i only learn about this fallacy after the fact however every1 else is just randomly quoting eachother and posting more stuff to be quoted then random voting i get to try and play right? or is this a members exclusive area wher eif you dont play the way every1 else plays you dont get to play?
I'm sorry, but I laughed so hard at that. Especially the "every[one] else is just randomly quoting each other and posting more stuff to be quoted then random voting" part.
What you described is not the situation at all. A "member's exclusive area [where if] you don't play the way every[one] else plays, you don't get to play"? No. It's just that if you don't make an effort, you can easily get "left behind" and become confused. Playing forum mafia can require a good chunk of effort and time to look back, study what everyone has said and done, and to make the best decision you can as to who to vote for.
But if you're serious (which I hope you aren't),
the Mafia Scum wiki should be quite useful. Browse it some, and if there's a term that someone uses that you don't understand (such as OMGUS, WIFOM, gambler's fallacy, or LYLO), search for it on there. It should be quite useful. This goes for major_sephiroth as well.
And for some info that I really shouldn't be spending my time on typing up: At the beginning of each game, we randomly vote to get people to talk, and to gauge their reactions. While sometimes not very effective, this part can be quite useful, particularly against newbies who are scum, though they'll usually just claim "n00bship". These votes are not likely to remain for long, as long as the person being voted for doesn't react weirdly. The votes are merely to put pressure on people to talk.
However, we have passed beyond that stage, and so we are now no longer voting at random. Now we are at the point where examining what people say and who they vote for is a necessity. Typically in mafia, people will often decline to lynch on the first day in favor of waiting for night so that townie power roles can gather useful information. However, this type of mafia (Web's Vote Mafia variety) lacks power roles who can gather information in the night, such as a common Cop role, so this strategy is done away with. It is more crucial to examine what people say and do in Vote Mafias than in most others.
This has made me realize that
Josh's Mafia Tutorial could probably really use more information on standard procedures and terms.
[Pre-Post Edit:] Like Josh just said, Diakron, you're going crazy when there's not a lot of real pressure on you. Going crazy just makes people more suspicious of you, which increases the pressure placed on you. But if you are
really feeling like you can't take the pressure, perhaps it would be best if Web got a replacement for you? =|