[Mods Only] GA Ruling Needed

[Unibot II]

c.1b of my new resolution, "Decriminalization of Suicide" is contested to be a contradiction of "WA General Fund".

Member-states shall not impose taxation on suicide or attempted suicide (see cl.3);

8. Affirms the right of member nations to maintain full authority over domestic taxation policies, barring those that may include unfair discriminatory practices;

I would argue that it is not a contradiction because a tax on suicide attempters is discriminatory and unfair. I would also content that prohibiting the tax is not a duplication of the CoCR since the mods have ruled in the past that texts must share the same "scope" to duplicate (e.g., it would be silly to have two laws on the books saying people have a right to be equal, but not silly to have a right to be equal and more specifically a right to work regardless of gender), and furthermore CoCR isn't specifically banning the taxation, merely some would argue the tax wouldn't be allowed anyway.

Alternatively, one could argue domestic taxation policies isn't covering specific taxes at all, since a tax policy is the manner a tax is collected (progressive or regressive etc.).Thus, the resolution to block authors from prohibiting certain taxes would have to have used the wording, "domestic taxes" not "domestic tax policies".

So is my draft a contradiction of GA#17? If not, is it a duplication of the CoCR?

Pertinent links:
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=148830
viewtopic.php?p=329#p329
viewtopic.php?p=414#p414

Thanks! Please get back to me.

[Ardchoille]

Please get back to me.

Damn! Who told you the magic charm? Now we're compelled to answer.

Soonish.

[Unibot II]

Any word on this?

[Ardchoille]

\
So is my draft a contradiction of GA#17? If not, is it a duplication of the CoCR?

The consensus is no, and no.

However, please amend the title so the acronym isn't DoS. A simple "The", "To", "On" or "For" will do. While DoS fits the subject matter, its specific NS meaning creates scope for confusion.

Any requests for elucidation of the ruling, please make 'em in the GA thread.

[Unibot II]

Elucidation requested: viewtopic.php?p=7648680#p7648680

Thanks to all the mods that chipped in to make the ruling.

[Unibot II]

I'd like to appeal the decision to require a name change, none of the options provided by the Secretariat will fly by the character count; unless the Secretariat is going to argue the coincidental acronym is 'branding' (which goes well beyond the scope of the rule) or the title is inappropriate for the resolution's content which you've stated it is, Ard, then there is nothing in the ruleset promulgating the requirement for authors to accommodate every cultural acronym that may arise in a community. Neither "DoS" applying to "Delete on Site" nor "Decriminalization of Suicide" is an official term, if the latter term were to become popular as 'DoS', it would be the result of a cultural decision. Only a few acronyms for GA legislation are relatively popular and commonly replace the usual GA#XX shortform: CoCR, WHA, FoE, FoA and FoMA, out of 170 GA resolutions.

Note, GA#57, "Refugee Protection" was not rejected for sharing its foreseeable acronym with Roleplay or Roleplaying (RP).

Note, GA#123, "Reducing Problem Gambling" was not rejected for sharing its foreseeable acronym with Roleplaying Game (RPG).

Further Note, the Secretariat has not been preventing conflicting acronyms, surely if we're supposed to avoid confusion we shouldn't be sharing acronyms, yet GA#16, Sexual Privacy Act (SPA), GA#76, Standardised Passport Act (SPA) and GA#22, Diplomat Protection Act (DPA) and GA#81, Disaster Preparedness Act (DPA) beg to differ.

Further Note, GA#164 "Consular Rights" shares it acronym with a famous NS-WA player, Charlotte Ryberg.

Further Note, the Secretariat has not been prevening acronyms that may be non-NS in nature but popular enough to be confusing for newbies. Examples may be GA#151, Missing Individuals Act (MIA) -- this one is clever, GA#66, Endangered Species Protection (ESP) -- well of course, conservationists are acting on their sixth sense, GA#149, On Expiration Dates (OED) -- because even words need not be eˈternable, GA#140, Institutional Psychiatry Act -- better known as ɪnstətuʃənəl sajkajətri ækt according to the International Phonetic Alphabet etc.

All of this is to suggest that acronyms really just aren't meant to be understand by newbies and it hasn't been the place of Moderation to get involved with things that might be "confusing". Uses of "FoE" and "CoCR" is language that separates the newbie from the established WA Goer, like any use of terminology specifically related to a field or organization.

There is always an alternative to using the DoS acronym, a player can refer to it by its numeral, GA#XX. That's how almost all resolutions are referred to except resolutions that are often referenced. Since Decriminalization of Suicide isn't a very 'general' resolution like the FoE or the CoCR, I hardly see it being referenced often.

