This is an excerpt from the "training materials" that I use in my
novice games:
Novice Tutorial #1 - Understanding Press
A complete treatment of press on the diplomacy judges in available in
the file "press" available from the judge with the get command - "get
press". This broadcast is intended to be an overview.
The most important thing to know about press is how to end it. Always
terminate press with the "endpress" and/or "signoff" commands. This is
important to avoid sending orders, press intended for other powers, or
even your password to the recipient of your press. There is no space in
endpress or signoff. You can send multiple press messages and orders in
one mail to the judge, but best practice is to split them up.
Also important is using the abbreviations *only* when sending press. At
one time "press to turkey" would send press not only to Turkey but also
Russia and England. The latest version of the judge, which USAK runs,
will return an error message instead of sending press when duplicate or
nonexistent powers are specified as recipients, but it may be possible
in variants or on other judges to send press to unintended recipients
when you spell out the name of the power.
You can specify powers to omit from a message instead of powers to send
a message to. Use "press to all but rtmo" if you want to spread a rumor
about the "Steam Roller" alliance, for example. The r and t are for
Russia and Turkey, m for Master (unless you want my attention on some
matter), and o for observer so that your press can't be read by using
the "history" command. Also, "press to all but o" is useful if you need
to direct something to all participants without airing 'dirty laundry'
in front of observers. I may not read broadcasts (and many GMs never
do), so using the "broadcast" command is not a good idea for matters
that require GM attention. I might reply to a broadcast, but you must
use the press command if you want to ensure that I read a post.
This and many other games support Grey (or anonymous) Press. To send an
anonymous message to Austria, for example, use "press to a grey". Note
that "grey" is spelled with an e. You will always be identified when
communicating with the GM. Send a test message to yourself before using
this feature to be sure that you understand it. The "grey" option also
works with broadcasts. Note that your email address will be revealeded
unless the game is anonymous.
It my observation that the more you send press to other powers, the more
likely you are to do well. Those who play press games as if they are No
Press get eliminated early...
Chris
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