One final note:
I'm sorry you feel picked on mastermuse.

That was certainly not the intent of my posts. I was simply trying to share my opinion as you requested. You have my sincere apology for any hostility you feel I have directed your way. Please know that it was not my intention.
-damian

@damian - thank you for the apology, honestly I'm a shy person outside of this, but i have many friends because I live in a small town, with few kids, so everybody is friends with everybody. I've grown up putting my trust into people, and I've never psoted on any forum before because i feared something like this would happen. I do believe that you can be a nice guy outside of this. Thank for the apology.

This isn't Candyland. The point of Diplomacy is to win, period. If you can't win, you stop the other players from winning. You're not out to make friends, hold hands, do trust falls, and play grab ass in the shower because you're all trusting in your land of rainbows and chocolate and teddybears.

You asked for others' views on a "normal game" and you got exactly what you asked for. A "normal game" is winner take all. PPSC is abnormal because players are rewarded for acting in a manner that is inconsistent with the object of the game. Diplomacy is about talking with people, making them trust you, and using that trust to win the game. If the game is played correctly, then the number of happy players at the end of the game will be greater than or equal to one.

Let me give you a picture of the average person on this site, based on real data collected by the mods:

Average IQ: 150
Personality: INTJ

As you can see, we're all antisocial geniuses who play this game as an outlet for our superior intelligence that fits with our reclusive personalities. Hence why you don't think you'd be a good fit.

You are welcome. I'm sad to say in many ways your fear is justified, many internet forums are like this one, or worse, when it comes to extremely vocal people, who aren't afraid to browbeat others who don't share their opinions.

For better or for worse, after a while one gets used to the atmosphere.

@2ndWhiteLine - I know it's not candyland. The point is to win yes, but i'm not some gay freak. I asked for peoples views on a normal game of diplomacy, and please look at the default settings. That's what I meant by normal. I don't give a crap what you think, I believe in rewarding people. What if we were in a competition together, and I was better than you, I got everything of your's all your money, your house, your friends. Did you get anything for your work? no. I believe in reward for what people deserve and right now, I deserve a lot for standing up to multiple people in this forum, including you. And I do believe you're just mad because I backstabbed you so you couldn't call a draw. I don't need to waste my life argueing with you. And Idc what the mods collected, so your an antisocial genius. I'm a genius straight a's in classes two grades above my level. But you sure seem to not be antisocial because you're still trying to argue with me in this forum. P.S. as i told someone else. Think about who you're talking to, i've almost already accomplished my dreams and i'm probably decades younger than you. I hope I can see what you've done with you're life in ten years compared to me.

@mastermuse - same goes with me as damian said. I'm sorry if you felt my posts were belittling in any way

@goldfinger0303 - thank you, sorry that I got a little upset at you, just had a very long week. lol, hope we can put this behind us. thanks.

In that case, welcome to the site, mastermuse.

You will have to grow a thicker skin if you plan on sticking around, but I hope you do. This is one of the best Diplomacy sites on the Internet and if you want to really learn how to play, this is where to do it.

"Personality: INTJ"

Its extraordinary how many people on the site are INTJ. A much higher proportion than there is in regular society.

I am not actually and INTJ myself, but I am close - ENTJ.

I got ISFJ, but only I was really significant of the 4. I was a grand total 1% S over N lol.

@2ndWhiteLine -- buddy old pal, many fond memories, agree with most of what you say, oh for the grand old days of playing grab-ass in the shower ... but obviously you do know that WTA is just as much of a variant as PPSC is. I mean, Mr.Callhamer didn't plan for either ... we have a point system here that doesn't exist in board Diplomacy ... I'll shut up now and play you some more 1v1's somewhere else

@rancher, I'm always up for a 1v1 game "somewhere else" pm me for duo or any other 1v1 and ill play you

I'm the same "somewhere else" as I am here. Wasn't sure if you were or is just invite you instead.

