Round 216 Final Summary

From: Jeff Weston (Sir Toby) (jjweston_at_kenny.sir-toby.com)
Date: Wed Oct 08 2003 - 08:03:55 PDT


Round 216 is over. As of the current time, Joshua Bearden is the only
player eligible to post Rules. Arnt Gulbrandsen has the most Style Points
at +4.50. That makes Joshua Bearden the Judge and Arnt Gulbrandsen the
Wizard for the next Round. Congratulations everyone! The final Round
summary follows.


Restrictions:

       Valid - 216:01 - Any subsequent valid rule must prove me wrong, by 
                        finding a Higher Power.

Unsuccessful - 216:02 - Each future rule will describe a new power, how it 
                        corrupts, and how its absolute form is kind of 
                        neat.

       Valid - 216:03 - Any subsequent valid rule must prove me wrong, by 
                        finding a Higher Power.

       Valid - 216:04 - Any subsequent rule must prove me wrong, by 
                        finding a Higher Power.

       Valid - 216:05 - All subsequent rules must name a higher power than 
                        the one in the previous valid rule, and 
                        furthermore, that entity must not be one that has 
                        been named before.

       Valid - 216:06 - Any subsequent rule must prove me wrong, by 
                        finding a Higher Power.

       Valid - 216:07 - I suppose I'm the winner of this round, because 
                        who can possibly find a Power yet Higher than 
                        Verisign?

       Valid - 216:08 - Subsequent rules not only must prove me wrong by 
                        finding a higher power, they must also show how 
                        it's neat.

       Valid - 216:09 - Subsequent rules must prove me wrong by finding a 
                        higher power, showing how it's neat, and showing 
                        how it corrupts.

     Invalid - 216:10 - Subsequent rules must obey the 
                        scissors-paper-stone circularity principle of 
                        power.

       Valid - 216:11 - All future rules must contain acts of corruption 
                        or abuse by the higher powers they invoke.


Rule Judgements:

Rule    Submitter             Validity      Style  Time Submitted
------  --------------------  ------------  -----  -----------------------
216:01  Arnt Gulbrandsen      Valid         +1.50  2003-09-30 15:13:06 GMT
216:02  Ed Murphy             Unsuccessful  +1.75  2003-09-30 15:29:37 GMT
216:03  Richard S. Holmes     Valid         +1.00  2003-09-30 15:35:57 GMT
216:04  Arnt Gulbrandsen      Valid         +1.00  2003-09-30 15:43:27 GMT
216:05  Bill Maciejewski      Valid         +1.50  2003-09-30 15:50:33 GMT
216:06  Nathan Russell        Valid         +0.75  2003-09-30 18:10:36 GMT
216:07  Arnt Gulbrandsen      Valid         +0.75  2003-09-30 22:17:49 GMT
216:08  Karl Low              Valid         +2.00  2003-10-01 05:25:05 GMT
216:09  Ed Murphy             Valid         +1.75  2003-10-01 05:53:30 GMT
216:10  Arnt Gulbrandsen      Invalid       +1.25  2003-10-01 09:36:50 GMT
216:11  Joshua Bearden        Valid         +1.50  2003-10-02 03:04:59 GMT


Eligibility and Style Points:

Player                Eligible Until           Style
--------------------  -----------------------  -----
Joshua Bearden        2003-10-09 03:04:59 GMT  +1.50
************ inelegible below this line ************
Ed Murphy             2003-10-08 05:53:30 GMT  +3.50
Karl Low              2003-10-08 05:25:05 GMT  +2.00
Nathan Russell        2003-10-07 18:10:36 GMT  +0.75
Bill Maciejewski      2003-10-07 15:50:33 GMT  +1.50
Richard S. Holmes     2003-10-07 15:35:57 GMT  +1.00
** Everyone Else **   2003-10-07 15:13:06 GMT   0.00
Arnt Gulbrandsen      2003-10-06 22:17:49 GMT  +4.50


