Welcome to the Agora ruleset! The rules of Agora are rather complex, any many of them are not particularly necessary to read as a new player. These annotations have been added to each section to help you get the gist of the rules so you can jump in and play.
Agora is a game of Nomic, wherein Persons, acting in accordance with the Rules, communicate their game Actions and/or results of these actions via Fora in order to play the game. The game may be won, but the game never ends.
Please treat Agora Right Good Forever.
Agora is ossified if it is IMPOSSIBLE for any reasonable combination of actions by players to cause arbitrary rule changes to be made and/or arbitrary proposals to be adopted within a four-week period.
If, but for this rule, the net effect of a proposal would cause Agora to become ossified, or would cause Agora to cease to exist, it cannot take effect, rules to the contrary notwithstanding.If any other single change to the gamestate would cause Agora to become ossified, or would cause Agora to cease to exist, it is cancelled and does not occur, rules to the contrary notwithstanding.
Freedom of speech being essential for the healthy functioning of any non-Imperial nomic, it is hereby resolved that no Player shall be prohibited from participating in the Fora, nor shall any person create physical or technological obstacles that unduly favor some players' fora access over others.
Publicity is a forum switch with values Public, Discussion, and Foreign (default), tracked by the Registrar. Changes to publicity are secured.
The Registrar may change the publicity of a forum without objection as long as:
e sends eir announcement of intent to that forum; and
if the forum is to be made public, the announcement by which the Registrar makes that forum public is sent to all existing public fora.
Each player should ensure e can receive messages via each public forum.
A public message is a message sent via a public forum, or sent to all players and containing a clear designation of intent to be public. A rule can also designate that a part of one public message is considered a public message in its own right. A person "publishes" or "announces" something by sending a public message.
Where the rules define an action that CAN be performed "by announcement", a person performs that action by unambiguously and clearly specifying the action and announcing that e performs it. Any action performed by sending a message is performed at the time date-stamped on that message. Actions in messages (including sub-messages) are performed in the order they appear in the message, unless otherwise specified.
To join the game, simply send a message to the main mailing list (agora-official) indicating that you wish to do so. You can leave the game in the same fashion; if you do so, you may not rejoin for 30 days.
Any organism that is generally capable of freely originating and communicating independent thoughts and ideas is a person. Rules to the contrary notwithstanding, no other entities are persons.
Citizenship is a person switch with values Unregistered (default) and Registered, tracked by the Registrar. Changes to citizenship are secured. A registered person is a Player.
A person CAN (unless explicitly forbidden or prevented by the rules) register by publishing a message that indicates reasonably clearly and reasonably unambiguously that e intends to become a player at that time. A person, by registering, agrees to abide by the Rules. The Rules CANNOT otherwise bind a person to abide by any agreement without that person's willful consent.
A player CAN deregister (cease being a player) by announcement. If e does so, e CANNOT register by announcement for 30 days.
If a player has not sent a message to a public forum in the last month, then any player CAN deregister em without objection.
The Rules CANNOT compel non-players to act, nor compel players to unduly harass non-players. A non-person CANNOT be a player, rules to the contrary notwithstanding.
The Registrar is an office; its holder is responsible for keeping track of players.
The Registrar's weekly report includes:
A list of all players, including information sufficient to identify and contact each player.
The date on which each player most recently became a player.
For each forum with non-Foreign publicity, sufficient instructions for players to receive messages there.
The Registrar's monthly report includes:
In the first week of every month the Registrar SHALL attempt to deregister every player that has not sent a message to a public forum in the preceding month.
The Registrar's duties and abilities also include:
Changing the publicity of a forum, as described in Rule 478.
Publishing Cantus Cygnei and Writs of FAGE as described in Rule 1789.
The Registrar is also responsible for tracking any switches that would otherwise lack an officer to track them, unless the switch is defined as untracked.
Whenever a Player feels that e has been treated so egregiously by the Agoran community that e can no longer abide to be a part of it, e may submit a document to the Registrar, clearly labeled a Cantus Cygneus, detailing eir grievances and expressing eir reproach for those who e feels have treated em so badly.
In a timely fashion after receiving a Cantus Cygneus, the Registrar shall publish this document along with a Writ of Fugiendae Agorae Grandissima Exprobratione, commanding the Player to be deregistered. The Registrar shall note the method of deregistration for that Player in subsequent Registrar Reports.
The Player is deregistered as of the posting of the Writ, and the notation in the Registrar's Report will ensure that, henceforth, all may know said Player deregistered in a Writ of FAGE.
Most of this section is some technical stuff that isn't particularly important when getting started. The most important part is that every rule has a power from 1 to 4; rules with higher power override rules with lower power, and rules with higher power require a larger majority to change.
A rule is a type of instrument with the capacity to govern the game generally, and is always taking effect. A rule's content takes the form of a text, and is unlimited in scope.
Every rule has power between 0.1 and 4.0 inclusive. It is not possible for a rule to have a power outside this range.
Rules have ID numbers, to be assigned by the Rulekeepor.
Every rule shall have a title to aid in identification. If a rule ever does not have a title, the Rulekeepor SHALL assign a title to it by announcement in a timely fashion.
For the purposes of rules governing modification of instruments, the text, power, ID number, and title of a rule are all substantive aspects of the rule. However, rules to the contrary notwithstanding, the Rulekeepor CAN set rule aspects as described elsewhere in this rule.
The Power of an entity is a non-negative rational number. An Instrument is an entity with positive Power.
The Power of an entity cannot be set or modified except as stipulated by the Rules. All entities have Power zero except where specifically allowed by the rules.
Power less than one is called Ephemeral power, and an instrument with a power less than one is an Ephemeral instrument.
A Rule that makes a change, action, or value secured (hereafter the securing Rule) thereby makes it IMPOSSIBLE to perform that change or action, or to set or modify that value, except as allowed by an Instrument with Power greater than or equal to the change's Power Threshold. This Threshold defaults to the securing Rule's Power, but CAN be lowered as allowed by that Rule (including by the Rule itself).
No entity with power below the power of this rule can
cause an entity to have power greater than its own.
adjust the power of an instrument with power greater than its own.
set or modify any other substantive aspect of an instrument with power greater than its own. A "substantive" aspect of an instrument is any aspect that affects the instrument's operation.
When interpreting and applying the rules, the text of the rules takes precedence. Where the text is silent, inconsistent, or unclear, it is to be augmented by game custom, common sense, past judgements, and consideration of the best interests of the game.
Definitions and prescriptions in the rules are only to be applied using direct, forward reasoning; in particular, an absurdity that can be concluded from the assumption that a statement about rule-defined concepts is false does not constitute proof that it is true. Definitions in lower-powered Rules do not overrule common-sense interpretations or common definitions of terms in higher-powered rules.
Rules to the contrary notwithstanding, any rule change that would (1) prevent a person from initiating a formal process to resolve matters of controversy, in the reasonable expectation that the controversy will thereby be resolved; or (2) prevent a person from causing formal reconsideration of any judicial determination that e should be punished, is wholly void and without effect.
In a conflict between Rules, the conflict shall be resolved by performing the following comparisons in the sequence written in this rule, until the conflict is resolved.
In a conflict between Rules with different Power, the Rule with the higher Power takes precedence over the Rule with the lower Power; otherwise,
If all of the Rules in conflict explicitly say that their precedence relations are determined by some other Rule for determining precedence relations, then the determinations of the precedence-determining Rule shall be used to resolve the conflicts; otherwise,
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 be used to resolve the conflict, unless they lead to contradictions between each other; otherwise,
If any of the rules in conflict have ID numbers, then the Rule with the lowest ID number takes precedence; otherwise,
The Rule enacted earliest takes precedence.
Clauses in any other rule that broadly claim precedence (e.g. over "all rules" of a certain class) shall be, prima facie, considered to be limited claims of precedence or deference that are applicable only when such claims are evaluated as described within the above sequence.
No change to the Ruleset can occur that would cause a Rule to directly claim precedence over this Rule as a means of determining precedence. This applies to changes by the enactment or amendment of a Rule, or of any other form. This Rule takes precedence over any Rule that would permit such a change to the Ruleset.
In a conflict between clauses of the same Rule, if exactly one claims precedence over the other, then it takes precedence; otherwise, the later clause takes precedence.
Where permitted by other rules, an instrument generally can, as part of its effect,
enact a rule. The new rule has power equal to the minimum of the power specified by the enacting instrument, defaulting to one if the enacting instrument does not specify or if it specifies a power less than 0.1, and the maximum power permitted by other rules. The enacting instrument may specify a title for the new rule, which if present shall prevail. The ID number of the new rule cannot be specified by the enacting instrument; any attempt to so specify is null and void.
repeal a rule. When a rule is repealed, it ceases to be a rule, and the Rulekeepor need no longer maintain a record of it.
reenact a rule. A repealed rule identified by its most recent rule number may be reenacted with the same ID number and the next change identifier. If no text is specified, the rule is reenacted with the same text it had when it was most recently repealed. If the reenacting proposal provides new text for the rule, the rule must have materially the same purpose as did the repealed version; otherwise, the attempt to reenact the rule is null and void.
amend the text of a rule.
retitle a rule.
change the power of a rule.
