[Pirateiam]

1) Most importantly, diplomacy becomes *the single* most important factor in the game once initial expansion is over. It doesn't really matter how well you manage your empire, or how well your armies fight. It only matters who is allied with who. Effectively, diplomacy becomes the game and the entire game becomes micromanagement overhead.

This can be true sometimes but I also find that alliance can work against you just as much as for you. As you have seen in Norfleets past Posts he states that alot of the time he makes no binding agreements and keeps a supicious eye on everyone. While this is a type of diplomacy in itself it can be a very succesful strategy. In my first multiplayer game I was double teamed by two players with an alliance. While they battered against me I pratically begged Norfleet for an alliance. Instead he helped me quitely and built up to a point where he was unbeatable. By the time the other two players realized this it was over and Norfleet ran over all of us. So in the end alliances hurt more than helped. This is but just one example.

The fact is that humans are social animals and one way or another they will interact.(Diplomacy)
Not using diplomacy is a type of diplomacy in itself.