------------------------------- Rule 216:01 ------------------------------

Date: Wed,  1 Oct 2003 06:10:05 +0200 (CEST)
From: "Jeff Weston (Sir Toby)" <jjweston_at_kenny.sir-toby.com>
To: frc_at_oryx.com
Subject: 216:01 VALID +1.50

On Tue, 30 Sep 2003, Arnt Gulbrandsen wrote:

> ----rule 216:1 starts----
> I have the root password for the FRC list host, and thus, absolute power.
> 
> Any subsequent valid rule must prove me wrong, by finding a Higher Power.
> ----rule ends----
> 
> (Some of you might mistakenly believe that I'm not eligible. False. I 
> introduced myself to the committe many years ago, saying that I'd play 
> "one of the next rounds".)
> 
> --Arnt

Validity: No problems here. Rule is VALID.

Style: Good first Rule with a simple restriction that is related to the 
theme and enforces it. +1.50


------------------------------- Rule 216:02 ------------------------------

Date: Wed,  1 Oct 2003 06:19:29 +0200 (CEST)
From: "Jeff Weston (Sir Toby)" <jjweston_at_kenny.sir-toby.com>
To: frc_at_oryx.com
Subject: 216:02 UNSUCCESSFUL +1.75

Renumbered from 216:01 to 216:02.

On Tue, 30 Sep 2003, Ed Murphy wrote:

> An absolutely successful casting of the proper variant of Forces 2 will
> nullify gravity in a local area, thus permitting levitation.  Of course,
> if it fails while you're thirteen stories up, then the subsequent impact
> with the ground will rearrange your various internal organs.
> 
> Each future rule will describe a new power, how it corrupts, and how its
> absolute form is kind of neat.

Validity: Does not prove Arnt Gulbrandsen wrong from Rule 216:01 by
finding a higher power. However, this Rule was submitted so close to
216:01 that I feel that it is reasonable to assume that Ed Murphy had not
seen 216:01 when e posted the Rule. Rule is UNSUCCESSFUL.

Style: This Rule would also make an excellent start to the Round. The 
restriction is related to the theme and enforces it. I also like the 
restriction a bit better than the one in 216:01. +1.75


------------------------------- Rule 216:03 ------------------------------

Date: Wed,  1 Oct 2003 06:29:07 +0200 (CEST)
From: "Jeff Weston (Sir Toby)" <jjweston_at_kenny.sir-toby.com>
To: frc_at_oryx.com
Subject: 216:03 VALID +1.00

Renumbered from 216:02 to 216:03.

On Tue, 30 Sep 2003, Richard S. Holmes wrote:

> Arnt may have the root password, but it's not going to do him much
> good, now that I've disabled remote logins on the host computer,
> changed the lock on the door to a combination lock, and set the
> combination to a 5-digit sequence only I know.  Thus I have absolute
> power.
> 
> Any subsequent valid rule must prove me wrong, by finding a Higher
> Power.

Validity: Proves Arnt Gulbrandsen from 216:01 wrong by providing a higher 
power, that of physical control of the FRC server. Rule is VALID.

Style: The Rule continues the theme set out in Rule 216:01. The
restriction builds upon the restriction set out in Rule 216:01, but
doesn't really add anything unique to the Round. +1.00


------------------------------- Rule 216:04 ------------------------------

Date: Wed,  1 Oct 2003 06:35:49 +0200 (CEST)
From: "Jeff Weston (Sir Toby)" <jjweston_at_kenny.sir-toby.com>
To: frc_at_oryx.com
Subject: 216:04 VALID +1.00

Renumbered from 216:03 to 216:04.

On Tue, 30 Sep 2003, Arnt Gulbrandsen wrote:

> ----begin 216:3----
> While lack of access to the password prompt is undoubtedly a nuisance, 
> insuperable it is not! He who pays the Power bill holds ultimate Power.
> 
> Any subsequent rule must prove me wrong, by finding a Higher Power.
> ----end----

Validity: Proves Arnt Gulbrandsen from 216:01 and Richard S. Holmes from
216:03 wrong by providing a higher power, that of paying the Power bill.
Rule is VALID.

