Communication ethics in PBW

[ckotchey]

Speaking only of my experiences with multiplayer playing the game Stars!, I have to agree that using e-mail outside the game for discussions and coordinations can be a very important, vital part of the game.
In games like Stars! and SE4, diplomacy plays a vital part of the game. The longer you can negotiate peace, the longer you can hold off battles and/or defense of any kind, the more you can expand your empire and grow unhindered. The more you can coordinate your actions, the more likely you are to be victorious over another single player or another alliance of several.
In one of my best alliances, it was me (NY) and two others (one in Idaho, and one in Australia) - we used to meet ever other day or so using MSN Messenger and have very good productive game discussions.
One may think that this is unfair in someway, but everyone is free to choose to do it or not to do it. For me, it's all a matter of how much free time I have to dedicate to "advanced planning" in this way.