Three Rivers Nomic Association
Current Rules

Main Page Logical Index

Rank Rule Class Name
I Root
I-I   Judicial
I-II   Proposal
I-III   Voting
I-IV   Entity
I-IV-I     Player
I-IV-I-I       Officer
I-IV-II     Team
I-IV-II-I       Games
I-V   Scoring
I-VI   Commerce
I-M-M-M-M-M           Unassigned

Root Class (I)

*

101/0 "To Play You Must Obey" (Immutable)

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 whenever a game begins. The Initial Set consists of Rules 101-116 (immutable) and 201-213 (mutable).

*

102/0 (Immutable)

Initially rules in the 100's are immutable and rules in the 200's 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.

*

110/0 (Immutable)

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.

*

114/0 (Immutable)

There must always be at least one mutable rule. The adoption of rule-changes must never become completely impermissible.

*

116/0 (Immutable)

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.

*

211/0 (Mutable)

If two or more mutable rules conflict with one another, or if two or more immutable rules conflict with one another, then the rule with the lowest ordinal 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 supersede the numerical method for determining precedence. If two or more rules claim to take precedence over one another or to defer to one another, then the numerical method again governs.

*

318/1 "More Rules!" (Mutable)

There shall be no more than 150 mutable rules at any time.

Judicial Class (I-I)

*

212/0 (Mutable)

If players disagree about the legality of a move or the interpretation or application of a rule, then the player preceding the one moving is to be the Judge and decide the question. Disagreement for the purposes of this rule may be created by the insistence of any player. This process is called invoking Judgment.

When Judgment has been invoked, the next player may not begin his or her turn without the consent of a majority of the other players.

The Judge's Judgment may be overruled only by a unanimous vote of the other players taken before the next turn is begun. If a Judge's Judgment is overruled, then the player preceding the Judge in the playing order becomes the new Judge for the question, and so on, except that no player is to be Judge during his or her own turn or during the turn of a team-mate.

Unless a Judge is overruled, one Judge settles all questions arising from the game until the next turn is begun, including questions as to his or her own legitimacy and jurisdiction as Judge.

New Judges are not bound by the decisions of old Judges. New Judges may, however, settle only those questions on which the players currently disagree and that affect the completion of the turn in which Judgment was invoked. All decisions by Judges shall be in accordance with all the rules then in effect; but when the rules are silent, inconsistent, or unclear on the point at issue, then the Judge shall consider game-custom and the spirit of the game before applying other standards.

*

213/0 (Mutable)

If the rules are changed so that further play is impossible, or if the legality of a move cannot be determined with finality, or if by the Judge's best reasoning, not overruled, a move appears equally legal and illegal, then the first player unable to complete a turn is the winner. This rule takes precedence over every other rule determining the winner.

Proposal Class (I-II)

*

103/0 (Immutable)

A rule-change is any of the following: (1) the enactment, repeal, or amendment of a mutable rule; (2) the enactment, repeal, or amendment of an amendment of a mutable rule; or (3) the transmutation of an immutable rule into a mutable rule or vice versa. (Note: 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.)

*

106/0 (Immutable)

All proposed rule-changes shall be written down before they are voted on. If they are adopted, they shall guide play in the form in which they were voted on.

*

107/0 (Immutable)

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.

*

108/0 (Immutable)

Each proposed rule-change shall be given a number for reference. The numbers shall begin with 301, and each rule-change proposed in the proper way shall receive the next successive integer, whether or not the proposal is adopted. If a rule is repealed and reenacted, it receives the number of the proposal to reenact it. If a rule is amended or transmuted, it receives the number of the proposal to amend or transmute it. If an amendment is amended or repealed, the entire rule of which it is a part receives the number of the proposal to amend or repeal the amendment.

*

111/0 (Immutable)

If a rule-change as proposed is unclear, ambiguous, paradoxical, or destructive of play, or if it arguably consists of two or more rule-changes compounded or is an amendment that makes no difference, or if it is otherwise of questionable value, then the other players may suggest amendments or argue against the proposal before the vote. A reasonable time must be allowed for this debate. The proponent decides the final form in which the proposal is to be voted on and, unless the Judge has been asked to do so, also decides the time to end debate and vote.

*

115/0 (Immutable)

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.

*

311/0 "I christen thee... Bob. Bob the Rule" (Mutable)

All valid proposals at the time of proposal shall have, as part of the proposal, a title sentence no longer than 20 words describing the content of the rule, enclosed in quotes. This title is for the use of the players only and has no bearing on the official enactment of the rule.

