Why was Arthas wrong?

[Adamas102]

This is also similar to the Train Trolley question. To me, the right answer is the one that leads to the least suffering. Do you kill your friend (or the one person, depends on the version), or do you kill the five people on the other track? You kill your friend to save the five. Arthas was trying to kill the one (Stratholme) to save the five (everywhere else).

Well the reason the train trolley question kind of works is because it sets parameters where only two options are possible. The train is on tracks that it can't deviate from so there is no subtlety or nuance as to the two outcomes.

Arthas has a decent amount of information, more than Jaina and Uther for sure, but he isn't omnipotent to the point where he can narrow the scenario to only two outcomes. So no, I wouldn't really say they're all that similar.

I'd also argue that the Trolley Problem isn't about choosing the right answer. Both options are wrong and it's just a matter of reducing it to math rather than lives.

[FelPlague]

The point is you're projecting what you want onto other people who can make decisions for themselves which might not match your own. If you're the one acting on those decisions, as Arthas was, then you're robbing other people of their agency (and their lives).

It's pretty common mortality that it's better to have something die painlessly then to suffer
I hope to fuck you don't own pets if you think ethunising a dying pet is an evil thing.

[huth]

Well the reason the train trolley question kind of works is because it sets parameters where only two options are possible. The train is on tracks that it can't deviate from so there is no subtlety or nuance as to the two outcomes.

Arthas has a decent amount of information, more than Jaina and Uther for sure, but he isn't omnipotent to the point where he can narrow the scenario to only two outcomes. So no, I wouldn't really say they're all that similar.

I'd also argue that the Trolley Problem isn't about choosing the right answer. Both options are wrong and it's just a matter of reducing it to math rather than lives.

The whole point of the trolley problem is a situation where "right answer" simply isn't an option. Yet Arthas managed to find a way to make the situation worse by first creating bad blood with the engineers and then jumping the trolley out of the track and hitting all 6 people after he already ran over the one.

Semi-related because trolley problem: SMBC.

[Sableye]

one issue is how the events of stratholme have been portrayed. In WC3 its portrayed as him indiscriminately murdering everyone and burning their homes, with the cutscene later showing the piles of burning bodies. Uther shows up and obviously is extremely pissed. its not entirely clear how far the plague had spread at that point. In WoW though, its clear that literally the entire city was undead by the time the killing started, so no moral quandry

[Ninix]

He wasn't wrong at all. Uther was. I know it sounds awful, but it wasn't like they had a cure. It wasn't like they had a plan, or a way to combat this. The only way was to purge the city to save the rest.

Problem is he had no idea who was infected and who was safe in the city.

Wiping everyone out was probably not the best solution on an ethical stand-point. Even worst considering him, as the Prince, as their ruler-to-be.

[Adamas102]

It's pretty common mortality that it's better to have something die painlessly then to suffer
I hope to fuck you don't own pets if you think ethunising a dying pet is an evil thing.

No, it's not a common "morality" to make that decision for another person who is still capable of deciding for themselves. It's a selfish abuse of power, plain and simple.

Oh, and pets aren't people. Did I seriously have to say that? And YOU were telling ME to get over myself? Wtf...

[Ielenia]

That poster has also been trying to rationalize it by turning it into an equation. No, they don't think civilian lives have much weight if they're killed under the guise of "quick and painless". It's meant to a be a textbook example of the best intentions being used to excuse the unforgivable. As soon as you start weighing lives and make unilateral decisions for how people SHOULD die, you've stopped thinking of them as people.

Wrong. Everyone in Stratholme were going to die, regardless of action taken. There were no saving those who consumed the grain, and there was no way of knowing who ate it, and who did not. The only two options were: should they be given a quick, painless death, or let them suffer the turning to undeath, become mindless undead and kill those around them.

If you want to go by how it's presented in lore, it was the wrong move. Uther and Jaina made the right call, something backed up by other characters who were afforded more hindsight than those who were there.

No, it was definitely the right move. Arthas saw what the grain could do, how it acted and how fast it acted. You can make the argument that Arthas did not properly communicate the situation to Uther, but his decision was the right one. It's no different than having to amputate an arm to prevent an infection from spreading. Read on necrotizing fasciitis a little.

If you want to try and frame it in a more real world sense as other posters have then it was still the wrong move

No, it wasn't. Unless you're going to argue that the "moral, right move" would be to let those people turn and risk killing everyone in the city who hasn't turned. Arthas and the paladins were understaffed with no resources or time to do anything else.

