My understanding is that it's more like being quiet while stuff you don't like is happening around you, then blowing up in a rage at something unrelated, or after it's too late to change anything.
In other words, passive at the wrong time, then aggressive at the wrong time.
As always, and this is the difficult bit to identify, INTENT is usually what causes the problems. Some people want open PvP to have fun and a challenge. Others seem to desire getting a negative reaction from others to somehow make them...happy (I don't understand the mentality myself so I could be wrong but happy is the best I can come up with). I hope anyone who engages in PvP does so for fun and a challenge but as you say, if people have another intent then it should and will be dealt with accordingly. I do worry about these types of people though.
Playing this game is a non violent form of pvp.
All of those things are legitimate strategies in War.Taking all of a tribes totem quest is a "Trade Embargo" Harvesting all their trees is simply the act of claiming enemy resources for your own, and building walls around your enemy is simply nullifying a potential threat. I'm sorry but pvp isn't restricted to player killing.
Well you have me wrong then if that is what you think I am. Not that I expect you to realise as you don't know me. While I have tried to remain general about things I have been accused of aiming things directly at people when I haven't and in your post above had a finger pointed directly at me. If by association you think anything is directed at you then I can't really take the blame for it.
Well strictly speaking PvP is whatever the game designers allow. If they don't allow it then no, those things are not PvP but seen as griefing.
If there is a way to grief someone, there should be an in-game measure to undo it. Someone digs holes around your tribe? You should be able to dig down and up through them, build a bridge over it, or fill it in.
Oh, and surly? Nice one. I relied on my faulty memory for the definition of mercantilism as a synonym for free market capitalism, and it's not.
You're real clever. Really.
Damn it.