However, this would ALSO be an opportunity to overhaul the content of the Lawbook, and not just the format (especially since the version of the Lawbook currently on the wiki is so outdated anyway). How many laws do we have that aren't really... you know... laws? It's perfectly legitimate to define the function of each Ministry, but is that rightfully law, or is it policy?
How many laws, also, are unnecessary or redundant? There is a whole other volume of law in the accumulated decrees of the Kaisers, which is of a higher order than the laws of the Landsraad. If the Kaiser has decreed something, or if the Charter (when and if it is reinstated) says something, is it really necessary for the Landsraad to say the same thing must be? Is the Imperial word not enough?
In short, I would argue that the Lawbook requires not only a reorganization, but a good housecleaning. If there is something set down in the Lawbook that might be adequately and flexibly handled as a Minister's policy, then perhaps it should be transferred to that Ministry to define. Multiple laws that might be consolidated into more concise ones should be looked for. The Lawbook and Decreebook, and (when applicable) the Charter, should be dragged out side by side, and compared, and the Lawbook pared down in any places where it overlaps with the Decreebook and Charter.
(Incidentally, it might be worthwhile for the Kaiser to look through the Decreebook as well, and see if there are any outdated or unused portions that he might be willing to repeal...)
At the same time, reorganization should also proceed. The Lawbook is already generally organized into topics, but splitting it up into separate volumes, each posted separately, might be worthwhile... each volume perhaps covering a somewhat broader range than the current divisions. Each volume could, perhaps, also contain summaries of Decreebook law on the relevant subject (thus allowing for comparison, while avoiding melding the Decreebook and Lawbook together). The Kaiser did bring up a point about the drawbacks of trying to do this kind of organization on the messageboard, though:
The wiki is likely to be much more flexible for reference and research purposes, because it doesn't suffer so much from these problems; it's also easier to cross-reference laws if needed. But if for some reason it's more desirable to maintain the Lawbook on the board, I would suggest that thinking of the Lawbook as a numbered list, best kept in a certain order, would be a more of a hindrance than a help. A better model of the laws might be as a hierarchy, which better fits the structure of the board in any case; so instead of numbering articles and sections, just group things together under a higher category. So, say you have a forum for the whole Lawbook... a subforum for each topic volume, and a thread for each specific issue (though within a thread things could be numbered). So instead of looking for a law under Article I, Section A, Paragraph i, or whatever... if you want to see what areas of Shireroth are protected by law, you click through, say, Lawbook -> Land and Subdivisions -> Protected Lands. Navigate by titles. What order they're in won't really matter so much at that point, I think.However, this does present the problem of large changes. When we add new parts or take them out.. we would have to rename threads.. And there would be the issue of keeping them in order..
As long-winded as that was, I'm tinkering around with a more concrete proposal for a reorganization bill... in the meantime, feel free to praise or flame, as you see fit.
