a. -
1. Originally I thought that a draw required only the consent of the majority of the active players, and that's why I unwillingly conceded that if all other players wanted to draw I have no choice but to comply., However, thanks to a reminder somewhere here on the forum I recognized a draw would require the consent of ALL players - a condition that wasn't present. That is why you perceived a 'change' in my position. Vampiero, I believe that through our own private correspondeence you know that I am very keen to finish this game. If nobody ever talked about a draw I would most certainly not raise the possibility of a draw.
2. The game diplomacy can be played by as few as 2 players, so only 4 players left active is NOT some special situation where only a draw would be 'fair'. Player with less player requires more skill, something that some players in the game do not have.
3. As I said before, I would not prefer starting a new game to continuing the existing one because of sportsmanship. In essence, the entire draw thingy was initiated by Chairman Mao, and I strongly suspect that he wants to draw only because he received Austria. Dangermouse or even Vampiero were at most seconders to his request. If I draw the game, a bad precedent would be set - someone gets Austria and manages to convince the rest to draw the game, thus defying the fundamental principle of randomness in diplomacy.
b. - As dangermouse said, it is widely known that clicking on a link would lead to one's joining of a game. Also, in my original thread the thread was placed under the words "Please Join Here" so there is no excuse that one could have joined on purpose.
All these are reasons why I am deeply opposed to a draw at this stage.