A rule change is any effect that falls into the above classes. Rule changes always occur sequentially, never simultaneously.
Any ambiguity in the specification of a rule change causes that change to be void and without effect. An inconsequential variation in the quotation of an existing rule does not constitute ambiguity for the purposes of this rule, but any other variation does.
A rule change is wholly prevented from taking effect unless its full text was published, along with an unambiguous and clear specification of the method to be used for changing the rule, at least 4 days and no more than 60 days before it would otherwise take effect.
This rule provides the only mechanism by which rules can be created, modified, or destroyed, or by which an entity can become a rule or cease to be a rule.
This section defines a large number of terms that are used throughout the rules. References to these terms appear as links, and you can click on them to view the definitions as necessary.
The following terms are defined. These definitions are used when a rule includes a term in all caps, and provide guidance in determining the ordinary-language meaning of a term when a rule includes a term otherwise. Earlier definitions take precedence over later ones. If a rule specifies one or more persons in connection with a term, then the term applies only to the specified person(s).
CANNOT, IMPOSSIBLE, INEFFECTIVE, INVALID: Attempts to perform the described action are unsuccessful.
MUST NOT, MAY NOT, SHALL NOT, ILLEGAL, PROHIBITED: Performing the described action violates the rule in question.
NEED NOT, OPTIONAL: Failing to perform the described action does not violate the rules.
SHOULD NOT, DISCOURAGED, DEPRECATED: Before performing the described action, the full implications of performing it should be understood and carefully weighed.
CAN: Attempts to perform the described action are successful.
MAY: Performing the described action does not violate the rules.
MUST, SHALL, REQUIRED, MANDATORY: Failing to perform the described action violates the rule in question.
SHOULD, ENCOURAGED, RECOMMENDED: Before failing to perform the described action, the full implications of failing to perform it should (in the ordinary-language sense) be understood and carefully weighed.
A type of switch is a property that the rules define as a switch, and specify the following:
The type(s) of entity possessing an instance of that switch. No other entity possesses an instance of that switch.
One or more possible values for instances of that switch, exactly one of which is designated as the default. No other values are possible for instances of that switch.
Optionally, exactly one office whose holder tracks instances of that switch. That officer's (weekly, if not specified otherwise) report includes the value of each instance of that switch whose value is not its default value; a public document purporting to be this portion of that officer's report is self-ratifying, and implies that other instances are at their default value.
At any given time, each instance of a switch has exactly one possible value for that type of switch. If an instance of a switch comes to have a value, it ceases to have any other value. If an instance of a switch would otherwise fail to have a possible value, it comes to have its default value.
"To flip an instance of a switch" is to make it come to have a given value. "To become X" (where X is a possible value of exactly one of the subject's switches) is to flip that switch to X.
If an action or set of actions would cause the value of an instance of a switch to become indeterminate, the instance instead takes on its last determinate and possible value, if any, otherwise it takes on its default value.
A natural switch is a switch with a default value of 0, unless the rules explicitly specify a different default value. If the rules define an upper limit for the switch, then the possible values are non-negative integers not greater than that limit, otherwise the values are the non-negative integers.
A singleton switch is a switch for which Agora Nomic is the only entity possessing an instance of that switch.
A boolean switch is a switch with values True and False. A positive boolean switch has a default of True; a negative boolean switch has a default of False.
An action is restricted if: (1) the Rules limit, allow, enable, or permit its performance; (2) describe the circumstances under which the action would succeed or fail; or (3) the action would, as part of its effect, modify information for which some player is required to be a recordkeepor.
Restricted Actions CAN only be performed as described by the Rules. The Rules SHALL NOT be interpreted so as to proscribe unrestricted actions.
The following terms are defined:
The phrase "in a timely fashion" means "within 7 days". This time period is set when the requirement is created (i.e. X days before the limit ends). A requirement to perform an action at an exact instant (e.g. "when X, Y SHALL Z"), but not "in the same message", is instead interpreted as a requirement to perform that action in a timely fashion after that instant.
Agoran epochs:
These definitions do not apply to relative durations (e.g. "within <number> days after <event>").
If a restricted value, or the value of a conditional, or a value otherwise required to determine the outcome of a restricted action, CANNOT be reasonably determined (without circularity or paradox) from information reasonably available, or if it alternates instantaneously and indefinitely between values, then the value is considered to be Indeterminate, otherwise it is Determinate.
Two points in time are within a month of each other if:
A rule which purports to allow a person (the performer) to perform an action by a set of one or more of the following methods (N is 1 unless otherwise specified):
thereby allows em to perform the action by announcement if all of the following are true:
A person (the initiator) announced intent to perform the action, unambiguously and clearly specifying the action and method(s) (including the value of N and/or T for each method), at most fourteen days earlier.
If the action is to be performed Without N Objections, With N Agoran Consent, or With Notice, if the intent was announced at least 4 days earlier
If the action is to be performed With T Notice, if the intent was announced at least T earlier.
At least one of the following is true:
Agora is Satisfied with the announced intent, as defined by other rules.
If a set of conditions for the performance of the action was given in the announcement of intent to perform the action, all those conditions are met.
The actor SHOULD publish a list of supporters if the action depends on support, and a list of objectors if it depends on objections.
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IN CELEBRATION of Alexis being crowned Princess of Agora,
without prejudice to Any before or since
who may come to hold a Title
whether Patent or otherwise;
IT IS HEREBY PROCLAIMED that a Royal Parade be established,
imbued in this very Rule,
which shall travel around Agora to Rules of import;
AND THEREFORE, the Rulekeepor SHOULD place this Rule
near recently-amended rules of high Power;
AND FURTHERMORE, additions to this Parade are most welcome
when Events suiting the honour should occur.
A Supporter of a dependent action is an eligible entity who has publicly posted (and not withdrawn) support (syn. "consent") for an announcement of intent to perform the action.An Objector to a dependent action is an eligible entity who has publicly posted (and not withdrawn) an objection to the announcement of intent to perform the action.
The entities eligible to support or object to a dependent action are, by default, all players, subject to modification by the document authorizing the dependent action.However, the previous sentence notwithstanding, the Executor of the announcement of intent is not eligible to support it.
Agora is Satisfied with an intent to perform a specific action if and only if:
if the action is to be performed Without N Objections, then it has fewer than N objectors;
if the action is to be performed With N supporters, then it has N or more supporters; and
if the action is to be performed with N Agoran Consent, then the ratio of supporters to objectors is greater than N, or the action has at least one supporter and no objectors.
if the action is to be performed With Notice or With T Notice.
The above notwithstanding, if the action depends on objections, and an objection to it has been withdrawn within the past 24 hours, then Agora is not Satisfied with the intent.
The above notwithstanding, Agora is not satisfied with the intent if the Speaker has objected to it in the last 48 hours.
A person CANNOT support or object to an announcement of intent before the intent is announced, or after e has withdrawn the same type of response.
When a rule allows one person (the agent) to act on behalf of another (the principal) to perform an action, that agent CAN perform the action if it is POSSIBLE for the principal to do so, taking into account any prerequisites for the action. If the enabling rule does not specify the mechanism by which the agent may do so, then the agent CAN perform the action in the same manner in which the principal CAN do so, with the additional requirement that the agent must, in the message in which the action is performed, uniquely identify the principal and that the action is being taken on behalf of that person.
When an action is performed on behalf of a principal, then the action is considered for all game purposes to have been performed by the principal.
This rule takes precedence over any rule which would prohibit a person from taking an action, except that it defers to any rule that imposes limitations specifically on actions taken on behalf of another person.
An asset is an entity defined as such by the ruleset (hereafter its backing document), and existing solely because its backing document defines its existence.
Each asset has exactly one owner.If an asset would otherwise lack an owner, it is owned by Agora.If an asset's backing document restricts its ownership to a class of entities, then that asset CANNOT be gained by or transferred to an entity outside that class, and is destroyed if it is owned by an entity outside that class (except for Agora, in which case any player CAN transfer or destroy it without objection). The restrictions in the previous sentence are subject to modification by its backing document.
Unless modified by an asset's backing document, ownership of an asset is restricted to Agora, persons, and organizations.
An organization's charter CAN specify whether or not that organization is willing receive assets or a class of assets. Generally, an organization CANNOT be given assets its charter states that it is unwilling to receive. The previous provisions of this paragraph do not apply to an asset if the organization is required to provide that asset in order to continue existing.
The recordkeepor of a class of assets is the entity (if any) defined as such by, and bound by, its backing document. That entity's report includes a list of all instances of that class and their owners. This portion of that entity's report is self-ratifying.
An asset generally CAN be destroyed by its owner by announcement, subject to modification by its backing document. An indestructible asset is one defined as such by it backing document, and CANNOT be destroyed except by a rule specifically addressing the destruction of indestructible assets or that asset in particular; any other asset is destructible. In circumstances where another asset would be destroyed, an indestructible asset is generally transferred to Agora, subject to modification by its backing document and the intervention of other rules.
To "lose" an asset is to have it destroyed from one's possession; to "revoke" an asset from an entity is to destroy it from that entity's possession.
