Excalibur 2.0: Day Three

[Brickdoctor]

Is this a masked threat, we have to lynch to confirm information in the leau of night action results. We currently stand at 18 strong, even a strong scum team would have somewhere around 6 members (assuming there is only 1, which I'll discuss later), if we eliminate another townie and assume worst comes to worst then we'll be at 15 which is 9 vs 6 still savable and I should hope by that time we would have something a little more concrete then just purported theories instead of night action results.

Discuss the numbers all you want; it's still risky to lynch me just to confirm my information...particularly since I don't see anywhere you could go with that information whether you know it to be true or not. I originally presented it to explain why I didn't think it unusual for the Scum to have a Watcher and why I feared that the Scum might watch Campbell, and there's nothing anyone can do about that now. The information has fulfilled its purpose. It doesn't implicate anyone; it would appear that no one has contradicted it; since it's public information, I doubt that any Scum will slip up in some way that he is suspected based on the information; and you have no idea if the current Scum team has similar roles to the simulation Scum team, so you don't gain that much insight into their strength.

[Waterbrick Down]

Discuss the numbers all you want; it's still risky to lynch me just to confirm my information...particularly since I don't see anywhere you could go with that information whether you know it to be true or not. I originally presented it to explain why I didn't think it unusual for the Scum to have a Watcher and why I feared that the Scum might watch Campbell, and there's nothing anyone can do about that now. The information has fulfilled its purpose. It doesn't implicate anyone; it would appear that no one has contradicted it; since it's public information, I doubt that any Scum will slip up in some way that he is suspected based on the information; and you have no idea if the current Scum team has similar roles to the simulation Scum team, so you don't gain that much insight into their strength.

My reaction was more towards how you phrased the part about risky lynches. I know that all lynches have risks and that wrong ones can eventually lead to a town's downfall, but as we stand with what seems like little information, confirmation of whether these roles existed might have been a little bit of a step in the right direction. However I'm glad that you have explained the pro's and con's to this and I can agree with the point that was made ealier about how this info was revealed during when we worried about the vig being watched. If you were a scum and you had lied about the existence of a watcher in attempt to avoid Campbell's being vig killed because he was on the same team, I could see the benefit. As it stands however Campbell was not scum and thus you had no reason to lie about there being a watcher if you were scum and no cause to bring it up for that matter, so I guess it makes sense to me now.

[Rufus]

However I'm glad that you have explained the pro's and con's to this and I can agree with the point that was made ealier about how this info was revealed during when we worried about the vig being watched. If you were a scum and you had lied about the existence of a watcher in attempt to avoid Campbell's being vig killed because he was on the same team, I could see the benefit. As it stands however Campbell was not scum and thus you had no reason to lie about there being a watcher if you were scum and no cause to bring it up for that matter, so I guess it makes sense to me now.

The point is that it was to scum's advantage to keep Campbell alive for another day so that he would be an obvious lynch choice for today. That would stifle discussion and waste a day.

Besides, it would be silly to kill Mandel just so "we" could spread misinformation. How would we know that Mandel hadn't told someone in private how the scum team was organized in the simulation? We could easily get called out on the claim.

That's a fair point, but it would still be your first-hand information against someone else's second-hand info.

Also notice that I didn't just jump on the bandwagon - I actually wrote out a number of logical accusations against him! Hopefully you can see that my suspicion was genuine.

Yes, I noticed that. You kept on at Mandel tenaciously, despite the tide turning against Pewter. You even brushed off his accusation, accepting the 'joke' explanation immediately:

Looks like the Pewter issue is cleared up - it really was a joke! Earlier, I considered changing my vote to make sure we lynched today, but after seeing the full conversation, I don't feel comfortable voting for Pewter. My vote for Mandel still stands.

I don't know. But after making my original analysis I got a sudden flurry of PMs - some related, some not. Makes me think I might actually be on to something here.

Unless someone comes forward with hard facts, then whoever we lynch today will be a risk. It's a risk we have to take. Can we vote yet?

[Bob]

Vote away!