I think the best training for approaching a Diplomacy game might be martial arts competition. Basically, competitors should respect each other, and that means agreeing to fight like hell and do anything within the rules to win while in competition, then not to hold grudges when the game is done. If I'm playing against you, I want your best shot, you want my best shot, and we see who ends up winning. The ground rules for Diplomacy say that lying, playing to logic, playing to emotions, screaming, making threats, and all that are part of your toolkit, and are to be used (as long as they're within the context of the game). If you repeatedly lie to me, threaten me, etc. in-game, I won't take that personally when the game ends (although I will take it personally in-game if, and only if, I think it's to my advantage to do so!)

If it helps, I checked a sample of my press games once (I play mostly gunboat on webDip, but not solely gunboat) and found that I only lie about 2-3% of the time. I don't know what the optimal ratio is, but I've found that, much like prisoner's dilemma simulations, the more duplicitous tools in my arsenal are best used sparingly. But, if you're don't have fun using those tools at all, then this probably isn't the best wargame for you, especially when there are other well-constructed games that involve different tools.

"the more duplicitous tools in my arsenal are best used sparingly"
Well phrased and absolutely accurate.

@2WL:
Average IQ: 150
Personality: INTJ

Goddam. 3 below average.
What's the 'J'?

Cant help feeling.... if you've accomplished all your dreams already and you're still in what the US calls school, that you dream too small.
Whats a person to do for the next 60-70years?

@mastermuse - The impression I get having read your posts is that you're a nice guy, but you need to learn to separate Diplomacy from real life. Also you need to be more open to criticism, and accept that not everyone agrees with your views. You seem to have mistook a disagreement as aggression, which most definitely is not the case. I've only been playing diplomacy for around two years, and I still have a hell of a lot to learn, but one thing that I am good at is guilt free stabbing. Because when you join a game, everybody should know what they signed up for. Diplomacy is a game of stabbing. And until you can separate your morals from the game, I don't think you will do to well playing with anonymous people, as it is on this site. If anything you should be more at ease stabbing on this site knowing you will most likely never meet your victim in real life. But just because you're a dick to people on diplomacy, doesn't make you a dick in real life. It's very harsh game, and you have to be ready for that. Trust me when I say I'm quite a lovely friendly person, and I would never stab my friends in real life. But diplomacy is different. It's a game, not a place to make friends.
Basically, without trying to sound to harsh, I think you just need to play a lot more games, with random people, because you have a lot to learn. And I feel like you have approached Diplomacy with a bad mindset, and unless you change, you won't win many games.
I understand why you like to be rewarded for hard work, but I feel like you need to realise that isn't always the case. This can easily be seen in many real life scenarios. People applying for university can have straight A's their entire life, and be more than capable of dealing with the workload required for that particular university. But if they screw up their interview, they won't get in. It's the real world. Hard work isn't always rewarded.
So I said it before and I will say it again in summary.

I'm sure you're a lovely intelligent person, but I feel like if you don't change how you view this game, you won't be successful on this site. That's just my honest opinion.

@Timur. J is for Jackass, I think ... since there seems to be a bunch of them on this site!

(For an actual answer, start here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myers-Briggs_Type_Indicator ) Of course, you could have used Google to get that link, just like i did.

@mastermuse. 90% of this game is situational dependent. All you can do is control the situation as best you can and shape other people's perception. But, as long as you don't have multi's on your board, it all evens out ... well, as far as skill at negotiating and tactics allow.

@2WL: when was the personality survey done?
I recall that NTs make up ~5% of the general population, what's the split here?

BPT, it was done probably two or three weeks ago. Go find the thread, it's probably not archived yet. It obviously wasn't the entire site, just a select few who volunteered the information, but I think it's fair to say that Diplomacy seems to attract NTs.

J stands for Justice on that scale.

"i've almost already accomplished my dreams and i'm probably decades younger than you."

So being in high school two grade levels above your age, what "dreams" would be included here? Going to prom? Making the junior high track team? Scoring a 5 on your AP History test? I'm not as old as you think, but I can assure you that straight As means shit after you leave high school.

Rancher, I know you're only playing devil's advocate so I'll let your snide remarks slide, but I think the point system is a necessary evil on a site like this even if it isn't true to the creator's original intent. I could argue the same thing for the three point line in basketball.

Speaking of variants, I'm due to beat you up in 1v1 again :)