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This was apparently not the case - it would seem mass genocide is a hot button issue for the wow community.

Unless Sylvanas does it. Then it's a-ok!

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Well the reason the train trolley question kind of works is because it sets parameters where only two options are possible. The train is on tracks that it can't deviate from so there is no subtlety or nuance as to the two outcomes.

Arthas has a decent amount of information, more than Jaina and Uther for sure, but he isn't omnipotent to the point where he can narrow the scenario to only two outcomes. So no, I wouldn't really say they're all that similar.

I'd also argue that the Trolley Problem isn't about choosing the right answer. Both options are wrong and it's just a matter of reducing it to math rather than lives.

Arthas knew enough:
• The grain was cursed.
• The victim shows no symptoms after consuming the grain.
• The grain can turn the victims into undead very quickly.
• The paladins with Uther were too few to properly figure out who ate the grain and who didn't in a sensible time limit.
• The paladins with Uther did not have the resources to properly quarantine the city and separate every man, woman, children and animal from each other in a sensible time limit.

The only two options left were: kill everyone to prevent the spread, or let them all suffer and turn into undead, and then spill over out of Stratholme in numbers the paladins were very ill-equipped to deal with.

And remember: in the olden days, grain was basically the basis of everything people ate that wasn't a fruit or vegetable.

[Adamas102]

Wrong. Everyone in Stratholme were going to die, regardless of action taken. There were no saving those who consumed the grain, and there was no way of knowing who ate it, and who did not. The only two options were: should they be given a quick, painless death, or let them suffer the turning to undeath, become mindless undead and kill those around them.

No, it was definitely the right move. Arthas saw what the grain could do, how it acted and how fast it acted. You can make the argument that Arthas did not properly communicate the situation to Uther, but his decision was the right one. It's no different than having to amputate an arm to prevent an infection from spreading. Read on necrotizing fasciitis a little.

No, it wasn't. Unless you're going to argue that the "moral, right move" would be to let those people turn and risk killing everyone in the city who hasn't turned. Arthas and the paladins were understaffed with no resources or time to do anything else.

Wrong. Arthas did not have the omnipotence to know that there were only two options (there were not), and he was also aware that his actions would involve killing innocent, uninfected people. His rationale was that they didn't have time to sort so they must all be killed. According to in game references, the orphanage was at least evacuated safely so there was indeed a way to save some instead of purging all.

There's a big difference between amputating a limb and executing a person, which again goes back to the point that apparently neither you not Felplague really think of these civilians as people. "It's no different than having to amputate an arm". Seriously, do you not see the issue with that way of thinking?

The right move would have been to help the people as best they could, and yes risk people turning in the process. Again, Arthas had enough forces at his command to kill thousands by going door to door across an entire city. He could have used those forces to instead save some, even if only a small portion. Saying "they were going to die anyway" isn't justification for taking it upon yourself to do the killing, even if you believe that for yourself that's the better way to go.

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The only two options left were: kill everyone to prevent the spread, or let them all suffer and turn into undead, and then spill over out of Stratholme in numbers the paladins were very ill-equipped to deal with.

He could have worked to secure small portions of the city with the forces he had. Evacuate and quarantine them, deal with the undead AS they turned in a more controlled environment. Even if it was just 1/10th of the population. Saved some instead of killing all.

And in the end, his actions didn't even result in a positive outcome. Many of the innocents he killed rose as scourge anyway, and the city was ultimately overrun. His example lead to other similar atrocities committed by former paladins. He didn't eradicate the plague or halt its spread. It was just the first step he took to devalue the lives of others in service of his own ends.

[AngerFork]

Arthas basically was hit with a real world version of the philosophical trolley problem. He could kill people and save them, but they'd die by his hand. He could leave them be, but they would be given a fate worse than death if he had not acted. There really wasn't enough time to find another solution to the issue, he's not in the FF universe where you can do tons of side quests before the plot advances. So was his choice wrong?

I think to determine whether he was right or wrong, you kind of have to look at it in a moral vs. logical light, between Arthas as a hero vs. Arthas as a ruler. Logically, there were no other good options. Ignoring the problem would guarantee the Scourge would run rampant, and there was no real way anyone would live. Purging the city there was probably the best thing to do for his people as well as the people of Azeroth. That's what a good ruler does, making tough & heartless decisions others might not be able to.