[Dragonator]

I would tend to agree that this is the only lead we seem to have at the moment. I also note that the responses to this line of questioning have been particularly interesting. For example, Ensign York was very quick to dismiss the line of reasoning against Lieutenant Commander Burbank, and instead attempted to redirect the conversation in an unrelated accusation as quickly as possible. Personally, unless something more pressing arises I think this is likely the best course of action for the day. If anything, it has certainly led to some interesting reactions that we can probably use to help us determine where to go from here.

[KotZ]

In response to Holloway, no I am not trying to lay low. As a researcher, I am observing everyone's reactions, seeing those who make lots of noise and who doesn't, such as myself, and see what that noise or silence contains. Also, can we consider that the scum voted differently, to possibly safeguard themselves so if one person voted for a loyalist, the other purists could make an argument of "oh, I'm innocent as I didn't vote for that guy" in a WIFOM argument?

Now if you want me to make noise...............

WAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH....... Ok, now that was a little excessive

[LEGOman273]

I would tend to agree that this is the only lead we seem to have at the moment. I also note that the responses to this line of questioning have been particularly interesting. For example, Ensign York was very quick to dismiss the line of reasoning against Lieutenant Commander Burbank, and instead attempted to redirect the conversation in an unrelated accusation as quickly as possible. Personally, unless something more pressing arises I think this is likely the best course of action for the day. If anything, it has certainly led to some interesting reactions that we can probably use to help us determine where to go from here.

Nice OMGUS.

As the only reason lynching Burbank came up was to confirm his information. I feel that lynching someone to confirm their information would be foolish. If we investigate him, it is a win-win situation: He is Town, and we can trust him. He is Scum, and we have our Day 4 lynch. I did not attempt to redirect the accusation; I simply was stating that there are Scummier people that would be better lynch candidates. I suspected you because you only posted spoke up once, and when you did, you only restated what others had said. [Metagame]Based on the fact that this is not your first Mafia game, this behavior points to Scum, rather than n00b.[/Metagame] The fact that in the face of a (rather light) accusation (one that could be averted be participating more) you accused/suggested voting for me. Good work, I now suspect you more.

FYI @All: This was his first post.

Interesting analysis Lt Daly, those science degrees must come in handy. I have to say you're one of the few people I feel is making some sense so far in our discussions, instead of making hollow and intentionally provocative accusations without really thinking about what has happened. I can tell you have put some thought into your conclusions. Particularly in regard to killing off Mandel early, this would make sense.

I think the analysis of the kills so far is where we are encountering the most difficulty. As has been noted, the Purists had no reason to take out Ensign Campbell, which would indicate that he was killed by the vigilante. This is also the most likely killer of Ensign Robbins. At this point I would urge us to be cautious of taking the night recordings at face value, as it has been constantly noted by our Admiral that the ship's normally exemplary security system has fallen in to some disrepair now that it is being handled by the amateurs he calls a crew. I would however say that, unless proved otherwise, we can probably assume that the killers will act consistently.

No need to worry, I'm still here.

Something that I forgot to mention: Excessive role-playing to cover a lack of substance.

To sum up: I accuse him, he OMGUSs me. He does not make any contribution to the discussion, only posting first to restate what others have, then to OMGUS me. I think that he is a suspect.

Note: This is not a reverse-OMGUS. I did not accuse him because he accused me, I already suspected him, and this (OMGUS) makes me suspect him more.

[Dragonator]

I can't actually see where I accused you Ensign, I merely noted a pattern of behaviour which I found suspicious considering the recent discussions surrounding Burbank. I also find your attempts to try and downplay my contributions rather curious, considering that was not in fact my first contribution to the day. Perhaps you need to pay a little more attention before you start trying to derail our current line of discussion? It was a pretty shallow attempt to ALATC me; I have spoken just as much as the majority of the rest of the crew. Usually quality is more useful to the loyalists than quantity, you might want to keep that in mind.

Anyways, back to the progress we have made today. As a quick summary before voting, we have discussed the composition of the scum team, particularly in relation to the alleged Fanon group, which I have already commented on. Our discussion of the security tapes has resulted in some suspicion towards Lieutenant Commander Burbank, firstly because of a pattern highlighted in the voting and subsequent death of Ensign Mandel, and secondly in relation to comments Burbank made when we were trying to determine who killed whom during the night.

