Apr 30th 2016, 1:41:43
Apparently my advice was miscontrued. Yes, tagging your countries is preferable, but it is simply one of the many steps it takes to play solo in this server. While not an exhaustive list, some advice would be to have,
1) A mainly defensive posture in most countries. If you set aside 1-3 countries for retals, that won't be looked up on as threatening. And by retals, I mean SS/PS retals for hits on your countries. Tagging your countries means that any country in the same clan can take the retal(s) on the country that hit you. Having little defense with lots of missiles makes most vets supsicious of your intentions. And take the retals smartly, when people lose land on a retal, they will quickly stop landgrabbing you.
2) Get on IRC somehow and actually talk to people. Like RL this game is about communication and who you know, so it is best to make friends. You will be surprised how a simple 15 in chat on IRC can let people know you are/aren't a crazy person. Trust is very important, it is hard to gain and easy to lose.
3) IF you intend to war, use the friends you made above to give them a hint of your plans. Build up enough trust and people will for the most part leave you alone.
I hope I didn't waste these past 10 minutes.