Decriminalization of Suicide exactly describes what the resolution is doing and does it with a favorable connotation, I'd like to keep it as the draft's title. Please consider.

[Ardchoille]

The ruling that the specific NS meaning of this particular acronym provides scope for confusion stands.

Our suggestions for alternatives were suggestions, the implication being that you should try a number of possibilities until you found one that would fit.

Here is another suggestion:

"Decriminalising Suicide" has 23 letters and spaces. "Decriminalisation of Suicide" has 28.

[Unibot II]

Would the capitalization of "Of" be sufficient, since DoS and DOS would be a different acronym? Looking back at Moderation files, the acronym is almost exclusively "DoS", "DOS" is very rare.

"Decriminalizing Suicide" and similar titles uses a "Verb Noun" structure for titles that follows a rather unpopular resolution, "Legalizing Prostitution". I'd rather retain the proper English structure that was in the original title, it avoids connotation with ... LP.

[Dread Lady Nathicana]

"Suicide Decriminalisation" = SD, problem solved. Either way, you've been asked not to use the letters D.O.S. due to the reasons given - NS use of the acronym leading to confusion. Thank you.

[Glen-Rhodes]

... So is this a rule, now? We now have to make sure our resolution titles, when turned into acronyms (which are not official) by other players, don't conflict with NS mod-related acronyms? Just want to know, in case I accidentally come up with a resolution title that can be acronymized into DEAT. Also, I'd like mods to clarify that this is only about mod-related acronyms. I'd hate to accidentally make something like the World Financial Enterprise, only to have to get it pulled because the acronym is WFE.

[Dread Lady Nathicana]

I'm taking it as 'per this incident', though it never ceases to amuse how whatever group is being addressed tends to rise up in a righteous furor with the accusation/implication that 'one comment an entirely new set of rules makes and will End All $NSplay As We Know It'. >_>

That said, I'll leave further reasonings and explanations to those better suited to it. Was simply trying to offer an alternative, not bring the WA crashing down around anyone's ears.

[Ardchoille]

Unibot, consider the many styles of GA proposal titling open to you:

Smilingly Provocative: "Suicide Is Not Criminal" (23 units, or more if you add !!!screamers!!!)

Carefully Restrained: "On Suicide Legality" (19 units)

Generally-Reasonable: "Non-criminal Suicide" (20 units)

Or the OMGtkk version: "Punish suicide? WTF?" (20 units)

(I tried for an Urgent one, but "Charter on Suicide" wasn't good enough for its worthy model)

Put simply:

We do not want DOS in our laps;
We do not want DoS with odd caps;
We do not want DoS in a boat;
We do not want DOS with a goat;
We do not want DoS here or there;
WE DO NOT WANT DOS ANYWHERE!!!

Put even more simply:

NO!

@G-R: Nathi has kindly given a fuller explanation for a situation I usually respond to with the formula: rules are rules, rulings are case by case.

[Glen-Rhodes]

@G-R: Nathi has kindly given a fuller explanation for a situation I usually respond to with the formula: rules are rules, rulings are case by case.

Rulings create precedent, and I don't particularly find the idea that mods will create one-time rules on the spot very comforting. We should just agree that it's pretty ridiculous to ask Unibot to change the title of his proposal because other people will use an unofficial acronym that also has a mod jargon meaning, especially when the use of DoS as "Decriminalization of Suicide" will be incredibly obvious in context. Sorry to create a "fuss" about this, but I'd rather the mod team not look like an out-of-touch bureaucracy that doesn't understand common sense.

[Euroslavia]

@G-R: Nathi has kindly given a fuller explanation for a situation I usually respond to with the formula: rules are rules, rulings are case by case.

Rulings create precedent, and I don't particularly find the idea that mods will create one-time rules on the spot very comforting. We should just agree that it's pretty ridiculous to ask Unibot to change the title of his proposal because other people will use an unofficial acronym that also has a mod jargon meaning, especially when the use of DoS as "Decriminalization of Suicide" will be incredibly obvious in context. Sorry to create a "fuss" about this, but I'd rather the mod team not look like an out-of-touch bureaucracy that doesn't understand common sense.

I'm not sure what you don't understand about 'case by case basis', but clearly you're taking this way out of proportion. One ruling to ask Uni to change a title hasn't suddenly created a precedent that you absolutely cannot use any abbreviation used in NS. We're done here.