note: It is not within the Clerk's power to decide categorically which rules are in conflict and which defer to which. If there is disagreement about this then players may still make a Call for Judgement.
The numerical ruleset kept by the Speaker is still the set which should be referred to officially and the only binding set. The second list is for ease of reference only.
The Clerk should make this list public in addition to the current numerical list. The list should be updated by the clerk as soon as possible after a new rule is passed.
The unique title of each rule may be used by any Player as an identifying label, but should preferably be used on its own only when for some reason the Reference Number of a rule is not appropriate to the situation. In any case where both the Reference Number and the title of a rule have both been specified but apply to different rules, then the title shall be assumed to be the correct identifying label, as this is less likely to fall foul of a typographical error confusing the rule with another.

Created in Proposal 372, Gordon Aickin, proposed 23.xi.1996.
Amended in Proposal 424, Terry Boon, proposed 3.ii.1997.
Modified by the Speaker (Ian Collier) under Rule 430, 3.xi.1997.
Modified by the Speaker (Ian Collier) under Rule 430, at some other point.
Amended in Proposal P86, Colin Batchelor, proposed 25.ii.1998.
Amended in Proposal P102, Ian Snell, proposed 27.iv.1998.

[The above Note is part of the text of Rule 434 and therefore binding.]

433(1) Scribe There is an Office called Scribe. The Scribe shall be required to write, and make available to all players, an OxNomic newsletter. All Players may submit articles or points of interest to the Scribe for possible inclusion in a newsletter. The Scribe shall receive CV2 for each newsletter they write; this counts as a salary.

The Scribe shall write at most one newsletter per week. If the Scribe fails to write at least one newsletter in any term then the Speaker shall table a Motion of No Confidence in the Scribe.

Created in Proposal 369, Daniel Bor, proposed 20.xi.1996.
Amended in Proposal 423, Terry Boon, proposed 3.ii.1997.
Amended in Proposal P43, Owen Massey, proposed 14.xi.1997.

Elections

394(3) Elections The Speaker shall notify all players of an Election for an Office as soon as possible after that Office becomes Vacant. A player wishing to stand as a candidate in the Election must inform the Speaker. If the Speaker is Acting then the Election shall be called by the next Speaker to be elected.

The Speaker shall distribute the names of the candidates to all players either three days after the notification of the Election or as soon as possible after at least one player has informed the Speaker of their candidature, whichever is later.

If there is only one candidate at this point then they shall be declared elected. Otherwise a vote shall be held; the voting period shall be equal to that for a normal Proposal, commencing at the point when the Speaker publishes the list of candidates. Each player has one vote, which may only be cast by sending the name of a candidate to the Speaker before the end of the voting period. At the end of the voting period, the player with most C.V. points amongst those receiving most votes shall be declared elected; if there is no such player, the Speaker shall choose a player at random from amongst those receiving most votes and declare that player elected.

The elected candidate shall take on the Vacant Office.

Created in Proposal 368, Daniel Bor, proposed 20.xi.1996.
Amended in Proposal 389, Ian Collier, proposed 28.xi.1996.
Amended in Proposal 394, Nick Fortescue, proposed 11.xii.1996.
Modified by the Speaker (Ian Collier) under Rule 430, 3.xi.1997.
Amended in Proposal P45, Owen Massey, proposed 20.xi.1997.
Amended in Proposal P59, Owen Massey, proposed 19.i.1998.

462(1) Electing a Speaker

If, at any point, there would be no Speaker then the player who was most recently Speaker shall be appointed Acting Speaker and they must notify all players of an Election for the position of Speaker as soon as possible. The Election shall be held according to the rules currently in force for an Election, except that "Speaker" shall be interpreted as "Acting Speaker" throughout and the elected candidate shall become the Speaker.

Created in Proposal P45, Owen Massey, proposed 20.xi.1997.
Amended in Proposal P59, Owen Massey, proposed 19.i.1998.

