I think the diplomacy card needs to be changed. It should last half as long and get twice as often. You only get it once in a game, and 6 turns is WAY too long in this FFA.
True but you can also receive a diplo when with just 3 players left and other 2 will go fight each other so you can take them down easily.
Watch my game in tournament Seahawks posted on previous page
Of course it matters, that is not the point. I think that is stupid to force someone to play who does not want to, especially with the short boot window and the auto opt in for the ladder from last season. Why do we care about balance on surrenders, but not boots?
Boots will become rarer as the season goes on (as you are matched against players closer to you in the ladder) so boots won't become too much of a problem. If a player wants to get booted (if their surrender isn't accepted) then they will wait however long; a shorter boot time won't change this.