Mafia Rules and Etiquette

[redbaron]

INTPforum Mafia Rules and Etiquette

These rules are an amalgamation of rules on other mafia forums as well as some things addressing trends that have occurred on this particular forum. These rules are intended to apply for all games and to serve as a sort of Quick Reference Guide for anyone running a game of mafia on this site. I wanted to make the rules as simple and INTPforum specific as possible, and written in a way that encourages fair and fun play for everyone involved.

Many thanks and also credit to Noah from twoplustwo, whoever made the FAQ at MafiaUniverse and also Mina from MafiaScum (site currently down, will update hyperlink when it returns). Their efforts have prevented me from having to write an entire guide myself. Thanks again.

Preface: any individual game moderators can alter or adapt rules to their liking

• While these rules are intended to be as universal as possible and available for all moderators to use, it is entirely up to individual game moderator's discretion as to how they want to run a game.
• If you disagree with how a particular moderator wishes to run their own game, simply don't join.
• If you join a game, you are expected to adhere the game moderator's rules and requests.

As long as the game is ongoing, you may talk about the game only inside the game thread. If you are not a player, you may use the spectator thread.

• Posting anything that could impact the outcome of an ongoing game outside the game thread is against the rules, and you should never mention ongoing games at all. Making a post outside the game thread that affects the balance of the game is a serious detriment to the integrity of the game. Remember that the game is "ongoing" until the game moderator posts in the game thread that it's over.
• It doesn't matter if you think it will affect the game or not.
• It doesn't matter if you're not a player in the game.
• It doesn't matter if you're posting it on another forum about this one.

Any game moderator is encouraged to take action as soon as they notice this behaviour. It warrants instant replacement and/or modkill. There is no wriggle room on this issue. Just don't do it. Spectator threads are provided for every game where you can mouth off to your heart's content. Use those.


You may post in the game thread only when it is DAY

• If night falls at 8pm, then posts at 8:00 are OK, and votes at that time count.
• You may neither post nor vote at :01, votes with that timestamp will not be counted, and the post will be counted as a foul. When game moderators make posts saying, ":00 Good :01 Bad", the numbers refer to the minutes past the hour at which votes and posts are legal and illegal.
• Accidental night posts occur from time to time, especially with the vagaries of clock synchronization, but you are expected to make an effort to avoid night posting.
• In games where Day ends at majority lynch, players may make posts to the effect of "MAJORITY NIGHT. DO NOT POST." when majority has been reached. No other posts may be made at this time. You may not post any other content in the post in which you announce majority lynch, unless your post itself is the one that contains the vote which creates majority. If you believe that majority lynch has been announced in error and the game mod is not present, you may make a post to challenge the announcement of majority, but no further game-related content should be posted until it is agreed that it is in fact still DAY.

You may post only when you are alive

• Some game mods allow players to make one farewell post after death. It cannot contain any form of game-related content and must have the first line as: *** DEAD ***. Check the rules for your game to see if it's allowed.

If you have a role which allows you to communicate outside the game thread, then you may do so only when allowed by your role, and only with individuals specified by your role

• In a vanilla game with standard mafia chat, mafia may communicate outside the thread during NIGHT only.
• In a vanilla game with 24 hour/day wolf chat, wolves may communicate outside the thread at all times.

You may not edit or delete posts in the game thread for any reason at any time. Don't hit the edit button ever.

• Not even to correct a typo or fix a broken BBcode tag.
• Editing post content or deleting a post creates an imbalance in information that is not intended to be part of the game, i.e if someone sees your pre-edited or pre-deleted post, and thus could create a serious problem with game integrity. This includes posts which were made illegally, such as those made at Night, posted in the wrong thread (non-players posting in the game thread as well as players posting game content in the wrong thread), posted with the wrong user account, etc.
• Editing will be a replaceable/mod-killable offence for all the above reasons.

You may not post screenshots of, or directly quote your role PM, cop reads peeks, or any other game-related communication that originated outside of the game thread

• Mafia is a game of interpreting information that is posted in the game thread. It is not intended that players can prove their role or their claims by introducing direct evidence that originated outside of the game thread. Players may share the basic mechanical information that is related to their role, powers, and other communication from the mod, but may not share any information about the communication which serves only to increase the credibility of the claim.
• You may not post screenshots or post any exact quotations from messages received from the game moderator or from other players (if you have a role which allows you to communicate privately with other players). This includes your role PM, cop read results, as well as any and all other communication. Any information that you wish to pass along must be put in your own words.
• You may not refer to the medium used to communicate with the mod or other players that you are allowed to chat with. Showing knowledge of which chat mediums are preferred by the mod or other players would give you an unfair advantage in convincing other players that you are being truthful. You should be careful to avoid making posts such as: "The mod PMed me last night and told me I got a new power." Many game mods communicate with the mafia team on Skype, so an innocent slip like this may unfairly cause people to think you are more likely to be a villager. Saying instead, "I was told..." will always avoid these problems.
• You may not question other players about the details of their outside communication in a way that could lead to violations of these rules. Questions should be limited to what information a player has, and not to the precise manner in which that information was conveyed to him.
• Are you about to post a message that has the word PM in it somewhere? Are you sure it's a legal post? There are some contexts where it's okay, but there are a lot where it's not.
• Posting fake screenshots, fake quotes, etc, will be treated the same as posting real ones.
• If you are uncertain about what you can post, consult first with the game moderator.

