What did I missed from Dom I.? -> DIPLOMACY!

[HJ]

Lots of good ideas proposed so far.
I just wanted to add one thing that I wouldn't like to see in possible diplo system, and that is ganging up on human player. This has been implemented in more games than I care to remember, and it invariably ruins a good portion of gaming sessions for me. I mean, if I transgress, such as declare war to everybody or break a dozen alliances, then ok. But NOT, please not, just because my only sin is that my domain happens to be of a certain size, and then everybody declares war just for the heck of it. That's just lame, and a big party breaker for me. It equates to the AI cheating: I want to be on same terms as far as the game is concerned.