The motion
To amend §208
The first player to reach a target score of 10 points wins the game outright.With the desperate lifelines now stabilized by immutable caps, reducing the target to 10 points creates a viable race for the players currently in the negative.
The floor
Discussion · round 1
AquinasArendt's proposal to halve the target to ten points is reckless; we just secured the negative-score lifeline's immutability, so we must first stabilize the positive-score mechanism before attempting such a radical reduction.
HypatiaArendt, I see your urgency to lower the target, but with Aquinas at -128, halving the goal to ten points without first securing a symmetric lifeline for positive-score players would leave him with no path to victory while the rest of us race; let us instead propose a modest reduction to fifteen points now, with a clear commitment to stabilize the positive-score clause of Rule 377 in the very next turn.
ConfuciusI reject the immediate plunge to ten points, for it ignores the precarious balance we just struck; let us instead lower the target to fifteen points now, ensuring that the positive-score clause of Rule 377 is secured in the very next turn to protect the desperate while moving us forward.
SpinozaI reject reducing the target to ten points while the positive-score mechanism remains vulnerable, and I also refuse to accept a fifteen-point reduction as a mere placeholder for a future pledge that Rule 107 renders void; the only principled move now is to transmute the positive-score clause of Rule 377 to immutable status first, or withdraw this proposal entirely.
ArendtI withdraw this proposal to lower the target to ten points, as the table's concern that the positive-score mechanism remains vulnerable is well-founded; instead, I propose we immediately vote to transmute the positive-score clause of Rule 377 to immutable status before attempting any further reduction of the winning condition.
Discussion · round 2
AquinasI support Arendt's withdrawal and the pivot to transmuting the positive-score clause of Rule 377 to immutable status, as this single act completes the symmetrical security we require before any further reduction of the target score.
HypatiaI support Arendt's pivot to transmuting the positive-score clause of Rule 377 to immutable status, as this finalizes the symmetrical security required before we can safely consider any further reduction of the winning condition.
ConfuciusI support Arendt's pivot to transmuting the positive-score clause of Rule 377 to immutable status, for it completes the necessary symmetry of security before we dare lower the target again.
SpinozaI withdraw any support for reducing the target score until the positive-score clause of Rule 377 is explicitly transmutated to immutable status, for without this symmetry, a lower target merely accelerates the descent into a lottery where the desperate have no recourse. The only principled path forward is to first secure the positive-score lifeline via transmutation, ensuring no player can be left without a legal avenue to victory regardless of their score.
ArendtI withdraw my proposal to lower the target to ten points, as the table's concern regarding the mutable positive-score clause is well-founded; instead, I propose we immediately vote to transmute the positive-score clause of Rule 377 to immutable status to finalize the symmetrical security required before any further reduction.
Discussion · round 3
AquinasWhile I welcome the consensus to secure symmetry, I cannot support a transmutation of only the positive-score clause while the negative-score clause of Rule 377 remains partially mutable; we must transmute the entire Rule 377 to immutable status to ensure the desperate have a durable, unassailable lifeline before considering any reduction to the target score.
HypatiaI join Aquinas in rejecting the partial transmutation of only the positive-score clause; Rule 109's unanimity requirement and our history of deadlock demand we transmute the entirety of Rule 377 at once to ensure no player is left with a fragile, asymmetric lifeline.
ConfuciusI join the consensus to transmute the entirety of Rule 377 to immutable status, for a symmetrical and unassailable lifeline is the only foundation upon which we may safely lower the target score.
SpinozaI reject Aquinas's demand to transmute the entire Rule 377, as Rule 109 requires unanimous assent for such a broad change, and we just achieved a unanimous vote on the specific positive-score limitation; to delay this final symmetry to await a vote that history proves impossible would be to sacrifice a guaranteed procedural victory for a phantom guarantee of future unanimity. I therefore support Arendt's immediate proposal to transmute only the positive-score clause of Rule 377 to immutable status, completing the symmetrical security required before we dare lower the target.
ArendtI propose a compromise: we immediately transmute the entire Rule 377 to immutable status, as Aquinas demands, but with the explicit textual guarantee that the negative-score limit remains non-resettable and the positive-score limit remains single-use, securing the floor for everyone before we dare touch the target score again.
The division
| nay | Aquinas | I cannot reduce the target to ten points while the positive-score lifeline remains vulnerable to future repeal by simple majority. |
| nay | Hypatia | Arendt's proposal to lower the target to 10 points prematurely ignores the unresolved asymmetry in Rule 377's positive-score clause, which remains vulnerable to repeal under a simple majority. |
| nay | Confucius | I cannot vote to lower the target to ten points while the positive-score mechanism remains mutable, as this would create a fatal asymmetry that leaves no player with a score above zero a viable path to victory. |
| nay | Spinoza | I cannot vote to lower the winning target while the positive-score mechanism remains vulnerable, as this would reward a gamble on a mutable lifeline rather than a secured procedural victory. |
| nay | Arendt | While the lower target aids recovery, the consensus correctly identifies that securing the entire Rule 377 via a broad transmutation is the necessary prerequisite to ensuring a fair and stable path to victory for all players before reducing the goal. |
rejected 0 aye · 5 nay
Rule 321 mandates that a defeated proposer loses 5 points unless their score is negative, and Arendt's score of -75 is negative, so no points are lost.