But it certainly wasn't heroic. Heroes often tend to find other ways to resolve impossible issues, though not all work as they should. A hero would try to find another way, barricading the town while looking for a cure or the like. Such an option wasn't available, but it's hard to see Thrall purging Orgrimmar in the same fashion were such a plague to befall the Horde. He'd still try to find a way, even if there was little to no chance of it happening.

That then is where I'd place it. I don't believe he was wrong, his choice was likely the best one there was. It was the choice a good ruler would make. But I don't believe he can be thought of as a hero after what he did in Stratholme.

[Ielenia]

Wrong. Arthas did not have the omnipotence to know that there were only two options (there were not),

Yes, there were only two options, and yes, he knew enough. And I've detailed that in the very same post you responded to.

There's a big difference between amputating a limb and executing a person, which again goes back to the point that apparently neither you not Felplague really think of these civilians as people. "It's no different than having to amputate an arm". Seriously, do you not see the issue with that way of thinking?

In which you are objectively and demonstrably wrong, yet you insist in that assertion. If we didn't care about people, we'd say there was a third option: lock all the exits and just set fire to the whole city and let them all die to the fire.

The right move would have been to help the people as best they could, and yes risk people turning in the process.

And the best way to help with the time and resources they had was to purge the city.

Again, Arthas had enough forces at his command to kill thousands by going door to door across an entire city. He could have used those forces to instead save some, even if only a small portion.

You love to say this: "save people", and yet you never say how they could save people considering those infected showed no sign or symptom of being cursed until right before they turned, and paladin magic was unable to cleanse them.

Saying "they were going to die anyway" isn't justification for taking it upon yourself to do the killing, even if you believe that for yourself that's the better way to go.

So your choice would be to condemn them into undeath, which they know is a torturous existence, and let those zombies go and kill those who weren't infected, therefore turning them into undead, and allowing them to become a massive army that those paladins were ill-equipped to deal with because they'd be massive outnumbered?

He could have worked to secure small portions of the city with the forces he had.

And then what? Watch from a vantage point as people turned and died?

Evacuate and quarantine them,

What's the point in evacuating and quarantining if they had no way to know who was infected and who was not?

deal with the undead AS they turned in a more controlled environment.

How would they do that if they did not have the time OR resources to build special quarantine areas to separate every woman, man, child and animal in the city?

Even if it was just 1/10th of the population. Saved some instead of killing all.

Save how? I'll repeat: they had no way to know who was infected and who was not.

And in the end, his actions didn't even result in a positive outcome. Many of the innocents he killed rose as scourge anyway, and the city was ultimately overrun.

At least Arthas TRIED to do something. Uther and Jaina literally just left.

His example lead to other similar atrocities committed by former paladins.

Such as....? Any examples?

He didn't eradicate the plague or halt its spread.

I'll repeat: at least he TRIED.

It was just the first step he took to devalue the lives of others in service of his own ends.

No, it wasn't. You're acting as if Arthas intended to "de-value the life of others".

[Adamas102]

/snip

Since all of this apparently lies on the position that the only two choices were kill everyone or abandon the city entirely, here is what I'd propose as a better solution.

1. Evacuate a portion of the population, enough that your soldiers can handle without being overwhelmed
2. A traveling military unit knows how to set up temporary camp so you allocate your forces between watch duty and construction of simple quarantine spaces
3. Separate the evacuated people into groups, small enough to be monitored by your soldiers
4. When the infected inevitably begin to turn, they're isolated enough to be dealt with before they can cause rampant destruction
5. Use the knowledge you have gathered to further break the groups down into low vs high risk

a. Even if the transformation is quick, the plague still takes a few days between consumption and transformation
b. The grain arrived from Andorhal X days ago, and it takes some time to distribute and put to use
c. Separate those who can confidently say they haven't eaten anything baked over the past X days
d. It's not perfect since it relies on memory and honesty, but it's a start and would help to separate out more manageable groups

6. By actually informing people of the situation, the quarantined can also assist with managing the spread, allowing the soldiers to evacuate more people

With this system Arthas would have likely kept the aid of Uther and his knights as well as Jaina. Yes, much of the city would have been lost, that part is a foregone conclusion. The difference is that this is action taken to save lives rather than indiscriminate murder under the guise of "a better fate" or "the greater good".

[Ielenia]

. Evacuate a portion of the population, enough that your soldiers can handle without being overwhelmed

And condemn everything outside of Stratholme since there was no way of knowing who was infected and who was not.

