Too Townie

Founded by Ibaesha and petroleumjelly.

"Too Townie" is an argument special to Mafia Scum: it falls under the category of WIFOM as it is often used in the context of:

• "You are so Pro-Town, you must be Scum".

Truth be told, the argument does not follow: it is just as (if not more) probable that people who act Pro-Town are in fact, Pro-Town. The argument itself carries no weight, since the same assertion can be made in the opposite manner:

• "You are so Scummy, you must be Pro-Town."

The statement is clearly contradictory, and without further evidence, cannot be considered a serious assertion.

We invite players to share their experiences of being attacked with this Logical Fallacy, to show exactly why it is, and always will be, a non-argument. Expect the both of Ibaesha and petroleumjelly to link directly to this page if the argument is employed against either of us. Players should not have to (nor be expected to) defend against being Pro-Town, so leave that argument at the door.

Edit by PJ on 07/29/2008: Please note that it is NOT a fallacy to claim somebody is trying to "appear" protown (especially if you can also demonstrate how there are likely sinister motives under an otherwise townish sounding post). What this is getting at are posts along the thought of "you look so town, you must be scum".

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• "I think that you, pj, are the most likely to be scum. You did get a bit of a free pass yesterday and like someone else mentioned, I thought you were pretty much guaranteed to get offed. The fact that you didn't really makes me suspicious of you. Plus you are directing the town and putting on a good show about searching for scum."
  • Logicticus (Townie) to petroleumjelly (Cop)
  • Newbie Game 206, Day 2, Post 232

• "My problem with PJ is I think he could very easily be playing an extremely convincing double-bluff. His posts do a great job of making the implication "I'm town". So, it's easy to overlook him as a serious candidate for being scum, without ever questioning his motives."
  • Dapperlookinghorse (Townie) to petroleumjelly (Doctor)
  • Newbie Game 224, Day 2, Post 249

• "And for gmk, explain votes? [... I voted] PJ, pretty much for being way too townie."
  • Atticus (Townie) to petroleumjelly (Townie)
  • Most Mountainousest, Mini Regular #319, Post 351

• It's like he has these bullet points of what townies are supposed to act like, but actual townspeople are totally different.
• To put it differently, when I read your posts, it's almost like I'm reading a list of things to say, do, and write as town.
  • Haterade (Mafia Roleblocker) to Kairyuu (Townie)
  • Newbie 661, Day 1, post 213 and 219

• EDIT by Servant Corps on 3/8/2009: This might be a lone example, but in my first Mafia game I played, I accused one person of being Pro-Townie, after said person stated to the effect, "Hey, I think you're not Scum!" I said, "You have no evidence that I am not Scum. I have not done anything to prove to you that I am not Scum. You trust me, but there is no logical reason for any Townie to trust me at all...unless you know that I am indeed not Mafia because you are Mafia and therefore is trying to gain my trust." So, I used this "fallacy" before, accusing somebody of being Pro-Townie. Said person turned out to be Scum. I guess I'm lucky.