We still have plenty of time left to further discuss these matters of course, so I see no reason to be hasty in voting.

[LEGOman273]

Something I just thought of:

A bit of a Metagame-y defence for Burbank:

The characters that were Scum in 1.0 are Town in 2.0; only I and Burbank have not been cleared. I am Town, so I doubt that Burbank would be the only person who is Scum in both 1.0 and 2.0. A bit weak and Metagame-y, but it is worth a thought.

I can't actually see where I accused you Ensign, I merely noted a pattern of behaviour which I found suspicious considering the recent discussions surrounding Burbank. I also find your attempts to try and downplay my contributions rather curious, considering that was not in fact my first contribution to the day. Perhaps you need to pay a little more attention before you start trying to derail our current line of discussion? It was a pretty shallow attempt to ALATC me; I have spoken just as much as the majority of the rest of the crew. Usually quality is more useful to the loyalists than quantity, you might want to keep that in mind.

Anyways, back to the progress we have made today. As a quick summary before voting, we have discussed the composition of the scum team, particularly in relation to the alleged Fanon group, which I have already commented on. Our discussion of the security tapes has resulted in some suspicion towards Lieutenant Commander Burbank, firstly because of a pattern highlighted in the voting and subsequent death of Ensign Mandel, and secondly in relation to comments Burbank made when we were trying to determine who killed whom during the night.

We still have plenty of time left to further discuss these matters of course, so I see no reason to be hasty in voting.

Sorry; I misunderstood you. I thought that you suggested that I am Scum. Rereading it, I see that I was wrong.

I simply thought that your post did not add anything to the discussion. I'm sorry for accusing you of an OMGUS when you didn't do it.

[Brickdoctor]

Something I just thought of:

A bit of a Metagame-y defence for Burbank:

The characters that were Scum in 1.0 are Town in 2.0; only I and Burbank have not been cleared. I am Town, so I doubt that Burbank would be the only person who is Scum in both 1.0 and 2.0. A bit weak and Metagame-y, but it is worth a thought.

You've got the characters and their players all mixed up. Burbank wasn't Scum in the simulation; I as a player was. York was Scum in the situation; you as a player didn't play.

[LEGOman273]

You've got the characters and their players all mixed up. Burbank wasn't Scum in the simulation; I as a player was. York was Scum in the situation; you as a player didn't play.

[Metagame] I should not play Mafia when tired! [/Metagame]

I think I'll be quiet, now.

[Tamamono]

Ok, after a helluva lot of gathering things up and double checking my facts, I think I have some important information for everyone. It has to do with what Hornby was talking about - a sting, so to speak.

Despite our differences early on, Falcon and I were able to work together a little bit during the end of yesterday, and he shared these PMs with me as Pewter was being lynched:

So, if you're Town and doomed to be lynched, why don't you conduct a Sting?

Pretend to be a second faction or a serial killer that can merge if you find the Purists. Post something in the thread like "OK, I'll admit. I'm a Scummy-scumbag. As I'm doomed, I thought I'd let you all know that we need to find the second faction in order to win. Someone on the Scum team, please contact me. If we hook up, you get an additional Night Action that I think will prove useful. Death to Townies!!"

Or something more subtle like PMing that to a bunch of people. I would go in on it with you. We could say you thought I was the second faction and PMed me and I'll say "Palathadric just PMed me and said he was part of the second faction and needs to find the Purists to merge and become more powerful." Then maybe the Purists will be more likely to contact you since it would seem less likely that you were trying to fool them.

What do you think?

Do you think this would work? Stupid question. Obviously you do. But it seems to me unlikely that there are two factions of scum, but I guess it's worth a try.

So yeah, I guess I do think it's a good idea. What do you think is the best way to go about this? Do you want to post it yourself? If you want me to write a fake PM to you, I can do so, I just need some details of what exactly to write.

