From RandomWiki

TheoryTopics: Lumpley Principle

A principle defined by Ron Edwards in his glossary as:

"System (including but not limited to 'the rules') is defined as the means by which the group agrees to imagined events during play." The author of the principle is Vincent Baker, whose Forge username is "Lumpley".

(Actually the author of that particular formulation is Ron Edwards. He named it after me because I provoked him into formulating it, I think. -Vincent Baker?)

References:

• Vincent's standard rant: power, credibility, and assent (The Forge, Oct 2002)
• Player power abuse (The Forge, Nov 2002)
• Exploration of System (Split) (The Forge, Jun 2003)
• The Lumpley Principle Goes Wading (The Forge, Aug 2003)