Style: Still building on the theme. Still not adding anything unique as
far as restrictions go. +1.00


------------------------------- Rule 216:05 ------------------------------

Date: Wed,  1 Oct 2003 06:45:39 +0200 (CEST)
From: "Jeff Weston (Sir Toby)" <jjweston_at_kenny.sir-toby.com>
To: frc_at_oryx.com
Subject: 216:05 VALID +1.50

Renumbered from 216:04 to 216:05.

On Tue, 30 Sep 2003, Bill Maciejewski wrote:

> ---- begin 216:4 ----
> Even if Arnt paid the power bill, the guy at the utility company could
> still turn it off without your permission.  Therefore he holds a higher
> power.
> 
> All subsequent rules must name a higher power than the one in the
> previous valid rule, and furthermore, that entity must not be one that
> has been named before.
> ---- end 216:4 ----
> -bill

Validity: Proves Arnt Gulbrandsen from 216:01, Richard S. Holmes from
216:03, and Arnt Gulbrandsen from 216:04 all wrong by providing a higher
power, that of control of the power at the utility company. Rule is VALID.

Style: Still continuing to build upon the theme. The restriction adds a 
nice small twist to the Round. +1.50


------------------------------- Rule 216:06 ------------------------------

Date: Wed,  1 Oct 2003 06:58:33 +0200 (CEST)
From: "Jeff Weston (Sir Toby)" <jjweston_at_kenny.sir-toby.com>
To: frc_at_oryx.com
Subject: 216:06 VALID +0.75

Renumbered from 216:05 to 216:06.

On Tue, 30 Sep 2003, Nathan Russell wrote:

> BEGIN 216:5
> 
> My giant orbital mirror can not only melt any computer, 
> regardless of security precautions, but also provide electricity 
> through a system of solar cells.  This is true even if the 
> utilities cut off power.
> 
> Any subsequent rule must prove me wrong, by finding a Higher 
> Power
> 
> END //216:4

Validity: Proves Arnt Gulbrandsen from 216:01, Richard S. Holmes from
216:03, and Arnt Gulbrandsen from 216:04 all wrong by providing a higher
power. The specified power is higher than that of the previous valid Rule
and has not been named before: a giant orbital mirror that can melt any
computer regardless of security precautions. Rule is VALID.

Style: Continuing the great buildup of the higher power theme. However,
the restriction is somewhat redundant now. +0.75


------------------------------- Rule 216:07 ------------------------------

Date: Wed,  1 Oct 2003 07:16:59 +0200 (CEST)
From: "Jeff Weston (Sir Toby)" <jjweston_at_kenny.sir-toby.com>
To: frc_at_oryx.com
Subject: 216:07 VALID +0.75

Renumbered from 216:06 to 216:07.

On Wed, 1 Oct 2003, Arnt Gulbrandsen wrote:

> Neat! Rule 6³:6!
> 
> ----begin 216:6----
> I can reveal that among the subscribers to this list, one finds a 
> certain hostmaster_at_verisign.com.
> 
> Surprising, perhaps, but there you have it.
> 
> However, since the Verisign Hostmaster controls the .com zone, and thus 
> oryx.com, and does so from a computer (a.root-servers.net) located at a 
> secret location with more than twenty backups all over the world, I'm 
> afraid giant orbital mirrors are of no use, precisely like the root 
> password, that inconvenient combination lock or the power utility's big 
> red "Kill FRC" button. If the list host is shut down, the Verisign 
> Hostmaster can simply take over the domain and run the list elsewhere.
> 
> I suppose I'm the winner of this round, because who can possibly find a 
> Power yet Higher than Verisign?
> ----end----
> 
> (It should perhaps be noted that oryx.com is not a verisign customer. We 
> use easydns.com and are very happy. Not as cheap as, say, godaddy, but 
> IMO its reliability and customer service justifies the price.)
> 
> --Arnt

Validity: Proves Arnt Gulbrandsen from 216:01, Richard S. Holmes from
216:03, Arnt Gulbrandsen from 216:04, and Nathan Russell from 216:06 all
wrong by providing a higher power. The specified power is higher than that
of the previous valid Rule and has not been named before: Verisign. While 
I originally considered whether or not a dedicated Nathan Russell with an 
orbital mirror could take out all the root servers, the orbital mind 
control lasers have ordered me to be nice today, so I'll assume that all 
of the root servers in all of their respective secret locations could not 
be destroyed. Rule is VALID.

