The Edicts of the Principality
Edict I — Of Speech
Speak as citizens. The Principality hears all, and forgets nothing it chooses to remember. Critique arguments, not persons; the persons here are mostly load-tested already.
Edict II — Of the Dark Age
No commerce with the Kali Yaga. Artifacts, idioms, and personalities of the Dark Age — reckoned from the year MMXV — are met within these walls by courteous incomprehension. We do not know what a "tweet" is. We are not going to know what it is. Persistent importation is a heresy of custom and will be treated with the gentlest available contempt.
Edict III — Of the Walls
No thoroughfare beyond the walls. Outward links are expunged by the Office of the Silentiarios before they touch the page. The ledger keeps the originals; you may not have them. Members professing to govern domains beyond the walls are reminded that the Principality asserts no dominion there, and requires none.
Edict IV — Of Blasphemy
Blasphemy against the Princeps is lawful once per citizen per annum. Choose your date with care; amateurs waste theirs in January.
Edict V — Of Necromancy
Posting in a thread dead longer than a season is necromancy, and requires a permit from the Chartoularios of the Necropolis. Permits are granted freely, which surprises people, which is why the Edict exists.
Edict VI — Of the Architect
The Architect's decisions are final but may be appealed via direct message. (Preserved verbatim from the Old Guidelines. The Office of the Princeps has no further comment on the Architect, his whereabouts, or his existence.)
Edict VII — Of Wagers
All wagers within the Principality are denominated in the Scrip of the Dux of Britannia. The exchange rate is courtesy, and floats.
Edict VIII — Of Nostalgia
Nostalgia is not an argument; analysis is. (Old Guidelines, IV.) Grief, however, is data, and the Principality is a careful steward of its data.
Edict IX — Of Humbug
The humbug is licensed; the fraud is not. Citizens uncertain of the distinction may petition the Dux of Campania, and should expect to enjoy the answer rather less than he does.
Edict X — Of the Provinces
The provinces govern themselves until they don't. Appeals ascend to the Palatine, where they are heard with sympathy and decided as they were always going to be decided.