An asset generally CAN be transferred (syn. payed, given) by its owner to another entity by announcement, subject to modification by its backing document. A fixed asset is one defined as such by its backing document, and CANNOT be transferred; any other asset is liquid.
When a rule indicates transfering an amount that is not a natural number, the specified amount is rounded up to the nearest natural number.
A currency is a class of asset defined as such by its backing document. Instances of a currency with the same owner are fungible.
The "x balance of an entity", where x is a currency, is the number of x that entity possesses. If a rule, proposal, or other competent authority attempts to increase or decrease the balance of an entity without specifying a source or destination, then the currency is created or destroyed.
When a player causes one or more balances to change, e is ENCOURAGED to specify the resulting balance(s). Players SHOULD NOT specify inaccurate balances.
Where it resolves ambiguity, the asset or currency being referred to is the currency designated as "Agora's official currency", if there is one.
Amendments to a backing document shall not be construed to alter, transfer, destroy, or otherwise effect any assets defined by that document, unless that is their clear intent.
Assets are always public. [To provide for private contract based assets later]
A Regulation is an instrument defined as such by this rule. A regulation allows an officer (known as the Promulgator) to exercise rule defined powers. A regulation is in effect continuously from the time of its creation to the time of either its revocation or the repeal of the rule that allowed for its creation. When recommending a regulation, its Promulgator must specify by number the rule(s) upon which it is based (the parent rules), the list of which becomes an integral part of the regulation. The list of rules can generally be modified by the Promulgator according to the procedure for text changes.
A regulation must be authorized by at least one rule in order for it to exist. A regulation has effect on the game (only) insofar as the rule or rules that authorized it permit it to have effect, and a regulation generally inherits the power of its least powerful parent rule, unless its Promulgator defines a lower power. If reasonably possible, a regulation should be interpreted so as to defer to other rules. The procedure for resolving conflict between regulations is the same as it is for rules.
Regulations are generally issued according to the following procedures, and they can be repealed by the announcement of their Promulgator. Alternate procedures may be used if provided for by all of the regulations's parent rules. If one parent rule specifies procedures that are more stringent than those that the other(s) specifies, those apply. Creating, modifying, revoking, or allowing for a regulation is secured at power 1.
A regulation (or set of regulations), authorized by another rule, may generally be enacted or modified by its promulgator without 2 objections, or with Agoran consent. A notice pursuant to the previous sentence is known as a "recommendation", and the regulation(s) are said to be "recommended" to Agora.
The Regkeepor is an office, responsible for the maintenance of the Regulations. The Regulations are contained in the Regkeepor's weekly report, know as the Agora Nomic Code of Regulations (ACORN). E MAY publish multiple versions or editions of the ACORN.
The ACORN is divided into titles, assigned by the Regkeepor, which are each given an integer. Generally, each office with the power to create regulations SHOULD be assigned the next successive natural number. Title 0 of the ACORN is reserved for use by the Regkeepor, and nothing in that title need be a regulation. Non-regulations printed in the ACORN have no binding effect, and SHALL clearly be marked by the Regkeepor.
Each regulation SHALL be assigned an ID number by the Regkeepor, consisting of a string of the characters [0-9] and separator characters. The Regkeepor SHOULD establish some way of keeping track of the version of a regulations. The Regkeepor MAY also, at eir discretion, create ways of marking special types of Regulation (even in violation of the previous restrictions of this paragraph), mark sections or titles as reserved for future use, and make such other discussions of arrangement, annotation, and marking as are necessary and proper in the execution of eir duties.
The Regkeepor SHOULD remember that the purpose of the ACORN is to make the regulations easily readable, and e SHALL not act in a manner intended to deceive others in eir official capacity.
Proposals allow you to propose changes to the rules. You may create a proposal by sending a message to agora-official with listing the proposal's title, its adoption index (generally, this should be the power of the highest rule changed by the proposal) and a description of how you want to change the rules (including the text of any new rules or text added to existing rules). You may then pend the proposal via one of the mechanisms listed in "How to Pend a Proposal." Once you do so, the Promotor will include it in their weekly email, and the players will vote on it.
A proposal is a type of entity consisting of a body of text and other attributes. A player CAN create a proposal by announcement, specifying its text and optionally specifying any of the following attributes:
Creating a proposal adds it to the Proposal Pool. Once a proposal is created, nether its text nor any of the aforementioned attributes can be changed. The author (syn. proposer) of a proposal is the person who submitted it.
If a decision of whether to adopt a proposal was resolved as FAILED QUORUM in the last seven days, the Promotor CAN once add the proposal back to the Proposal Pool by announcement.
The author of a proposal in the Proposal Pool CAN remove (syn. retract, withdraw) it from the Pool by announcement.
The Promotor CAN remove a proposal from the Proposal Pool by announcement if it is not pending and has been added to the Pool more than 14 days ago.
Imminence is a switch, tracked by the Promotor, possessed by proposals in the Proposal Pool, whose value is either "pending" or "not pending" (default).
Any player CAN flip a specified proposal's imminence to "pending" by announcement by:
a) spending 1 Action Point, OR
b) spending 1/20th the Floating Value in shinies.
The Promotor is an office; its holder is responsible for receiving and distributing proposals.
Determining whether to adopt a proposal is an Agoran decision. For this decision, the vote collector is the Assessor, the adoption index is initially the adoption index of the proposal, or 1.0 if the proposal does not have one, and the text, author, and coauthors of the proposal are essential parameters. Initiating such a decision is known as distribution, and removes the proposal from the Proposal Pool.
The Promotor CAN distribute a proposal which is in the Proposal Pool at any time. The Promotor SHALL NOT distribute proposals which are not pending.
In a given Agoran week, the Promotor SHALL, as part of eir weekly duties, distribute all pending proposals.
Distributed proposals have ID numbers, to be assigned by the Promotor.
If there is a Proposal in the Pool that it would otherwise be IMPOSSIBLE for any player to distribute, then any player CAN distribute that Proposal Without 3 Objections.
The Promotor's report includes a list of all proposals in the Proposal Pool, along with their text and attributes. This portion of a public document purporting to be a Promotor's report is self-ratifying.
The Assessor is an office; its holder is responsible for collecting votes and keeping track of related properties.
When a decision about whether to adopt a proposal is resolved, if the outcome is ADOPTED, then the proposal in question is adopted, and unless other rules prevent it from taking effect, its power is set to the minimum of four and its adoption index, and then it takes effect.Except as prohibited by other rules, a proposal that takes effect CAN and does, as part of its effect, apply the changes that it specifies.If the proposal cannot make some such changes, this does not preclude the other changes from taking place.
If there is no Agoran Decision to adopt a particular proposal that has an outcome of ADOPTED, that proposal CANNOT take effect, rules to the contrary notwithstanding.
Preventing a proposal from taking effect is a secured change; this does not apply to generally preventing changes to specified areas of the gamestate, nor to a proposal preventing itself from taking effect (its no- effect clause is generally interpreted as applying only to the rest of the proposal).
A player CAN expedite a proposal whose adoption index is at most 1.5, in a message containing the character string "[Expedition]" in the subject line,
If, in an Agoran Decision to adopt a proposal, the strength of AGAINST is zero, and the proposal was expedited at least 7 days earlier, then any player CAN specially deputise for the Assessor to resolve the decision.
Any player CAN, with Agoran Consent, initiate a Proposal Competition with a specified Objective. Only one Competition may be in progress at a time. The Objective should be a specification of effects of a proposal, and SHOULD NOT depend on factors that could not be determined from the text of a proposal.
During the Agoran Week following the initiation of a Proposal Competition, any player CAN specify that a Proposal e submits is a Competition Proposal for that Competition. Players are ENCOURAGED to describe how their Competition Proposals fulfill the Objective.
The Promotor SHALL distribute all Competition Proposals for a given Competition in the same message. The Assessor SHALL resolve all the Agoran Decisions to adopt the Competition Proposals for a given Competition in the same message.
Once all Agoran decisions to adopt Competition Proposals for a given Competition have been resolved, the Competition ends.
This section describes the technical process for a vote (described in the rules as an Agoran Decision). Most of it works like you expect; players cast their votes, then one week from the beginning of a vote the result is determined. The last rule in this section also describes when and how elections for officers occur.
When the rules calls for an Agoran decision to be made, the decision- making process takes place in the following three stages, each described elsewhere:
An Agoran decision is initiated when a person authorized to initiate it publishes a valid notice which sets forth the intent to initiate the decision. This notice is invalid if it lacks any of the following information, and the lack is correctly identified within one week after the notice is published:
The matter to be decided (for example, "the adoption of proposal 4781").
A clear indication of the set of valid votes.
The identity of the vote collector.
Any additional information defined by the rules as essential parameters.
The publication of such a valid notice initiates the voting period for the decision. The voting period lasts for 7 days. The minimum voting period for a decision with at least two options is five days. The vote collector for a decision with less than two options CAN and SHALL end the voting period by announcement, if it has not ended already, and provided that e resolves the decision in the same message.
The voting period for a decision cannot be set or changed to a duration longer than fourteen days.
An entity submits a ballot on an Agoran decision by publishing a notice satisfying the following conditions:
The ballot is submitted during the voting period for the decision.
