Foreign Affairs between Teams

[Meshelic]

It seems that a question keeps popping up in the threads. How are the teams going to conduct their diplomacy? In a thread specifically designed for contact between teams, or through chats between ambassadors, or through email, private messaging etc.?

What are the thoughts here?

How are the teams to officially communicate with each other concerning issues that will come up between them in-game?

PM's are out between ministers if they post their discussions in their teams private forum, unless they have prior agreement from the other party involved. So that either rules out communication via PM if the other party isn't willing to let his PM's be shown to the other team involved...

So how can we answer these questions?

Thoughts?

[Jon Shafer]

I don't see what's wrong with posting another team's PM to your foreign minister... it's not like you weren't going to use the info you were provided anyways. Using PMs is to keep other teams besides yours and the one you're dealing with out in the cold.

I'll start a topped thread covering all of the foreign ministers for each team once the game starts, so everyone will know who to contact for each team.

[Arnelos]

Diplomacy would HAVE to be conducted by PMs, e-mails, or private chats between ambassadors/Foreign Ministers of the various teams.

Using PMs creates something of a problem, however, as we are not permitted by 'Poly rules to publish the contents of a PM w/o permission from its sender. So stuff like publishing what another team your team by PM to a third team (in order to get them upset) wouldn't be possible. Of course, even if it were allowed, there's no way to ensure that anything a team claims that another team said wasn't fabricated.... so I guess it really doesn't matter all that much.

[Inverse Icarus]

of course it'll be done by PM.

making it public? interesting.

like, a deal gone afoul. the builders offer some techs and $$ to the GoW to declare war on Lux, GoW refuses and tells Lux about what the buiders are up to.

interesting indeed.

[Jon Shafer]

Then we can establish some clause that says that "Any contents of a PM, email or private chat between two ministers of nations is considered to be consented by the sender as permissable to be revealed."

[ZargonX]

Originally posted by Trip
Then we can establish some clause that says that "Any contents of a PM, email or private chat between two ministers of nations is considered to be consented by the sender as permissable to be revealed."

That would seem to be the most sensible solution. If everyone agress to the specific terms ahead of time, no one can complain later. Well, actually, people can always complain later; but they'll be wrong

[Togas]

I think we can draw a distinction for this game. PMs being used for the business of interteam communications are messages meant to be sent to the whole team, not a private/personal message between individuals. It's more than reasonable to expect that a PM I send to the ambassador of another team is going to be conveyed to the entire team.

We should just be sure to make it clear in our PMs if it's interteam communication or personal communication.

--Togas

[Meshelic]

I only bring this up because I had mentioned the same issues to notyoueither and he told me pretty much exactly what Arnelos quoted out of the 'Poly rules.

But if we lay down a base-rule that any PM's between Foreign Minister #1 and Foreign Minister #2 (of an opposing team) are allowed to be made public to their individual teams so that the teams may follow how their foreign policy is enforced, then that sounds like a very good solution to this issue....

[Meshelic]

....and thus it is also DISCRETION that prevents Foreign Minister #1 from telling the rest of the teams what Foreign Minister #2 said in their diplomatic discussions. Discretion in such cases is a "make it or break it" affair, ie each Minister can make such dealings public in the forum or only make it public to their teammates....both options should be made available regarding foreign policy strategies and such...

[Zero]

consequence of your intentions being revealed during diplomacy will only thicken the plot..

Excellent.

[Meshelic]

So do all the teams agree to an amendment that
every official negotiation using PM's between two foreign ministers is considered subject to public view, depending on the discretion of the other individual?

This doesn't necessarily advocate posting a private discussion between ministers (in fact I hope it doesn't), but this should allow each minister to keep his team informed of their diplomatic status (and posting the PM's as proof). They also may post it in the main forum if they decide, but are subject to consequences if the other team takes action...

I'd like more input on this...especially if it becomes an issue worthy of polling the public on...

[zeit]

My opinion towards revealing the content of a PM to your team members (as long as it deals with issues concerning the entire team) is that it should be done when needed, but publishing PM's on the forums and to other team representatives should be a No-No unless authorized by the sender. This is most important when conducting deals and signing agreements that are best to be kept secret.
Publishing a message like: "We had an agreement with 'X' (details) and they broke it by doing this and that" is IMO an exception to this rule, and should be permitted.

[alva]

Couldn't we just use e-mails???
or do the same laws apply here too?

[Spiffor]

I think we should do diplomacy like it's done IRL : no rules

[ruby_maser]

on a side note, I think ambassadors should be the only ones authorized to communicate with another team. I know I don't have the luxury of negotiating directly with other nations. That should keep it more real. Anything a citizen should want added should be directed to their own ambassador to be delivered to the opposing team's. It probably would have been an unspoken rule anyway but just to prevent them from being inundated with PM's

... especially ones that haven't been censored