I think the cesspool also leads to unintentional lurking, burnout, and confusion, which leaves a few players not nearly enjoying the game as much.
I'm not sure if I have statistics at hand, but I think the process can be overwhelming
, which in turn has become a tactic. Why even let scum play the game? Don't give them an inch, and the people who aren't as motivated (willing or not) can be figured out later.Despite it seemingly being proactive, I think this is lazy and affects the quality of town games
. It feels like the concept of winning has become at no matter the cost. This in turn works great for town if they're right, but I believe that depending on the current momentum, it can easily favor scum. It's great until the feeling wears off and you're seeing more green in the graveyard. Days feel more like events of participation as hyperposting dominates all thought processes. You don't need to outplay your opponents if they're never given a chance. People are often asserting themselves in ways that (hope to) demand respect, and it feels in some sense townies are always competing against each other to be the strongest asset.
The idea of relevancy and vying for thread control plays in part with the concept of hyperposting. This is a tired topic that is buried somewhere in this very subforum and I don't want to get much into it. I do however feel strongly about the diminishing returns.
I don't think this style is healthy for the game or the players.
Over-indulgence is simply bad for you all facets of life, so I'm not sure where it became tolerated. I think a lot of people still play Mafia (and here, as well) because it is a sense of familiarity, even with changes to the meta such as posting frequency. People are willing to undergo changes in order to maintain relevancy. I do the same thing too.I really would like see others discuss and observe this however. I think when the game is going on you start to forget these are people you're responding to. We all want to pretend our emotions don't seep into our arguments but
it has become more common to use emotional behavior as an advantage.
I don't mean this as a mechanic either. The mods have tried to do their best efforts to not longer promote toxic behavior, but I think people are relenting and finding ways to promote it either way. What I think is a cause of all these factors is the competitiveness of the game as well. I won't get too much into it but games are played more fiercely, and it's almost like the equivalent of modern matchmaking. We're given longer deadlines yet you hardly see days ever reach them. I believe that current town meta breeds a toxic environment for anyone who is not participating and I hope discussion can incite change.