O'Regan, Emlyn wrote:
> What if you have an entry rule like this: Every party who wants to set up
an
> e-nation needs to set up a new server, possibly in a new (real) country.
> Further, if the Grand System Admin asks it, you must take other e-nations'
> data onto your server. They will be required to remedy the situation
eventually,
> but this means that anyone whos setup is in a country which turns hostile,
can get
> moved to a server in another country ASAP. If you get enough startups, the
whole
> thing might be relatively robust.
It might work. You still have the problem that human participants are subject to physical arrest and punishment, but that might not be a big issue as long as you don't do anything that really irritates the major powers. If you prefer an extremely weak state, I can see the idea having some attraction. Unfortunately, it still leaves your physical body at the mercy of whatever country you happen to live in.
> In fact, mightn't you be able to find real countries which would allow you
> to operate relatively independently?
Doubtful. Maybe some small island nation - but their Internet connectivity generally sucks, and it is subject to being cut by whatever neighboring country their land lines run through. The more radical you want to be about independance from prevailing social norms, the more of a problem that is going to be.
> How about servers on boats in the deep sea.
Nope. That counts as the territory of whatever nation the ship is flagged under (and if you aren't flagged, they have rules for that too). AFAIK, there is no way to avoid being legally under some state's jurisdiction no matter where you go.
> Or on a satelite?
Same deal.
> Or on the moon?
Maybe - but it will probably get claimed by the U.N. The only reliable way to gain independance is to go far enough away that no one really cares about whatever rock you set down on. The asteroid belt would do, and so would anyplace in the outer solar system. Mars and Venus are a little iffy - they will probably get claimed by someone before we can get there.
Billy Brown, MCSE+I
ewbrownv@mindspring.com