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> It would work only when rule enforcement is already programmed, and how it works would depend upon how the rules were enforced. However, I could devise a means for letting the user provide the same data for a diagram without programming the rules.

Well, I don't know GAME code, but it seems to be a programming language. Which is way beyond the abilities of the average non-programmer user to provide. The whole idea of the rule-aware interactive diagram was that a noob user should be able to define the game. E.g. for Elven Chess all that would have to be provided by one not using a design wizard is

[diagram]
files=10
ranks=10
promotionZone=3
promoChoice=QNRB
symmetry=rotate
pawn:P::pawn:a3-j3
dwarf:D:K:man:a2,j2
knight:N::knight:b2,i2
bishop:B::bishop:c2,h2
rook:R::rook:a1,j1
elf:E:BW:cardinal:d2
goblin:G:RF:marshall:g2
queen:Q::queen:f2
warlock:W:KNADmabKcaKcabK:lion:e2
king:K::king:f1
[/diagram]

and that this would be enough to display a nice diagram, allow move entry with rule checking, and possibly provide a (low-level) computer opponent. Now compare that to the GAME code you would need to provide to implement a rule-checking Elven Chess preset... When you are satisfied with the default graphics representation (which we could make alfaerie), there isn't much you have to provide. And to use custom graphics all you would have to add is (say)

graphicsDir=../member.graphics/MSmyvariant/
whitePrefix=White
blackPrefix=Black
graphicsType=png
squareSize=36

There also isn't anything hard to understand there.

The only advantage I can see of solving this on the server side is that it would also work when JavaScript is disabled. That could be a legetimate design goal, but in that case I think it would be essential to provide a sort of compiler in the submission script that transforms a similarly simple description of the game to GAME code.