Diplomacy Master Thread- Helping Your Opponents Beat Themselves

[pindicator]

Agree with removing 4
What about switching the order of 3? Promise intel first, then say we're rooting for them

[Ceiliazul]

I like Pin's idea.

[scooter]

I like the beginning part of the draft. I would change the points 1 to 3/4 so that they are not in the "we"-form. Currently it kind of implies that we expect to be the ones who do the most job. That is of course true, but if we formulate the points as mutual rules that apply for both civs it sounds more humble.

This comment has popped up a few times and Seven even acknowledged it, but I thought this sentence right before the list makes it pretty clear that it's a two-way promise:

But we can promise a few things if you do the same for us:

Right? Does that need to be made more clear?

edit: swapping sentence order of #3 makes sense to me.

[Old Harry]

This comment has popped up a few times and Seven even acknowledged it, but I thought this sentence right before the list makes it pretty clear that it's a two-way promise:

But we can promise a few things if you do the same for us:

Right? Does that need to be made more clear?

It should be clear enough, but given all the comments I don't think it is. Perhaps something formulated in a drier and less interesting way might get the message over better.

Wars are a big pain and we will be aiming to defeat the Germans as soon as possible. But we can promise a few things if you do the same for us:
1) Neither of us will race for cities in the other team's half of the land split.
2) Both teams will prioritize capture of cities in their own half over cities in the other half.
3) Both teams will share any and all intel with a view to ending the war as quickly as possible.
4) If the city split ends up unequal then captured workers can be transferred to try and make up the deficit.

I hope that 4 is the same spirit as Sevens version, but without opening so many worm-cans since we doubt that we'll be capturing workers...

[zakalwe]

I prefer Seven's "personal promise" style. I think it's clear enough with the "if you'll do the same for us" sentence.

[Shoot the Moon]

I prefer Seven's "personal promise" style. I think it's clear enough with the "if you'll do the same for us" sentence.

I agree, but I think actually #4 might be better in the impersonal style. That is have the first three personal, but then the fourth, which I find most patronizing in the "we" form, might be worth doing impersonally.

[Gold Ergo Sum]

I still vote to cut #4.

[scooter]

I think I have a pretty good feel for the opinions here. I'll make the decision tomorrow and send it. I don't think that's too long of a wait for WPC.

[Bigger]

I prefer Seven's "personal promise" style. I think it's clear enough with the "if you'll do the same for us" sentence.

oops, I posted in the wrong thread - but I agree with this statement.

[scooter]

Ok. Here's what I sent:

Beta,

Yes, we are definitely #1 in soldiers. We have a lot of Maces and Catapults, and we'll be adding Knights as the war begins.

We are OK with that division in principle, with the caveat that it can only happen if we both earn our part through combat. I don't think it would be fair for one of us to get half the spoils while contributing much less to the war effort, and perhaps more importantly, city gifting isn't allowed in this game.

Wars are a big pain, and we will be aiming to defeat the Germans as soon as possible. But we can promise a few things if you do the same for us:
1) We won't race you for the cities in your half of the land split.
2) We will prioritize capture of cities in our half over cities in your half.
3) We will share any useful intel that we come across
4) And of course, we will be sincerely rooting for your speedy progress and success.

Thanks,
scooter - Team RB

Notes:

- I generally disagree that the bottom section was unclear - I feel some of the comments may have been more as a result of skimming vs reading. However, I also wondered if the "you must earn your part" comment was the root cause of that. It kinda implied we expected them to not do as much work as us. That may be true, but it tilts the message a bit I think. So, I changed that part to "we both earn our part through combat." Hopefully that clears it up.
- I completely removed Seven's original #4.
- I put the intel part first, then decided to split that and the "wish you well" parts. No huge reason for that, it just seemed like a more consistent layout to my weird brain.

Hopefully they respond well to this.