I'm going to preface this by saying that my contracts proposal is kind
of long. It may take a few days for everyone to read through it and
stuff. It's long for several reasons. For one thing, it repeals about
as many rules as it creates. As I suggested, this is a consolidation
of the existing Agency and Organization mechanics, which means it
should be a net simplification, even though it doesn't feel like it.
It also adds in the whole new element that the thing is binding. At
some point we may be able to repeal pledges too, once everyone's used
to the new mechanics. Another reason is that I've littered the thing
with safety features. They're probably unnecessary, but better safe
than sorry.
A few design principles:
1. Contracts should be easy to use. The primary cause for the failure
of organizations was their complexity. You had to come up with a name.
You had to deal with member's budgets. You had to specify whether
things were "appropriate", without the ease of CANs and CANNOTs. You
couldn't specify SHALLs and SHALL NOTs.
2. Contracts should be powerful, but not too powerful. The primary
cause for the limited adoption of agencies was that you couldn't do
much with them. Yeah, sure, you can do CANs and CANNOTs now. That's
great, but the agency can't own assets, or create obligations, or even
have more than one "Director". There was only one agency (the PDA,
which I created to let someone else run Promotor temporarily) before
Free Agency passed, greatly expanding what you could do with agencies.
Now there are many of them, but they're still not as versatile as they
could be. It goes without saying that we would like to avoid
mousetraps or other scams too, so some limitations are necessary.
3. Reuse what worked. A lot of my new contract rules is drawn from the
successful parts of the existing organization system.
My proposal has three parts. Part 1 cleans up (tweaks and repeals)
existing rules. A lot of it is drawn from o's organization repeal
proposal, which I borrowed and then edited. Thank you, o. The second
part consists of new rules to create contracts. The third part
modifies the assets rule, both to conform with contracts and for some
general minor fixes of ambiguities that have been pointed out. Each
part has subheadings, which should hopefully make it easier to
read/not get lost in.
Without further ado, here is my draft proposal. Comments and concerns
appreciated, though please try not to complain about the length :).
-Aris
---
Title: Contracts v.1
Adoption index: 3.0
Author: Aris
Co-author(s): o, G.
Lines beginning with hashmarks ("#") and comments in square brackets ("[]")
have no effect on the behavior of this proposal. They are not part of any rules
created or amended herein, and may be considered for all game purposes to
have been removed before its resolution.
# 1 Cleanup
# 1.1 Gamestate Cleanup
Destroy each organization.
Destroy each agency.
Destroy each contract. [Just in case.]
# 1.2 Organization, Secretary, and Economic Cleanup
# 1.2.1 Repeal Organizations
Repeal rule 2459 ("Organizations").
Repeal rule 2461 ("Death and Birth of Organizations").
Repeal rule 2460 ("Organizational Restructuring").
Repeal rule 2457 ("Lockout").
Repeal rule 2458 ("Invoking Lockout").
Repeal rule 2462 ("Bankruptcy").
# 1.2.2 Change Secretary to Treasuror
Amend rule 2456 ("The Secretary") by
* Changing its title to "The Treasuror", then by
* Replacing its text, entirely, with:
{{{
The Treasuror is an office, and the recordkeepor of Shinies.
The Treasuror's weekly report also includes:
1. the current Floating Value, and all derived values
defined by the Rules.
2. the list of all public classes of assets.
}}}
Make o the Treasuror.
Amend the following rules, in order, by replacing the word
"Secretary" with the word "Treasuror" wherever it appears:
* Rule 2487 ("Shiny Supply Level")
* Rule 2498 ("Economic Wins")
* Rule 2497 ("Floating Value")
# 1.2.3 General Economy Fixes/Cleanup
Amend rule 2489 ("Estates") by replacing the first sentence with:
{{{
An Estate is a type of indestructible liquid asset.
}}}
Amend rule 2491 ("Estate Auctions") by replacing its text,
entirely, with:
{{{
At the start of each month, if Agora owns at least one
Estate, the Surveyor CAN and SHALL put one Estate which is owned by
Agora up for auction, by announcement. Each auction ends
seven days after it begins.