At this point I am not entirely convinced that you are town, but I guess it's worth a shot.

Look Hinkley. I'll be frank with you. This is a shot in the dark for me, but I'm, pretty much, a dead man anyway, so it's worth a try, and I want a chance of winning this. From certain things I've noticed regarding you in the day thread, you seem to be scum to me. If you need me to elaborate I can, but I don't think that should be necessary. I am not scum, but (if you are) you should know that. I am however, a neutral faction whose goal is to align myself to the scum. If I do so my ability can be passed on to any member of your team, from what I understand of what Bob told me, and I will win despite me being killed. Please consider this with your scummy team mates, and if you're town...well, then I wish you die tonight.

^This is his attempt at writing that 'sting' message. As you can see, it's incredibly convincing - if I were scum and he had sent this to me, I defiantly would have tried to joint.

I should post it. It has the best chance of getting back to the Scum the right way. If you post it in the thread, they'll see it as a trap.

There doesn't need to be a second Scum team for it to work. It just needs to sound lucrative to the real Scum.

Say something like.

"Hinck, since it looks like I will be lynched, I may as well come clean. We are just a two-person second faction. We're called The Fanon. Not sure why. But our job is to find the other Scum team, and if we do we merge and they get an additional Action. Just to let you know what you're up against...or missing if you're a Purist. I've sent this to a couple people, hoping to connect with the Purists. Your constant "WIFOM" made me think that you could be as it looks like you're trying to undermine everyone's theories and confuse everyone. If you're not a Purist, well then I'm making the whole thing up. You can appreciate the position I'm in, I hope. I'm really trying to make the most out of the rest of the day since it looks like I'm doomed anyway. "

Then again, I'm having a bit of trouble believing that myself. But that's the general idea. Does it make sense?

Greetings Hinckley! Since it looks like I will be lynched, I may as well come clean. I am a member of a two-person neutral faction. We're called The Fanon, although I don't know why . Our job is to find the other Scum team, and if we do we merge and they get an additional night action. Just to let you know what you're up against...or missing if you're a Purist . I've sent this to a couple people, hoping to connect with the Purists. Your constant "WIFOM" made me think that you could be one of them, as it looks like you're trying to undermine everyone's theories and confuse everyone. If you're not a Purist, well then I'm making the whole thing up . I'm really trying to make the most out of the rest of the day since it looks like I'm doomed anyway either to die by lynch or tonight at the hands of the vig.

How's this? I edited it to make it more of my words...or whatever.

I'm sure this has been asked hundreds of times before, but what is WIFOM?

Also, do you think I should send it to more people besides you? If so, whom?

I just realized that the voting hasn't even opened yet. I had been deceived into thinking the day was already over.

So I guess I don't need to be in a huge hurry to get this thing finished.

The sooner the better actually. Gives us plenty of time to reverse it if we uncover a Scumbag.

10 hours later:

So...what are we waiting on? The lynch may happen sooner than I first thought.

Is there something I should still change? If I send it to others, whom should I send it to?

I'll send it when I get to work. I'll think about if you should send it to others. Maybe I'll leave that part out. Not sure yet. Just woke up.

Alright, I'm technically already lynched anyway, though, and I doubt Bob will keep the day up for much longer than necessary.

He said 36 hours, so we have plenty of time. He only logs in a couple times a day, so I'm sure he'll see there's something significant happening and hopefully keep it open long enough for us to learn something. I'm going forward with this now. I'll leave the line in there about sending it to a few people and you can just say I was the first. After seeing that I revealed you right away, you gave up on sending it to the others. This is somewhat convoluted, but worth a shot. This is a great move, if you're Town. Even though you're dying, it shows you're a real team player. I hope we catch a Scum one way or the other.

Honestly, I thought of an idea somewhat like this in the simulation, but never pulled it off as it was too risky.

You came up with this whole idea though. I'm just playing along. I do hope the scum buy it though, it would be great!

What should my response be to this? Should I be offended? Upset? Pleased?

Maybe just post "" and then disappear for a while.

Right.

Haven't gotten any replies as of yet.

Damn it. Everyone else is falling for it. Well, we have more than 24 hours left...