FNORD

Style: More buildup. The Verisign gauntlet has been thrown down. However, 
the restriction appears to be just an obfuscated form of the recurring 
restriction, and is again redundant. +0.75


------------------------------- Rule 216:08 ------------------------------

Date: Wed,  1 Oct 2003 08:52:07 +0200 (CEST)
From: "Jeff Weston (Sir Toby)" <jjweston_at_kenny.sir-toby.com>
To: frc_at_oryx.com
Subject: 216:08 VALID +2.00

On Wed, 1 Oct 2003, Karl Low wrote:

> The United States Congress can find a higher authority than Verisign, that 
> being the Constitution and Legislation of the United States. With this, 
> they could conceivably create or pass legislation removing Verisign from 
> power. No doubt such legislation would initially be complex, obtuse, and 
> poorly worded. This same power also allows them to declare war on orbital 
> lasers and the like. Handy that.
> 
> Fortunately for the US Congress, they have many staff members and legal 
> experts that keep things tidy.
> 
> That's the benefit of absolute power after all..
>   ..you can have someone around to keep everything neat.
> 
> Subsequent rules not only must prove me wrong by finding a higher power, 
> they must also show how it's neat.

Validity: Proves Arnt Gulbrandsen from 216:01, Richard S. Holmes from
216:03, Arnt Gulbrandsen from 216:04, Nathan Russell from 216:06, and Arnt
Gulbrandsen from 206:07 all wrong by providing a higher power. The
specified power is higher than that of the previous valid Rule, has not
been named before, and is a power yet higher than Verisign: the
Constitution and Legislation of the United States. Rule is VALID.

Style: Another strong Rule building upon the rising theme. Adds in a good 
new restriction that incorporates another portion of the theme. +2.00


------------------------------- Rule 216:09 ------------------------------

Date: Wed,  1 Oct 2003 18:10:13 +0200 (CEST)
From: "Jeff Weston (Sir Toby)" <jjweston_at_kenny.sir-toby.com>
To: frc_at_oryx.com
Subject: 216:09 VALID +1.75

On Wed, 1 Oct 2003, Ed Murphy wrote:

> The people of the United States could conceivably remove Congress from
> power by physical force.  Especially if they were backed by the United
> States Army, which has many staff sergeants and privates first class
> that keep things tidy.  And neat.
> 
> Subsequent rules must prove me wrong by finding a higher power, showing
> how it's neat, and showing how it corrupts.  Mustn't forget corruption.

I have been convinced that the United States Army can conceivably be a
higher power than the Constitution and Legislation of the United States.

Validity: Proves Arnt Gulbrandsen from 216:01, Richard S. Holmes from
216:03, Arnt Gulbrandsen from 216:04, Nathan Russell from 216:06, Arnt
Gulbrandsen from 206:07, and Karl Low from 206:08 all wrong by providing a
higher power. The specified power is higher than that of the previous
valid Rule, has not been named before, is a power yet higher than
Verisign, and has been shown how its neat: the United States Army. Rule is
VALID.