During an auction, any player or contract may bid a number of Shinies
by announcement, provided that the bid is higher than all
previously-placed bids in the same auction.
If, at the end of the auction, there is a single highest
bid, then the player or contract who placed that bid wins the auction.
The winner CAN cause Agora to transfer the auctioned Estate to the
emself by announcement, if e pays Agora the amount of the bid. The
person who placed the bid SHALL see to it that this is done in a
timely fashion.
}}}
Amend rule 2483 ("Economics") by replacing its text, entirely, with:
{{{
Shinies (singular "shiny", abbreviated "sh.") are an
indestructible liquid currency, and the official currency
of Agora. The Treasuror is the recordkeepor for shinies.
The Treasuror CAN cause Agora to pay any player or
contract by announcement if doing so is specified by a
rule.
}}}
Repeal Rule 2485 ("You can't take it with you").
# 1.3 Agency Cleanup
Repeal Rule 2467 ("Agencies")
Repeal Rule 2468 ("Superintendent")
# 2 Contracts
# 2.1 Core Contract Features
Create a new power 2.5 rule, entitled "Contracts", with the following text:
A contract is a document, and the ruleset described entity embodied therein.
The following changes are secured at power 2.0: creating or modifying a
contract or causing an entity to become a contract. [Note that,
as a precaution, causing an entity to cease being a contract is not secured.]
The properties of contracts, as described by other rules, include the
following:
- Parties, persons who agree to be bound by and assume powers under
the contract.
- The ability to be amended or destroyed.
- The ability to compel actions by their parties.
- The ability to allow persons to take actions on the part of their parties.
- The ability to define arbitrary classes of asset.
- The ability to possess and control assets.
Create a new power 2.5 rule, entitled "Parties to Contracts", with the following
text:
Contracts have parties, who are persons. The person(s) who create(s) a
contract is/are automatically a party/parties. Other persons CAN become
parties by announcement if the contract permits them do so. Parties can leave
a contract by announcement, ceasing being parties, if the contract permits
the to do so. A contract CAN expel a party or group of parties, causing em
to cease being parties.
It is IMPOSSIBLE, by any means, for a person to become a party to a contract,
or for an contract to be created with a person as a party, without that
person's clear, willful consent. This rule takes precedence over any rule
that might make such a change possible.
Create a power 2.5 rule entitled "Birth and Death of Contracts", with the
following text:
A person CAN create a contract by an announcement, specifying text. A person
SHALL NOT create more than 3 contracts per week by this method, and the
Notary CAN destroy any excess (i.e. beyond the 3 permitted) contracts
by announcement in a timely fashion.
Any public textual agreement or set of inseparably linked public textual
agreements between a group of two or persons, made with the intention that the
agreement(s) be binding and governed by the rules, is a contract.
The person or persons who create a contract CAN and SHOULD also specify a
name for the contract; if e/they do/does not do so, the Notary CAN and
SHALL assign a name in a timely fashion.
A contract CAN amend, destroy, or retitle itself if its text permits it to do
so. A player CAN amend, destroy, or retitle a contract without objection, even
if the text denies em the ability to do so. Players SHOULD only use this
mechanism to recover from situations where the Charter is underspecified or
has unintended effects.
If a contract has fulfilled its purpose, does not specify any gamestate
affecting statements, or otherwise seems unlikely to be used, the Notary
CAN and SHOULD destroy it Without 2 Objections or with Agoran Consent. Any
player may destroy a contract with 2 Agoran Consent.
# 2.2 Powers of Contracts
Create a new power 2.4 rule, entitled "Contracts as Agreements", with the
following text:
The text of a contract CAN specify obligations upon its parties. Parties to
a contract SHALL abide by its terms and SHALL NOT deliberately or negligently
breach them. The fact that the action described by the contract is in
violation of the rules is not a defense if the violative nature is
reasonably clear from its text.
As an exception to the provisions of the previous paragraph and the
circumstances in which cards would ordinarily be appropriate, a person
awarding a card under this rule MAY consider the equitable interests of
justice and interests of the game, including the importance of the observation
of contracts, as a mitigating or aggravating circumstances when awarding a
card. Such a person MAY and SHOULD also consider the instructions of the
contract or contracts in question when issuing a card.
