Again again again, Jim beats me to the punch.
As you should be aware, there are two teams- town and scum. The town's goal is to find and lynch the scum. The scum's goal is to successfully masquerade as town long enough to win.
As town, your primary and only goal is to hunt scum. This is more important than everything else, including your survival. If the mafia is scared enough of you to kill you, you've done a good job and should take it as a compliment to your abilities. Do not fear death- fear not finding scum.
That said, how do you find scum? Question, question, question. Study people's motives. Look for people who are either insincere about finding scum or who seemed overly concerned with their survival and/or image. If someone says something that seems off or unusual to you, ask them about it! Examine the logic people use to reach their conclusions. If it's faulty, it could be a sign of scum trying to mislead.
Look also for people who are not truly scum hunting, but just trying to pretend like they are. That is a big warning sign.
Don't read too much into who was chosen to be killed at night. You can never be sure why the scum team picked that person, so trying to find scum by who they killed will only lead you in circles.
Finally, have fun! It's a game- you should enjoy yourself!
Everything above is given to you as a completely impartial person who wants you to learn how to play and become skilled in the game. I'm here to teach, but I am also a player. Remember, it is possible for the ICs to be scum. By the same token, we are most concerned about you becoming good players here- we will not mislead you with bad advice if either of us are scum. Our playing advice is in 100% good faith, but you should still study our arguments to see if they hold water.
One piece of advice to the scum team: The best way for you to win is to make everyone think you're town. Do that by hunting scum just as you would if you were town. I find it best as scum to not think about your alignment while reading the thread for scummy behavior. Don't be afraid to hound your partner if he does something scummy.
Final word: How someone answers a question is as important as the answer itself. Did they react like they were hiding something? Did the question unnerve them?
Final final word: Stay active! If you don't participate regularly (A good minimum is one content-laden post per RL day- more during important times), then you're not going to figure things out. Plus, if you're not going to participate, why sign up in the first place? I'll assume that this won't be a problem, and say nothing further on the matter unless needed.
[And brackets are me explaining my actions in IC mode.]
[Generally, we start games here by picking someone, voting them, and asking them a question. You don't have to do it, but it's customary. This serves as a starting point to discussion.]
Shark: What do you hope to get out of this game? If you could pick one of the four possible power roles (Cop, Doctor, Godfather, or Roleblocker), which would you pick? Why?
[One thing to remember is that if you are asked a question, you should always explain why your answer is so- assume that the asker put a "Why?" at the end of the question like I did above.]
Caz: What is your experience with the game? Have you read any games on this board?
[This is mostly so I can read him better, as all RVS questions should be.]
If you have any questions for us ICs, ask away.
A couple more points: I saw a reference to statistics earlier. That is not going to help you find scum, so don't even bother with it. Also, Dsarker and ShoesandHats, if you do not ask a question or provide a reason with your vote, it's meaningless.