this post communicates something.

I've faced this question before too. I'm sure that people more experienced than me will have a more refined answer, but here's what I've always thought:

Drawing is a "game action," just like writing down moves, disbanding instead of retreating, or (in FTF games) walking away from the board. It does communicate something, but so does supporting your enemy's hold, and so does moving your fleet into Clyde. In FTF gunboat, nobody can stop you from standing up and walking away from the board, just like nobody can prevent you from going NMR in php. And what would be the game result if everybody NMRed, or walked away? Therefore, as "game action" and not speech, /draw should (in my opinion) be permissible.

What do the official diplomacy rules say about draws? Aren't they supposed to be automatic after a certain number of moves where nothing happens or something like that? If so, then after such has occurred in a gunboat game then /draw should be perfectly acceptable.

/draw offers and /pause requests are pretty much the only acdeptable forms of message in php Gunboat

I think it is polite etiquette to explain why you need a pause if you are pausing in a game - simply to give a good reason. It has no bearing on the game or negotiations.

Drawing obviously does, so I believe that /draw is the only way to suggest a draw (as opposed to arguing for one in a message on the global tab).

Completely theoretically, and nothing to do with the game we share obviously FS, but I think that /draw is allowed, but nothing else. You can't explain your draw request, but you can make it!

ahem. Purely theoretical? pfft. :)

Hey guys Friendly is obviously just planning ahead for future gunboat games:]

...and then there are those who WILL start communicating on the Global, as in my present game. When I protested, one of the insipid offenders began to wax superior, "When are some people going to realize that this is JUST A GAME".

Some life forms should be killed at birth, but that's just my compassionate opinion.

You give rule breakers way too much credit calling them lifeforms. I like to call them future worm fodder.