[Bnomic-private] Re: State of Emergency

[Daniel Lepage]

On Thursday, December 18, 2003, at 12:03 AM, Glotmorf wrote:

> Okay...when is an action/event a SoL-sanctioned freak
> occurrence, and when is it a sufficiently frequent occurrence
> as to become game tradition and de facto rule?

I believe that a precedent can never override the wording of the rules; 
if we have a hundred past instances where we assumed a rule behaved in 
a certain manner, and then reread it and discover that it does not, 
then that rule does not behave in that manner, even though we have 
treated it that way before. Precedent contradicting a rule's wording 
does not show that the rule doesn't follow its wording, it just shows 
that we're ignorant of what the rule actually says.

>  Had no one
> before now come off leave, one could reasonably argue that
> r205 is a trap that doesn't allow them to do so, but there
> have been many instances -- at least one by almost every
> player -- of a player going on leave and coming off leave
> again.  Enough, in my mind, to set a precedent.

I believe that at the moment, r205 is such a trap. All players who 
convinced Dave to state that they came Off Leave were taken off leave 
by the SoL; this does not mean that future players should be able to 
escape r205.

> I submit that this precedent indicates the proper
> interpretation of r205 is that it is impossible to take an
> action and remain on leave -- that the act of taking an action
> causes one to become off leave.  I submit that the purpose and
> usefulness of such a rule is not to prevent action, but in
> fact to prevent action being performed under a safety net of
> being on leave.

I agree that the act of taking an action causes one to become Off 
Leave. However, a player who is On Leave cannot perform the act of 
taking an action, so it's a moot point whether or not doing so would 
cause them to return from leave.

> Now, if you want a hole to patch, you might want to look at
> Lurking.  A player who is Lurking is not restricted from
> performing any action, but cannot be GCed.

How is that a hole? The only advantage to Lurking is that you can't be 
GCed; unlike being On Leave, it doesn't protect you from random 
selections, nor forbid you from taking actions. It simply states that 
you can plan an absence, and delay GCage since you intend to return.

Presumably, if you're taking those actions that you aren't restricted 
from performing, you're not a candidate for GCage either.

--
Wonko
Award Wonko a Win.
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