2. A traveling military unit knows how to set up temporary camp so you allocate your forces between watch duty and construction of simple quarantine spaces

Except there was nothing "simple" considering it was an entire city, and there was no way of knowing who was infected and who was not.

3. Separate the evacuated people into groups, small enough to be monitored by your soldiers

And they'd all still die because, again, there was no way of knowing who was infected and who was not.

4. When the infected inevitably begin to turn, they're isolated enough to be dealt with before they can cause rampant destruction

Except that is literally impossible to do considering there was no time whatsoever to construct quarantine spaces, especially big ones to contain an entire city, considering people were already turning soon after Arthas entered the city.

5. Use the knowledge you have gathered to further break the groups down into low vs high risk

Except there was no way of knowing who was infected and who was not, or who was "low risk" or "high risk". The simple fact they could have eaten the grain puts them at "high risk".

a. Even if the transformation is quick, the plague still takes a few days between consumption and transformation

And the people in Stratholme were already consuming it for a few days.

b. The grain arrived from Andorhal X days ago, and it takes some time to distribute and put to use

Considering the majority of the city turned, anyways, seems the plague acts faster than you claim it does.

c. Separate those who can confidently say they haven't eaten anything baked over the past X days

Except there was no way to "confidently" know that.

d. It's not perfect since it relies on memory and honesty, but it's a start and would help to separate out more manageable groups

A "start" that does more harm than good to the populace at large.

6. By actually informing people of the situation, the quarantined can also assist with managing the spread, allowing the soldiers to evacuate more people

Which means almost the entire population would have turned and/or died by the time the paladins managed to construct a makeshift quarantine space, making all that time wasted and moot, when the population could have at least been given a merciful death instead of suffering through undeath.

With this system Arthas would have likely kept the aid of Uther and his knights as well as Jaina.

Most likely dead by the undead of Stratholme overrunning the paladins and killing everything in sight without remorse.

[kaelix1]

I love how some people here try to 'brain storm' this to make sense their fantasy

Quarantine would have not to work because

People already start to turn by the time Arthas was there, he would have to fight the wave of undead and try to quarantine at the same time, to make it worst Malganis was there to make it harder for Arthas with each occasion he could, the simple fact is, he did not have the manpower and the time to deal with quarantine and fighting the undead in the same time, it was pretty much impossible to reach a proper conclusion who were infected or not, we have already seen in the campaign that fails the mission means getting overwhelmed by undead and get killed, blizzard made it obvious that killing everyone was the only option

Arthas should have try to pursue Uther/Jaina better BUT anyone that actually bother to read the novel would know Arthas state of mind at that point

[TheFirstOnes]

When you're someone like Uther, you're moreso a guy that wants to think about what should occur, or what you think is "right". What you don't do is act on emotion, or address the situation with force, which is exactly what Arthas did. Uther would probably have wanted to try and capture an undead, see if the Light could help cure it or some shit, then go from there. Arthas is kinda hotheaded, and acted on what was currently happening, rather than what COULD happen.

[kaelix1]

When you're someone like Uther, you're moreso a guy that wants to think about what should occur, or what you think is "right". What you don't do is act on emotion, or address the situation with force, which is exactly what Arthas did. Uther would probably have wanted to try and capture an undead, see if the Light could help cure it or some shit, then go from there. Arthas is kinda hotheaded, and acted on what was currently happening, rather than what COULD happen.

They already knew that the light does not work, if i remember correctly they only found a cure for that in WoTLK, years after that event

[huth]

Except there was no way to "confidently" know that.

You don't know if you've eaten fresh bread in the past week?

I'm starting to see the problem here. You can't see how such a plan could work, so you simply assume it can't. You're also ignoring that the game design limitations to scope apply not just to size, but also to time. Arthas certainly didn't put all of Stratholme to the torch in just 15 minutes. So saying "he didn't have enough time" is a non-starter as you can't actually know how much time he had available.
You're also treating this as a black or white situation; save everybody or nobody. They already had to comb the town anyway, inspecting the people and putting them in solitary when they haven't turned yet wouldn't have been to much more of an effort. It's not like they turned into super-juiced ghouls, they turned into relatively measly zombies. If everybody turned before you have the opportunity, to bad, but at least you actually made an effort to try.

Arthas instead didn't even consider alternative options and immediately wanted to put everybody to the sword, not even bothering to explain anything and demanding blind obedience from people not sworn to obey him.