Create a new power 2.4 rule, entitled "Acting on Behalf via Contract", with
the following text:
A person CAN, by announcement, cause a contract perform any action the rules
authorize that contract to perform, if the contract states that it is
possible for em to so.
If a rule specifies that contract SHALL or SHALL NOT do something, it is
equivalent to saying that the parties to the contract are jointly
and severally liable to see to it that that thing is done or not done.
[Thoughts? Should I save this for when I actually write a partnership
proposal?]
The text of a contract CAN permit persons to act on behalf of a party or
group of parties. It must specify:
a. Which of it's parties can be acted on behalf of;
b. What actions can be taken;
c. Who can take the actions; and
d. Any conditions or limitations upon the actions. Such limitations
and conditions CANNOT be inextricable, and if they are,
the actions CANNOT be used.
# 2.3 Contract Interpretation and Maintenance
Create a new power 2.5 rule, entitled "Interpreting Contracts",
with the following text:
A contract should generally be interpreted according to its text, including
any clauses giving directions for its interpretation or construction. Such
clauses are ineffective if they are manifestly unjust or contrary to the
best interests of the game.
A contract is subservient to the rules. Although a contract may specify
obligations or powers beyond those created by the rules, a contract may not
override the rules: in particular, any provision of a contract that would
unreasonably violate an inalienable right of players and/or persons or
cause any rule defined statement about the gamestate or the possibility of
an action to become false is void and without effect.
The following are protected actions:
1. Deregistering;
2. Submitting, pending, distributing, voting freely on, and assessing
a proposal, where the sole effect the proposal would have if adopted
is to create, modify, or destroy a contract or group of contracts,
or to cause an entity or group of entities to become or cease to be
a contract or group of contracts; and
3. Intending to destroy a contract, and supporting, objecting to, or resolving
such an intent.
[Can anyone think of any additions to this list?]
Rules to the contrary notwithstanding, a contract CANNOT compel, forbid,
or in any way alter, tamper with, or modify the performance of a protected
action. A contract CANNOT reward or punish a player for performing or failing
protected action, or for doing so in a particular manner. A contract
also CANNOT allow a person to do any of the things prohibited to the contract
by this paragraph. Insofar as a contract or a provision or clause of a
contract contravenes the letter or spirit of this paragraph, it is void
and without effect.
Create a new power 3.0 rule, entitled "The Notary", with the following text:
The Notary is an office, and the recordkeepor of contracts. The Notary tracks
contracts, including their name, text, and parties. The Notary also tracks
the list of private classes of asset.
The Notary's monthly report inludes all information which e tracks as a part
of eir offical duties. The Notary's weekly report includes all changes to this
information. [Should the monthly report be self-ratifying?]
Make <someone> Notary. [Any volunteers? Maybe our current Secretary or
Superintendent?]
# 3.0 Asset Changes
Amend Rule 2166, "Assets", by changing it to read in full:
An asset is an entity defined as such by a rule, authorized regulation,
group of rules/regulations, or contract (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 if it is owned by 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, players, and contracts.
A contract's text CAN specify whether or not that contract is
willing receive assets or a class of assets. Generally, a contract CANNOT
be given assets it is unwilling to receive. If the contract is silent on the
matter the procedure to determine its willingness is as follows:
1. If the contract appears to anticipate being given assets (e.g. by
authorizing parties to spend the contract's assets), then the contract
is willing to receive all assets.
2. Otherwise, it is unwilling to receive all assets.
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, other than this one, 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.
To spend an asset is to pay it for the purpose of doing some other action or
fulfilling an obligation; if the action would not be completed, the obligation
would not be at least partially fulfilled, or more of the asset would be spent
than is needed to perform the action/fulfill the obligation, then the attempt
to spend fails. Generally, when an asset is spent, it is paid to Agora.
When a rule indicates transferring 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.
An asset or class of assets is public, rather than private, if its backing
document is a rule, group of rules, or a regulation or group of regulations.