When voting on a proposal, players may also vote on the title of the rule based on amusement, descriptive content and metaphoric ingenuity. Votes upon the title are independent of votes for the proposal are made by prefixing the vote with the word "sweet" to indicate approval, or "sacre bleu!" to indicate disapproval. [examples of this would be "sweet wheat", "sacre bleu! wheat" etc.] If the number of players approving the title of the rule is greater than the number of players disapproving, then the proposing player is awarded one bonus point regardless of whether the proposal passes or not.

An unnamed exisiting rule (known as an "unchristened" rule) in the ruleset can be named by a player at the beginning of their turn if they so desire (this is known as "christening"). This is done by indicating the rule to be named and the name desired in the same email in which the players proposal is listed. Voting is then carried out on an optional basis, along with the allocation of points as discussed in the previous paragraph of this rule, seperate from the voting upon the proposal for that turn. Voting for the christening ends at the end of the turn.

*

312/0 "The Tri-Nomic Proposal Bank" (Mutable)
Also in the Entity Class.

There exist an entity known as the Tri-Nomic Proposal Bank, hereinafter referred to as TPB. The TPB is a repository for potential proposals. The TPB will operate in the following manner:

1. The manager of the TPB is known as the Mogul. They are responsible for the following actions in addition to any other actions required by the rules:

a. Maintaining a publicly available listing [[either on a web page, or by using their own system of filing]] of all proposals in the TPB including the name of the Player who deposited the Proposal, the time of deposit, and the name of the proposal.

b. Removing Proposals which are older than six months or are otherwise unsuitable [[for example if something similar has already been proposed or if they contradict current rules]]. Removal of Proposals by the Mogul will be at the their discretion.

2. The Mogul will be elected by a simple majority vote of all active Players and will continue in their duties until they are removed by a recall of a simple majority of votes by active Players or they choose to abdicate their office. If the office is empty an immediate election shall be held.

3. Any Player may add a Proposal to the TPB, not to exceed a total of 4 of their own Proposals in the TPB, or delete any number of their own proposals from the TPB at any time by informing the mailing list of their desired action.

4. Proposals added to the TPB will be kept in time received order based on the mailing list time/date of the deposit.

5. During their turn, a Player may take any Proposal out of the TPB and use it as their official Proposal for their turn, and the proposal cannot be modified after being removed form the TPB. The Mogul will then remove that proposal from the TPB.

6. In the event that a Player fails to make a Proposal during their turn within three days [[or whatever time limit may be set by other rules]], the oldest proposal in the TPB will become their official Proposal. If a Player passes, then no action will be taken by the TPB.

7. Points will be awarded to Players in the following manner for use of a TPB proposal.

a. Whenever a Proposal is removed from the TPB and used by a Player, that Player will receive all points or penalties that come from that Proposal's passage or defeat.

b. The Player who placed the Proposal in the bank will receive one half of the points or penalties from the Proposals passage or defeat. [[This could be considered interest on the deposit]]

c. If the Player who removed the Proposal from the TPB is also the same Player who deposited the Proposal, then they shall only gain or lose points as provided in 7a. They will not receive points under 7b.

*

314/1 "Definition of Turns" (Mutable)
Also in the Voting and Scoring Classes.

One turn consists of three parts in this order: (1) for one calendar week, each player may propose one rule-change; (2) players vote on all rule-changes proposed; and (3) the player taking the turn receives a number of points equal to the number of favorable votes received by his or her proposal, if any.
Once voting starts, proposals and votes may not be changed.

Voting Class (I-III)

*

104/0 (Immutable)

All rule-changes proposed in the proper way shall be voted on. They will be adopted if and only if they receive the required number of votes.

*

105/0 (Immutable)

Every player is an eligible voter. Every eligible voter must participate in every vote on rule-changes.

*

109/0 (Immutable)

Rule-changes that transmute immutable rules into mutable rules may be adopted if and only if the vote is unanimous among the eligible voters. Transmutation shall not be implied, but must be stated explicitly in a proposal to take effect.

*

205/0 (Mutable)

An adopted rule-change takes full effect at the moment of the completion of the vote that adopted it.

*

207/0 (Mutable)

Each player always has exactly one vote.

*

302/0 (Mutable)

Votes shall be cast using the following words: "wheat" for "yes," "psoriasis" for "no," "Albrecht Durer" for "abstain," and "mu" for "mu."

*

307/1 (Mutable)

A rule-change which creates or amends a mutable rule is adopted if and only if a simple majority of eligible voters approve it.

*

309/1 (Mutable)

Voting to abstain is considered valid participation in a vote.

When a vote is taken: if non-abstaining votes exist and all non-abstaining votes are affirmative then the election shall be considered unanimous in the affirmative; if non-abstaining votes exist and all non-abstaining votes are negative, then the election shall be considered unanimous in the negative; if a majority of non-abstaining votes are affirmative, then the election shall be considered affirmative in the majority; otherwise, the election shall be considered negative.

