On 7/26/2021 11:09 PM, Aspen via agora-discussion wrote: > On Thu, Jul 22, 2021 at 2:56 PM Kerim Aydin via agora-discussion > <agora-discussion@agoranomic.org> wrote: >> >> >> Proto: dating standards >> >> Amend Rule 478 (Fora) by replacing: >> performed at the time date-stamped on that message >> with: >> performed at the earliest credible time date-stamped on that message >> >> ["earliest" because that's closest to hitting the send key, "credible" to >> make it clear that it's a matter of evidence not logic. In practice, this >> means go with the Date: field unless there's evidence that it's not >> credible in some way, in which case go with the next earliest - likely the >> first forum stamp]. >> > > I'd prefer to leave this more open. I do agree that "the time > date-stamped on that message" is actively confusing, and should be > changed. However, I don't think the right solution is to legislate a > standard for something that game custom can (IMO) just do a better > chance of handling. > > Here are a few alternatives that preserve our current way of handling this: > > "performed at exactly one of the times date-stamped on that message" > > "performed at exactly one of the times date-stamped on that message; > selecting which one is a matter of game custom" > > The first one may prompt questions from new players, but is perhaps > stylistically cleaner. The later one is a nearly verbatim copy of the > current rule annotation.
I'm really not keen on this approach. It doesn't clarify, instead it suggests there's an arbitrary menu of options, which is worse than now. I think, fairly strongly, we should suggest in the text of a rule that we're actually trying to get close to the time of sending (time the 'send' key is hit). If my options were leaving it as now, and making it "one of the timestamps", I'd leave it as now, because the 100% natural reading of the current language is that the "date" is the time of send, and it's only due to our over-technical knowledge (that it can be forged, potentially) that we worry about other readings. -G.
