As some of you may or may not be aware, recently the implementation of additional research by the town hall now gives us the option to see how active Crew Leaders and their hands are in this world of ours. (News & Info > Crews > Click Closed/Open)

Now this give us as Mobsters of this world a brilliant insight into how active those that are calling the shots actually are. After all a recent trend in what seems like most of those speakers going for Staten Island is how busy and productive they'll be with their time, always available and always approachable. Which seems fair enough, you wouldn't want an inactive crew leader or you'll never see your promotions and they'll never recognise the hard work you do for the family. 

So what do you guys think with regards to your Crew Leaders activity? Naturally I have nothing to worry about, I don't even need to check the records to know how active Cantillon is, I see it pretty much every time I leave my house. But for those that aren't as fortunate, perhaps your leaders are Obscenely, Extremely or just Low. Does it bother you? Do you think your crewleader has to be super active to protect you guys and get themselves as strong as possible. After all everyone knows you're only as strong as your leader and that's why you send up the donations. Also do you think it's fair that they should have their activity on display like that whilst yours isn't shown to the wider world? I'm interested in your thoughts, so I'll just be sat over here. I'd probably guess that those with less then active Crew Leaders won't be inclined to say much here in public, it is foolish to bite the hand that feeds you, but I hope you can answer a few of my questions if not them all. 

Sits on the bench and pulls out his newspaper whilst he waits for people to throw in their 2 cents. 

Zinner listens to what Desmand says and thinks about it. 

I think it is very important that the CLs are active and shows you that they are around and that they are available for you. I am as you and do not need to check my CLs activity since I see him all the time and can reach him whenever I need. I have also noticed that he does reply almost immediately when I need him. And the same with his hands. On the question if it is important if the leader is super active I don't really know. I mean I do think they need to be close and see what everyone is up to and make sure everyone has it well. For me it is important that the CLs are available because sometime I might have a really difficult problem or as such and I need them. And in that case my CL is really great. He is always there and it is at very few times that I have not seen him online, and at those times it has only been for a very short while.

However on that subject if it is fair that you can see their activity and that yours isn't showing like theirs I might think it is kind of fair. I mean. Maybe it isn't fair that every one else in the entire world is allowed to see the other CLs activity, but I think it is good that you can see your own CLs. I mean. I know you can see if they are online on the 60 second list, but when you are not a CL you might not always be around like your CL should and it might give you a sense of comfort if you can see that your CL has been online alot. You might feel a little more safe when your CL is around. At least then you know that if something might happen he or she is there and can help you. 

I completely agree with you. I would much rather work for an active leader than one that is never there. My leader ToyArmadillo is one of those you speak of. He is active, hard working and strong. He speaks his mind and stands for it. He listens to what everyone else has to say and takes it in and he might not always think the same, but he does let you speak your mind and you don't feel scared to say what you wanna say and think different. 

Oh working for one of those must have been awful. I don't think I could do it. I need to feel that my leader is strong and does help and show him- or herself. If the leader just sits in his HQ it doesn't matter how fortified the HQ is.. Your crew will break on its own. 

I think there is a small amount of oversimplification and assumption in the previous speakers, here. A common theme that comes up often is the archetypal mute leader who 'just sits in his HQ'. This will not doubt be something of a controversial statement to make, but I don't believe this on it's own constitutes a bad leader, or one for whom I wouldn't wish to work.

My bloodline has a solid bond with another bloodline around these parts - a bloodline which boasted of two Godfathers back in the days when Godfathers took charge of entire cities. To say these Godfathers were introverted would be an understatement; they were quiet to the point that their Right Hand Men (my ancestors) used to be the mouthpiece of the city, making auth announcements and suchlike. Nevertheless, this man's bloodline could inspire loyalty - the cities his bloodline led were amongst the most united my own family line has ever worked in. His ability to truly connect with his members was unparalleled and even now, nearly half a decade on, I keep in touch with the descendants of those who shared his HQ and they speak fondly of their bloodline's time.

What I am trying to say is that it is an absolute disservice to consider a quiet CL to be one with no morals; or that to speak in the streets means to stand for one's beliefs.

It is too easy to sit in your headquarters all day and night, the real work comes from being vocal and taking a stand on things. The fact that more people don't do it bothers me to no end.

An oft repeated statement from Ragnarok, I would actually go as far as to say the opposite is true. The real work comes from sitting in your HQ - being vocal in the streets is merely an advantage as a Leader in my experience, certainly not a priority. Sometimes, I have limited time to spend attending to business; in such times I make sure to get my face out around my district. To pop into the coffeeshops and say hello, or to exchange pleasantries about, I don't know, the weather with a Wise Guy in Philli's crew. These are the basics, street presence should only be attended to after this; otherwise you are trying to build a roof before the foundations. To see a leader performing admirably in the streets is certainly a bonus for any mobster - it is a great example, an inspiration and also a source of pride - but if all a member knows of their leader is from what they've seen him say in the streets, rather than their personal conversations with him, I'd say that Leader has his priorities mixed up.

Let's get into perspectives, and I will offer my own experience as a Godfather. To return to what I said earlier, using one's time well is absolutely essential. My recent activity being 'average' speaks of a Godfather with no great commitment; but the truth is rarely so simple - I use my time well and there is rarely, if ever, a time where I am pounding the sidewalk just idling time away before the next petty. When I can only dedicate a certain amount of time (especially in this time of year building up to Christmas!) my day follows a predictable pattern. I speak to the active members of my district about business. If there is something going on on my turf that I don't know about, I have failed in the most basic of my duties. Once any urgent business is attended to, I can maybe free up a little time to wander the streets and hear the latest speakers - even if I don't have time to reply. Couple this with a couple of drug runs and a few crimes whilst generally shooting the shit with the guys in the West Side and you've got yourself a pretty efficient use of time.

