Here is the thing about mafia (I can't speak concerning other forum games):
1. It is a time commitment. If you want to play mafia, you really want to be able to check in at least once a day to keep the game moving. It takes time to read back through the thread and know what is going on, so staying current is important for for the game. So there will be some poking if you join a game and then don't show up to post your thoughts. (however, if you know you will be gone for a certain period of time you can post in the
Vacation/Limited access thread so that way people know why you aren't around)
2. You need thick skin. People will accuse of lying, people will have outbursts of rage, people will post huge emotional appeals. Personally, the time of a game that I enjoy the most is when someone is building a case against me and I have to defend myself. Take everything with a grain of salt though. Its just a game, and its not personal. An important part of this is to read, understand, and sign the
civility pledge before playing any games of mafia.
3. It is a ton of fun. If you enjoy social deduction, theorizing about crazy game setups, reading between the lines to try and figure out who the mafia are, solving puzzles, and having fun with other people who happen to like Dominion; you will enjoy the game. You might get poked and prodded a bit as KingZog3 said, but give as good as you get and you will be fine. There are a
couple games open for sign-ups right now, so read over the setups, PM the moderators of those games if you have questions, join one, and have fun. If you are interested, you should at least try one game to see how you like it. You may end up finding that it is not for you. Or you may love it. (also, useful information regarding general mafia knowledge can be found at the
mafiascum wiki.)