So, you say that self-preservation is scummy...
So, to be town-like, I have to not be afraid of death, leading to my death and thus bringing mafia closer to winning?
I know that this is one of the more irritatingly confusing aspects of Mafia, but hear me out.
Townies should be unafraid of death. Your job is to find the scum and kill them, not run a massive campaign to keep yourself alive. If you're attacked, then you try to save yourself--but as-is, you want to be nightkilled. Being nightkilled is a good sign. It means you were dangerous. It's not like you're going to be doing a whole bunch of good alive and drawing all kinds of attention to yourself.
Being unafraid of death should not lead to your death unless you're being a total moron about it, in which case yes, you will get lynched and it will be a total waste of the day. Your job is to find scum. My job is to find scum, and part of that is figuring out if you're scum or not--laying traps, and so on. If you happen to fall in, that's
probably because you're scum. Don't be reckless, but
do be aggressive. You're preserving your own life over hunting scum, as though it's worth some ginormtastic amount (hint: it isn't).
Anyone who's played VT's as much as I have (curse you, RNG!) knows that you're really only worth as much as your voice and your vote. Look at me, for example--do I look like I'm trying to save my life above all else? Not really. I am, however, answering every accusation laid against me and being open with all pertinent information. There's a difference between throwing one's life away and playing in a manner that isn't obscenely self-preservational. You must protect yourself, but it shouldn't be the priority. The priority is to above all else find scum.
Additional: you seemed to have this amusing idea that you've broken me and shown me to be scum. A hint: NSBMI (Not-So-Beginner's Mafia) is, if I remember correctly, the only game where I've completely snapped. If you want to read up on my meta, that's a reasonable place to do it. Hell, I'll even tell you where to find my worst scumgames, if you like. They might be educational for you.
I think we have some bad memes around here. This is just one of them. Hopefully, the new blood, like myself, can throw some doubts on these old and stagnant ideas.
I'M GOING TO BECOME A PRINCE AND REVOLUTIONIZE THE WORLD!!!
</obscure Revolutionary Girl Utena reference>
</pink and frills>
In more seriousness, go ahead and try... but there's a reason why we play this way, and it's rather more new than "old and stagnant." If you think the right answer is to jump in here and WIFOM the town, lie out your ears, try to protect yourself from the nightkill, votehop, ignore others' advice under the usual "the old guard is stagnant and I know how to play better!" meme, sidestep questions that might possibly hurt you, and lay flimsy accusations on everyone that's attacking you until they've stopped jumping down your throat (hello, OMGUS)... well.
I'm sorry, but I can't exactly condone it. That's why I'm going to keep giving you lessons until you understand the complexity of the situation. There are situations in which each rule and strategy applies, but right now you really don't seem like you know what you're doing. Even if you think our playstyle is stupid, it might help to learn a little bit of it first. Know your enemy, and all that.
Just a thought.