status: https://faculty.washington.edu/kerim/nomic/cases/#3878
(This document is informational only and contains no game actions).
=============================== CFJ 3878 ===============================
Two ribbons were awarded in this message.
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Caller: ATMunn
Judge: Jason
Judgement: FALSE
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History:
Called by ATMunn: 15 Aug 2020 00:46:04
Assigned to Jason: 23 Aug 2020 16:09:30
Judged FALSE by Jason: 29 Aug 2020 20:53:27
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[Linked to CFJ 3877]
Caller's Evidence:
On 8/14/2020 3:22 PM, ATMunn via agora-business wrote:
> On 8/14/2020 6:51 AM, Publius via agora-business wrote:
>> On 8/9/20 5:17 PM, Publius Scribonius Scholasticus wrote:
>>> Oh, okay, I think that's substantially different enough to require a new
>>> intent, so I intend, with Agoran Consent, to award the Badge of
>>> Diplonomic to ATMunn, G., Jason, Aris, Falsifian, R. Lee, omd, Trigon,
>>> Ben & Claire of BC System, and P.S.S..
>>>
>>> Thank you for getting their perspective, so that we can follow their wishes!
>>>
>>
>> With the support of Aris, Trigon, Jason, ATMunn, and Falsifian and with
>> no objections, I do so.
>>
>
> I award a Violet ribbon to Ben & Claire of BC System.
> CFJ: One ribbon was awarded in this message.
>
> I award Violet ribbons to Ben & Clair of BC System.
> CFJ: Two ribbons were awarded in this message.
Caller's Arguments:
For the record, most of the discussion regarding this topic took place
in the thread "DIS: Badge Problems", which was originally a part of the
thread "BUS: [Diplonomic 2020] BT3 Intent to Announce Winners, Badge,
and Clean-up".
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Judge Jason's Arguments:
[Arbitor's Note: In these arguments, replaced greater-than and less-than
brackets with { and } for html protection].
Background information:
It is important to note that this is a court case because Ben and Claire
are plural (which I don't believe has been explicitly stated in
evidence), meaning it has not yet been judicially established whether
they are legally one person or two persons (in the eyes of Agora).
ATMunn's purported actions appear to be such that the number of ribbons
awarded was exactly equivalent to the number of persons (in the Agoran
legal sense of the word) that Ben and Claire compose.
Rule 869 defines person as "any entity that is or ever was an organism
generally capable of freely originating and communicating independent
thoughts and ideas" (and no other entities). I think it is reasonable to
say that each of Ben, Claire, and BC System is a separate entity from
the others. However, it is less clear which of these is an "organism".
"Organism" is not specifically defined in the ruleset, so its
interpretation must be guided by its common language meaning. Due to the
importance of this issue and the necessary precision in determining this
definition, I will cite more dictionaries than might normally be
considered necessary.
{definitions length="long"}
Google's dictionary defines the word as: "an individual animal, plant,
or single-celled life form" (somewhat rude to fungi), "the material
structure of an individual life form", or "a whole with interdependent
parts, likened to a living being".
Wikipedia (the most reliable source) opens with "In biology, an organism
... is any individual entity that embodies the properties of life."
Merriam-Webster online defines the word as: "a complex structure of
interdependent and subordinate elements whose relations and properties
are determined by their function in the whole" or "an individual
constituted to carry on the activities of life by means of parts or
organs more or less separate in function but mutually dependent : a
living being".
Dictionary.com defines the word as "a form of life composed of mutually
interdependent parts that maintain various vital processes", "a form of
life considered as an entity; an animal, plant, fungus, protistan, or
moneran" (woo, fungi rights!), "any organized body or system conceived
of as analogous to a living being", or "any complex thing or system
having properties and functions determined not only by the properties
and relations of its individual parts, but by the character of the whole
that they compose and by the relations of the parts to the whole".
{/definitions}
Some common elements in these definitions appear to include: that the
entity is alive and that the entity is composed of several interacting
parts or organs. This indicates that the "organism" includes the organs
and other parts of the body that keep it alive. However, the definition
of "person" also strongly implies that some subset of organisms are able
to communicate (otherwise, no organism is a person and thus not a
player). This is important because an body without an intelligence
cannot communicate. This suggests that the intelligence is in some ways
to be considered part of the organism, particularly in determining
whether it can communicate. This reading is consistent with the
ordinary-language definition - the intelligence can be considered as
just another part of the organism.
This reading implies that the single body controlled by BC System, along
with the intelligences of the system, is a single organism. Since it is
capable of "freely originating and communicating independent thoughts
and ideas", it is a person.
However, it is not only necessary to determine which of Ben, Claire, and
BC System is currently an organism, but also which ever was an organism.
Viewing the intelligences as part of the organism gives a clear answer:
the fact that one part of the organism changed number or composition
does not mean it is a new organism or multiple organisms in the same way
that getting a kidney transplant does not mean that you are legally a
new organism or multiple organisms. If Ben or Claire existed without the
other at some point, they were still ultimately a part of the same
organism that currently exists, and that organism is what is a person in
the eyes of Agora, not the intelligence.
The organism controlled jointly by the intelligences of BC System is a
single person and possesses a single Violet ribbon.
CFJ 3877 judged TRUE. CFJ 3878 judged FALSE.
Judge Jason's Evidence:
Rule 869/47 (Power=3)
How to Join and Leave Agora
Any entity that is or ever was an organism generally capable of
freely originating and communicating independent thoughts and
ideas is a person. Rules to the contrary notwithstanding, no other
entities are persons.
Citizenship is a secured person switch with values Unregistered
(default) and Registered, tracked by the Registrar. A registered
person is a Player. To "register" someone is to flip that person's
Citizenship switch from Unregistered to Registered.
An Unregistered person CAN (unless explicitly forbidden or
prevented by the rules) register by publishing a message that
indicates reasonably clearly and reasonably unambiguously that e
intends to become a player at that time. A player, acting as
emself, CAN deregister (cease being a player) by announcement. If
e does so, e CANNOT register or be registered for 30 days.
A person, by registering, agrees to abide by the Rules. The Rules
CANNOT otherwise bind a person to abide by any agreement without
that person's willful consent.
The Rules CANNOT compel non-players to act without their express
or reasonably implied consent. The rules CANNOT compel players to
unduly harass non-players. A non-person CANNOT be a player, rules
to the contrary notwithstanding.
Rule 2438/22 (Power=3)
Ribbons
The Tailor is an office, and the recordkeepor of Ribbons.
For each type of Ribbon, {type} Ribbon Ownership is a secured
negative boolean person switch, tracked by the Tailor in eir
monthly report.
To "award a person a {Ribbon type}" is to flip that person's
{that type} Ribbon Ownership to True. A person "owns a {Ribbon
type}" if eir {that type} Ribbon Ownership is True.
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).
While a person owns all types of Ribbon, that person can Raise a
Banner by announcement. This causes that person to win the game.
When a person wins this way, for each type of Ribbon, that
person's {type} Ribbon Ownership is flipped to False.
The types of Ribbon, and the methods of obtaining them, are as
follows:
[...]
Violet (V): When a person is awarded a Patent Title other than
Champion or a degree, that person earns a Violet Ribbon.
[...]
While a person qualifies for a type of Ribbon:
- If e has not owned that type of Ribbon within the preceding 7
days, any player CAN, by announcement, award em that type of
Ribbon.
- Otherwise, if e has not been awarded that type of Ribbon or
the corresponding type of Glitter since e last earned or came
to qualify for that type of Ribbon, and has not been so
awarded five or more times within the past 24 hours, e CAN, by
announcement, award emself that type of Glitter.
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