Ok this votecount pretty much confirmed my running theory on current thread vibes and though this post will def get lost I recommend reading this one bc I think it’s noteworthy
In some ways I feel like this is a game of 2 factions in the thread itself. This is on the reads of a whole number of players, and is notably rather reflected in the EoD1 votecount which is cool because I wasn’t sure it would be.
I noted that, repeatedly, slots that I viewed as polarised were being said to be consensus or near consensus slots by players time and time again. Some players I consider this regarding are myself, pulsar, Hydro, a fairy, and, earlier in the game, AG and tiger. Additionally, players have frequently read members of the same “faction” alongside each other in the same way, and the most noteworthy / seemingly productive interactions have also happened within these factions.
The two factions are roughly:
realiti, Sam, Hydro, Zippy, skipper
Me, a fairy, pulsar, Blazade, Neon
In the middle:
AG, Ehmcee, Rostam, tiger
Obviously neither one of these are perfect factions, but both groups have been borrowing / agreeing with reads a lot and mostly townread one another while having their scumreads in the other group or from those in neither faction. It’s almost alliancey, though I feel this is one-sided with particularly the first group minus skipper placing greater value on the reads of the other members within that group. OTOH, the second group feels more like natural agreement, with exceptions (I think pulsar has believably been sheeping me, for instance). AG is the most curious case since he has mostly aligned with the top group but never absolutely, and has dished sus evenly between them though with me and pulsar susses always being the strongest for him — before switching onto skipper in the EoD votecount. I’d argue Ehmcee is mostly similar but the inverse, where the EoD vote doesn’t align with prior behaviour. I think tiger was mostly top group during D1 but has almost flipped by EoD and since.
My running theory is that mafia teams are probably 2 from one group and one neutral probably, and more rarely one from the other group or 3 from one group. This herd mentality is notable and prolific even if people haven’t been participating in it willingly — for instance I feel Blazade will oppose being grouped with the bottom group but he has more in common with that group in game opinions than the top by a lot — and I’m pretty sure it doesn’t happen unless the people who actually know they’re a team accidentally put a herd mentality in-thread which causes a counter-herd because of human nature.
How the indie slots into this is contingent on how good the mafia were at reading the indie D1 and vice versa so who knows