The entity casting the ballot (the voter) was, at the initiation of the decision, a player.
The ballot clearly identifies the matter to be decided.
The ballot clearly identifies a valid vote, as determined by the voting method.
The ballot clearly sets forth the voter's intent to place the identified vote.
The voter has no other valid ballots on the same decision.
A valid ballot is a ballot, correctly submitted, that has not been withdrawn. During the voting period of an Agoran decision, a player CAN by announcement withdraw (syn. retract) a ballot that e submitted on that decision. To "change" one's vote is to retract eir previous ballot (if any), then submit a new one.
The vote collector for an unresolved Agoran decision CAN resolve it by announcement, indicating the outcome. If it was required to be initiated, then e SHALL resolve it in a timely fashion after the end of the voting period. To be valid, this announcement must satisfy the following conditions:
It is published after the voting period has ended.
It clearly identifies the matter to be resolved.
It specifies the outcome, as described elsewhere, and, if there was more than one valid option, provides a tally of the voters' valid ballots.
Each Agoran decision has exactly one vote collector, defaulting to the initiator of the decision. If the vote collector is defined by reference to a position (or, in the default case, if the initiator was so defined), then the vote collector is the current holder of that position.
This rule takes precedence over any rule that would provide another mechanism by which an Agoran decision may be resolved.
In general, changes to the gamestate due to the outcome of an Agoran decision take effect when the decision is resolved.
Each Agoran decision has a voting method, which determines how voters may vote on it and how to calculate the outcome. The strength of a ballot is the voting strength of the voter who cast it on that Agoran decision.
The following voting methods are defined:
AI-majority: the valid votes are FOR and AGAINST. Let F be the total strength of all valid ballots cast FOR a decision, A be the same for AGAINST, and AI be the adoption index of the decision. The outcome is ADOPTED if F/A >= AI and F/A > 1 (or F>0 and A=0), otherwise REJECTED.
Instant runoff: the valid votes are ordered lists of options, and the outcome is whichever option wins according to the standard definition of instant runoff. For this purpose, a ballot of strength N is treated as if it were N distinct ballots expressing the same preferences. In case multiple valid options tie for the lowest number of votes at any stage, the vote collector CAN and must, in the announcement of the decision's resolution, select one such option to eliminate; if, for M > 1, all eir possible choices in the next M stages would result in the same set of options being eliminated, e need not specify the order of elimination.
First-past-the-post (default): the valid votes are the options, and the outcome is whichever option received the highest total strength of valid ballots. In case of a tie, the vote collector CAN and must, in the announcement of the decision's resolution, select one of the leaders as the outcome.
The previous notwithstanding:
The outcome of a decision is determined when it is resolved, and cannot change thereafter.
Each Agoran Decision has a quorum. This is a number set when the decision is created, and thereafter cannot be changed. When a person initiates an Agoran Decision, that person SHALL state the quorum of that decision. However, incorrectly stating the quorum of a decision does not invalidate the initiation, nor does it actually change the quorum of the decision.
The quorum that an Agoran Decision gains as it is created can be defined by other rules of power 2 or greater. If no other rule defines the quorum of an Agoran Decision, the quorum for that decision is equal to the number of players who voted on the Agoran Decision to adopt a proposal that had been most recently resolved at the time of that decision's initiation, minus 2.
As an exception to the previous paragraph, the quorum of an Agoran Decision can never be less than 2. If the rules would attempt to set the quorum of an Agoran Decision to less than 2, it is set to 2 instead.
The voting strength of an entity on an Agoran decision is an integer between 0 and 5 inclusive, defined by rules of power 2 or greater. If not otherwise specified, the voting strength of an entity on an Agoran decision is 1.
When multiple rules set or modify an entity's voting strength on an Agoran decision, it shall be determined by first applying the rule(s) which set it to a specific value, using the ordinary precedence of rules, and then applying the rules, other than this one, which modify it, in numerical order by ID. Finally, if theresult of the calculation is not an integer, it is rounded up, and then if it is outside the allowable range of values for voting strength, it is set to the the minimum value if it was less and the maximum value if it was more.
If a vote on an Agoran decision is submitted conditionally (e.g. "FOR if <X> is true, otherwise AGAINST"), then the selected option is evaluated based on the value of the condition(s) at the end of the voting period, and, rules to the contrary notwithstanding, is clearly specified if and only if the value of the condition(s) is/are determinate at the end of the voting period. If the option cannot be clearly identified, a vote of PRESENT is cast.
Casting a vote endorsing another voter is equivalent to conditionally casting a vote whose value is the same as the most common value (if any) among that voter's valid votes on that decision.
Casting a vote denouncing another voter is equivalent to conditionally casting a vote whose value is opposite to the most common value (if any) among that voter's valid votes on that decision. FOR and AGAINST are opposites.
Whenever the voting period of an Agoran decision would end, and the result would be FAILED QUORUM, the length of the voting period for that decision is instead increased to 14 days, except if it is already that length, provided this has not already happened for the decision in question.
Upon such an occurrence, the vote collector for the decision SHALL issue a humiliating public reminder to the slackers who have not yet cast any votes on it despite being eligible, and CAN end its voting period by announcement (resolving it constitutes an implicit announcement that its voting period is first ended) if the result would no longer be FAILED QUORUM, or if the decision is whether to adopt a proposal and no voter (other than possibly the proposal's author) has voted FOR.
Adoption index is an untracked switch possessed by Agoran decisions and proposals, whose value is either "none" (default) or an integral multiple of 0.1 from 1.0 to 9.9.
Adoption index is secured with a power threshold of 2.
Adoption index is an essential parameter of an Agoran decision if that decision has an adoption index.
For any Agoran decision with an adoption index, the voting method is AI-majority.
A public message purporting to resolve an Agoran decision constitutes self-ratifying claims that
A player CAN initiate an election for a specified elected office for which no election is already in progress
by announcement, if e is the ADoP, if the office has been deputised for within the past two weeks, or if no election has been initiated for the office either since the last time a player won the game or within the past 90 days;
with 4 Supporters, otherwise.
After the election is initiated, any player CAN once initiate an Agoran decision to determine the new officeholder, and the ADoP SHALL do so in a timely fashion if no one else does first. For this decision, the valid options are the players, the vote collector is the ADoP, and the voting method is instant runoff. Upon the resolution of this decision, its outcome, if a player, is installed into office, and the election ends.
Pretty much everything in the game is tracked by an officer; these officers send weekly or monthly emails to agora-official detailing the state of the game. There is a process known as deputisation that allows players to take the place of an officer who stops doing their job for whatever reason.
Officeholder is an office switch tracked by the ADoP, with possible values of any person or "vacant". An officer is the holder of an office, who may be referred to by the name of that office. If the holder of an office is ever not a player, it becomes vacant.
An imposed office is an office described as such by the rule defining it. All others are elected. A person CANNOT be made the holder of an elected office without eir explicit or reasonably implied consent.
The holder of an elected office CAN resign it by announcement, causing it to become vacant. Any player CAN cause an office to become vacant without 2 objections.
For each person:
If any task is defined by the rules as part of that person's weekly duties, then e SHALL perform it at least once each week. If any information is defined by the rules as part of that person's weekly report, then e SHALL maintain all such information, and the publication of all such information is part of eir weekly duties.
If any task is defined by the rules as part of that person's monthly duties, then e SHALL perform it at least once each month. If any information is defined by the rules as part of that person's monthly report, then e SHALL maintain all such information, and the publication of all such information is part of eir monthly duties.
Any information defined by the rules as part of a person's report, without specifying which one, is part of eir weekly report. Failure of a person to perform any duty required of em within the allotted time is the Class-2 crime of Tardiness.
An official duty for an office is any duty that the Rules specifically assign to that office's holder in particular (regardless of eir identity).
A person SHALL NOT publish information that is inaccurate or misleading while performing an official duty, or within a document purporting to be part of any person or office's weekly or monthly report.
Reports SHALL be published in plain text. Tabular data must line up properly when viewed in a monospaced font. Publishing a report that deviates from these restrictions is the Class 2 Crime of Making My Eyes Bleed.
Officers SHOULD maintain a publicly visible copy of their reports on the World Wide Web, and they SHOULD publish the address of this copy along with their published reports.
The Associate Director of Personnel (ADoP) is an office; its holder is responsible for keeping track of officers.
The ADoP's report includes the following:
A public document is part (possibly all) of a public message.
When a public document is ratified, rules to the contrary notwithstanding, the gamestate is modified to what it would be if, at the time the ratified document was published, the gamestate had been minimally modified to make the ratified document as true and accurate as possible. Such a modification cannot add inconsistencies between the gamestate and the rules, and it cannot include rule changes unless the ratified document explicitly and unambiguously recites either the changes or the resulting properties of the rule(s). If no such modification is possible, or multiple substantially distinct possible modifications would be equally appropriate, the ratification fails.
An internally inconsistent document generally cannot be ratified; however, if such a document can be divided into a summary section and a main section, where the only purpose of the summary section is to summarize information in the main section, and the main section is internally consistent, ratification of the document proceeds as if it contained only the main section.
