theres a build phase and a diplomacy phase, u build after autumn diplomacy then u do spring diplomacy. That make sense?

There's a build phase and a diplomacy (orders) phase.

In build phase you order builds, in diplomacy you order moves.

Lol urs made so much more sense than mine did Xapi

What's retarted?

thx, is there a set order to build / orders phases? are there anyother phases? why is this not in the rules?

retarted: joining a game without doing any basic research into how it works. Then complaining in an insulting manner.

There's this really cool new thing. It's called google. Try a search. 'rules of diplomacy'

@vexlord (what an appropriate name...) - Diplomacy is probably 4 times as old as you. It's over a half century old. The rules are out there in the world in paper and electronic form. Heck, you can find them at most any flea market or community yard sale. Someone always has a copy for sale.

Instead of being a cocky, arrogant ass, why not ask the community on this FREE website maintained by VOLUNTEERS and originally developed by someone who has asked for NO personal renumeration politely and someone might give you a link to the PDF copy of the rules.

But jumping to uninformed conclusions and insulting the community makes you like like a 13 year-old ass (not all 13 year-olds are asses and not all asses are 13).

The order is:

Spring:
Diplomacy
Retreats (If necesary)

Autumn:
Diplomacy
Retreats (If necesary)
Builds

And start it over again.

Well, research or no, and rudeness or no, I think we've recently run into a number of issues like this and it seems that the site may be getting popular enough that people are joining and trying to play without possibly even KNOWING that Diplomacy exists outside of this site.

This being the case, it might be time to really seriously work on improving both the FAQ and the basic rules primer that new members to the site see, and apparently think are the rules. At the very least a link to the official rules and a mention that what is on the front page is just a very basic outline of the rules would probably help improve this situation.

Agrred 100%, DrOct. DrOct +1

y are people so angy i asked questions?

I agree 100% Doc. I don't have a problem with newbie questions. I have a problem with RUDE newbies. If someone's first post contains the phrase "that's retarted", I flame first, offer help later. Kestas has worked too hard on this site for some snot-nosed brat who doesn't know how to spell 'retarded' to get away with that kind of attitude.

A post from someone saying "I don't understand how the Build/Order turns work" is more reasonable. And points out the need for a better FAQ. Maybe a wiki? That would be very useful.

@vexlord. Ask a question. Don't insult. You'll find that there's a lot of very helpful people here - but we are very protective of Kestas. He's put a lot of work into this site and being insulting makes you look like an idiot.

"if i build a new army i cant issue orders???? thats retarted" is not a real question. It's a rhetorical question you didn't expect an answer to because you assumed you were right. It was laso just plain rude and your inability to present a coherent and well written question using proper grammar and spelling makes you "retarted". Try some capitalization, punctuation, better spelling and proper grammar and you'll get treated with the respect you desire.

Oh and that should be "also" and not "laso". Typos can be forgiven when they are obviously typos.

Vexlord... I don't think you "asked" in the correct way...
Diplomacy rules are not all available in phpdiplomacy...
You should look for them in the internet it's easy to find... I'll e-mail them for you if you want, just send me an e-mail asking for it if you want (e-mail in my profile).

Anyway, this is a free site where people like Kestas do this with no benefit from it.
Retarded is not aprecciating that and start a thread complaining.
Lots of people here to help... just ask :)

Good luck with your games

i didnt know peeps were so sensitive. i also didnt know there was a 24 page rule book i had to go read. my buddy said it was simple and 1 turn per day. my thanks to Xapi for help in clarification. and the reason im not playing scrabble is because i cant spel to goods

Hey vexlord, do you access this site on a phone? Are you on a "per minute" internet access plan? If no to both of those, please quite using txting for your messages. Around here, we actually use the English language and form sentences that are capitalized and use abbreviations that your mom and dad would appreciate. In other words...

I didn't know people were so sensitive. I also didn't know there was a 24 page rule book I had to go read. My buddy said it was simple and 1 turn per day. My thanks to Xapi for help in clarification. And the reason I'm not playing scrabble is because i can't "spel to goods".

Just a few simplke characters and a moment's more time made that a much more readable paragraph.

Doh! "simple" not "simplke"! Stupid fingers!

and "quit", not "quite"... When will I ever learn...

so there are rules for the forum too? can i get a link to those?