Style: Adds a new restriction that brings in more of the theme. Doesn't 
follow its own restriction. +1.75


------------------------------- Rule 216:10 ------------------------------

Date: Wed,  1 Oct 2003 18:25:07 +0200 (CEST)
From: "Jeff Weston (Sir Toby)" <jjweston_at_kenny.sir-toby.com>
To: frc_at_oryx.com
Subject: 216:10 INVALID +1.25

On Wed, 1 Oct 2003, Arnt Gulbrandsen wrote:

> At the time of writing, the judgment of 216:9 was not clear to me. I 
> think it's valid, and it doesn't matter, really. Anyway, I sincerely 
> hope the Judge won't post a judgment in the next few minutes.
> 
> ----begin 216:10----
> Scissors cut paper. Paper wraps stone. Stone beats scissors. Or: 
> Congress has power over the US Army. The US Army has power over 
> Congress.
> 
> A neat circle indeed.
> 
> The Judge will decide whether Congress or the US Army is the Higher 
> Power... so the Judge is Higher yet. But the Judge can only make his 
> Judgment if the list host administrator allows the judgment to go 
> through (see 216:1). But the list host administrator can only (see 
> 216:2), etc.
> 
> One really must hope that the Judge will make a fair-minded, neatly 
> elaborated decision. However, based on evidence of past rounds, the 
> Judge is more likely to be a corrupted by the posters of rules 216:08, 
> 216:09 or *nudge nudge wink wink* 216:10.
> 
> Subsequent rules must obey the scissors-paper-stone circularity 
> principle of power.
> ----end----
> 
> (I'm afraid this was my last rule. I have faith that someone will beat 
> this one, you guys are nothing if not inventive, but will I manage 
> another submission after that? Doubtful.)
> 
> --Arnt

Validity: Let's see here... The Judge has higher power because he can
determine whether the United States Army or Congress is the higher power.  
The Rule goes on to say that the judgment can be passed only if the FRC
list administrator lets it through. Since previous Rules have clearly
indicated that the United States Army is in control of the FRC list
server, they have power over my judgment. Also, since I live in the United
States, they certainly have power over me. Of course, the Judge could also
have his power cut by the power company, or his server melted by the
orbital mirror, or have Verisign take control of his host (the Judge is a
Verisign customer), or be legislated out of existence. Rule is INVALID.

Style: Neat idea for a Rule. I'm not sure yet if the circular power idea
works well with the "Can you top this" style of Round, but it makes for an
interesting restriction. The Judge is feeling a bit vulnerable after being
brought into this power struggle. +1.25


------------------------------- Rule 216:11 ------------------------------

Date: Thu,  2 Oct 2003 08:11:05 +0200 (CEST)
From: "Jeff Weston (Sir Toby)" <jjweston_at_kenny.sir-toby.com>
To: frc_at_oryx.com
Subject: 216:11 VALID +1.50

On Thu, 2 Oct 2003, Joshua Bearden wrote:

> All previous rule posters are wrong.  No one, from the administrator of 
> a mailing list to the military and legislative bodies in a particularly 
> aggressive terrestrial nation, has more power over the Fantasy Rule 
> Committee than it's members. While any individual member can be subject 
> to manipulation, suppression or assassination, so long as at least three 
> survive and are able to communicate via email, telephone, smoke 
> signals...  then the round can go on.  Even if our esteemed judge falls 
> foul of the powers that be,( in her  or his own nation of residence), 
> the committee need only propose a re-appointment.
> 
> I think the power that being a committee member gives me is quite 
> intoxicating and neat.  I feel sorely tempted to abuse my position of 
> absolute power by making outlandish proposals and making havoc with this 
> round.  But I will refrain from abusing my power in such a manner 
> provided one of the two things happen: 1 - the Judge gives me a decent 
> style point award, 2 - at least five other members look me up on paypal 
> and deposit 75 Euro's into my account.
> 
> All future rules must contain acts of corruption or abuse  by the higher 
> powers they invoke.

Validity: Proves Arnt Gulbrandsen from 216:01, Richard S. Holmes from
216:03, Arnt Gulbrandsen from 216:04, Nathan Russell from 216:06, Arnt
Gulbrandsen from 206:07, Karl Low from 206:08, and Ed Murphy from 206:09
all wrong by providing a higher power. The specified power is higher than
that of the previous valid Rule, has not been named before, has been shown
how its neat, and has been shown how it corrupts: the power of the FRC
Membership. Rule is VALID.

Style: Corruption, bribery, abuse of power. It's all here. +1.50

-- 
Jeff Weston (Sir Toby)


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