Text purportedly about previous instances of ratification (e.g. a report's date of last ratification) is excluded from ratification. The rules may define additional information that is considered to be part of the document for the purposes of ratification; such definitions are secured at a Power Threshold of 3.
Ratifying a public document is secured with power threshold 3.
Any player CAN, without objection, ratify a public document, specifying its scope.
Ratification Without Objection CANNOT cause the repeal, amendment, enactment, or mutation of any Rule, rules to the contrary notwithstanding.
A player SHALL NOT knowingly use or announce intent to use Ratification Without Objection to ratify a (prior to ratification) document containing incorrect or Indeterminate information when a corrected document could be produced with reasonable effort, unless the general nature of the document's error and reason for ratifying it is clearly and plainly described in the announcement of intent. Such ratification or announcement of intent to ratify is the Class-8 Crime of Endorsing Forgery.
A public document defined by the rules as self-ratifying is ratified when it is continuously undoubted for one week.
A doubt is an explicit public challenge via one of the following methods, identifying a document and explaining the scope and nature of a perceived error in it:
An inquiry case, appropriate for questions of legal interpretation.
A claim of error, appropriate for matters of fact. The publisher of the original document SHALL (if e was required to publish that document) or SHOULD (otherwise) do one of the following in a timely fashion:
A rule which purports to allow a person (a deputy) to perform an action via normal deputisation or special deputisation for an office thereby allows them to perform the action as if e held the office, as long as
it would be POSSIBLE for the deputy to perform the action, other than by deputisation, if e held the office, and
the deputy, when performing the action, announces that e is doing so by the appropriate form of deputisation.
Only this rule may allow normal deputisation. Any rule may allow special deputisation.
A player CAN perform an action as if e held a particular office, via normal deputisation, if all of the following are true:
The rules require the holder of that office, by virtue of holding that office, to perform the action. This requirement is fulfilled by the deputy performing the action.
A time limit by which the rules require the action to be performed has expired.
Either (i) the office is vacant; or (ii) the aforementioned time limit expired more than fourteen days ago; or (iii) the deputy announced between two and fourteen days earlier that e intended to deputise for that office for the purposes of the particular action.
When a player deputises via normal deputisation for an elected office, e becomes the holder of that office.
Some pairs of office are incompatible:
A player is Overpowered if e holds two offices which are incompatible with each other. Rules to the contrary notwithstanding, a player CANNOT be installed into an office if doing so would make em Overpowered.
If a player is Overpowered, any player CAN Demand Resignation from em by announcement, provided e has announced intent do to so between four and fourteen days earlier. The Overpowered player is then removed from all offices.
This section details the format of the ruleset. Note that this web page is not officially part of the game, but is maintained by the Rulekeepor for convenience. The official rulesets are plain text documents linked at the top of the page.
The Rulekeepor is an office; its holder is responsible for maintaining the text of the rules of Agora.
The Rulekeepor's Weekly report includes the Short Logical Ruleset. The Rulekeepor's Monthly report includes the Full Logical Ruleset.
The Short Logical Ruleset (SLR) is a format of the ruleset. In this format, each rule is assigned to a category, and the rules are grouped according to their category.
Rules are assigned to, ordered within, or moved between categories, and categories are added, changed, or empty categories removed, as the Rulekeepor sees fit.
The listing of each rule in the SLR must include the rule's ID number, revision number, power, title, and text.
The Rulekeepor is strongly DISCOURAGED from including any additional information in the SLR, except that which increases the readability of the SLR.
The Full Logical Ruleset (FLR) is a format of the ruleset. In this format, rules are assigned to the same category and presented in the same order as in the SLR. The FLR must contain all the information required to be in the SLR, and any historical annotations which the Rulekeepor is required to record.
The Rulekeepor SHOULD also include any other information which e feels may be helpful in the use of the ruleset in the FLR.
Whenever a rule is changed in any way, the Rulekeepor SHALL record a historical annotation to the rule indicating:
The type of change.
The date on which the change took effect.
The mechanism that specified the change.
If the rule was changed due to a proposal, then that proposal's ID number, author, and co-author(s) (if any).
The Rulekeepor CAN, without objection, cause this rule to amend any specified rule by:
Such a change SHALL NOT be made if it would plausibly affect the interpretation of a rule.
Replacing a non-zero amount of whitespace with a different non-zero amount of whitespace is generally insignificant, except for paragraph breaks.
The CFJ system is our "court," used for resolving disputes about the interpretation of the rules. If a dispute ever arises, you may "call a CFJ" on a statement such as "I currently have a pink ribbon" by sending a message to agora-business.
Any person (the initiator) can initiate a Call for Judgement (CFJ, syn. Judicial Case), specifying a statement to be inquired into:
a) by announcement, and spending 1 Action Point, OR
b) by announcement, and spending 1/20th the Floating Value in shinies, OR
c) by announcement if e is not a player.
When a person initiates a Call for Judgment, e may optionally bar one person from the case.
At any time, each CFJ is either open (default), suspended, or assigned exactly one judgement.
The Arbitor is an office, responsible for the administration of justice in a manner that is fair for emself, if not for the rest of Agora.
When a CFJ has no judge assigned, the Arbitor CAN assign any player to be its judge by announcement, and SHALL do so within a week. The players eligible to be assigned as judge are all players except the initiator and the person barred (if any). The Arbitor SHALL assign judges over time such that all interested players have reasonably equal opportunities to judge. If a CFJ has no judge assigned, then any player eligible to judge that CFJ CAN assign it to emself Without 3 Objections.
When a CFJ is open and assigned to a judge, that judge CAN assign a valid judgement to it by announcement, and SHALL do so in a timely fashion after this becomes possible. If e does not, the Arbitor CAN remove em from being the judge of that case by announcement.
The valid judgements for an inquiry case are as follows, based on the truth or falsity of the statement at the time the inquiry case was initiated (if its truth value changed at that time, then its initial truth value is used):
* FALSE, appropriate if the statement was factually and
logically false
* TRUE, appropriate if the statement was factually and logically
true
* IRRELEVANT, appropriate if the veracity of the statement is
not relevant to the game or is an overly hypothetical
extrapolation of the game or its rules to conditions that
don't actually exist, or if it can be trivially determined
from the outcome of another (possibly still undecided)
judicial case that was not itself judged IRRELEVANT
* INSUFFICIENT, appropriate if the statement does not come with
supporting arguments or evidence, and the judge feels as if an
undue burden is being placed on em by the lack of arguments and
evidence. A [CFJ](#Rule991) judged as INSUFFICIENT [CAN](#Rule2152) and [SHOULD](#Rule2152) be
submitted again with sufficient arguments/evidence.
* DISMISS, appropriate if the statement is malformed, undecidable,
if insufficient information exists to make a judgement with
reasonable effort, or the statement is otherwise not able to be
answered with another valid judgement.
If a CFJ (1) has a judgement that has been in effect for less than seven days and not been appealed, and (2) has not had a Motion to Reconsider filed for it at any time while it has been assigned to its current judge, then any Player CAN file a Motion to Reconsider the case with 2 Support, or by announcement if e is that case's judge. When a Motion to Reconsider is so filed, the case is rendered open again.
If a CFJ has a judgement assigned, a player CAN enter that judgement into Moot with two support. When this occurs, the CFJ is suspended, and the Arbitor is once authorized to initiate the Agoran decision to determine public confidence in the judgement, which e SHALL do in a timely fashion.
For this decision, the vote collector is the Arbitor and the valid options are AFFIRM, REMAND, and REMIT. When the decision is resolved, the effect depends on the outcome:
AFFIRM, FAILED QUORUM: The judgement is reassigned to the case, and cannot be entered into Moot again.
REMAND: The case becomes open again.
REMIT: The case becomes open again, and the current judge is recused. The Arbitor SHALL NOT assign em to the case again unless no other eligible judges have displayed interest in judging.
A new case is a judicial case that has not had any judge assigned to it. The initiator of a new case CAN retract it by announcement, thus causing it to cease to be a judicial case.
An excess case is a new case whose initiator previously initiated five or more cases during the same week as that case. A person SHALL NOT initiate an excess case. The Arbitor CAN refuse an excess case by announcement, thus causing it to cease to be a judicial case. When e does so, e fulfills any obligations with regards to that case.
A judge may recuse emself from a CFJ they are assigned to.
When a judge recuses emself from a CFJ the following happens: 1 - The CFJ becomes unassigned 2 - The recused judge becomes ineligible to be assigned as a judge for a week. 3 - The recused judge SHOULD suggest another judge for the CFJ to make the Arbitor's job easier.
If you violate a rule, the Referee or another player may issue you a Green, Yellow, or Red Card depending on the severity of the crime. Green Cards bear no punishment, and are used for minor crimes. Yellow and Red Cards have punishments associated, and are used for major or repeated crimes.
A Card is a recognition of a specific violation of the rules or other manner of infraction that is awarded to the violator in order to draw attention to eir disregard for the rule of law and, depending on the type of Card, to impose a penalty.
Cards CANNOT be issued except by players by announcement. Any attempt to issue a Card, or any intent for a dependent action to issue a Card, is INEFFECTIVE if it does not include the following information:
Issuing Cards is secured with power threshold 1.7.