Just common courtesy and readability for those of us not born in the age of TXT and l33t 5p34k.

Vexlord, there are no rules. Feel free to type how you want. I think what people are getting at is that you are on a free forum, and your original post makes you look like an unintelligent idiot. If you have genuine questions regarding the game, feel free to ask them in an intelligent way and people will be happy to answer them politely.

dingle, agreed i ll work on my phrasing there are lots of angy pants about

Well, yes, our forum has been overrun with trolls lately and people have an itchy trigger finger.

No, they're just Draug's personal preferences - but good spelling and grammar will earn you more respect from a number of this community. I just find things simpler to read if they're spelled and punctuated correctly (and that's in GB/US/AUS, etc. English). High quality English is an important thing to possess, not just here, but in the professional and academic worlds, too.

@Draug, seriously, learn to proof-read!

Captain Dave, its not just that. There are a lot of people on this site for whom English is not a first language. I'm hoping they don't get crucified like vexlord just did. Its more the spirit in which things are said.

I mean geez, the freaks from England spell words like color, armor and flavor wrong, and I don't think they should be yelled at. ;)

@Draugnar: I generally agree with you but your post at 04:46 above is a bit over the top. Yes, the guy shouldn't have said "that's retarted" in his original post, but there's no need to go overboard.

Hey, it's not us Brits that spell colour, armour and flavour incorrectly, no matter what Safari is trying to tell me right now!

And, being a linguist (my degree was in German, I spent 9 months teaching English in Germany, and I took two Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages modules at uni as well), I did very nearly add 'as native speakers' to what I previously said. Clearly I made the wrong decision to leave it out - live and learn, eh?

I know, Captain Dave. I know. And DJ, I think we all recognize when English isn't their first language, which is all the more reason those of us who can use proper English, should. It makes it easier for the non-English reader to understand what is being said.

That said, I probably did go a little OTT (over the top). Sorry for that, Vex.

Its funny. Occasionally I have to exchange text messages with my son. And I know WHY people abbreviate, its just so much quicker on a phone. But I can't. I speak in full, grammatically correct sentences on my phone... and he makes fun of me for it.

But I wonder when these kids get jobs some day, and wear a tie, will they be able to type correctly? Or will their emails to their bosses and their clients be txt spk?

Heard around this office at the beginning of every conversation "So like I was talking to..." or "So like I was looking at..." I work with a bunch of 20-somethings in the marketing field and you would think "So like" was required at the beginning of every conversation. Kind of like saying "Hello" at the beginning of a formal letter. I fear txt spk will be next.

"If someone's first post contains the phrase "that's retarted", I flame first, offer help later. Kestas has worked too hard on this site for some snot-nosed brat who doesn't know how to spell 'retarded' to get away with that kind of attitude."

Seconded. Without hesitation. Very well said.

"But I wonder when these kids get jobs some day, and wear a tie, will they be able to type correctly? Or will their emails to their bosses and their clients be txt spk?"

DJ: I'm with you. And I really don't know the answer. All I can say is that in all my email correspondences with todays college student (and it's a lot) lends hope to the issue - most of them can still write coherent and grammatically correct sentences.

Letter from your lawyer in the future....

Yo,
thx 4 makin us ur attys. we wld lik 2 hlp w/all ur needs. pls txt if we can hlp, or u can skype us.
thx
gtgp,
DJ Atty420
thx

LOL, DJ! I like that one!

i actually work in financial software and have for 5 years. id be lost without spell check tho. i wrote a quick post here cause i was confused, and was having a bad morning anyway. i had no idea people would take it so personal. as for Kestas i dont know him from adam but if hes offended i apologize

Here's good news. A University did a study a few years ago on College students who used IM extensively. They discovered that the students could easily distinguish between IM speak and correct english, and did not fall into abbreviations when writing papers.

OTOH, it has been a few years, and txt speech is even worse, and more pervasive, than IM speech was back then!

I knew about a lawyer who sent a formal email to a client and signed it with his Ikariam (web-based game) nick.

Tons of fun.

But I had my name legally changed to Draugnar. <grin>

@Jamie - By the way, I knew which post you were talking about, but time zones vary so my post was at 10:46am my time. Referencing times doesn't work when the website displays everything in local time.