Depends on the position. Obviously, trust is lost, so if they say something like "yeah, I stabbed you, but I'm still willing to work together", I'm not going to agree to moves that let them take more of my territory, even if that may cede the advantage to someone else.

If the stabbing places me in a position where I have a minimal chance of survival, my goal is simple: absolutely SCREW the person who stabbed me if at all possible. If that means throwing my centers to another player while I kamikazi on the stabber, so be it. If they whine and bitch that I could have helped them set up a stalemate position, but my perception was that my head was going on a pike anyway once that happened, then there is minimal motivation for me to aid them.

Hell, depending on my level of annoyance I may choose to throw the game to someone else even *if* there is a reasonable chance for survival. One of the things about this game is that the people you play with are *unpredictable*, so if someone assumes that I'm just going to take a stab and be a nice little puppet, watching them froth as things completely unwind for them is the best satisfaction I can get out of the game.

I keep talking with the stabber and may even keep working with him/her, but become much more wary (aka paranoid) for the rest of the game.

I've also seen the word "stab" being used in the context of simply attacking, I adhere to Jacob's definition.
Phase 1)
i made an enemy. This is often a good thing. If it happens too early in the game, I play the victim. I talk to other players, ask them to look at the order history, ask them to pity the grave injustice inflicted upon me and ally with them. This works.
Phase 2)
You keep talking to the stabber. You play desperate. You've been stabbed a billion times in this game, his was nor even the most painful. Make friends, ask for a defensive move (support hold a unit) on his side. That's when you aid the new ally made in phase 1 to gain a terrain that could have been protected by the unit support holding your unit. In fact, to be sure, you attack that very unit with the unit it's supposed to hold.
Phase 3 (optional)
You explain the stabber that you haven't really stabbed him at all, you just counterstabbed. You explain you're even, that the initiative to stab wasn't yours and you restart your relationship with each other. Since people don't change, you usually cycle into phase 1) again, but sometimes in phase 4) a lasting alliance.

I start foaming at the mouth, steam slowly starts to woft out of my ears, my eyes start to bulge a bit, my body starts to shake, just a little at first, but violently within a few minutes, my muscles start to bulge and my skin starts to take on this green tint that is not quite natural. I then fly into a rage of revenge and put every ounce of energy into killing that person, turn everyone else on the board against my stabber as I hold that person up as public enemy number one, the epitome of evil. There is no tactic I will not resort to, even if it insures my own death, as I seek retribution. Hell hath no fury as MM scorned.

MM's Golden Rule: Do Unto Others As Others Have Done Unto You

LOL

I don't know... I rarely get stabbed and when I do I'm either destroyed or I come back and obliterate the stabber.

So far when stabbed I've been able to counter quite effectively, basically through what Jacob has already said. Look to form new alliances (even with your enemies), stay respectful with the stabber, if the tables start to turn he may be willing to make a more generous peace offering. Try to find a way to stay alive, and then, if you can't.... THEN go into kamikaze mode.

Most times I've been stabbed were 'bad' stabs (imo). They did not guarantee crippling me and let me get vengeance. The only good one I've been the victim of was at the hands of PSMongoose, (gameID=64683) who stabbed me via proxy using only one of his units in tandem with all of another nation as a puppet to absorb my wrath while he steamrolled to victory.

Depends on the situation, sometimes i keep talking to the stabber and make some nice deals. Other times, when the situation is particularly hopeless I curse them out in an attempt to throw them off, which actually does work on occasion.

I stabbed someone 5 times in one game and they were still willing to join with me after all that and stop a solo.

Great player there :-)

Certainly a better player than the idiot that stabs someone five times in a single game and can't manage to kill them...

Well he was all shelled up as turkey and I was Austria...

Ah. Well, I take that back then, somewhat. Depending on how you define a stab I can see a successful Austria stabbing a resilient Turkey a lot in the course of a game.

still an idiot though ;)

Sometimes I let another player stab me into an alliance.

