[Beam]

Post is not that long krys. What you call blackmailing is part of the PBEM toolkit imo. And everybody has his/her own toolkit. There are micromanagers, blackmailers, sneakers, negotiaters etc. and combinations of those. If it is within common CDZ practice and the specific ruleset you agreed there isn't an issue.

War happiness is a well known feature in Civ and to an extend balancing war vs. peace decisions. But aren't we all looking to use these features to our advantage? This is a big part of gaming imo. No matter what ruleset you make, in-game or out-game.

My recommendation is to think creative how to handle the situation in your game with Stapel and also think how to avoid being caught with your pants down in the future.