Hobson's Choice

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A Hobson is a SlabCitizen who has been selected in the regional bi-cycle lotteries to be called upon to act as an abitrator and/or mediator for group activities where formal rules have either not been adopted, have been discarded, or the majority decision is to modify a set of rules but no general consensus can be reached. Once the shout of "Hobson's Choice" goes up, the current Hobson for the region must be called upon to respond either in person or by avatar.

Current Hobsons

Region SlabCitizen
Seacombe UpSide Dagnusson Grinning VIbE
Seacombe SideUp Cxyx Steer (deceased - contact negotiator avatar 104.0012.7762)
Mitchell UpSide John-John Reynaldo-Thynne
Mitchell SideUp Anonymous - avatar only (contact Sis)
SpinEast Tenten Tenchan
SpinCentral Instant Calmer Sgonnagecha
WestSpin Anonymous - avatar only (contact Sis)

NightZones

Nightzone rules regarding Hobsons are less formal. Anyone within shouting distance can be nominated, but they have the right to decline and may charge up to five times the standard dayzone rates. This leads to some people trolling around nightzone hangouts where particularly contentious issues are often debated, waiting for a "shout" - as the practice of calling for a Hobson is known. Shouting can only be carried out in turns, hence the expression; "it's my shout".

AllWeather and endzones

No decision has yet been made about whether AllWeather will have randomly selected Hobsons or if the franchise will be sold off to the highest bidders as has been recently suggested by Louie Drago. Slabwide consensus regarding EndZones is, however, firm; Sis is oversee/exec and there is zero possibility of Hobson's Choice.

Trivia

On the 34th of 736 a group of inebriated choreographers in SpinStanbul decided to call Hobson's choice over a minor disagreement about sub-spacial grav-assisted footwear. The anonymous Hobson turned out, by pure coincidence, to be one of the drunken choreographers at the table. The Hobson's choice, which was, of course, binding, was never revealed, although the legend goes that the drinking session lasted for 23 days.[citation ??]

Misuse

  • It has become common recently to set up a smooze with predetermined Hobson's choice rules circulated in advance, which really completely misses the point.
  • Some individuals have been shouting Hobsons to compensate for their pathetic lack of ability to make up their own minds. Decisions such as; "should I get my hair cut into a bob?" are NOT the domain of Hobsons (nor Sis for that matter). That's what partners and friends are for. (Actually, they don't want to hear this blocks either, learn how to make a decision for Fuck's sake.)