Suppose you had tools in a toolbox. You want to verse with the toolbox, but not all of the tools. You only want one of 2 sets of pliers. Only one adjustable wrench, as opposed to 3. But you want the toolbox, and all of the tools are in the same toolbox. Are you allowed to do that? I could see that, if a starting verser wanted to keep the weight down. Is it the entire load, or not at all, or can you pick what is in that load?
Could you pick out the tools you didn't want in one motion? Of all the startup rules I think this one is the most nitpicked - like MJ's example of having to know what kind of connectors your TV uses.
I agree that you should know. I was a bit obscure in my equipment choosing. MJ didn't say anything, so I assumed that was acceptable. It was just a weird thought that I had.
I'd imagine it's pretty weird if your toolbox and half the stuff in it disappeared, leaving the other half to fall to the ground with a horrendous kaboom.
So would be watching someone verse. In Pearl Harbor, the guys that killed me saw me verse.
yeah but who are they gonna tell? And who would believe them if they did?
Well, I told them that I was a time traveler from the future, and that's how I knew about the attack. Seeing me verse out, they thought I time traveled.
I'm actually not so strict on this as on some other things--that is, if you're taking a container of objects and you either don't want all the objects or you want some things that are not actually in the container, I let it go. Here's my thinking.
First, you could in theory take any object that is in the container. They're not attached to the container, so the fact that they are inside the container is not a limit on that. I don't then see why you can't take the container, which is not attached to the objects, even taking it empty. If you take the container and some of the objects that are inside it, then because of the rule that everything stays in the same relative positions, those objects which are inside the container are going to arrive in the same position relative to the container. Thus when you say that you are taking your toolchest and the tools it contains, that means you have individually selected each of the tools you want to take, and if it happens that there's a bologna sandwich in the toolbox that you forgot was there, you don't have to take it.
Further, if it happens that your favorite screwdriver is lying on the bench next to the toolchest but you thought it was inside, you can still take the screwdriver. When you get where you're going, the screwdriver will be lying next to the toolchest.
It's just a lot more convenient for all of us, anyway. I don't know what's in the toolchest, or the briefcase, or the suitcase or backpack--and it's entirely possible that it doesn't contain exactly what you think it contains. If that container is not with us at my kitchen table or the convention gaming room, we can't check it--we have to rely on your memory of what is in it. I'll let you take the container and pretend it's empty even if it's full, and then put in it whatever you want; I'll let you take whatever is in it that you want to have in it. I would rather that you took the whole thing as it is, but since I have to rely on your recollection of what is in it and I've already said you can take containers without their contents, I'll let you define that.
This doesn't apply to things like water in bottles. It is not possible for you to take the empty bottle and the water, and put the water in the bottle when they're lying next to each other on the ground wherever you arrive. I would let someone take an empty bottle that is actually full, leaving the contents behind, but I've never had anyone who wanted the bottle and not the contents, so that seems moot.
The attachment rule is really to prevent you from dismantling things when you verse, and to prevent you from doing so later. If you hang a plaque on a wall, that's something you can remove when you verse; if you nail that plaque to the wall, you've effectively disowned it, made it a permanent part of the wall. You can't take the gas firelog from the fireplace, because it's part of the house; you can't take the propane tank from the gas grill unless you take the grill. You can't take the stereo out of your car, or the carbuerator for that matter, or the chandelier in the dining room or the in-wall sound system. If it has to be disassembled to get the part you want, you can't have it. The "single twist or quick pull" limitation is the definition distinguishing "some disassembly required" from "plugged in". If you plugged it into a wall socket, you can take it; if you hard-wired it to the power grid, you can't.
--M. J. Young