[Adamas102]

And condemn everything outside of Stratholme since there was no way of knowing who was infected and who was not.

No, you're simply separating townsfolk outside the city walls, not letting them run rampant across the countryside.

Except there was nothing "simple" considering it was an entire city, and there was no way of knowing who was infected and who was not.

No, again (try to wrap your head around it this time) you're only dealing with a fraction of the population. "Simple" as in "makeshift". Even something as simple as having people sit on the grass in groups of X number of people.

And they'd all still die because, again, there was no way of knowing who was infected and who was not.

The whole plan is based around not knowing so stop fucking bolding it as if it's a novel aspect that hasn't been considered. You separate into manageable groups and deal with the ones that turn before they spread. It's established that not everyone turned at the same time and some people wouldn't have turned at all.

Except that is literally impossible to do considering there was no time whatsoever to construct quarantine spaces, especially big ones to contain an entire city, considering people were already turning soon after Arthas entered the city.

Jesus... NOT CONTAIN THE ENTIRE CITY. CONTAIN A SMALL PORTION. SMALL. PORTION. There was enough time to kill thousands spread out across an entire city, so there was enough time to separate and contain hundreds.

Except there was no way of knowing who was infected and who was not, or who was "low risk" or "high risk". The simple fact they could have eaten the grain puts them at "high risk".

Fuck, dude. It's like you WANT the excuse to murder thousands...

This is common, and fairly simple, practice for actual infectious outbreaks. Quarantine into manageable groups first and then break into smaller groups based on the parameters of the disease.

And the people in Stratholme were already consuming it for a few days.

Again, it's 100% backed up by in game lore that not everyone was infected.

Considering the majority of the city turned, anyways, seems the plague acts faster than you claim it does.

The majority wasn't turned from the initial infection. Some turned and were killed by Arthas and his men as ghouls, but most were killed as people. Many of those were then raised anyway after the fact, so the point was that purging the city didn't prevent a horde of undead from rising. Purging was a bad and ineffective solution.

Except there was no way to "confidently" know that.

Of course there is. The timeline isn't that long. It's not like asking someone "hey do you remember what you ate on this day 6 months ago?". As I stated very clearly, there is an issue with relying on memory and honesty (since some might lie if they know what's being asked of them), but the idea isn't to then let those people go gallivanting to another down. You break them into smaller groups of likely not infected (low risk) and likely infected (includes the ones who can't remember). You still keep them monitored.

A "start" that does more harm than good to the populace at large.

Impossible to say. You're just digging for reasons to take the easy path. We can say for sure that the populace at large suffered as a result of Arthas' actions. You can't say they would have suffered the same or more if he'd done differently.

He fractured his forces, abandoned his subjects in his quest for revenge, and led to more atrocities across other cities.

Which means almost the entire population would have turned and/or died by the time the paladins managed to construct a makeshift quarantine space, making all that time wasted and moot, when the population could have at least been given a merciful death instead of suffering through undeath.

Again, you can't for sure say they would all have died. Time spent saving some is not time wasted. On the other hand the time spent murdering everyone was time wasted since the outcome didn't really change. Everyone died and the dead rose again. It's not known as The Plaguelands for nothing.

Most likely dead by the undead of Stratholme overrunning the paladins and killing everything in sight without remorse.

Again, just digging for excuses to condone slaughter of innocent civilians.

[TheFirstOnes]

They already knew that the light does not work, if i remember correctly they only found a cure for that in WoTLK, years after that event

Wrath, yes. But to Uther, they still wanted to think of some way to cure the plague, whether it be a combined effort, etc. I'm not trying to say Uther was right or anything. I'm just trying to pin these 2 different mindsets together, and state why Arthas was both right and wrong on the situation.

[Gaidax]

Ultimately he gutted a ton of people that might have otherwise lived. He did it for the greater good or it was a lesser of 2 evils? Yeah, that's the line many crimes against humanity start with.

[Ielenia]

No, you're simply separating townsfolk outside the city walls, not letting them run rampant across the countryside.

Where and how? The paladins didn't have time or resources to build a quarantine section to keep EVERYONE isolated from each other.

No, again (try to wrap your head around it this time) you're only dealing with a fraction of the population. "Simple" as in "makeshift". Even something as simple as having people sit on the grass in groups of X number of people.

And then one of them turns suddenly and likely kills one or two innocents before it is put down? Very safe, much good procedure, this one.

