The difference here is that IRL, they are still clearly in the room, and are reacting to the conversation, even if they’re not actively speaking. Online, we get nothing, not even a presence to notice.
Mislynches are bad for the town. They are sometimes unavoidable, sure, we nee to be relatively sure of ourselves. Spending a days lynch on someone for noncontribution isn’t a step to be taken lightly. We only get maybe 6-8 lynches here, and possibly less if we miss often.
Ah, but it’s not random. It’s based on a specific behavior, and one that scum often strive for. Yes, Docs do tend to keep a lower profile, to avoid being seen as a threat and nightkilled. But keeping a lower profile does not equal posting once per game day.
I have changed my mind about Ogre (for now).
I think JSexton doth protest too much. He is trying too hard to show that he is on the side of the town. I vote for JSexton.
Lynching somebody who’s only barely participating isn’t random, though. If someone like the doctor or the seer isn’t participating, the game suffers. It would suck if they were lynched accidentally the first day… but if the votes are swinging that way for a couple of days and they don’t show up to defend themselves, what are the odds that they’ll actually play their roles throughout the game?
Regardless, the first day’s lynch is going to be as close to random as it gets. We’ve got nothing to go on but what’s been posted (or not posted) here. It seems to me that lynching a lurker is as good a way to pick as any of our other options. Hell, I voted to lynch Menocchio based on a profile he put together six years ago, and I’m pretty sure Rev didn’t consider that in assigning roles. Is lynching a lurker any less random than that?
See? That wasn’t so hard. That’s why interaction is good, and silence is stagnation.
Let it be known that I’m going to vote to lynch the person who as contributed least to this thread when the vote is called. This is my way of dealing with not having enough info to lynch an actual bad guy yet. Should some of these lurkers suddenly start posting a lot more, I will revise my strategy.
Kythereia, Rysto, Richard Parker, and MadtheSwine, you’re on notice.
I suppose low post counts are as good a reason as any to choose a victim for these early round lynchings, but I think laziness (or strategy backfiring*) is just as likely. I’m hesitant to draw much of a conclusion from them. At least, not right away.
*After all, the Seer doesn’t have any info to give us yet, and the Guardian Angel and Masons want to hide from the werewolves.
If it’s strategy, that’s one thing. But if it’s laziness, that can kinda ruin the game for everyone, can’t it? I don’t know. I think I’ll probably get lynched before I can manage to vote for someone!
Well, since you all asked so nicely, here’s the state of things as I see them:
jsgoddess got the ball rolling with a bunch of unsubstantiated accusations. Of course, at that point, the townsfolk have no information whatsoever, so all the accusations are going to be unsubstantiated. Accusations fly between Rubystreak, jsgoddess, Mennochio and Enginerd. Then One and Only Wanderers steps up and delivers our first vote, accusing Captain Carrot. jsgoddess, Miller, Wanderers and Ogre continue to deliver accusations(but not votes), with a definite feeling against jsgoddess(who, at this point, has probably realized that calling out enough people to lynch her may not have been the wisest course). JSexton throws out a random vote for Miller. Miller starts the jsgoddess bandwagon, which Ogre and Mennochio promptly join. Wanderers opines that an early bandwagon can be indicative of werewolves jumping in to lynch a townie. hocow then came in and threw out a random vote at smiling bandit, who had yet to post. Captain Carrot retaliated for Wanderer’s vote by voting for him. Mennochio, like any good townie, has come up with some great strategies that the Werewolves could counter, if only they knew them. Wanderer then lets slip that this is his time playing this game. Suburban Plankton summarizes the first page, and mentions that Captain Carrot and Wanderer, among others, jumped right in with a vote. Captain Carrot assures us that he was only reliating to Wanderer’s accusation, while Wanderer says that he was just trying to get a dialogue going. Richard Parker comes in and starts the anti-bandwagon bandwagon by voting for Ogre
On the next page, Wanderer starts us off by trying to restart the jsgoddess bandwagon, solely in the interests of getting a dialogue going again. JSexton jumps on the anti-bandwagon bandwagon, but votes for Mennochio instead. Mennochio says that he voted for jsgoddess because one random vote is as good as another. Rubystreak and Wanderer have a discussion on why the voting pattern in the first day is so important. JSexton posts his first complaint about lurkers. Then I stepped in, suspicious of Wanderer trying to revive a flagging bandwagon, and voted for him. ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies threw out a random vote for Enginerd. Winston Smith jumps on the jsgoddess bandwagon. Enginerd throws out a vote for Mennochio. moonstarsun gets on the jsgoddess bandwagon. Suburban Plankton says that it’s suspicious that the normally talkative Kythereia has been so quiet, and votes for her. JSexton again says that something must be done about lurkers.
On the last page, Ogre decides he doesn’t like where the jsgoddess bandwagon is going, and removes his vote. A few hours later, Wanderer does the same, and votes for JSexton, saying that a lynch lurkers vote is a scum tell. JSexton, undeterred, maintains that it’s important. Richard Parker joins Wanderer and votes for JSexton. Rubystreak decides to lynch lurkers as well, while Mennochio isn’t so sure about it.
Some thoughts:
I liked the concept so much, I’ve been and gone and signed up for mafiascum.net. I have read through 4 or 5 games on there, so I have some of the lingo, if not the moves.
Deciding to lynch lurkers is a “scum tell.” Being a lurker is a scum tell. Throwing out obviously silly accusations is a scum tell. Jumping on the bandwagon too fast, in someone’s estimation, is a scum tell. What isn’t a scum tell?
Paranoia… or is everyone out to get us? 
Well, yeah, it’s all about paranoia. On that note, I’d like to point out that I ran a search on Kythereia, and she hasn’t posted anywhere on the SDMB for 5 days. This clearly indicates that she’s not only a werewolf, but a spy for the KGB. We don’t need any commie lycanthropes running around our nice town.
Richard Parker hasn’t posted much, it’s true, but he cast a vote, then changed it. We can decide about him later.
Huh. Well, what if she has a life outside the SDMB? Does that mean she’s definitely a werewolf or definitely not? Maybe it’s a scum tell! Yeah, that’s it.
Maybe she has a life, maybe something happened to her, maybe she’s lurking. In any case, she’s not playing. I think JSexton’s right - without body language to judge what someone’s silence means, we got nothing to go on. Also, I looked up MadTheSwine’s posts, and he has been active in other threads. So he’s being lurksome on purpose.
Of course, Revenant said he was going to cut lurkers that don’t speak up by Friday, so perhaps the rest of us can be suspicious of the rest of us, and leave the lurkers to their fate.
Damn, I wish I had seen this earlier.
Just poking my head in to say I am enjoying watching the events unfold…
Go ahead and lynch me, I don’t care.
Our electricity went out, and I was afraid I’d come back to find myself lynched. 'Cause that would suck.
Well, we don’t want to be too hasty, even if you are a bacon hating pagan witch.
Voting based on food preferences?
Well, now, the two aren’t necessarily mutually exclusive. Maybe everyone is out to get us because we’re paranoid? 
pokes MadtheSwine with a sharp stick to see if he’s still alive
pokes Rysto with the sharp stick for leaving her completely out of the recap
I’d like everyone to note that the stick was not made of silver.