Although, in any case, I think there may be stuff to learn about certain folks reaction to this, although there hasn't been a whole lot of reaction as of yet.

I think Rufus is Scum. Maybe Scouts and darkdragon as well. Any reactions stand out to you so far?

Fhomess and I had been talking since the beginning of the game. He had an odd reaction by PM, although I'm pretty sure he's town:

You mean to tell me this whole Fanon thing is real? I'm not sure trying to tell people you were scum was the best way to go about meeting up.

This is a fairly harmless statement by Wilder - he's just giving Pewter some advice on his obvious ploy - that's fine. But what comes next is what really makes me paranoid:

Well, to be honest, I can't say I trust you either way. Who's to say you wouldn't rat me out if I was scum, and who's to say you're not just fishing for more info if I'm town?

First Wilder asks if he can trust Pewter "if he was scum". I've found that hypothetical situations like that are a good way of coming to a shared agreement without being too forward with things.

And this next bit is the icing on the cake:

I'm only dead in the morning, right? This in from Fhomess again, still nothing from anyone else besides Flare mocking me for being scum.

Well, I don't think you're the person I'm looking for anyway.

Also, if you are scum and you tell me, why would I rat you out? My only chance of winning would be if you win, so it would be stupid to do that.

There's just something that doesn't strike me as entirely safe about you, let me just put it that way.

It's things like, "the person I'm looking for", when in contrast, you also say you're looking for team scum. Is it one particular person you're looking for on the scum team that your team needs to kill to join forces, say the Godfather perhaps? Who all is involved here?

This is obvious fishing right here. He's trying to make sure what Pewter was 'looking for' matched up with what his team had. He had taken baby steps to a joint in the above messages, but this was his first bold step. It's obvious that Wilder is scum looking to joint with a 'neutral'.

So, Wilder, what do you have to say for yourself?

[KotZ]

I think that makes sense. A scum trying to work with neutral people could work. Now the problem is if the neutral goes along.

[Rufus]

Ok, after a helluva lot of gathering things up and double checking my facts, I think I have some important information for everyone. It has to do with what Hornby was talking about - a sting, so to speak.

I can buy this - it's a stronger case than mine, but there may be something to tie the two together. It looks like Wilder might be the way to go today.

I think that makes sense. A scum trying to work with neutral people could work. Now the problem is if the neutral goes along.

What?

[CMP]

Hmm. Daly's case is good, but this bit about Wilder is alarming. He, again, could've just been fishing for information for someone he assumed was scum, but the wording is worrisome to me. Excited to have 2 decent leads today, let's see where this one goes.

[LEGOman273]

[walloftext]

I, too, suspect Wilder. Though I began to suspect him before this, I feel that now is the best time to reveal this information:

Welcome to the game, LEGOman!

What's your take so far? Any interesting reads coming from outside the game to joining it?

Thanks!

Nothing yet.

And you? Any leads/subspace contacts?

I've spoken to a few people, but nothing of particular note has come up. Given how poorly the results of the first two days have gone, I'm suspecting some of the veterans who have been quieter without adding much to the game.

Fine before; now it becomes suspicious:

Just curious, but did you get to use your night action last night to clear anyone?

What makes you think that I have a Night Action?

A bit of fishing on my part. I didn't work:

Did you get to use your Night Action?

Sorry, something you said in thread made me think you were the town cop and that would've been a rather interesting claim based on something else I heard this afternoon.

To not answer your other question, maybe.

What did you hear?

I'm not prepared to say everything as it's all third hand, but I'm suspicious I'm being played by scum and it involves an investigative claim.

What did I say to make you think that I am the Cop?

The ask for someone to investigate Brickdoctor. Maybe you're just trying to protect him, though.

I asked because I thought that it would be better to investigate him than lynch him to confirm his information.

He now seems to want me to stop "protecting" Brickdoctor. This makes it seem more likely that Brickdoctor is not Scum.

Why do you think he's important enough to keep around? The only sure fire way to verify alignment is in death.