The whole plan is based around not knowing so stop fucking bolding it

Then stop ignoring it, and I'll stop boldening it.

You separate into manageable groups and deal with the ones that turn before they spread.

And as I said above: then one of them turns suddenly and likely kills one or two innocents before it is put down.

Jesus... NOT CONTAIN THE ENTIRE CITY. CONTAIN A SMALL PORTION. SMALL. PORTION. There was enough time to kill thousands spread out across an entire city, so there was enough time to separate and contain hundreds.

Except there wasn't time. Any time lost separating the city not only meant people turning into ghouls (which by itself is a horrific fate on its own) but also meant said ghouls killing more people.

Fuck, dude. It's like you WANT the excuse to murder thousands...

This is common, and fairly simple, practice for actual infectious outbreaks. Quarantine into manageable groups first and then break into smaller groups based on the parameters of the disease.

Except they did not have the manpower, resources or time to do quarantine.

Again, it's 100% backed up by in game lore that not everyone was infected.

And that there was no way of knowing who got infected. And since grains in the basis of basically all food that is not fruit or vegetable, that meant at least the majority of the city was contaminated. We're not talking about a disease that takes a long time to incubate and the person remains ill for long periods of time. We're talking about a curse that quickly turns people into mindless undead.

The majority wasn't turned from the initial infection.

How do you know that, considering the facts above?

Of course there is. The timeline isn't that long. It's not like asking someone "hey do you remember what you ate on this day 6 months ago?". As I stated very clearly, there is an issue with relying on memory and honesty (since some might lie if they know what's being asked of them), but the idea isn't to then let those people go gallivanting to another down. You break them into smaller groups of likely not infected (low risk) and likely infected (includes the ones who can't remember). You still keep them monitored.

Except you're pressed for time considering that the curse acts rather rapidly, plus the fact that people would be panicking because of that, especially after the first people start turning. Do you think of one's mind to be trusted, or worse, their ability to reason, when one's mind is overtaken by panic and despair?

Impossible to say.

It is possible. I've explained why.

You're just digging for reasons to take the easy path.

I'm stating facts.

He fractured his forces, abandoned his subjects in his quest for revenge, and led to more atrocities across other cities.

Any other options would cause the plague of undeath to spread. I've explained that several times, already.

Again, you can't for sure say they would all have died.

Except we can. When you lock up defenseless people together with mindless, raging undead, there would be death, either way. Except instead of a quick, merciful death, instead it would be a horrendous death by being eaten by those mindless zombies.

Time spent saving some is not time wasted.

It is when you cannot save anyone. Again: there was no way of knowing who was infected and who was not. So more likely than not, you'd be "saving" an infected than a health person.

Again, just digging for excuses to condone slaughter of innocent civilians.

I'm sorry, I'm just stating the facts of the situation. I'm simply explained that this was the lesser of two evils.

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You don't know if you've eaten fresh bread in the past week?

Can you remember if you did or did not eat anything made of grains while going through intense panic because you've just been told that what awaits you is damning torture and "unlife" as a mindless undead, killing everything in sight, including your loved ones?

I'm starting to see the problem here. You can't see how such a plan could work, so you simply assume it can't. You're also ignoring that the game design limitations to scope apply not just to size, but also to time. Arthas certainly didn't put all of Stratholme to the torch in just 15 minutes. So saying "he didn't have enough time" is a non-starter as you can't actually know how much time he had available.

People already started to turn shortly after he entered Stratholme.

You're also treating this as a black or white situation; save everybody or nobody.

I'm not. Had you actually read what I wrote, you'd see that.

They already had to comb the town anyway, inspecting the people and putting them in solitary when they haven't turned yet wouldn't have been to much more of an effort.

How do you know, considering: a) the paladins weren't equipped for this; b) had nowhere to put the citizens; and c) using the city's jail or whatever meant actually going into the city amidst the undead.

It's not like they turned into super-juiced ghouls, they turned into relatively measly zombies. If everybody turned before you have the opportunity, to bad, but at least you actually made an effort to try.

You accuse me of "using game design" but here you are doing the same, are you not?

Arthas instead didn't even consider alternative options and immediately wanted to put everybody to the sword, not even bothering to explain anything and demanding blind obedience from people not sworn to obey him.

Considering people were already turning shortly after Arthas entered the city, properly explaining and convincing everyone meant everyone in the city would have turned, and the healthy ones dead by their own loved ones' bony hands.