How do I determine who has white or black? I have used e.g. the game of paper, stone and scissors. Is there another method which determines who has white or black? If so, what is the method?
White always moves first. To determine who plays white in a friendly game, you can:


Toss a coin
Roll a dice
Play an even number of games, alternating sides
Play rock-paper-scissors
One player takes a white pawn and black pawn, and secretly places one in each hand. The other player picks the hand and therefore the colour to play
Use any other agreed method


In tournament play, who plays which colour is determined by the organisers and you should be informed of which colour to play before each game. If you are unsure, ask an arbiter or an organiser for clarification.

Please note that the initiative is a specific chess term defined below:


  Initiative in a chess position belongs to the player who can make threats that cannot be ignored.


Source: Wikipedia