I simply do not want to waste another lynch. We have not found any Scum yet, and I'd rather not lose another Townie. The only reason lynching was suggested was to verify the information. That seems to be more of a Cop's job, than the job of the lynch. By the way, do you know who has any of the Power Roles?

I haven't received a response to the last PM (Wilder is asleep offline), and I don't think that I will now.

[/walloftext]

[fhomess]

I can confirm that the conversations that have been posted are accurate from what I was privy to. I didn't know anything about this sting of Falcon and Pewter's, so when I saw that Pewter was fishing for scum I figured I might be able to find who his partner was. There was nothing in Pewter's responses to make me think he wasn't genuine, and the best way to find out more information was to be coy about my intentions. I honestly think that if I was scum and had recieved a message like that in private that I'd have seriously considered taking him up on the offer.

You'll notice that I used the phrase "Who all is invovled here?" to try to get more info out of him. I'm not sure how knowing that would've helped me if I was scum. If I was scum, I'd have figured that out as soon as we joined.

He now seems to want me to stop "protecting" Brickdoctor. This makes it seem more likely that Brickdoctor is not Scum.

Why do you think he's important enough to keep around? The only sure fire way to verify alignment is in death.

I simply do not want to waste another lynch. We have not found any Scum yet, and I'd rather not lose another Townie. The only reason lynching was suggested was to verify the information. That seems to be more of a Cop's job, than the job of the lynch. By the way, do you know who has any of the Power Roles?

You asked for Burbank to be investigated rather than have us pursue the argument further, and then you jumped up to defend Burbank when I suggested that if you really thought he might be scummy that we should pursue the lynch. Your reaction has been nothing but defense of Burbank and I can't figure out where that defense is coming from.

I will not respond to that last question. If I know who has any PR's, then I surely am not going to share information with someone I suspected from the moment you argued for Burbank. I don't much care about Burbank, you could replace Burbank with anyone here. What I care about is why you were so quick to defend Burbank unsolicited.

[LEGOman273]

I can confirm that the conversations that have been posted are accurate from what I was privy to. I didn't know anything about this sting of Falcon and Pewter's, so when I saw that Pewter was fishing for scum I figured I might be able to find who his partner was. There was nothing in Pewter's responses to make me think he wasn't genuine, and the best way to find out more information was to be coy about my intentions. I honestly think that if I was scum and had recieved a message like that in private that I'd have seriously considered taking him up on the offer.

You'll notice that I used the phrase "Who all is invovled here?" to try to get more info out of him. I'm not sure how knowing that would've helped me if I was scum. If I was scum, I'd have figured that out as soon as we joined.

You asked for Burbank to be investigated rather than have us pursue the argument further, and then you jumped up to defend Burbank when I suggested that if you really thought he might be scummy that we should pursue the lynch. Your reaction has been nothing but defense of Burbank and I can't figure out where that defense is coming from.

I will not respond to that last question. If I know who has any PR's, then I surely am not going to share information with someone I suspected from the moment you argued for Burbank. I don't much care about Burbank, you could replace Burbank with anyone here. What I care about is why you were so quick to defend Burbank unsolicited.

I did not defend Burbank. I simply suggested that he should be investigated rather than lynched. I do not want to lynch Burbank and find him to be Town, when we can simply investigate him tonight and lynch someone Scummier.

I'm not sure why you cannot understand this. Either you are trying to make me suspect Burbank (if you are Scum, as I suspect that you are, and Burbank is Town, you would want him dead), or are trying to galvanize my "defence" of him (if both of you are Scum, you would want to protect a team-mate). I'm not really sure which. I still think that Burbank should be investigated, and that you may be a better lynch candidate, as a few others have begun to suspect you as well. (And you diserve the suspicion.)

[Brickdoctor]

I did not defend Burbank.

Yes, you did. You agreed with my defense when I said that it was too risky to lynch me just to confirm my information, and then you suggested that I be investigated instead, which is defending me from the lynch, since it's the obvious solution to try to confirm my information without lynching anyone.

I do not want to lynch Burbank and find him to be Town, when we can simply investigate him tonight and lynch someone Scummier.