You are expected to participate if you sign up for the game

• At minimum you are expected to post at least once during each game day.
• The game mod may establish further rules for minimum participation. You are expected to follow them.
• Real life happens; if you need to stop playing a game PM the mod requesting a sub and stop posting in the thread. Do not post in the thread that you are requesting a sub.
• It is considered bad etiquette to sub out of a game for any reason other than a lack of sufficient time to participate, or as a result of a breach of game integrity. Doing so repeatedly may result in you being banned from playing mafia.

You are expected to behave civilly

Mafia is a game about lying and catching people lying. It's an adversarial game and arguments between players are normal and expected. Passion and intensity are fine but excessively personal attacks or insults are not. Even in a mafia game you must respect the forum rules about civility. Players are expected to abide by the spirit of this rule. Rude and obnoxious posts may not individually merit moderator intervention, but they are not tolerated as a pattern of behavior. If you are frequently involved in unpleasant encounters, the forum moderators will have a lower threshold for intervention, and you may receive a penalty based on a series of objectionable posts even if none of them individually are egregious.

Mafia is also a community and team-based game. While there are many styles and strategies and reasons for playing and you may choose your own, you are expected to be respectful of the time and energy others put in as players and as moderators. You are expected to play to win. Intentionally sabotaging your team, or choosing strategies with the sole purpose of trolling other players in the game is not allowed.

If you have problems getting along with other players, game moderators may choose to exclude you from their games. Game moderators may exclude any player for any reason, and have the full support of myself as moderator of this forum to exercise this right.


You are expected to be familiar with the rules, and you are expected to abide by them even if you think they are incorrect

• Ignorance is not a defense, although leeway and guidance will always be given to new players.
• If you think a rule is unfair or unbalances the game, you must still follow it. Discuss it privately with the game mod, and if necessary, bring it up for public discussion AFTER the game.
• If you have any questions about the rules or the setup of the game that you are in, ask them PRIVATELY to the game moderator. Game moderators should not respond to any questions posted in the game thread.
• Players are expected to abide by the spirit of all rules, not just the letter of the rules. Violating the spirit of the rules while abiding by the letter of the rules is called angleshooting and is not acceptable, and may be punished the same as cheating in some situations.

Note that all rules are subject to modification by game mods, and game mods may enforce rules at their discretion

• Always read the game moderator's posts. You are expected to adhere to their rules even if they are significantly different then the default rules. Game mods may choose to modkill or otherwise respond harshly to fouls even in cases where forum mods would not.

 

[Shapelog]

Feel like TL's Cheatlist should be shared.

Cheating:
Cheating includes (but is not limited to):
1. Posting after death. You may have one polite goodbye post, but it may not contain any potentially game-changing information.
2. Ruining the game by doing something like hand out your mafia's member list to the town.
3. Logging on to someone else's account to get their role or looking over someone's shoulder to get their role.
4. Comparing role PM times to determine roles.
5. Posting screenshots of your inbox.
6. Posting or sharing any PM you receive from a host.
7. Getting yourself modkilled to help your team. Your non-majority-decided death may not be used as a bargaining chip.
8. Signing up more than once using smurf accounts.
9. Betting items outside of the game in exchange for in-game benefits.
10. Sharing accounts with other players unless cleared by the host in advance. Otherwise, only you may post on your account.

 

[Black Rose]

If mafia RPG happens in a private thread I don't really know if I may even be in the spectator thread. I don't know the roles of mafia, I just know forum members personality from public posts. If they play roles I am just not able to comment because I don't know if I will get in trouble. I notice behaviors (play style) but not really in the context of what a role is trying to accomplish. Reading mafia game number 3 thread people seem exaggerate a serious and confrontational nature. So I don't know how we can have a spectator's thread if we can't comment of player behavior? That would be dead give away right? What exactly do you do in the spectator thread? I'm interested in talking to other people but I don't know what is safe to say? I only barely knew this subforum existed because of the latests posts refresh box on the main page.

 

[redbaron]

@Animekitty

The spectator thread is a private thread that players don't have access to. It's fine to say whatever you want in the spectator thread as it can't affect the ongoing game (no one in the game can see it).

 

[zerkalo]

@ak
In the spectator thread you can talk to spectators and whoever got lynched in the game. Yeah you're not supposed to comment on people's behaviours on the game thread while the game is still ongoing bc mafia could take advantage of an outsider's perspective or you could unknowingly breadcrumb town onto mafia. And you're right about seriousness, people might get a little aggressive or touchy or sth when put under pressure. Having been through it myself i can attest that being forced to continuously analyse new walls of text by others, fight off pressure/suspicion on you and try to convincingly case others gets pretty stressful
If you have something to say about peoples behaviour you can say it here i guess? I didnt even read this thread's OP lmao