status: https://faculty.washington.edu/kerim/nomic/cases/#3756
(This document is informational only and contains no game actions).
=============================== CFJ 3756 ===============================
Jason Cobb qualifies for a Transparent ribbon.
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Caller: Jason Cobb
Judge: twg
Judgement: FALSE
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History:
Called by Jason Cobb: 11 Jul 2019 00:11:57
Assigned to twg: 17 Jul 2019 22:19:27
Judged FALSE by twg: 23 Jul 2019 10:14:54
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Caller's Arguments:
This all comes down to whether or not being awarded a Gray ribbon
counts as a ribbon towards the requirement that "the number of other
types of Ribbon that [I have qualified] for and/or [have] earned
within the previous 7 days is at least 5."
It could possibly be read in under "qualifies" because I have, as
per Rule 2548, "earned that type of Ribbon within the preceding 7
days". I argue that I have earned the Ribbon within the previous 7
days because I came to possess a new Gray Ribbon that I did not
previously possess. If this is true, I have earned/qualified for 5
types in the previous 7 days, as noted before, so I qualify for
Transparent.
I do note that Rule 2438 uses "qualifies" and "earns" somewhat
interchangeably, especially towards the end of the list (see R's
definition vs P's definition), which may muddy the waters somewhat.
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Caller's Evidence:
Qualifications for 5 types of Ribbon.
* I earned a Red ribbon for proposals earlier this week
(8182/8186/8187).
* I earned an Orange ribbon for proposals earlier this week
(8186/8187).
* I earned a Cyan ribbon for deputising for Assessor earlier this
week.
* I qualify for a White ribbon because I have never previously
owned one.
* (?) I earned a Gray ribbon earlier this week by being awarded
one by G.
Excerpt from Rule 2438 ("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.
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Gratuitous Arguments by G.:
"Qualified" and "earned" are actually used very precisely.
Qualified is for continuous conditions that qualify you (e.g. P = being
Speaker). Earned is for one-time event triggers (e.g. R = a power-3
proposal is adopted) which *then* put you in the condition of being
qualified for 7 days.
So the process is Earned => Qualified => Awarded.
R, O, C, B, U, V, I: each start at Earned. When the event listed
happens, you move to "qualified" where you stay for 7 days or
until the ribbon is awarded.
G, M, L, P, W, T: each start at qualified - you're either in those
conditions or not. If you are, you can be awarded.
Gray and awarding W to someone else jump straight to "awarded"
so you never earn nor qualify for those.
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Judge twg's Arguments:
The message in which Jason Cobb called this CFJ and purported to award
emself a Transparent Ribbon read (in its most important elements) as follows:
If I CAN do so, I award myself a Transparent ribbon.
* I earned a Red ribbon for proposals earlier this week(8182/8186/8187).
* I earned an Orange ribbon for proposals earlier this week (8186/8187).
* I earned a Cyan ribbon for deputising for Assessor earlier this week.
* I qualify for a White ribbon because I have never previously owned one.
* (?) I earned a Gray ribbon earlier this week by being awarded one by G.
I transfer 20 Coins to G, fulling my most recent Oath.
I CFJ: "Jason Cobb qualifies for a Transparent ribbon."
Rule 2438/9 "Ribbons", which is reproduced below, has the following to say
on the matter of qualifying for a Transparent Ribbon:
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.
I found no procedural abnormalities regarding eir Red, Orange, Cyan or White
Ribbons, so the question really hinges on whether or not a Gray Ribbon can
count towards a Transparent Ribbon.
Rule 2438/9 lists very specific circumstances in which a Ribbon is earned or
qualified for. For example, a person qualifies for a Magenta Ribbon if (a)
it is currently Agora's Birthday and (b) e has publicly acknowledged that it
is so. Although neither "qualify" nor "earn" is explicitly defined, it seems
to me to be both common sense and game custom that if these very specific
criteria are _not_ met, then a given Ribbon is _not_ qualified for or
earned. Certainly I have never seen anyone try to claim that, because e has
performed some virtuous out-of-game action, e deserves a reward and
therefore has "earned" a Ribbon.
