Agreed on all points and I can confirm the caveat.In post 15, Nicholas1024 wrote:The way I go about it is fun, it ensures you're a central figure in your tribe and the game, it cements you as a big name and a power player... but in some ways, that makes merge more difficult.
One thing I'd add is that the easiest way to seem trustworthy is to tell the truth. It sounds obvious or tautological, but speaking your mind about the game and the people in it (within reason) goes a long way in terms of people seeing you as someone to work with.
Also, "What do you think about the tribe" is a fine opener but actually expressing affirmative opinions one way or the other can be very beneficial, especially if it's an observation you might expect others to make, like "Oh X seems assertive" or "Y seems kind of nuts".
One other addendum to that would be to identify things that seem like you're opening up but that are safe to reveal, e.g. if you know X is targeting Y and X has told other people that, you can often reveal that to some third party and just the fact that you're looping them in makes them feel like you're a useful ally at a minimum. This has limited utility on its own but if you've built the foundation for a personal relationship, this is a good way to elevate a relationship from "oh, we like each other" to "we like each other and can work together".