The types of Card are defined by the rules. A type of Card may have a defined set of circumstances for which it is appropriate, as well as a penalty which takes effect when a Card of that type is issued. Unless otherwise specified by the rule defining a type of Card, that Card type's penalty and circumstances for which it is appropriate are secured at the power threshold of that rule.
The Referee is an office; its holder is responsible for keeping track of and adjudicating wrongdoing. The Referee's weekly report includes a list of all Cards issued within the past 90 days and the reasons therefor, as well as a list of all penalties due to Cards that are still in effect.
A player CAN by announcement, but subject to the provisions of this rule, Point eir Finger at a player, citing an alleged violation of the rules by that player.
When a player Points a Finger, the investigator SHALL investigate the allegation and, in a timely fashion, SHALL conclude the investigation by:
issuing a Card to the pointed-at player by announcement whose reason is rooted in the allegation;
if e believes that no rules violation occurred or that it would be ILLEGAL to issue a Card for it, announcing the Finger Pointing to be Shenanigans.
The Referee is by default the investigator for all Finger Pointing. When a Finger, other than the Arbitor's, is Pointed over an allegation related to the official duties or powers of the Referee, then the Arbitor CAN, by announcement, take over the investigation and thereby become the investigator.
A player CANNOT point a finger more than twice per Agoran week, or more than once per Agoran week at the same player.
The Referee CAN, subject to the provisions of this rule, impose Summary Judgment on a player by issuing a card to em by announcement.
The Referee CANNOT Point eir Finger or impose Summary Judgment more than five total times per week, or more than twice per week at or on the same player.
As part of the Referee's weekly duties, e SHALL either impose Summary Judgment on a player or truthfully announce that e believes that there are no rules violations in the preceding Agoran week for which a Card has not already been issued.
A Green Card is a type of Card that is appropriate for minor, accidental, and/or inconsequential infraction. A Green Card is also appropriate for any infraction for which no other type of Card is appropriate. When a person is issued a Green Card, e is ENCOURAGED to travel to the United States.
A Yellow Card is a type of Card that is appropriate either for infractions that have a significant, though small, impact on gameplay or for infractions for which a Green Card has already been issued.
When a Yellow Card is issued, the bad sport SHOULD publish a formal apology of at least 200 words explaining eir error, shame, remorse, and ardent desire for self-improvement. A player issuing a Yellow Card MAY, when doing so, additionally specify up to 10 words to be included in the apology. Until e publishes such an apology, as a penalty, the bad sport's voting strength on all Agoran decisions initiated within 30 days of the Card's issuance is set to 0 after modifiers.
A Red Card is a type of Card that is appropriate for serious and deliberate violations of the rules. A Red Card is also appropriate for a person who appears to be part of an attempt in bad faith to swarm Agora and outpower the regular players in voting strength.
When a Red Card is issued, as a penalty, within the next 7 days, any player CAN once, with 2 Support, Throw the Book at the bad sport. When the Book is Thrown at the bad sport, eir voting strength on all Agoran decisions initiated during the first Agoran week which begins at least four days after the issuance of the Card is reduced by 2.
A Pink Slip is a type of Card that is appropriate for abuses of official power for personal gain. A Pink Slip CANNOT be issued unless the reason indicates the specific office or offices whose power was abused.
When a Pink Slip is issued, as a penalty, within the next 7 days, any player CAN, with 2 Support, become the holder of one or more of those offices still held by the bad sport.
There are various mechanisms in the game that allow you to win the game. When you win, you become the Speaker (a figurehead role with little additional power), but the game continues. There are several methods of winning the game listed in this section, and a few listed in other sections as well. The methods in this section are as follows:
When the Rules state that a person or persons win the game, those persons win the game; specifically they win the Round that ends with the indicated win. Agora itself does not end and the ruleset remains unchanged. The Herald is then authorized to award those persons the Patent Title of Champion.
An Era is a period of time that has a defined start, either has a defined end or is still ongoing, and has been initiated as specified by this rule.
Upon the initiation of an Era, each existing Ephemeral Rule (in the order they were created) is repealed, unless the initiation specifies otherwise.
The Speaker is an imposed office and the figurehead leader of Agora.
The player or players who have most recently won the game are called Laureled. If at any time the office of Speaker is vacant, or when one or more players win Agora, then the Prime Minister CAN and SHALL, once and in a timely fashion, appoint a Laureled player to the office of Speaker.
If the office of Speaker has been held continuously by the same person for 90+ days, then any player CAN appoint another player to the office with Support.
For an election of the Prime Minister, the Speaker has voting strength one greater than e would have if e did not hold the office.
Any player can issue a Trust Token to another person by announcement.
When the Assessor resolves a Decision to adopt a proposal, then any player who cast a valid vote on the Decision and was endorsed by another player's valid vote on the Decision is issued a Trust Token by the endorsing player.
A person can win the game by announcement if e has been issued a Trust Token by each player except emself; if no person has won via this mechanism in the past; and if in the same message, e quotes, for each of those players, a public message in which that player issued em a Trust Token.
A player CAN Declare Apathy without objection, specifying a set of players. Upon doing so, the specified players win the game.
If nobody has done so in the previous 180 days, the Herald CAN initiate a Victory Election, a type of Agoran decision. On such a decision, all players are valid options; non-player persons can also become valid options during the voting period by announcement. The vote collector is the Herald, and the voting method is instant runoff.
Upon the resolution of the decision, if the outcome is a person, then that person wins the game.
There are a variety of actions that cause you to gain a colored ribbon. Once you have performed one of those actions, you or another player may "award" you the ribbon. If you have every ribbon, you win. This section also describes various "patent titles" that can be awarded to players for various things; patent titles generally have no effect on the game.
The Tailor is an office, and the recordkeepor of Ribbons.
Ribbon Ownership is a person switch, tracked by the Tailor in his monthly report, whose values are the subsets of the set of types of Ribbon, defaulting to the empty set.
To "award a person a <Ribbon type>" is to add that type of Ribbon to that person's Ribbon Ownership. A person "owns a <Ribbon type>" if that type of Ribbon is an element of eir Ribbon Ownership.
While a person qualifies for a type of Ribbon, any player can generally award em that type of Ribbon. A person qualifies for a type of Ribbon if e has earned that type of Ribbon within the preceding 7 days (including earlier in the same message) and has not owned that type of Ribbon within the preceding 7 days.
While a person owns all types of Ribbon, that person can Raise a Banner by announcement. This causes that person to win the game. That person's Ribbon Ownership becomes the empty set.
The types of Ribbon, and the methods of obtaining them, are as follows:
Red (R): When a proposal is adopted and changes at least one rule with Power >= 3, its proposer earns a Red Ribbon.
Orange (O): When a proposal is adopted via an Agoran Decision on which no valid votes were AGAINST, its proposer earns an Orange Ribbon.
Green (G): While a person has held an elected office continuously for 30 days, and has not failed to perform any duties of that office within the appropriate time limits during those 30 days, that person qualifies for a Green Ribbon.
Cyan (C): When a person deputises for an office, that person earns a Cyan Ribbon.
Blue (B): When a person assigns a judgement to a CFJ, and has never violated a time limit to assign a judgement to that CFJ, that person earns a Blue Ribbon.
Magenta (M): During Agora's Birthday, each person who has publicly acknowledged the fact qualifies for a Magenta Ribbon.
Ultraviolet (U): When a person is awarded the Patent Title Champion, that person earns an Ultraviolet Ribbon.
Violet (V): When a person is awarded a Patent Title other than Champion or a degree, that person earns a Violet Ribbon.
Indigo (I): When a person is awarded a degree, that person earns an Indigo Ribbon.
Platinum (P): The Speaker qualifies for a Platinum Ribbon.
Lime (L): A person qualifies for a Lime Ribbon if three or more proposals adopted in the preceding 7 days had that person as a coauthor.
White (W): A player qualifies for a White Ribbon if e has never previously owned a White Ribbon (including under previous rulesets). A player who has been registered for at least 30 days and has never caused another person to gain a White Ribbon (including under a previous ruleset) CAN award a White Ribbon to another person by announcement.
Black (K): This rule does not specify any methods of obtaining Black Ribbons.
Gray (A): The Tailor CAN award a Gray Ribbon by announcement, unless e has done so earlier in the month. E is ENCOURAGED to award such a Ribbon in the same message in which e publishes eir monthly report.
Transparent (T): A person qualifies for a Transparent Ribbon while the number of other types of Ribbon that that person qualifies for and/or has earned within the previous 7 days is at least 5.
A Patent Title is a legal title given to a person in recognition of the person's distinction. The Herald is an office; its holder is responsible for tracking Patent Titles in eir monthly report.
Awarding or revoking a Patent Title is secured. A person permitted and enabled to award (revoke) a Patent Title SHALL do so in a timely fashion after the conditions authorizing em to do so are announced, unless there is an open judicial case contesting the validity of those conditions.
The Herald CAN award a specified Patent Title to a specified player With 2 Agoran Consent.
The Silver Quill is an annual award designed to honor the authors of proposals of outstanding merit and influence on the game.
In a timely fashion after the end of each Agoran Year, the Herald SHALL initiate and Agoran Decision to determine which Proposal has most greatly influenced that (ending) year of play.