Another example of this type of "definition" is in Rule 2555/2, "Blots",
which says in part that "[a] person with 1 or more blots is Impure". It does
not explicitly state that a person who does _not_ have 1 or more blots is
_not_ Impure, but this is clearly implied, and to my knowledge no person has
ever claimed to be confused by this definition.
At no point does Rule 2438/9, or any other rule explicitly specify any
circumstance under which a player may "earn" or "qualify for" a Gray Ribbon
It is therefore IMPOSSIBLE to earn or qualify for a Gray Ribbon under the
present ruleset (although it may still be awarded, as permitted by Rule
2438/9). The caller's assertion that e earned a Gray Ribbon simply by being
awarded it is FALSE.
The requirement to qualify for a Transparent Ribbon, that
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
specifically refers to Ribbons that have been qualified for or earned. Since
Gray Ribbons CANNOT by qualified for or earned, they CANNOT count towards a
Transparent Ribbon award. (Incidentally, the same argument means that
neither can White Ribbons, unless obtained from the "never previously owned
a White Ribbon" criterion.)
As a matter of historical interest, are Ribbons _supposed_ to work this way?
Did the rule's original author mean to exclude certain types of Ribbon? We
may never know for sure, but we can have a guess.
According to the Full Logical Ruleset, Rule 2438 was enacted in 2014 by
Proposal 7698, written by ais523. But ais523 didn't come up with the idea of
Ribbons emself - as e stated at the time:
Renaissance was always my favourite win condition. Our last attempt at
it failed because it was too easy. So I'm proposing to bring back an old
difficult version, modified for changes in the ruleset since, and with
even more Ribbon types to make it even harder.
Ribbons had already existed in multiple past rulesets. ais523's version came
from Rule 2199, which was repealed in 2010 by Proposal 6874, and which is
reproduced below in its pre-repeal form. It contained much the same
language, including definitions of "qualify" and "earn" that are almost the
same as those in the ruleset today.
These definitions were introduced to Rule 2199 in Proposal 6777 by coppro,
as part of a general clean-up of Rule 2199. Proposal 6777 was submitted and
adopted without any discussion, and the only person to vote AGAINST was
ais523 (and then only because of a textual error that was corrected in a
follow-up proposal, Proposal 6794).
coppro, who later played the game under the nicknames scshunt and Alexis,
had a reputation for wording things very precisely, to such a degree that e
sometimes hid loopholes in eir proposals - for example, in the chain of
events that led to the enactment of Rule 2846, "The Royal Parade" (which is
explained in CFJ 3645). It therefore seems unwise to assume that eir wording
was in any way unintentional. The definitions have also never been
significantly amended or challenged since then, which suggests that nobody
ever saw a problem with them.
I judge CFJ 3756 FALSE.
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Judge twg's Evidence:
Rule 2438/9 (Power=3)
Ribbons
The Tailor is an office, and the recordkeepor of Ribbons.
Ribbon Ownership is a person switch, tracked by the Tailor in eir
monthly report, whose values are the subsets of the set of types
of Ribbon, defaulting to the empty set. If the rules are amended
to change the types of Ribbon, if a player's Ribbon Ownership is
subsequently illegal, then it is updated by removing all
nonexistent types rather than resetting the entire value to
default.
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, by
announcement, 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 ballots were AGAINST (after evaluating
conditionals), 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.
Rule 2199/19 (Power=1)
Ribbons
While a player qualifies for a Ribbon, any person CAN, by
announcement, award that player a Ribbon of that color, unless e
already possesses one.
When a player earns a Ribbon, e thereafter qualifies for that
Ribbon until the opportunity expires, which occurs either when
it is used or at the time limit, which defaults to one week. An
opportunity is used when a player is awarded a Ribbon of that
colour, e does not qualify for that Ribbon except through earned
opportunities, and the opportunity is the one that will expire
first. In case of a tie, only one of the opportunities tied for
shortest duration is used.
Ribbons are a class of fixed assets. If winning is secured,
then changes to Ribbon holdings are secured with the same power
threshold. Ownership of Ribbons is restricted to players.
Each Ribbon has exactly one color. Colors with different names
are distinct, regardless of spectral proximity. Each color of
Ribbon is a currency.
