Honestly, I've been waiting for this sort of discussion to come up. I tried to initiate discussion about it in the interest check - multiple times, actually - and it just sort of never happened. That's why I put up the comment I did in the last status update I just made, since this has been on my mind for a while now.

I'll respond to each point separately:

[list][*] Realistically, there's no such thing as a truly 'original' idea. Originality is more about taking something that already exists and doing something inventive [i]with[/i] it. Essentially, everything draws inspiration from something else -- there's basically no exception. While I know you did say it's not necessarily bad, I feel the need to bring this up because it seems to be a major problem with writers in this era -- everyone's so desperate to be original that they forget it's an egotistical illusion. I'm not saying [i]you[/i] are, but it's a common issue. Being creative is a good thing, but it's easy to be creative with a tried and true classic if you're a good writer. So while I agree the voting system could be potentially boring, it's not for this reason.[/list]
[list][*] This, alongside the previous point, is the only point that I don't find too relevant. I think it's just as easy to pull off something that isn't a classic; in fact, it's become a conformity in modern literature to take a classic idea, flip it upside down, and call that 'original'. It's pretty much as overdone - probably far more so, actually - as the classic now. It's gotten to the point that I actually often think it's more predictable to see a trope get subverted/inverted now than it is to see it played straight. Classic ideas are good if they're done well, in the same way that they're bad if they're done poorly. There is, with some exceptions (and these exceptions are all built around subjective bias - you have them, and I have them, because we all have them - so those exceptions are irrelevant), no such thing as a bad trope or cliché -- only a bad writer. You'd also have a difficult time finding an idea that hasn't been done a lot already, so I think how something's executed is more important. I don't want this discussion about the voting system to turn into a pointless debate about 'whether tropes are good or bad' though, so we'll move to the more important (in my eyes) points below now.[/list]
[list][*] It only technically plays off the idea of mob mentality if you're all pointing your fingers at someone randomly, instead of actually trying to work together to deduce a culprit (and the culprit is trying to mislead or frame you), which is what you guys will be doing with or without the voting system. With that said though, I can understand why the players would be dissatisfied with the results. This is one of the reasons I kept asking people to discuss the system, but it never really happened. At the very least, we never discussed it as a group. People just kept coming to me about it, which is why I asked you to post all of this in the OOC instead of PM. For the most part, we agree on most of the points you've presented, starting from this one down, but this is all meaningless unless the whole group can have their input. When I told [@Ailyn Evensen] a few days ago that I'd be posting this discussing into the OOC here, I actually made the joke that we're 'voting about whether or not to vote' (even if we're not really 'voting' here, it's still funny).[/list]
[list][*] I actually completely agree with the issue of the psychological elements being cheapened; in fact, this is my primary reason for actually being more in favour of removing the voting system than keeping it (I wouldn't keep bringing it up for discussion if I actually definitely wanted to keep it). My primary concern for removing it is that characters might starting dying too slowly, which would make it too easy for the protagonists to 'win'. I do, however, have several other systems in place that can kill the characters (this was made very clear in the opening post of the OOC -- the murderer concept is only a part of this role-play, not the whole thing). Actually, each time your guys manage to get closer to uncovering the truth by winning a 'level' of the 'game' (best terminology I can think of), the stakes will actually get higher and new mechanics are added. I've been planning on adapting [i]some[/i] of the new ones in on the fly, without planning them in advance.[/list]
[list][*] I'm in agreement with this point for the same reasons as the previous response I've given, and - just like the last point - my only concern was the possibility of the characters [i]not[/i] taking initiative. I'd like to hope that weeding out a murderer or traitor in your group would be enough incentive for your characters to take initiative, but would they kill them over it? Some of them might, but it's still a thought that crossed my mind during the months I've contemplated this. Bonaparte ultimately wouldn't set up a scenario he couldn't 'win'.[/list]
[list][*] Honestly, while I agree with you, I think an easier way to think of it is that your characters could still end up being responsible for murdering an innocent person -- the murderer could frame someone else for a murder they committed and get this person killed. Once again, my biggest concern with leaving the punishment of culprits entirely in the hands of the players, instead of forcing them to do it, was the concern that they might just refuse to do it entirely, which makes the game too easy for them. Bonaparte wouldn't make things easy for you. If we have ways to work around this, then there's no problem really.[/list]
Anything the system adds to the role-play was largely built around making sure it wasn't too easy for the protagonists to survive, but I've got other methods planned out that I've been keeping hidden from you guys (though if you read the OOC, and all the discussions we've had and hints I've made, it should be sort of apparent). Due to this, the system was never actually needed, and pretty much only existed due to being a breadcrumb left behind from the [url=http://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/152995-who-is-the-murderer-game/ooc]game[/url] [s]that's being shamelessly plugged here[/s] that this role-play was originally 'inspired' by. If people are generally in favour of removing it, I'm actually fine with that because I've been indifferent towards the system pretty much since the interest check. Me and Ed discussed an alternate version of it we could use, but it never really worked out.