Puppets

473(1) Puppets There shall exist a type of Player called a Puppet. The Actions of a Puppet are entirely accounted for by a set of Instructions as described below.

A Puppet may be created by any Player eligible to make a Proposal. The set of Instructions for a single Puppet must be fully contained within one rule. This rule must also contain the name of the Puppet, and the salary due to the Master for the Puppet. It must make clear that the rule refers to a Puppet, and it must contain explicit Instructions on how the Puppet is to vote. Any other Instructions relating to the actions must also be strictly defined; a Puppet may take no actions except as explicitly stated in its Instructions. Puppets may never be the Speaker nor hold any Offices. A situation may never arise where the Puppet is required to do anything not covered by its Instructions; this rule takes precedence over all other rules covering such situations. If the preceding sentence would make further play impossible then the Actions of the Puppet will be decided by its Master until further play becomes possible. The Instructions of a Puppet may not allow a decision to be made by a human except in this instance; the actions of a Puppet must be either random, with given probabilities for various actions, or automated. The salary paid to the Master for a Puppet must be paid in either four-day periods or eight-day periods, and may never exceed CV2 for every four days.

If a proposed rule change is clear from context to be one to create a Puppet and it does not fulfil these guidelines, then it has not been proposed in the proper manner, and so is disregarded; if there is disagreement over whether a Proposal is one to create a Puppet or not, then a Referendum shall be held to decide the issue.

Created in Proposal P68, Ian Snell, proposed 1.ii.1998.
Modified by the Speaker (Owen Massey) under Rule 430, 18.ii.1998.

474(0) Robin Hood There shall exist a Puppet called Robin Hood. The Master of Robin Hood is to be paid CV1 every eight days for Robin Hood. Robin Hood's Instructions are as follows:

Robin Hood shall vote randomly on all votes, with a probability of 1/6 for abstention, 1/3 for voting against, and 1/2 for voting in favour, unless King John exists and the vote is for a Proposal made by the Leader, in which case Robin Hood votes against.
After each announcement from the Speaker giving the result of a vote or votes, there is a 1 in 6 chance Robin Hood will rob from the rich and give to the poor. If he does, 10% of the points (rounded up) is stolen from all Players with scores equal to or above 75% of the score required to win the game, and shared out equally amongst all Players with less than 25% of the score required to win the game (except King John and Robin Hood, who both receive none of this share even if they fit this criterion). If the amount does not divide exactly, Robin Hood retains the remainder.
Once every Sunday, there is a 10% chance that Robin Hood can steal all of King John's points and distribute them equally to all Players, retaining any remainder.

Created in Proposal P68, Ian Snell, proposed 1.ii.1998.

475(0) King John There shall exist a Puppet called King John. The Master of King John is to be paid CV1 every eight days for King John. King John's Instructions are as follows:

King John shall vote randomly on all votes, with a probability of 1/6 for abstention, 1/3 for a vote in favour, and 1/2 for a vote against, unless the vote is for a Proposal made by the Leader, in which case King John votes in favour.
After each announcement from the Speaker giving the result of a vote or votes, King John may tax any Player except King John and Robin Hood. Every Player has a 1 in 20 chance of having CV5 and 5 points transferred to King John. If King John is ever Leader, then this increases to a 1 in 10 chance, and a tax of CV10 and 10 points.

Created in Proposal P68, Ian Snell, proposed 1.ii.1998.

479(0) Death There exists a Puppet called Death. For the purposes of OxNomic, Death is female. The Master of Death is to be paid CV1 every four days for Death. Death's Instructions are as follows:

On Monday of each week of Full Term, the Master of Death shall choose a rule at random from the ruleset. If the rule selected is immutable then Death makes a Proposal to transmute it to mutable. If the rule selected is mutable then Death makes a Proposal to repeal it. Death is always able to make a Proposal. Death will cast a vote of ABSTAIN on all Proposals except as determined by the rules. Death may not be Bribed.

Death may not win the game. This takes precedence over any rule determining the winner of the game.