A Ribbon may only be of a color mentioned in this rule; if a
Ribbon somehow has any other color, it is destroyed.
The Herald is the recordkeepor of Ribbons.
(+R) When an interested proposal is adopted and changes at least
one rule with Power >= 3, its proposer earns a Red Ribbon.
(+O) When an interested proposal is adopted by voting with no
valid votes AGAINST, its proposer earns an Orange Ribbon.
(+G) At the end of each month, each player who held at least one
office continuously during that month earns a Green Ribbon,
unless e failed to perform an official duty within a time
limit during that month.
(+C) When a player deputises for an office, e earns a Cyan
Ribbon.
(+B) When a player assigns a judgement to a judicial question in
an interested judicial case other than a question on
sentencing, e earns a Blue Ribbon, unless e violated a
requirement to submit that judgment within a time limit.
(+K) When a player assigns a judgement to a judicial question in
an interested judicial case on sentencing, e earns a Black
Ribbon, unless e violated a requirement to submit that
judgment within a time limit.
(+M) When, during Agora's birthday, a player publicly
acknowledges the occasion, e earns a Magenta Ribbon.
(+U) When a player is awarded the Patent Title Champion, e earns
an Ultraviolet Ribbon.
(+V) When a player is awarded a Patent Title, e earns a Violet
Ribbon, unless e earns a different Ribbon for the award.
(+I) When a player is awarded a degree, e earns an Indigo
Ribbon.
(+P) The Speaker qualifies for a Platinum Ribbon.
(+Y) Each player with 15 or more ergs qualifies for a Yellow
Ribbon.
(+S) The Enemy qualifies for a Silver Ribbon.
(+L) A player qualifies for a Lime Ribbon, if e was the
co-author of at least three Proposals adopted in the
previous week.
If this rule mentions at least six different specific colors for
Ribbons, then upon a win announcement that one or more players
each possess at least one Ribbon of each such color, all those
players satisfy the Winning Condition of Renaissance.
Cleanup procedure: For each of those players, one Ribbon of
each such color in eir possession is destroyed.
[Note (30 August 2007): here is a set of colors with convenient
abbreviating letters, suggested for future inventions of new types of
ribbon: Amber, Blue, Cyan, Denim, Emerald, Fern, Green, Heliotrope,
Indigo, Jade, blacK, Lime, Magenta, iNfrared, Orange, Pink,
aQuamarine, Red, Silver, Turquoise, Ultraviolet, Violet, White, flaX,
Yellow, Zinnwaldite.]
History:
Created by Proposal 5424 (Zefram; disi.), 6 February 2008
Amended(1) by Proposal 5485 (root), 9 April 2008
Amended(2) by Proposal 5791 (Murphy), 22 October 2008
Amended(3) by Proposal 6008 (PNP), 10 December 2008
Assigned to Committee on Finance by Proposal 6053 (Murphy, woggle,
ais523), 23 January 2009
Amended(4) by Proposal 6175 (Yally), 7 April 2009
Amended(5) by Proposal 6196 (Wooble), 27 April 2009
Power changed from 2 to 1 by Proposal 6198 (Murphy), 27 April 2009
Amended(6) by Proposal 6346 (coppro), 17 June 2009
Amended(7) by Proposal 6347 (coppro; disi.), 17 June 2009
Amended(8) by Proposal 6483 (Pavitra), 18 September 2009
Amended(9) by Proposal 6576 (G.; disi.), 28 November 2009
Amended(10) by Proposal 6650 (coppro), 10 March 2010
Amended(11) by Proposal 6658 (Murphy; disi), 10 March 2010
Amended(12) by Proposal 6758 (coppro), 2 August 2010
Amended(13) by Proposal 6777 (coppro), 11 August 2010
Amended(14) by Proposal 6778 (coppro), 11 August 2010
Amended(15) by Proposal 6779 (coppro), 11 August 2010
Amended(16) by Proposal 6780 (coppro), 11 August 2010
Amended(17) by Proposal 6794 (coppro; disi.), 27 August 2010
Amended(18) by Proposal 6817 (Keba, coppro), 4 September 2010
Amended(19) by Proposal 6827 (coppro), 10 September 2010
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