Roger Hicks wrote: >>Please restrict rule text to columns 7 through 70. This is the >>standard way to format rule text. > >Why is this standard?
It's ultimately derived from the original formatting of the ruleset, which went thus: |101. All players must always abide by all the rules then in effect, | in the form in which they are then in effect. The rules in the | Initial Set are in effect at the beginning of the first game. | The Initial Set consists of rules 101-116 (immutable) and | 201-219 (mutable). | |102. Initially rules in the 100's are immutable and rules in the | 200's are mutable. Rules subsequently enacted or transmuted ... The rule numbers are no longer alongside the text, but the resulting 6 column indent has remained. The right margin has always been around column 70, which is a common recommendation for text with hard line wrapping, particularly in an email context: it allows for a few levels of ">" quoting without exceeding the standard 80 column display width. > Restricting the natural line-wraps of my e-mail >client is a pain in the butt. It's not essential. The Rulekeepor will always reformat rule text if necessary when adding it to the ruleset. It's just most convenient for readers of your proposal if (a) it is presented in the familiar format for rule text and (b) it can be quoted without inducing double wrapping. The indentation (left margin) of rule text has the additional benefit that (as in the ruleset) it sets off rule text from the surrounding matter (enacting formula, other provisions of the proposal). This removes the need for quotation marks, which don't work well when quoting more than a sentence anyway. >The Ambassador does not currently exist, and I didn't see the point in >creating another office for something this simple. It's a very different job, worth keeping separate. The Herald and Ambassador could be the same person, of course, if one person is happy with both jobs. We've also had an Ambassador in at least two previous periods, when we were taking an interest in foreign relations. I think it's a pity we keep repealing it. -zefram
