Also because a DM rule in a online simultaneous MP game is completely unenforceable. Using the logic that if it requires effort outside of the game, all diplomacy between teams should be banned as well.
Effort =/= skill. To be online every time the turn switches requires to throw your personal life and be present. This is effort, not a skill. What skill requires to be online?
Whether on the other hand, anyone can do efforts on diplomacy, but only those who show skills will succeed in it
Like saying sending 1000 identical messages to someone (requires efforts) can make one decide in your favor instead of sending just one, but meaningful and beneficial proposal (requires skill).
I don't expect to change anyone's vote, I just want people to know what they're getting themselves into. It's a rarely used mechanic, so most people simply don't realise just how broken it is.
I'm sure Sommers can speak for himself, no need to defend him. Not even sure why he needs defending though.
Yes, yes, I think even the dead heard already. As for Sommers, this is how they taught me from a child - to not allow anyone speak insulting untruths about my friends to me
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Personally I dont give a buck for the CSM, I can play with or without it, or even despite it. But making prophecies how the game will end in disaster before it is even started is not nice to those committed and decided to play it. To some more biased observer it may look even that Realms Beyond team think they will be so great and unreachable in the game, that only the uber-unfair-CSM-weapon can hurt them and it is inevitable that it will come to this. Or they are just trying to make an excuse if (God forbid the blasphemy!!!) they might lose the game or those most vocal now will quit the game and desert their teams after just few months.
So, I'm not allowed to make a prediction about the outcome of the game, but you can make predictions about outcome of the game. Righto mate.
I made a counter- prophecy. For me it is normal the players to come with positive feelings and expectations for a game. After all, it is just a game. Why would you bother playing it if you think you will get negative feelings out of it? I can agree that in life most of the time we must do what we need to do instead of what we want to do, but this are the games for - to do what we want and what we enjoy, right? Why so negative? Negative feelings can poison other players experience as well. This is my point. We are here to have some fun and not tremble in fear and expect how the game will be ruined.
Either way, it's not about restricting the game to make it an optimization puzzle, they're boring.
At last one thing on which I am 100% with you.
It's about removing a particular mechanic that is broken. As r_rolo said a few pages back, it's cheaper to change an entire civ's civics than to send a single city into revolt. Clearly it isn't balanced.
I can agree that it is powerful as a tool, but I think all this forth and back with me giving you examples of how one can counter it and what can be the negatives of using it have found your ear and you have seen my point and see this is not the baddest thing in the world. If not, well, I dont think I will ever try to convince you anyway. Sometimes things look very scary and powerful and then it turns out they are not so, just so - so.
Just now I remembered one interesting story - around 400 BC the Greeks invented gastraphetes and it was believed it is so strong weapon, that whoever possess it can defeat anyone and after all armies have it, it will bring world peace (in Civ4 terms "overpowered" and "broken"
. And for their way of fighting it was somewhat true. But after Alexander started to move east and encountered the eastern horse-archers tribes, it turned out that the gastraphetes is not so overpowered as they initially believed. This might be just the case with the CSM.
I'm still enthusiastic about the game, I've been involved with every MTDG here so far and I don't plan for that to change.
Manly words. My kind of guy.
I'm just vehemently opposed to being able to use the civic switching spy missions, because I don't believe them to be fair or balanced.
Yes, I do understand your feelings and yet I cant do much against the votes of the teams, so we must start thinking how to play the game
Voice of reason there. 
Teams are picking their leaders and civs on the basis of what has been decided, it's time to turn our focus to that activity, and play with what unambiguous majorities have voted on.
Ozzy that was a d@mn cool picture for your "draft choice"
) you also need a lot of time. In my experience, the more time you spend on diplomacy, the more likely you are to be successful on that front. It doesn't matter how good your skills are if you don't have the time to put into it.
