Hope I can post before it closes.
... especially in a game like EU, that encourages desperation often before a player properly thinks things through.
Mirror, one of the greatest strategists I've ever met, a leader of a big society and one of my best online friends once said:
"It's not enough for a game to provide entertainment. A really good game should also educate."
I agree it's good if ppl forgive and make generous exceptions, but it has to be an exception. As soon as u start expecting all rules will always be bent you will effectively make a new rule. A rule that says there's no rules.
As soon as u do that there will be ppl who take advantage of that.
It goes like that:
Last time we robbed that guy in the dark back alley, took his wallet and beat him up so bad that he will be spending rest of his life in a wheelchair. In court we said we were out of money, lost our job and our wife left us. So we were under lot of stress and thus should be forgiven. And the judge says allright, in the light of all these extenuating circumstances my decision is: Not guilty.
What u think will be the result? Next time those lowlifes will kill their victim cuz, they have learned what are the new rules of the game. Can u blame them? They were told there's no need to behave responsibly, and they learned the lesson well.
This game teaches us to behave responsibly and think things through. Otherwise the consequences will be bad for u. This is a valuable lesson to learn and who knows, it might save u from much worse IRL. If so it has fulfilled it's highest purpose.
* * *
There's one old Jewish story about a poor widow and her two neighbors, the wicked one and the merciful one.
The widow was so poor she didn't have piece of bread to give her children.
So she went to her 1st neighbor, asked: Please, my children are starving can u give me a piece of bread?
But the wicked man said: Go away u worthless beggar and threw stones after her.
So she went to her 2nd neighbor, asked for piece of bread. That was a good man, he gave her bread and said kind words.
One day the wicked neighbor died. The widow was again out of bread and went to the good neighbor as usual.
This time the man said: I'm sorry I have no bread for you. See, this man who just died gave me bread every day so that I could give it to you.
I will not say what this story means. U will figure it out.