DISCLAIMER: Just because a player demonstrates one of the behaviors listed below, does not mean that he/she is definitely mafia. However, if the player demonstrates multiple of such listed behaviours, it is likely that the player is mafia.
Accuracy is defined as the probability that a player demonstrating such behavior turns out to be mafia, on the scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the most probable. The higher the accuracy, the more reliable the meta is.
Take note that I make distinctions between experienced and inexperienced players. This comparison is merely relative in nature and it is up to the scumhunter to determine which player is more experienced than the other.
Common Behaviours of Mafia/Town
Meta 1: Panic Attack (Accuracy: 1)
An inexperienced mafia. A mafia may tend to make spelling errors, typos and mix-ups more often because they are often uneasy about their situation and tend to falter in their typing when they over think.
A town. A town generally only makes typing mistakes after playing very long hours of the game, due to fatigue setting in.
Meta 2: Tunneling (Accuracy: 1)
As inexperienced player. A player may want to focus on one particular player to build up a strong case of of his/her scummy behavior, or as a reaction to being FOSed by that player.
Meta 3: Quick Voting (Accuracy: 2)
As inexperienced mafia. A mafia would want to vote quickly on an existing FOS to avoid any further scumhunt, by pressuring town to make a hasty decision. Also, in any situation where crossing or self-voting is necessary, mafia tend to be more willing and hence quicker to vote in a 50/50 situation.
As inexperienced town. A town may vote another player hastily without considering alternate possibilities due to his/her narrow vision about the situation.
Meta 4: Lurking (Accuracy: 2)
As experienced mafia. Mafia would want to lurk because this decreases his/her chances of slipping or being read as scum based on his/her reactions to situations.
As inexperienced player. Any player may be more inclined to lurk when he/she is unsure of what to say in his/her current circumstance.
Meta 5: Filler (Accuracy: 3)
As inexperienced mafia. A mafia may want to sound more vocal to look like he/she is contributing to the scumhunting process, when his/her words actually carry no weight, state the obvious, or repeats what a player said earlier.
As town. A town may feel like directing the game flow, just to show that he/she knows how to play the game.
Meta 6: Bandwagoning (Accuracy: 3)
As inexperienced mafia. Mafia would want to bandwagon on a FOS on a town so as to pressure the rest of the town to vote against him/her.
As inexperienced town. A town would be inclined to bandwagon on a FOS of any player if he/she is easily swayed by more vocal players in the game.
Meta 7: High Activity (Accuracy: 4)
As inexperienced mafia. A mafia would become very flustered or distressed when he/she comes under suspicion. He/She might become disproportionately defensive to the case of suspicion against him/her or overly wary of others mentioning his/her name.
As experienced mafia. A mafia would be very active in accusations and defense because most games are slightly town-sided, and it is up to the mafia to win themselves the game. Hence a mafia, would also try to direct the flow of the scumhunt and hence try to get townread.
As experienced town. A town may actively participate in the scumhunt, but not too excessively since he/she is more interested in judging the reactions of the players rather than putting his/her own case on the table.
Meta 8: Correlation (Accuracy: 4)
As inexperienced mafia. A mafia may want to back-up a fellow mafia when he/she is the target of an FOS, or conversely, may want to backstab that fellow mafia in the same situation. A more experienced mafia would be able to back his/her stand with better reasoning.
As experienced mafia. As mafia may want to seem disconnected with his/her fellow mafia and hence, would refrain from making any replies or remarks toward his/her mafia partner.
As inexperienced town. A town may find him/herself taking sides when he/she is very convinced of the alignment of any player in the game.
Meta 9: Advantageous Position (Accuracy: 5)
As inexperienced mafia. A mafia would try to take advantage of a situation where a town is coming under FOS, by voting with or by supporting the FOS with some reasoning.
As experienced mafia. A mafia would reduce his/her level of activity when a town is already under FOS, because he/she feels safe and secure in that current situation, and does not feel the need to extend the scum hunt.
Town generally does not take advantage of any situation, because they are the uninformed majority.
Meta 10: Inconsistency (Accuracy: 5)
As mafia. A mafia would demonstrate inconsistencies in his/her behavior, use of language or FOS when circumstances change as the game progresses. Mafia may go from being very talkative to being very quiet or vice-versa. Mafia may also go from acting dumb to making intelligent moves and vice-versa.
Town would never demonstrate inconsistency.
Principles of Scumhunting
Judge a player by his/her behaviour, not by the strength of his/her argument.
Always consider alternative possibilities, never set your initial FOS in stone.
Consider whether certain actions/reactions are natural given the situation.
Remember that all situations are possible, but think about which situation is more probable than the other.