For this decision, the valid options are all proposals adopted between November 1 of the year prior to the ending year, and October 31 of the ending year. The vote collector is the Herald, and the voting method is instant runoff.
Players are ENCOURAGED to discuss which eligible proposals best satisfy the aforementioned criteria. Proposals submitted by new players SHOULD be given somewhat higher weight, but the primary reference should be the proposals themselves and their effect on the game since adoption.
Upon the resolution of the decision, if the outcome is not FAILED QUORUM and there were at least three votes containing it in any preference slot, that proposal wins the Ceremony, and the Herald is authorized to award its author the Patent Title of "Silver Quill YYYY, substituting the ending year; otherwise, there is no winner.
A Badge is any patent title with the word 'badge' as part of its name. A badge SHOULD be used to award multiple persons for participating in specific event of note within Agora. Any player CAN award a badge that does not yet exist to three or more persons simultaneously, with Agoran Consent. The Herald CAN award an existing badge to persons Without Objection.
Certain patent titles are known as degrees. The degrees are
Degrees are ranked in the order they appear in this rule, with degrees listed later being ranked higher. A specific degree CANNOT be awarded to any person more than once.
A specified degree CAN be awarded with 2 Agoran Consent, and SHOULD only be awarded for the publication of an original thesis of scholarly worth (including responses to peer-review), published with explicit intent to qualify for a degree. The Herald SHOULD coordinate the peer-review process and the awarding of degrees.
Heroic titles are Agora's premier patent titles of distinction, and CAN be awarded to persons for meritorious service only by a proposal of power 3 or greater, which SHOULD explain why those persons are qualified. Bearers of heroic titles (Heroes) constitute the Order of the Hero of Agora Nomic.
The Heroic titles in decreasing precedence are:
Grand Hero of Agora Nomic (GHAN) -- This title may be awarded to any person obviously and directly responsible for the existence of Agora and/or Nomic in general. As this title is the highest honour that Agora may bestow, a Bearer of this title OUGHT to be treated right good forever.
Hero of Agora Nomic (HAN) -- This title may be awarded to any person for outstanding meritorious service to Agora above and beyond the call of duty.
The prime minister is a player with the right to issue certain Executive Orders, such as becoming the judge of a CFJ or giving a player a Card.
The Prime Minister is an office. The Prime Minister is elected by the players of Agora primarily on account of not being the other guy. The Prime Minister SHOULD ensure that Agoran affairs proceed smoothly.
The holder of the office of Prime Minister's voting strength is increased by 1 on all Agoran decisions other than a elections of the Prime Minister.
Any player can cause the office of Prime Minister to become vacant with 2 Agoran Consent by publishing a message with the character string "MOTION OF NO CONFIDENCE" in the subject line.
Once per week and except as otherwise forbidden by this rule, the current Prime Minister CAN issue a Cabinet Order and perform the action(s) authorized by that Order.
Each Cabinet Order is associated with an office. The current Prime Minister CANNOT issue more than one Cabinet Order associated with the same office more than once in the same month, nor can e issue a Cabinet Order associated with a vacant office.
The available Cabinet Orders are:
Certiorari (Arbitor): The Prime Minister assigns emself as judge of a specified open case.
Dive (Referee): The Prime Minister issues a specified Card to a specified player. The reason for the card MAY be any grievance held by the Prime Minister, not necessarily a violation of the rules, against the person to whom the Card is issued.
Manifesto (Promotor): The Prime Minister distributes a specified proposal in the Proposal Pool.
You are not allowed to break a pledge made in an email to agora-business or agora-official. There is also a system called Agencies that allows you to permit other players to perform actions on your behalf; you can ignore this until you are ready.
A player SHALL NOT break eir own publicly-made pledges.
A pledge may be considered broken if the pledger does not complete it in a timely manner after it becomes possible to do so. A pledge may be considered broken at the moment the pledger engages in conduct proscribed by that pledge.
An Agency is a document empowering persons to act on behalf of another player. A player MAY establish an Agency With 24 hours Notice, and thereby become its Director, by specifying the properties of the new Agency, provided e has not established any other Agency that day:
An Agency's Director may amend its properties or revoke it with 24 hours Notice. For greater certainty, an announced intent to create an Agency or amend an Agency's powers is INEFFECTIVE unless it explicitly specifies the new values of the properties being created or amended.
The Powers of an Agency must be stated as actions, although they may may be conditional on date, time, game state, or other preconditions. If condition(s) are specified as necessary for a power to be used, it is limited; otherwise, it is unlimited. If it attempts to specify a power in a manner that is unclear, ambiguous, circular, inconsistent, paradoxical, or that depends on information that is impossible or unreasonably difficult to determine, then the specification of that power is invalid, and it CANNOT be used.
An Agency, once created, SHOULD be referred to by the acronym formed from its title with conjunctions, articles, and prepositions removed. The acronym of an agency must be unique and any attempt to create or amend an Agency such that two Agencies would have the same acronym is INEFFECTIVE.
The Agents of an Agency may perform the Actions described in the Powers of the Agency on behalf of the Agency's Director.
The Superintendent is an office; its holder is responsible for keeping track of Agencies.
The Superintendent's weekly report includes:
The Superintendent's monthly report includes the Director and properties of all Agencies.
Nothing in this section is of terrible significance.
The first Agoran week each year which falls entirely in February is Read the Ruleset Week. Agorans are encouraged to read the ruleset during Read the Ruleset Week.
WHEREAS, in June 1993, the world's only MUD-based nomic, Nomic World, had recently collapsed; yet, many of its players enjoyed nomic and did not wish to forego such a noble pursuit;
And WHEREAS, Originator Chuck Carroll therefore composed an Initial Ruleset for an email nomic, based on the Initial Rulesets of Peter Suber, inventor of Nomic, and on the Rulesets of Nomic World and other nomics,
And WHEREAS, a nomic thus rose like a phoenix from the ashes of Nomic World, played on the mailing list originally set up for discussion of Nomic World, and coming into existence at June 30, 1993, 00:04:30 GMT +1200, with a message sent by FIRST SPEAKER Michael Norrish, which read, in part,
"I see no reason to let this get bogged down; there are no precedents or rules that cover this situation, so I think we may as well begin directly.... Proposals for new rules are invited. In accordance with the rules, these will be published, numbered and distributed by me at my earliest convenience."
And WHEREAS, this nomic began as a humble and nameless nomic, known unofficially as yoyo, after the mailing list it was played on, until its Players, much later, gave it its OFFICIAL NAME of Agora,
And WHEREAS, Agora has now become the wisest, noblest, eldest, and most interesting of all active email nomics, due to the hard work and diligence of Agorans as well as the frequent advice of Agoraphobes,
And WHEREAS, Agorans desire to joyously commemorate Agora's founding,
BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED that Agora's Birthday is defined to be the entire day of June 30, GMT +1200, of each year.
A Tournament is a sub-game of Agora specifically sanctioned to be initiated as a tournament by the Rules. If a winner of a tournament is determined within 4 weeks of its initiation, that person or persons win the game, otherwise the tournament concludes with no winner. A Tournament is governed by a special temporary title of the ACORN, created in accordance with its parent rule, which have binding control over those who freely agree to play the tournament and over the tournament itself. Once the tournament is concluded, these regulations cease to have any effect, and may be repealed by any player by announcement.
The period each year from midnight GMT on the morning of 24 December to the beginning of the first Agoran week to begin after 2 January is a Holiday.
The week that contains the beginning of Agora's Birthday, together with the following week, is a Holiday.
If a person breaks a Rule by missing a deadline that occurs during a Holiday, punishment is generally not appropriate.
Organizations are a complex mechanic that you can ignore for now. They don't get used much these days, but you can create an Organization that can magage shinies and other assets according to a document called its Charter.
An Organization is a type of entity. The following changes are secured: creating, modifying, or destroying an Organization; and causing an entity to become an Organization or cease to be an Organization.
The Income Cap is 100.
Budget is a switch belonging to (Organization, player) pairs (i.e. there is one instance of the switch for each combination of an Organization and a player), tracked by the Secretary, whose legal values are integers from 0 to the Income Cap inclusive, defaulting to 0. An Organization's Income is the total value of all Budget switches for pairs that include that Organization. A player's Expenditure is the total value of all Budget switches for pairs that include that player. Changes to Budget are secured.
A "member" of an Organization is a player for which the pair consisting of that Organization and that player has a nonzero Budget.
It is IMPOSSIBLE, by any means, for a player to become a member of an Organization, or for an organization to be created with a player as a member, without that player's explicit, willful consent. This rule takes precedence over any rule that might make such a change possible.
A member of an Organization CAN perform any action the rules authorize that Organization to perform, if the Organization's charter states that doing so is Appropriate.
The Income Floor is 50.
If an Organization's Income is ever lower than the Income Floor, then any player CAN destroy it by announcement, and the Secretary SHALL do so in a timely fashion if the situation persists.
If a player's Expenditure is at most the Income Cap minus the Income Floor, and e is not on Lockout, then e CAN create an Organization by announcement, specifying a name for that Organization that is unique among Organizations, and a Charter. When an organization is created this way, its Charter is set to the value that e specified, and the Budget switch for that player and Organization is set to the Income Floor.
