Attack the Person

Argumentum ad Hominem (or "Attack against the Man") is a attack on the person, rather than on their arguments. It brings in irrelevant personal information or arguments about the opponent, in an attempt to distract either the opponent or the audience. This often happens in mafia games. Instead of attacking an accuser's arguments, someone will attack the accuser instead. Note that while sometimes the player's personality/playstyle does come into account during a game, this logical fallacy is more about attacking features that may not have anything directly to do with game performance. Thus, lurking is an assailable behavior; being European is likely not.

Two Types of Argumentum ad Hominem

• Abusive: An attack on the character or other personal qualities of the opponent. An example: "I'm not going to listen to anything you say because you're stupid."
• Circumstantial: A claim that the person is only arguing a certain way because they stand to gain from it. Someone can only be saying something because they would gain from it, but the argument would continue to be valid whether they stand to gain from them or not. An example: "I'm not going to listen to anything you have to say, because you're only saying that so you can get money."