You know...if you KNEW thatguy was mafia. or if you had an idea. and you did a cryptic message. Why not post a blanket pm that states thatguy is Mafia, and if I die that is the reason. You would have protected yourself and informed the townies.
You're an experienced player so you know should know it's never a good idea to reveal your identity to someone unless you know where that person's allegiance lies. Since I didn't know your role, I didn't want to come out and tell you who I was. I think we can agree it would be an even worse idea to send out multiple PMs because it would just increase the risk of accidentally revealing myself to a mafia member.
I decided the best course of action would be to lay some hints that--once I died and my role was revealed--would make the player go A-HA!, understand my prior messages and share his new found knowledge with the rest of the game. Take a step back and think about it.
1) I tell you I don't trust thatguy.
2) I die and it is revealed that I was the cop.
3) You know I had the opportunity to investigate someone before I died.
Wouldn't that make you think that perhaps my PM was saying more than what was written?
Besides, this is all a moot point because you decided to play the game how you felt like instead of by the rules.
Next time I'm mafia I'm going to pretend to be the cop and give up my teammates one by one each day. Why use the suggested roles when it's so much more fun to play by my own rules?
People play mafia the way they want to play, Vudu. While the mafia's goal is to kill all the townies, the townies have two goals: Kill the mafia and stay alive. Had Spak taken your "advice" he would have been killed, and he would have lost, regardless of a deal with me or not. Then he would have lost. What Spak did was ensure his survival, no matter what happened. The best part is, once he learned of a mafia player other than me, the first thing he did was tell everyone. That's the funny thing about it: He did reveal who two mafia members were, and he did survive as long as he wanted to.
Imagine this: Spak doesn't make the deal with me, and the townies win because of it, however, Spak's been killed by the mafia on day 2. Is Spak any better off? For Spak, the deal was the right way to play the game. It ensured that he would live until the end, giving him, as a townie, the best chance to win. The townie game is a balance between self and the group, and this round, Spak chose self. The mafia game is a group game, since all mafia wins if only one wins.
So, why did Spak send the message on day 2? Because he had already decided the game was over, and the mafia was going to win, that's why. At day 2, he only knew my identity, and if he decided to turn things, he'd die, and the mafia would likely win without the investigator. Spak and I talked it over, and we decided that the message would probably be the most fun thing we could do.
The issue about you being the cop and talking to Spak, then getting angry because he didn't play how you wanted is a moot point, because Spak wouldn't have played the way you wanted, anyways. Believe me, you can develop any master plan you wish, but unless you're there to see it through, it's not going to happen how you wish. Aside from that, Spak played the survival game on day one. He decided that he wouldn't survive unless he made that deal, which is one-half of his goals. His plan didn't involve the investigator announcing to only one person that a player is suspicious. You played the game wrong, according to Spak's plan. You're an experienced player, so you should know it's never a good idea to reveal your identity to someone unless you know where that person's allegiance lies. But you did, in a way, and it got you killed, and now you're whining about it.
Regardless, let's look at it this way: What's the point of leaving clues for the event that you die, Vudu? You won't win as a townie, anyways. Since that's not in your best interest, and actually greatly changed the game for you, wouldn't it be reasonable to conclude you, yourself, played the game wrong? You decided to play the game how you felt, instead of "by the rules" (in your language, not mine), and it made you lose on day one.
However, wait a minute...the rules don't prohibit deals. They don't prohibit townie-mafia alliances. They don't prohibit townie sacrifice, even though the sacrificed player gains nothing. Vudu, you're assuming the goal of the townies is to defeat the mafia. That is
a goal of the townies, yes, but the townies also each have the personal goal of survival. I know I'm being redundant, but if you believe Spak violated the rules of the game by looking out for his survival in exchange of striking down the mafia, then you violated the rules in an equal, but different manner by not looking out for your safety, and instead focusing only on striking down the mafia.
Maybe you don't understand what I'm saying, I don't know who will and who won't, but the idea with mafia is to do whatever you want to do that you believe will lead to your success, a victory for you. Some see survival as the main factor in victory, others see trying their hardest to make sure the townies win as the best chance of winning. The best players factor in both, when on the townie side. You didn't. Spak didn't. Plain and simple: If you believe Spak did something horrible, then you did something equally as horrible.