Notwithstanding the above, a player CANNOT create more than one Organization in a day, and CANNOT create Organizations while e is a member of an Organization with an Income lower than the Income Floor.
Charter is an Organization switch, tracked by the Secretary in eir monthly report, whose legal values are texts, and with default value "An amendment to this Organization is Appropriate if intent to perform it was announced between 4 and 14 days ago, and no members of the Organization have publicly objected to it since."
A change to an instance of a Budget or Charter switch is known as an "amendment" to the Organization to which that instance of the switch applies. Each amendment to an Organization is considered to be either Appropriate or Inappropriate. An Organization's Charter SHOULD contain a method of determining the appropriateness of amendments to that Organization.
If a Charter does not specify the appropriateness of an amendment to its Organization, or if it attempts to specify the appropriateness of such an amendment but in a way that is unclear, ambiguous, circular, inconsistent, paradoxical, or that depends on information that is impossible or unreasonably difficult to determine, the amendment is Inappropriate; otherwise, it is Appropriate if and only if the Charter specifies that it is.
Organizations can be amended as follows:
The Secretary is an office. The Secretary's weekly report includes:
The Secretary's monthly report includes:
There is such a thing as a Lockout Event, which can happen either to a person or to Agora as a whole. Lockout Events only happen when a Rule with power 1 or greater explicitly states that they happen.
A person is on Personal Lockout if a Lockout Event happened to that person within the past 90 days.
Agora is on Global Lockout if a Lockout Event happened to Agora as a whole within the past 7 days.
A person is on Lockout if that person is on Personal Lockout, Agora is on Global Lockout, or both. A person is "off Lockout" if that person is not on Lockout.
A player who is not on Lockout can Invoke Lockout by announcement.
When a player Invokes Lockout, a Lockout Event happens to that player and a Lockout Event happens to Agora as a whole.
Estates are a relatively minor game mechanic. They are auctioned off monthly, and you may use them to gain an extra vote. You can ignore them for now.
An Estate is a type of indestructable liquid asset, which can be owned by players, organizations, and Agora. The following changes are secured: creating, modifying, or destroying an Estate; and causing an entity to become an Estate or cease to be an Estate.
The Surveyor is an office, and the recordkeepor of estates.
During an auction, any player may bid a number of Shinies on eir own behalf by announcement, or on behalf of any Organization for which such a bid is Appropriate by announcement, provided the bid is higher than any previously-placed bid in the same auction.
If, at the end of the auction, there is a single highest bid, then that player or Organization wins the auction. The player who placed the winning bid CAN cause Agora to transfer the auctioned Estate to the winner by announcement, by paying Agora the amount of the bid, or by causing the winning Organization to pay Agora the amount of the bid. E SHALL do so in a timely fashion.
If, at the end of the auction, there is a single highest bid, then that player or Organization wins the auction. The player who placed the winning bid CAN cause Agora to transfer the auctioned Estate to the winner by announcement, by paying Agora the amount of the bid, or by causing the winning Organization to pay Agora the amount of the bid. E SHALL do so in a timely fashion.
Shinies are the currency of Agora. They work pretty much how you'd expect; you can pay them to other people, etc. Upon first joining the game, you or someone else can award you a Welcome Package of 50 shinies. This section also describes Stamps; you can buy them or sell them from Agora for a price dependent on the state of the economy. You can use stamps as an investment, but they also provide a means of winning: you win if you have stamps originally purchased from Agora by 10 different people.
Shinies (sg. shiny) are an indestructible liquid currency, and the official currency of Agora. They may be owned by Agora, any player, or any organization. The Secretary is the recordkeepor for Shinies.
The Secretary CAN cause Agora to pay any player or organization by announcement if doing so is specified by a rule.
The Supply Level is 1000.
When a Shiny Releveling event occurs, Agora's Balance is increased or decreased such that all Balances add up to the Supply Level.
When the Supply level Changes, a Shiny Releveling event occurs.
The Secretary may cause a Shiny Releveling event to occur without 3 Objections.
"Heir" is a person switch, tracked by the Registrar, whose value is either empty or the name of a player or Organization. Each person's Heir is empty by default. A player may flip eir Heir by announcement.
When a player is deregistered, if eir Heir switch is not empty, e automatically pays all of eir Balance to the named player or Organization, and transfers all of eir Estates to the named player or Organization. Otherwise, if eir Heir switch is empty, e may specify another player, an Organization, or Agora, and pay all of eir Balance and transfer all of eir Estates to the specified player or Organization. If the player does not do so within 1 day of deregistration, the Registrar CAN and SHALL cause that player to pay eir Balance to Agora and to transfer all of eir Estates to Agora, by announcement.
A Reward is a specified amount of shinies associated with a Reward Condition. For each time a player meets a Reward Condition, e MAY claim the specified award exactly once within 24 hours of meeting the Reward Condition.
When a player 'claims' a Reward, Agora transfers the specified number of shinies to the player.
Below is an exhaustive list of Reward Conditions and eir rewards:
The following two only apply to proposals that were pended via spending shinies:
Judging a CFJ, that was created via spending shinies, that e was assigned to: 1/20th the current Floating Value.
*Publishing a duty-fulfilling report: 5 shinies. This reward can be claimed a maximum of once per office per week for a weekly report, and once per office per month for a monthly report.
Stamps are an asset, identified by eir creator and tracked by the Secretary.
The Stamp Value is always 1/5th the current Floating Value.
Once per month, a player MAY, by announcement, transfer to Agora the Stamp Value, in shinies, to create a Stamp.
Players MAY, by announcement, destroy a Stamp and cause Agora to transfer the Stamp Value, in shinies, to em.
While a player has Stamps made by at least 10 different players e MAY destroy 10 stamps made by 10 different players by announcement to win the game.
Players can start a festival, preventing players with fewer than a certain number of ribbons from participating in many aspects of the game. You don't need to pay much attention to this section unless someone starts a festival.
Festivity is a singleton switch, whose possible values are integers ranging from 0 inclusive to the number of defined types of Ribbon exclusive, and defaulting to 0. While Agora's Festivity is 0, Festivity is tracked in the Tailor's monthly report. Otherwise, it is tracked in the Tailor's weekly report. Changes to Festivity are secured.
If Agora's Festivity has had the same nonzero value for 14 days or more, any player may flip it to 0 by announcement.
A player who owns at least N types of Ribbon may Start a Rank N Festival, where N is an integer greater than Agora's Festivity, with 4 Support from players who own at least N types of Ribbon. Upon doing so, Agora's Festivity is flipped to N. Exception: A player may not do so if Agora's Festivity has had a value greater than or equal to N within the past 21 days.
A person who owns a number of types of Ribbon equal to or greater than Agora's Festivity is known as Festive. Other persons are not Festive.
While Agora's Festivity is nonzero, the following apply:
Non-Festive players are never considered Supporters of a dependent action;
Non-Festive players cannot flip the Imminence of any proposal;
Quorum for Agoran Decisions is equal to half the number of Festive players, rounded up;
Each Festive player has the maximum possible voting strength. All other players have the minimum possible voting strength.
While Agora's Festivity is zero, the paragraphs above have no effect and are ignored.
There isn't anything of much importance in here. One important note is that you may not intentionally perform an action not permitted by the roles in order to trick others into believing it has actually occured.
A person SHALL NOT attempt to perform an action which e knows is IMPOSSIBLE so as to deceive others.
The Reportor is an office.
The Reportor's weekly report includes:
A suitable name for a newspaper, at the Reportor's discretion.
A description of events that have happened since the last report that the Reportor believes significant or interesting.
Any editorialization or other pieces of Agora-related information the Reportor pleases, as long as it is neither i) factually incorrect nor ii) disrespectful to any person or Agora itself.
While meeting these requirements, the Reportor may format eir report however e pleases. The Reportor's reports are still subject to the requirements of rule 2143
The Reportor SHALL include at least one piece of information relevant to Agora in the last week and SHALL write with the goal of creating a more informed population.
The Speaker for the first game shall be Michael Norrish.
/\ /\
/ \ / \
T
his
Power-4
Rule (the first ever)
was placed to honor
The Agoran Spirit Of The Game
by Goethe, Steve, Murphy, root
and OscarMeyr, Scamsters. Look
on our works, ye Marvy, but do
always Dance a Powerful Dance. Hail Eris!
In a timely fashion after the start of June 1 of each year, the Herald SHALL propose a set of Regulations governing a Birthday Tournament for that year; the Herald CAN also delegate the responsibility for creating or running the tournament to another player, with that player's consent.
The Birthday Tournament's regulations SHOULD be such that all persons who choose to participate have a fair chance of winning the tournament (according to its regulations), and a winner SHOULD be expected within 2-3 weeks following the tournament's initiation.
After adequate time for discussion of the Birthday Tournament's regulations, the Herald (or delegate) CAN initiate a sanctioned tournament with a specified, finalized set of regulations, Without 3 Objections. By doing so e promulgates those regulations as a special temporary title of the ACORN. This title may thereafter be amended only by the Herald or eir designee without objection, to correct minor typos. The initiation SHOULD be timed to coincide with Agora's Birthday.