After a reasonable time, defined as two calendar weeks unless otherwise stated by the player taking a turn, eligible voters who have not voted shall automatically cast the same vote as a majority of the other members of all teams which they have joined. If no such majority exists, then they shall automatically cast a vote of abstention.

*

314/1 "Definition of Turns" (Mutable)

*

319/0 "Sure, blame it all on the technology" (Mutable)
Also in the Entity Class.

There exists a game entity known as the Robot. The Robot is an eligible voter, but not a player. Whenever the Robot may vote, the following _DICE_ delimited text shall be sent by email to "dice@pbm.com". If the result is 1, then the Robot shall vote in favor. If the result is 2, then the Robot shall vote against. If the result is 3, then the Robot shall abstain from voting. Otherwise, the Robot shall call for a vote on the removal from office of each Public Officer.

_DICE_
#P tri-nomic@onelist.com
#S 3
#D 1
#R 1
#T Robot vote
_DICE_

Entity Class (I-IV)

*

312/0 "The Tri-Nomic Proposal Bank" (Mutable)

*

319/0 "Sure, blame it all on the technology" (Mutable)

Player Class (I-IV-I)

*

113/0 (Immutable)

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.

*

306/1 "Who's On First?" (Mutable)

Players shall alternate in alphabetical order by surname, with the exception of those added during the current round of play. New players shall take their turns in the order in which they joined the game, after all players who began the round have had their turns. On subsequent rounds, everyone shall have their turn in normal alphabetical order.

Players may pass their turns, but shall be assessed a 2-point penalty for doing so. Parts of turns may not be skipped. All players shall begin the game with zero points.

*

315/0 "Player Status" (Mutable)

Each player has a status which is one of the following: Active, Inactive, or Withdrawn. Changes in Player Activity Status occur at the end of each player turn after all other business for the player turn has been completed.

For purposes of this rule, actively casting a vote is defined as posting to the mailing list a legal vote by the player in question and specifically excludes automatic abstentions caused by failure to cast a vote and team determined votes.

Active: Players who actively cast any vote on a proposal during the current player turn shall have the Player Activity Status of Active.

Inactive: Players who have not actively cast any vote on a proposal during the previous 6 or more player turns, including the current turn, shall have the Player Activity Status of Inactive. Inactive players may not hold Tri-Nomic Offices.

Withdrawn: Players may voluntarily withdraw from Tri-Nomic and may do so by posting to the mailing list. They shall have the Player Activity Status of Withdrawn. Withdrawn players, forfeit all Tri-Nomic Offices, Items, Entities, and titles they possess to the TNA Bank, or other Tri-Nomic entity they specify as beneficiary at the time they withdraw. They do not receive player turns, and are not counted as players for scoring purposes. They may rejoin Tri-Nomic at the conclusion of any complete player turn.

*

321/0 "Ever Feel Like a Puppet?" (Mutable)

Each real person participating in Three Rivers Nomic controls an entity called an player. Players may vote whenever a vote is taken unless otherwise specified. Players may own other entities but may not be owned. When a rule refers to a person, it is understood to refer to the player which that person controls.

Any person without a player in Three Rivers Nomic may add a player which that person will control, by stating a desire to play in Three Rivers Nomic. This player is then given a name identical to that of the person who added it.

*

322/0 "Generic Universal Nomic Stats" (Mutable)

Each player of Three Rivers Nomic has the following statistics: Strength, Health, Dexterity, Intelligence. The range and values of the statistics may be determined by other rules or by game custom.

Officer Class (I-IV-I-I)

*

316/0 "Tri-nomic Offices" (Mutable)

Tri-nomic Offices exist only as specified in the rules. When a Tri-nomic Office is vacant, eligible voters shall nominate players and vote on them in the order of nomination until an election is affirmative in the majority. The player being voted on shall hold the Tri-nomic Office until they resign or are removed by a majority of votes by eligible voters. Each player who holds one or more Tri-nomic Offices shall be known as a Public Officer. At the beginning of each turn, each Public Officer shall receive two TMUs in addition to those granted by other rules.

*

317/0 "As old as the hills" (Mutable)

There exists an Officer in Tri-Nomic known as the Archivist. The Archivist is responsible for maintaining a public record of actions and their results within the game of Tri-Nomic. These actions include, but are not limited to:
1. Voting activity
2. Player Status
3. Player attributes
4. All valid proposals that were proposed in any turn previous to the current turn.

*

323/0 "Ballots and information will be available at your local voting booth..." (Mutable)

There exists a Tri-nomic Office known as the Booth. When any vote is taken, the Booth is responsible for accepting votes and determining any effects of the votes.

