Do alliances have to be proposed publicly?

[Esn]

The rules say:

Any form of collusion between opponents must be announced beforehand in the game chat, in English or in a language all players understand.

I understand that this means if I make an alliance with anyone, I have to publicly announce it in chat.

But does this also mean that I must propose it publicly as well? Or can I do it over PM?

I'm new here and I don't know the etiquette, but I recently proposed an alliance to someone over PM (telling him to respond in the game chat if he accepts it), and he told me "these things should be discussed publicly."

EDIT: I just found this thread. This makes things even more confusing!

[killmanic]

Its a subject of much debate but you can pm the person before to see if they are intrested and iorn out the exact terms, but you must tell everyone in the game before either one of you takes your next turn. Also in general it tends to be better to just ask in game chat, since then people cant claim it was a secret one.

[Herakilla]

you really have to ask for it publicly since it is no fun when some1 suddenly says "XXXXX and i have an alliance" common courtesy (and probably the rules) demand you ask for it publicly and when its agreed to you can discuss the details privately

[Esn]

Its a subject of much debate but you can pm the person before to see if they are intrested and iorn out the exact terms, but you must tell everyone in the game before either one of you takes your next turn.

I think that would be a sensible policy, if it were made official...

Also in general it tends to be better to just ask in game chat, since then people cant claim it was a secret one.

Yeah, but it also reveals your plan prematurely to everyone else.

See, in a real Risk game this isn't a problem, because you can propose an alliance to someone while you're taking your turn (or while they're taking theirs).

Here, though, you and the person you want to ally with will rarely be online at the same time. Proposing an alliance publicly while it's someone else's turn can be a serious strategic failure, I think.

ask for it publicly and when its agreed to you can discuss the details privately

See, I thought it might be more polite to do it the other way around; discussing the details privately seems very secretive.

Any form of collusion between opponents must be announced beforehand in the game chat

If "collusion" applies to proposing an alliance, surely it also applies just as much to the details of an alliance?

[owenshooter]

who knows.. twill said he was going to ask lackattack for the final word in that other thread, and he never came back to end the debate. i pm'd him asking if there was an official stance yet, and never heard back... sigh... i just don't do alliances, because i think they are crap in a standard game. and besides that sentiment, i mostly play team games with people i actually know on my side. anyway, a solid answer would be sweet.-0