Meritocracy is impossible in theory or practice without social structures that set and enforce sportsmanlike rules of the game.

FORBES: I Went To College, Law School, And Grad School - Because I Wasn't Born Elite

There was no talk in the chamber about energy, Social Security, Iraq or anything except judges and the rules that govern the Senate.

NPR: Senate Heads Toward Filibuster Showdown

But Congress enacted special rules that forbid any Social Security spending cuts or revenue increases being used to pay for other programs.

FORBES: Medicare's Peculiar Budget Rules And The Fight Over Double Counting

They usually made their mark by subverting whatever social, political, or artistic norms, unspoken, arbitrary rules, and limiting beliefs prevailed around them.

FORBES: Life Lessons From a Fire-Breathing, Stilt-Walking Billionaire

The rules for the daily deal offerings for Groupon and Living Social and the 500 or so other sites in this space are not exactly codified into law (at least not yet) but there are certain rules that people just understand as applying.

FORBES: No Givesies Backsies and Other Tips for the Deal-a-Day Market

One MP has found a novel way to circumvent the arcane rules which dictate whether language is parliamentary or not: by outsourcing questions to users of social media website Twitter.

BBC: Mixed results as MPs try outsourcing questions to Twitter

The rules changed in 2010 for retirees who take their Social Security but then find a job or their circumstances change.

FORBES: Unemployed at 62: Caught Between a Rock and a Hard Place

They seem to believe that Britain's place in the EU could be revised, so that, for example, power over some social and employment rules is repatriated, without affecting the country's place in the single market or that market's complexion.

ECONOMIST: The Tories and Europe: Oh grow up | The

Internet providers are reluctant, for privacy reasons, to let loved ones into email and social-media accounts, often leaving families to choose between violating the rules to break into an account or losing decades of email contacts, family photos and other information.

WSJ: What a Tangled Web We Leave