Created in Proposal P75, Owen Massey, proposed 10.ii.1998.

485(0) Ron There shall exist a puppet called Ron. The Master of Ron is to be paid CV1 every time an election is called. Ron's instructions are as follows:

Ron shall abstain on all Proposals.
Ron shall stand as a candidate in all Elections.

Created in Proposal P105, Colin Batchelor, proposed 27.iv.1998.

Shades

493(0) Changing Shades No player's Shade may change except when it is explicitly stated in the rules that it should or may.

Created in Proposal P136, Gordon Aickin, proposed 15.v.1998.

492(0) Chromodynamics Whenever exactly three players have the same score, and two of them have the same Shade, the Shade of the third shall be changed to be the same as the other two.

Created in Proposal P135, Gordon Aickin, proposed 15.v.1998.

Other Nomics

320(0) War Should a game of Nomic start in Cambridge at any point, this Nomic shall declare war on it, by means and ways to be decided at the time.

Created in Proposal 320, Chris Dickson, proposed 6.xi.1996.

Rules for certain times

342(0) Remembrance No business may be conducted between the times of 11:00 (a.m.) and 11:02 (a.m.) GMT on the 11 November in any year. For the purposes of this rule, business includes, but is not limited to, voting, rule proposals and postings to the relevant Nomic discussion group. The penalty for doing so will be the immediate loss of 100 points (unless this causes the player to win the game, in which case the penalty will be the loss or gain of as many points as the Speaker feels is just).

Created in Proposal 342, Stuart Adamson, proposed 10.xi.1996.

393(0) Festive Season All players are encouraged and required to have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. The penalty for not doing so will be self-imposed and at the player's own discretion.

Created in Proposal 393, Chris Dickson, proposed 5.xii.1996.

End of a Game

219(0) Stalemate If a player believes that the rules are such that further play is impossible, or that the legality of a move cannot be determined with finality, or that a move appears equally legal and illegal, then the player may invoke judgement on a statement to that effect. If the statement is judged TRUE, then the player who invoked judgement shall be declared the winner of that game, and the game ends, with no provision for starting another game. This rule takes precedence over every other rule determining the winner of the game.

Initial Set, Rule 219

388(1) Game Over The winner is the first Voter to score 200 or more (positive) points.

If more than one Voter scores 200 or more (positive) points simultaneously then the Voter that has the highest score shall be the winner.
If more than one Voters have equal highest scores then the Voter that had the most proposals passed in that game shall be the winner.
If there are more than one Voters that have equal highest scores and have had an equal number of proposals passed then the one with the lowest number of failed proposals shall be the winner.
If there are more than one Voters with equal highest scores, equal highest numbers of passed proposals and equal lowest numbers of failed proposals then both shall be declared the winner.
That winner is declared the Leader for the following game. Any Leader for the current game will lose the status of being the Leader for the next game, unless that Leader is declared the winner of the current game.

When a game ends in this manner:

All players' scores are reset to 0.
A new game is begun, in which all rules and proposed rule changes retain the status they had at the end of the old game.

Initial Set, Rule 203
Amended in Proposal 340, Stephen Gower, proposed 8.xi.1996.
Amended in Proposal 343, Daniel Bor, proposed 11.xi.1996.
Amended in Proposal 359, Ian Collier, proposed 17.xi.1996.
Amended in Proposal 388, Ian Collier, proposed 28.xi.1996.
Modified by the Speaker (Ian Collier) under Rule 430, 3.xi.1997.

366(0) Incentive The winner or winners of any particular game receive a one-off payment of 20 CV points.

Created in Proposal 366, Daniel Bor, proposed 20.xi.1996.

Inapplicable Immutable Rules

104(0) First Speaker The Speaker for the first game shall be Owen Massey.

Initial Set, Rule 104

Inapplicable Mutable Rules

490(0) Simon's Folly This Proposal is doomed to failure.

Created in Proposal P114, Simon Cozens, proposed 4.v.1998.

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