The Booth must vote within three days of the start of the voting period. After this time, the Booth's vote may not be changed. The official vote of any other player is the last valid vote received before the end of the voting period, unless other rules declare the official vote of a player.

Votes by Players, including those of the Booth, must be sent by email directly to the Booth, or through any other method at the Booth's discretion. These votes may not be conditional. The Booth must maintain an automatic archive recording the time, date, and bodies of these emails. After the end of the voting period, requests to view this archive must be granted.

At the end of the voting period, the Booth must calculate all votes determined by the rules, and inform the official mailing list about all official votes and their effects.

This takes precedence over any other rule regulating when votes may be changed.

Team Class (I-IV-II)

*

210/0 (Mutable)

Players may not conspire or consult on the making of future rule-changes unless they are team-mates. The first paragraph of this rule does not apply to games by mail or computer.

*

304/0 (Mutable)

One or more players may at any time constitute a team, as follows:

(a) A team must have team colours, which must consist of not less than two nor more than three colours from this list: Yellow, White, Gold, Silver, Pewter, Red, Blue, Black, Green, Purple, Orange, Teal. Furthermore, not less than one of a team's colours must be Yellow, White, Gold, Silver, or Pewter.

(b) A team must have a name which is either an English agentive noun (e.g. Maulers, Killers, Flamers, Raiders), an English noun referencing an animal (e.g. Panthers, Lions, Earwigs), or an English noun referencing an occupation (e.g. Doctors, Rangers, Pirates).

(c) A player may only join a team by petitioning during their turn, and said petition is valid unless vetoed by a current member of that team during the same turn. Such a petition must be issued prior to, or in the same post as, any rule change proposals made by the player that turn.

(d) If a player joins a team which currently has no other members, he must, in so doing, inform the other players of his new team's colours and name.

(e) No team may have the same name as any other team, nor may it have the same list of colours as any other team.

(f) When the last member of a team leaves the team, the team ceases to exist.

Games Class (I-IV-II-I)

*

308/0 (Mutable)

There exists a Tri-Nomic Interteam League

Scoring Class (I-V)

*

112/0 (Immutable)

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.

*

204/0 (Mutable)

If and when rule-changes can be adopted without unanimity, the players who vote against winning proposals shall receive 10 points each.

*

206/0 (Mutable)

When a proposed rule-change is defeated, the player who proposed it loses 10 points.

*

313/1 "Winning, Losing and Why We Care." (Mutable)

Defined:
The winner(s) are the Player(s), Team or other entity recognized by the ruleset and able to accumulate points to control in excess of 50% of the points which currently exist.

A team's point total is defined as the sum of the point total of it's members. (Including negative scores)

Calculation: The total number of points which exist, for the purpose of this rule, is the sum of the following:
1. Player scores.
a. The sum of all non-negative player scores.
2. Team scores.
b. The sum of all team member's player scores divided by the number of team members. (average member score)

Why we care:
Winners must taunt and ridicule non-winners, (within the accepted game custom), within 72 hours of the winning conditions having been met. Failure to do so results in the winning Players' scores being rounded down to the nearest prime less than their current score.

*

314/1 "Definition of Turns" (Mutable)

Commerce Class (I-VI)

Unassigned Class (I-M-M-M-M-M)

*

320/0 "Posts, Posts, everywhere posts." (Mutable, Entirely Void)

In regards to the subject line for all posts to tri-nomic@onelist.com (pending passage)

1)Subject lines mustbegin with atopic designator as listed below:

a) Restricted topic designators: Posts made by players who have regular responsibilities (whether official or unofficial) concerning those responsibilities.

[a] - (Game) Administrator (Score, Turn results, Declaration of Passage)
[m] - Mogul (updates or info on the TPB)
[s] - Server Administrator (Server status)

b) Open topic designators. (Should be used by all. IOW: Server Administrator should not use [s] if commenting on a proposal.)

[c] - Commentary on the current proposal(s)
[d] - Discussion on a possible proposal
[j] - Judgement issues
[p] - Offical proposal
[v] - Vote on a proposal

c) Additional topic designators:

[g] - Game announcements (league)
[q] - Question (May append Open topic designator(s) above if in regard to someone/something (IOW [qa])))
[t] - Team posts and team relevant information
[o] - Talking commentary that doesn't fall into anything above.

2) Any subject line that uses an Open topic designator must be immediately followed by the name or proposal # of the rule that the post is referring to.

3) Followup discussion shall occur with a simple "Reply" command. The mail system will maintain the headers to aid in maintining the discussion thread.

4) This rule can be amended in conjuction with the creation of other rules that necessitate other topic delimiters. For this action alone, this rule takes precedence over rule 111.

Last modified 7 July 1999

Created by Eric Wald