That's hilarious. You say that you don't think that I'm Scummy, yet you insist that you're not defending me? If you think I'm not Scummy, the only Townie thing to do is to defend me.

[Scubacarrot]

Alrighty you pansies. Are we going to do something, or what?

I am going to vote for Wilder, while Daly's case against Doctor Burbank was an interesting read, it's not more than that. It relies on too many... if's, if you will. But luckily for us, there is another case before us. Yes, yes, I am talking about no one other than Wilder. Oh Engineer Wilder, you rascal you, trying to join up with who you though was the scummy-scummy Pewter.

NO, you are catched, man!

Uhm. Yes, I'm out of strong language.

I'll just vote now.

Vote: Matthew Wilder (fhomess)

[Fugazi]

I can't think of a good reason for the scum to kill Mandel - as he was already under suspicion, would it not have been better to leave him alive as another way to waste a day's lynch? At the risk of making the good Admiral cry, is it possible he was killed because he knew the inner workings of the scum team from the simulation? If this is so, it suggests a number of things about the scum team in this reality.

It's a compelling theory, and the more I think about it the more I like it. I initially thought that it would be risky for scum to lie about the parameters of the simulation -- as the v1.0 scum team might have privately discussed this with other crew members after the simulation was halted. On the other hand the Admiral advised discretion, and scum impersonators wouldn't know how the reboot would be structured -- and whether some of them would remain scum.

Something has been nagging at me for a while, so I want to throw it out there. Ensign Pewter was using the strangest method of finding the scum that I can imagine, going so far as to impersonate one to try to trick them into confessing, thinking they would be joining forces. It clearly didn't work, but why not? By the time Harriet exposed him, he almost had enough credibility to be believed, I know we certainly believed him and were sending him on his way to death. Why didn't the scum believe it? If they had, I'm sure one would have made contact at that point and tried to at least secure the other scum he claimed to be with, yet that doesn't appear to have happened. To me, that means one thing, something in his claim was impossible and revealed that he was lying. So let's review what he said ...

The weird part is that nothing there is that hard to believe, certainly not the kind of thing they should have known not to believe. Why didn't it work? Hell, if I'd received it, I would have been tempted to try playing along to learn who his ally was, so I'm even left to wonder why the loyalists who received it didn't try that. I'm glad they didn't, it would have confused things even more, but still...

One possible explanation is that someone among the scum was in on the plan from the very start. Ensigns Falcon and Pewter can't answer now, but perhaps Lt McAndrews knows who might have spoiled the sting.

Something I just thought of:

A bit of a Metagame-y defence for Burbank:

The characters that were Scum in 1.0 are Town in 2.0; only I and Burbank have not been cleared. I am Town, so I doubt that Burbank would be the only person who is Scum in both 1.0 and 2.0. A bit weak and Metagame-y, but it is worth a thought.

Statistically speaking, it's rather more likely that one scum character made it from v1.0 to 2.0, than zero, two or more (I'm assuming 5 scum members like in the simulation). But the Admiral could have decided that none of the original scum characters would get to play a similar role in the sequel, which would also make sense.

I didn't know anything about this sting of Falcon and Pewter's, so when I saw that Pewter was fishing for scum I figured I might be able to find who his partner was. There was nothing in Pewter's responses to make me think he wasn't genuine, and the best way to find out more information was to be coy about my intentions. I honestly think that if I was scum and had recieved a message like that in private that I'd have seriously considered taking him up on the offer.

I'm not sure how this hypothetical merging of two scum teams would have happened from a night action point of view -- but I presume that sending enough scummy 'vibes' to Ensign Pewter could have been enough for his side to target you and accomplish the merge. So you not 'taking him up on the offer' in so many words doesn't seem to me like proof that you weren't serious about it. On the other hand, I agree that asking about other members of Pewter's gang isn't something scum would have cared about so much. Quite the opposite actually, as it would have made them sound as townies fishing for information! So yeah, the case against you isn't clear cut.

[Shadows]

The Wilder situation is interesting. So are a couple of others right now. I can't add anything, so I won't confuse the discussion by speculating at this point, but I am interested to see where this goes.

