Suggestion: As a 'convention' for fair conduct you could require that a 'diplomatic mission' reach one homeworld from the other empire before those two empires can engage in direct email contact. Once an ambassador arrives, after all, you can have all sorts of free-wheeling conversations that are much too slow and clumsy over long-distance channels. Exactly what constitutes a 'diplomatic mission'? Well, a single warship, at least. You could just possibly create a special component that does nothing but designate a diplmatic courier, though. Call it 'diplomatic quarters' or something like that?
[This message has been edited by Baron Munchausen (edited 01 November 2001).]