Case in point: as France, if I open Maginot Atlantic (Bre-MAO, Par-Bur, Mar S Par-Bur) and England opens to the Channel, it can sometimes be profitable to simply offer England Brest (provided he takes it with a fleet and not an army) in exchange for Belgium. A clear and natural E/F follows.

That isn't really a stab AWB

Thanks for the great posts everyone.

Being stabbed is hard. Really hard. I tend to have a reaction similar to MM. I get angry and plot every way that I can destroy the perpetrator of the stab. The problem with this is that 1)it rarely works, and 2)It closes the door to the stabber being able to pick a different line of attack.

I recommend staring your reaction by taking these two simple steps:
1) Do NOT respond at all until you have calmed down.
2) Compliment the stabber on making such an unexpected and brilliant move. Stroke their ego a little bit.

More comments from me later...

I think the worst thing you can do is come back mad at them. Unless, of course, they just cost you both the game.... then let them have it.

i don´t understand those who stab knowing they will lose,
I was once defending with a german against england . I was russia.
The german stab me and cost me 3 sc 2 to germany and 1 to england . then england started attacking him , I have attacked on the other side and he got erased

Sometimes people don't want to trust again. They are too caught up in their history of mistrust they will stab in a late game situation even though it causes both to lose. It happens all of the time.

I don't know what you are talking about, Jacob, it works for me all the time, maybe you're just not doing it right? Perhaps you're not getting Mad enough, you'd be surprised how effective a bit of well-place anger can be.

Been stabbed 15 times up to now. Doubtless more in the 18 games I'm playing.

In my experience, people rarely respond well to anger. A well-placed compliment can really surprise your foe and make them realize that you are still rational despite their duplicity. Once they realize that, they may be more open to considering future plans which do not include crushing you mercilessly. Often I've been able to turn around a bad situation in this manner.

Unfortunately, some goes can be quite implacable and are immune to the most flattering of compliments. In these cases it my be best to follow stratagos' plan above - kamikaze into them until they realize they should look elsewhere for more centers. The problem with this line is usually the best you can hope for is owning a key unit in a stalemate position.

One key to being stabbed is to just keep communicating. As long as you still have a unit you still have a chance! Another key is to try to get the person who stabbed you to see the bigger picture on the board. It's your job to paint the picture for them that portrays other countries as a bigger threat than you.

Okay, I'll quit "playing devil's advocate", I'm likely just confusing the issue, even if there is much truth in what I say.

MM - we need dissenting opinions on this, even when they're wrong :P

Actually, I agree that anger can be an effective tool. It's just that I don't seem to be good at using it... It never seems to have the desired effect when I try it.

I'll remember that, Jacob, the next time you stab me, which should be in about two or three days, at least I'm pretty sure that's when our game will start! ;-)

I never stab

Oh, yeah, I forgot, but you know I have a bad memory, right?!

I used to be a pretend like the stab didn't even happen and keep working to build a relationship player, but recently I have been trying to incorporate a little anger into my game and it really has worked wonders. You should try it, Jacob.

Nudge's rules for making stab-free alliances:

1. Avoid alliances with direct neighbours, your own SC's are their strategic objectives.

2. If someone asks for an alliance, ask them to perform a specific move to prove his commitment to you. Make alliance dependent on completion of that move.

3. Do not make alliance without agreed clear strategic objective.

4. Limit the lifespan of the alliance to completion of agreed objectives.

5. Maintain a defensive posture, insurance if alliance breaks.

bottom line is people usually don't want to be seen as a bad guy,so if you guilt them enough, and hold them off with a nice tactical defense they might be shamed into backing off a bit

I think the thing everyone is leaving off is to contact the guys neighbors and make a case on how the stab threw the game into disarray and that an attack on him is necessary to balance everything out again.

Santa - that's exactly what I'm talking about - you need to get the stabber (and sometimes other neighbors) to see the bigger picture and to see why it benefits them to keep you alive.