As an erstwhile ally of Plato and one trying to raise the standards of
diplomacy in g2, I'd like to respond to the recent exchange. Here I'm
speaking only for myself, and I'm not saying my response here will have
anything to do with the eventual position of the Inner Circle when we're
ready to proclaim it. We try to choose our policies based on the
long-range goals of our organization, not the desire to score quick points
in debates or make ourselves feel better by calling people names.
The purpose of diplomacy is to advance your nation's goals through words.
That doesn't mean it's always "nice." For instance, if your goal is to
find an excuse to attack your neighbor that doesn't bring about world-wide
opposition, then it may make sense to goad them with words until they do
something that gives you a causus belli.
Now, Oleg, how on earth can insulting Eric the Seehawk be in the best
interests of your alliance? Even if Plato's worst critics are right and
your eventual goal is AOO-style world domination, it seems to me that you
would want to take on other nations one at a time, instead of trying to
goad them all into opposing you at once. If the goals of your alliance are
what you have stated, to protect newbies in YL, then I don't think I need
to explain why insulting the first winner of the Olympia Peace Prize will
hardly convince people that these motives are sincere.
Like I keep saying, people have long memories in games like this, and
WORDS HAVE CONSEQUENCES. The Empire fell because its ruler was obnoxious.
A big part of the problems that the LoC now have stem from the fact that
the first words Sir Codric spoke when he arrived in Provinia were an insult
to Jheremai the Scarlet. Lots and lots of people are looking for excuses
to go to war in a game like this, and being obnoxious gives them just what
they're looking for.
I'm sure you realize how utterly ludicrous it is when we hear the person
who is self-admittedly the loudest mouth in Olympia accusing the person who
defused a war by dragging the warring enemies to the peace table of being
"lacking in tact." This is a joke, right? But it's a joke that could hurt
your alliance.
If you feel that Eric has besmirched your honor somehow, well, diplomats
have to swallow their honor for the greater good of their nation all the
time. If you can't do that then I respectfully suggest you leave the
diplomacy to the people in your alliance who can.
The Illustrated Man