What I would also urge you to consider, and please don't take this as a grumble because we invite it upon ourselves, is the unaccountable work that the Crewleaders and Godfathers take on outside the districts in which we live. Sometimes there are meetings in the coffeshops so intense and and time-consuming that people haven't seen you for hours and think you've fallen asleep in there. There are the messages that wake you up in the middle of the night (the other half is still mad!) and the sometimes endless discussions by telephone.

This is rambling now. What I've taken a very long time to say is that the role of a Crewleader is a fluid, ever changing role in which adeptness and commitment can't really be measured on a simple scale. Whether a Leader is deemed 'insanely low' or 'shitballs high' in terms of his activity, the only people who can truly speak for how active that Leader is are the people inside his HQ.

Truth be told I feel this debate has once again followed down the tangent of whether a leader should be more vocal or not, something I really didn't want to turn into considering those speeches crop up almost daily. I was more interested in whether it bothered someone if their crewleaders activity was classed Low or even less in quite a few of the current crop of crewleaders. Is this an issue? 

Sure we can talk about how much work they may be doing inside their HQ to ensure the smooth operations of it, but when you're Extremely Low surely you are literally resurfacing from your room for maybe less then an hour a day? It would be great if city hall could give us some more exact numbers to go with mark they have given the leaders but I fear this may not be the case. Would it worry you Godfather Cantona if let's say a leader you authed in West Side to help you rebuild it had poor levels of activity? Would it ever cause you to remove that leader in time (Finnick springs to mind amongst others.) I should explicitly stress here that I am in no way attacking any current auth you have made, just asking you since you're the only Godfather to have any say on the matter.

I think at the moment it is very difficult to judge how these activity levels work and how often they are updated so I think some should be taken as a snapshot rather than an actual representation on how active the upper structure are.

For example this last week I was back in the old country closing some of the old family business and wasn't here in the states but activity is currently at Low but has come up from Extremely Low from my exploits here yesterday but that doesn't factor in how active I was a couple of weeks ago.

Walking out to the streets, he he looks around breathing in the fresh city air, the cool wind on his face invigorating as he looks out to the growing crowd.

My bloodline and I have worked for a range of leaders who have been online varied amounts of time with mixed results.  Just where some have been more active then others, has not always made them better leaders.  Even though I am quite active, I still relied heavily on sponsors and the rest of my structure as is a limit what a leader can do.

I would rather work for a leader who utilizes a crew well then a leader who is highly active and doesn't understand this idea.  It is something Sweets and I are working on within the Bronx now whether through reward scheme, motivation or how someone can have a chance to shine and create other opportunities within our district. 

As leaders, Sweets and I also try and create competitions which will be rolled out over the next few weeks with the simple intention of keeping people interested, and increasing activity whether it is on the streets, within the crew or being taught how to get most out of a limited time with a n00b guide.

These don't take a lot of time, they don't take a huge amount of investment and some are simple in nature.  The time a leader needs to be in overdrive is in the initial stages of leadership when recruiting pre-25 barrier especially if no or limited sponsors.  It takes a lot of time building up a bond with crew members and you still know some will go inactive, or still not be happy but slowly things fall into shape as you assess what resources you have both human and physical over time.

The big one i found since taking RH with Drunky was like Cantona mentions, the outside meetings, i have sat in coffee shops, on neutral ground like whatsapp down in LA where a lot of people attend in secret meetingswith Chicago and Detroit among others with the simple aim to make sure members are safe and attempts to help put the right face in the right place.  So even if not active, doesn't mean we are not doing something, diplomacy is a big thing and tact in this thing of ours.

Hearing a Bodyguard call, he apologises, but quickly has to escape, as knows the G-Men must be looking for him again

I fear this information is still very much work in progress on city halls part. I have no idea what sort of criteria is put in place but I look at Don NiNe and see his is low yet whenever I am about and wandering I see him frequently.

I actually think that the publication of how 'active' our leaders are is pretty fucking horrendous.

First of all: what is the data actually based upon? Is it purely judged on the number of ours we are physically here, no matter what we are filling our time here doing? Is there a boost for those who are doing a lot of crimes, doing a lot of killing, doing a lot of speaking on the streets, or do you simply accrue a higher rating by simply being sat here, dreaming the day away?

That hasn't even actually been announced by the Gods, however I am led to believe that the sole factor of indication is literally, just the amount of time you spend physically here, no matter what you're actually doing while you are. So you CAN sit, do nothing, but still be here, and you'll look Insanely High compared to someone who maybe spends a solid few hours a day working hard.

This to me, makes for false data. 'Activity' is so much more than being physically sat here.

It also does not take into account the amount of time that many of us spend available via the coffee shops. I see many leaders who are available to their crew for a large proportion of the day who perhaps cannot spend the whole day walking our streets due to other commitments in other worlds - however that position themselves so that they can be contacted in an emergency or just with questions or to have a chat.

It also does not take into account the amount of time leaders might spend in discussions with each other, might spend in meetings, might spend catching up with their Godfather, might spend briefing their upper structure - because for the most part, that is coffee shop activity.

Another issue with this, in my eyes, is that it also entirely discounts external communications which may also account for decent amounts of time for an upper structure. Outside of this world, myself and my right hand probably exchange messages via other mediums about what is going on here for most of the day, if one of us does not have computer access.

At best, this is a very crude indicator of a good crew leader, and of activity itself. If it helps new players, great, but I hope it doesn't turn into something that ends up read into too deeply, because I don't think it'll be particularly healthy for any of us.