You've got the characters and their players all mixed up. Burbank wasn't Scum in the simulation; I as a player was. York was Scum in the situation; you as a player didn't play.

I hope no one is using their role in the simulation to attempt to influence this real-life situation, it has no bearing on the matter and claims of that sort will set off my scumdar faster than someone flip(z)ing out.

[Scouty]

BOOP DOOP BOOPILY DOOP. Oh, sorry, I was entertaining the dead folks. I haven't lost my mind or anything like that .

Well, I'm not looking to be hasty this time around. So far, haste has made a lot of waste here...

[swils]

While haste does tend to make waste, I don't think that's really been our problem these last few days. Heck, we didn't lynch on day one (and if we had, it wouldn't have been a purist). Both our lynchee and #2 suspect had reasonable cases stacked up against them, and neither turned out to be a purist.

It's a shame that folks are so quick to hop on others for giving summaries or repeating. It's really not that far fetched that if someone is acting suspiciously, it will raise the same warning flag for multiple people. If they're not the first to bring it up, then they're almost better off just staying silent and casting an appropriate vote when the time comes. I mean, really, unless they're privy to further information with which they can build a case around, they'll likely just be accused of echoing the first person. They could expand upon their suspicions, writing out in greater detail what they find troubling, but again, unless they've got information that others don't have, someone will come along and accuse them of echoing, but with more fluff to cover up a lack of original thought. Being seen as a sheep would, in most cases, be far preferable to being seen as trying to act like a townie.

This makes me suspicious of Harper. All of this text, and no new ideas, insight, or suggestions; just repetition of what the others have said. It was mentioned (not sure who it was), and I have seen, that Harper has not spoken up much. This, coupled with the quote, makes me suspect him of being a Scum that is trying to fly under the RADAR evade the scanners.

Heck, this is practically hypocritical as it is. In his accusation of/reminder that Harper hasn't been very original, he (Who are you, by the way? Please, wear your nametag!) admits that this has already been pointed out before. And yet, it's this kind of accusation that stifles discussions. Sure, he could be a purist laying low, but he could also be just another crew member with only as much information as is publicly available in these proceedings. If (and assuming that) the latter is true, he just can't win with accusations like yours. He has nothing new to bring to the table, so he stays relatively silent, but his silence raises suspicion, so he voices his thoughts, but he's then back under fire for not having anything new or original to offer up.

You're not the only one making accusations like this, but you certainly could have picked a better target to make the case against. At least in this particular case, Harper actually offered an opinion/his thoughts, even if it wasn't original enough for your tastes. Why not go after Donna/King, for speaking up without really saying anything of use? Or me, for speaking up to clarify an acronym for Hornby, but not commenting on the situation at hand? At least there, you'd have something of a beginning case to work with. I know you eased off as of late and dropped the OMGUS call, but it seemed to me like you were making a real stretch for this accusation. Pressure is good, when applied properly.

In the absence of other information, I guess it's back to basics - looking at those who have been less than helpful in the days.

What, you mean there are folks among us who have been less helpful than those Loyalists who dug their own graves and may as well have pulled the triggers on themselves?

[Rufus]

Wilder's conversation with Pewter at first glance looks pretty damning, but if he's scum he's putting himself out quite a bit and taking a lot of risks. If anything, the conversation with <LEGOman's character> makes him look less suspicious.

He now seems to want me to stop "protecting" Brickdoctor. This makes it seem more likely that Brickdoctor is not Scum.

I'm very curious about what makes LEGOman so sure that Burbank is town. The argument that we should investigate someone tonight rather than lynching them today is a classic way to keep scum alive for another night, and raises the possibility of a godfather who may show up town in investigations. The insinuation is so alarming that Burbank himself immediately distanced himself from it, which I guess is a point in his favour.

The only firm(ish) conclusion I'd draw from the Wilder/LEGOman conversation is that it's unlikely that Wilder and Burbank are working together, given that Wilder seems in favour of a lynch. But LEGOman's insistence that Burbank isn't scum has certainly raised my eyebrows.