pds (02/24/83)
A while back I posted a request to the net for info on automated
nomic bookkeeping systems to allow play-by-mail. Here is the promised
(and, sorry, much delayed) summary:
1. First, I was informed that this discussion was held earlier in
1982, and a game was started on the ARPAnet as a result (or maybe
in addition). My apologies... I came onto the net in November.
The ARPAnet has a mailing list for those interested:
NOMIC-PLAYERS @ MIT-AI; details in uucp news item unc.4615 posted
recently to net.sources.
2. It seems that there are no automated systems for locally (one site)
running the game. Several folks indicated that they had tried
play-by-mail, however, with (I guess) informal protocol.
3. Several respondents indicated that the game is slow (read impossible)
to play without an extremely compatible group of people. In-person
sessions were reported to degenerate into personal wars and bouts
of picking nits. One respondent reported a session in which two
players each announced that he would not vote for anything until
he received (in essence) a favorable score. The race condition
killed the game ("I won't get rid of my missiles until you do!").
3. Major problem in running a net game: it is hard to distinguish
between the obstinate or confused participant (just being slow), and
the unfortunate uucp victim (vote/proposal message axed by the net).
I should have suspected some of these responses, since Hofstadter
points out that the game arose from a model of a political system!
Thanks to the respondents for your time and interest. The
original text of the responses is available from me if anyone wishes
to savor the nuances.
Dave Stotts ...uvacs!pds