PTB's Guide Against Using Meta Game Reads
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    PTB's Guide Against Using Meta Game Reads

    What are "Meta Game Reads": Meta Game Reads are when a player uses another player's past games, roles, and past behavior to establish a case as to the role of a player in their ongoing game.

    Why it's an ineffective method:

    1. Relies heavily on "recall memory." Recalled memories are often distorted and biased based on who is remembering the event. Therefore, recalled memories are unreliable. Thus to provide accurate information, the player making the claim must provide the game in question, the players listening to the argument or defense are now required to go outside of the current game circumstances to use information that could or could not be reliable to the current game to make a determination. This behavior removes all debate and reasoning from the given circumstances of the game the players are in and requires circumstantial evidence from a previous game to prove or disprove claims. When as we should all know. Correlation =/= causality. Just because two events look similar or might be related, it does not inherently prove them true. Psychology Today Article on Unreliable Memory

    2. Variables: How a player acts from one game to the next has as little to do with their role assignment as it does with the weather. Players respond to the stimuli they are introduced to. So, for example, a player could have never played a town power role before, thus, their acting not confident or sketchy in a game could be due to being overwhelmed with a role they've not experienced before. This behavior could mirror a time when they were scum and acting in a similar manner. The two observations of behavior are accurate, but misapplied as the player is not the same role twice. What the meta reader is doing is simply taking how a person responds to stress, agitation, pressure, etc. and applying that behavior to roles to get an alignment read. However, this is ineffective because what you're doing is reading how the person behind the computer is reacting to stimuli, and not how they are fitting into the pieces of notable scum behavior. Whereas one looks at typical behaviors of people of a certain alignment, the other analysis is simply observing a person, and then making a judgment about their role as it fits in with how they acted with past roles. How a player acts or responds is also largely due to the other players in the game. Some players feed off of each other, and bring out facets of a persons personality not ordinarily observed. Also real life circumstances could have a factor, perhaps something bad happened, or the player didn't have a great day. Perhaps they didn't sleep well or broke up with their significant other. All of these factors could lead to the player having biological responses and or non responses that might mirror how they acted previously when they were a specific role. Again, correlation does not equal causation.

    3. Inherent Bias: Bias always comes into play when you are playing any sort of deception game. This is largely why the SC2 Mafia Mod allows the use of alternative names. If you play long enough with a player you begin to understand their play style to an extent. I.e. this entire guide. However, the player you are playing with is able to manipulate this. If I know that everyone knows I always provide a full multiquote / multitier'd read list by page three of every game I'm town, I'm going to provide that read list by page three as scum. By meta reading someone, you are taking the work out of the game. Player X always calls out everyone for y behavior whenever they're town. This game player X is doing that behavior, therefore, I remove player x from the suspect pool. Even if temporarily. Allowing for inherent bias to infect your reading of a game, you are opening yourself up to massive amounts of manipulation. Thus Meta Reading a player is rendered ineffective because the player has used your own methods into tricking you.

    4. Derails game: By arguing about someone's behavior, and past behavior in other games, you are essentially shutting down all conversation pertinent to the game at hand. Not only this, but you are allowing for the opportunity for the player you are accusing to misdirect the game as well. Whenever you speak about a player in the personal sense, it always offers the opportunity for the game to veer off track and out of what claims or arguments are provable. Because personality is such a hard thing to measure from game to game, using it as the basis of your argument does nothing to convince the other players in your game as to why your claim is true. Whenever you make an argument, it should always be rooted into the behavior of scum players, and it should never be rooted in the personality of the player. All meta readings are subjective. However, all scum tell reads are objective. The more objective arguments you can provide, which can be backed up by quotes and logical reasoning, the more easily and readily your claims will be accepted. However, once you "get into the weeds" with another player, it will only destroy your credibility, or make the person you are making the claims against look more credible.



    Players are encouraged to read Helz guide, should they wish to improve their play.
    Helz Guide

    Note: This is incomplete atm because I got tired and stopped being able to think. Let me know if you want me to ad something.
    Last edited by PowersThatBe; January 10th, 2019 at 09:45 PM.
    Quote Originally Posted by PowersThatBe View Post
    Shut up cow.
    Quote Originally Posted by Stealthbomber16 View Post
    Did you just fucking call him a cow?
    Quote Originally Posted by Stealthbomber16
    No, he played as well as he could. He had you right in the palm of his fucking hand all game and you STILL don’t get that. He played you like a fucking fiddle, and it was so obvious and it pains me that nobody else saw it.

 

 

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