First of all, I'll temporarily rescind my recommendation for soft claim village idiot, until such time that the town may think it a good idea to pursue it, though I think I should explain my thought processes concerning why I was suggesting it.
This portion should answer May's questions.
If all townies claim (thus proving they are not VI), then that means there are, at absolute max, 5 people that soft-claim VI, the 3 wolves, Ronike the Pied Piper, and the actual village idiot. This is assuming there actually is an idiot and a piper, and that, while nominally a stupid move, that all three wolves soft claim.
If 5 people soft-claim, then we win, flat out. We can have the VI come forward, and all the others are hoist by their own petard.
If 2, 3 or 4 come out then we have the possibility that no VI exists. In such a case, we can still ask the "VI" to come forward; if he/she doesn't, then we can just start lynching at will. Even with just 2 claims, if the VI comes forward, that's a 1 for 1 trade for what is essentially a vanilla. After all, the VI can still be NKed (even after coming forward, the way I'm reading it). This is what I meant by greatly increased chance of hitting scum.
The problem lies with a single claim. Personally, I thought that neither scum nor piper would dare soft-claim given the danger. But, it's possible that a single brazen wolf could try for it; in such case (a single soft-claim), then we can consider the case based on our own perceptions rather than something hard and certain. Just use it as a piece of information, rather than a clear. (Though honestly, I hadn't considered the possibility of single scum soft-claim. Thanks, Macman, for bringing that up.)
@McFox - To address the specific point you brought up, an outed VI (contrast with soft-claim VI) would be just as beneficial to scum as a dead one in that. Given the "scramble to lynch" that's so common here, or even the "we know who we'll lynch, but let's wait 10 ****ing days for some reason", any VI forced to claim would likely result in a RL. Definitely something I'd rather NOT deal with later. Also, there's the chance the VI might get killed randomly anyway. This would be especially problematic if the Witch was the one to do it. Finally, a soft-claim VI essentially acts as another life-potion, in a sense. By attracting the attention of the wolves to someone who is essentially just a vanilla anyway, we protect our PRs.
Also, I'll answer your question about my question later. I want to hear from Mentos about something first.
@Omis - The blue is not contradictory. The lack of activity enforcement in L4S created an ideal environment for scum. We literally just had to wait to win. Had we lynched, say, Mediocre and Frozen on Days 2 and 3, both townies, then the more active Ronike and Mayling would have most certainly outed at least me. And that's even assuming that I wasn't the lynchee, especially likely since I was the least active. Given the mechanics of the scenario, that would have given town at least 2 whole extra days, perhaps more based on whether it was D2 or D3.
Still @Omis - Concerning the plum, you suggested that my methods would stifle any activity police efforts by Ghebcus, at least when it concerned me. I pointed out that there are other people, who were inactive. I really don't see how that has anything to do with getting you off my back. If, at any point, you are dissatisfied with my level of activity, please say so.
@Omis's back as he turns to leave - About yellow-green, I'm hurt. Annoying? I'd prefer to think of it as endearing. Moreover, it can't really distract from points against me unless it's the only thing you're paying attention to that I'm posting. In which case, you (plural) are admitting to skimming. Not good if you're trying to levy an argument against someone. Further, it can't really increase my post count if it's part of another post, now can it?
unvote
vote Mentos
The vote is partially just a way to get Mentos's attention and make sure he reads this. It'll go right back to Cacti if he doesn't post more. Or Today, adding my vote to NOAWG's. Post.
@Mentos "It was a ploy" is the easiest way to say, "****, I didn't notice that." However, before I bring up my other point, I want to be sure of something. Why, exactly, was it so obvious that there were 3 wolves? Also, I'd prefer if only Mentos answered this, or at least that he did it first. Of course, I can't stop his scumbuddies from helping him, but whatev.