Generally speaking, most rulesets have a prod system in place. So it depends on the game. I'm usually fine with a player as long as they're checking in regularly and doing more than just constantly 'prod dodging'.
We are all provided wincons, so play to them. I don't expect town players to be expert scumhunters or scum to be master manipulators. Just do your best to help your team win. If you can get away with doing less, then it's okay to do less.
It depends on how much they've contributed to their team winning the game.
This is very subjective. Obviously, a town player who had good reads and helped drive scumlynches would be considered to have played well. But even if your reads aren't spectacular, it's okay as long as your teammates were still able to figure out your alignment and you weren't an active hindrance to lynching scum. But really, you should be trying to figure out who the scum are and lynching them.
For scum, this means doing what was needed for your team to win the game. How well did you fool or manipulate the town? How well did you capitalize on their mistakes? Were they able to lynch you? When you got lynched, how easy was it for them to figure out your partners? Ideally, you want players on the other side to say 'wow, I can't believe it was you' or 'wow, you really got me this game'. But if they're all playing poorly and you can get away with less and still win, then it's okay to do less.
I don't know how I would be able to make this distinction, and I don't particularly care. Real life comes first.
I've spent anywhere between 1 hour and 6 hours making a case or analyzing people's posts. But that's because I've had the time to spare and cared enough to do so.
Other players are not me.
Most rulesets have prod systems, and I pay attention to these. If a player is constantly having to 'prod dodge', then they probably shouldn't be in that game.
I generally look at the same criteria whenever I'm thinking about joining a game. As far as your questions are concerned, I look at the following:
-Who is the Moderator?
-Do they have a prod system in place?
What are the activity requirements?
-How mechanically complex does the setup look? Can I handle it? Can I handle other players not being able to handle it?
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Who are the other players that have signed up for this game?
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How much of my personal time can I commit to this game?
How much do I want to commit to this game?Absolutely. But the beauty of this site is that we don't have a universal ruleset for moderators and players outside of the side-wide rules that should always apply always.
So there is always the chance that a game will come along that will suit your needs as a player. Or you can request a someone to mod a game for you.
Personally, whenever I've felt like joining a game but didn't want to make a huge commitment, I've looked to join smaller games, such as those in the Micro or the Newbie queue. And people have already mentioned the Geriatric Ruleset.