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Juror Guide's Definition of Spam
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Due to the moderation and rules that dictate what "spam" is considered to be, many viable strategies are extremely limited due to the fact that freedom of speech is extremely limited and restricted.
Many information gathering and manipulation tactics such as exclusion or claiming is impossible due to the spamming rule, which heavily cripples gameplays. Strategies that are time/message based are impossible, or the success is very limited due to the rule.
For example: As a suiciding member of the mafia, they claim Jailor Day 1, and then throughout Day 2, ask for roles. This is typically quicker when players are whispered for their roles. Eventually, the mafia will be executed by the real jailor, but they will be able to force the town to mass claim, and expose important roles such as retributionist, veteran, or vigilante. Though, this strategy is not fully reliable due to the fact that they cannot whisper to more than 4 players each day for their claims, and they only get one day to utilize this strategy. By removing the spam restriction, they are able to communicate with their mafia members, and still disguise it under the premise of asking for claims.
Another example: As a leading town, they claim Sheriff/Vigilante on Day 1, and then ask for roles throughout the rest of the game. Once again, it is likely they will be jailed. However, this is less of a problem, since they have more time to ask for roles. However, the spam restriction greatly slows town from progressing and asking for claims because it usually takes a whole day for everyone to coordinate a "VFR"(Vote For Role), whilst one very active player can get everyone to claim Day 2, but they aren't allowed to do so because of the spam rule.
In both examples, a very experienced player is unable to speed up the progress of the game due to this game-breaking rule. Although the rule is indeed necessary, it also has poor moderation. Since Town of Salem entirely revolves around information manipulation and communication, players should be allowed to do so more flexibly. Of course, the spamming role is in place to enforce true spammers and trolls. However, it disrupts to functions of regular and honest players.
To prevent actual spammers from stopping the game entirely, and to also allow players to act more flexibly, a compromise must be in place. One solution to both these issues is to add an "exception" to the rule. Such as allowing repeating messages IF they progress the game forward, and are not an obvious attempt at clogging up the chat.
In conclusion, the definition of spamming is too broad, and inflexible, which causes levels of gameplay to decrease, and either faction are unable to act quicker and play optimally. One way of solving this problem is to allow repeating messages that progress the game forward.
