I won't lie, I'm quite pleased with the recent uplift in street activity. Although, for the most part, it's the same people doing the work. There's been a few exceptions as of late, but mostly the same core group of speakers. I was reading my ancestor's journals, and I noticed something.

Not so long ago, at least one attempt to speak in the streets was required for you to be promoted to made man, and accepted into the family. I believe I'm the only remaining crewleader that still requires this. 

Why is it that street activity is no longer a required thing to be a made man? The practice used to be almost universal, and now, I believe it's actually scaring away some potential members from me. That's all fine and dandy really, if you don't want to put in the work, I wouldn't want you here anyway. 

I recently said in a speech that if something isn't required of someone, why in god's name would they do it? I think the fading of this practice into practical nothingness is one of the key contributing factors to the steady decline in street activity over the years. Some people will want to impress and overachieve, but that is a bit of a rarity in today's world.

I want to reach out and ask the other crewleaders, and those of crewleader blood, why they did/didn't use it then or currently. And if they did, why as well. I still use this requirement because I am of the opinion that it roots out those just looking for an easy road to made. Someone looking to rogue out after made is much less likely to put in that kind of work just to throw it away. I think it gives just a little bit more meaning to the rank, that you went out into the world and spoke, with all eyes on you, at least once in your life. Sure, if you're new to this world you might (more like probably will) be ridiculed if your words aren't well composed or your topic is not relevant.  But how else are you supposed to learn? 

I guess the point of this is for me to try to get a few more of the people in power to put greater value on these streets. After all, we are the ones chosen to lead, and if we're any good at it, people will follow. In order for the streets to "return to their greater glory," as so many of us harp on about over and over, those in power need to be the ones making the attempts to change the culture. My hopes aren't high...getting people to change the way they do things isn't easy, and I'm not so conceited that I think I can single handedly change things. But from my perspective, if even one crewleader, current or future, puts an emphasis on street activity in their ranking requirements, this speech will have been a success.

I can only hope.

Why is it that street activity is no longer a required thing to be a made man? The practice used to be almost universal, and now, I believe it's actually scaring away some potential members from me.

I don't ever recall being active in the streets a requirement. At least none of my bloodline have ever been associated. I think it's an extremely silly thing to do. Yes we all love street activity. However, there are just some people who prefer not to be active publicly, and there is nothing wrong with that. There is nothing wrong with promoting it, but to make it a requirement is downright silly and really pointless. 

I'm a huge promoter of street activity, but I can tell you this, if my son or grandson's were to ever join a family where it was a requirement, he would blow his brains out after feeding the seed for another child.  

So the journals were made up then? Perhaps your blood has not been here as long as mine, or perhaps in the old country at the time, I do not know. There was an era when the streets thrived where many families did this. One of my earliest ancestors writes of not joining crews because they didn't require a street speech or appearance count of some sort. He didn't feel the crewleader was serious about the importance of the rank and of street activity and so turned the invite down, more than once. 

Alas, I expected this, that my suggestion might be thought "silly." Pointless is a bit of a strong word however, seeing as my great grandfather did this, and he had a fair amount of success with it in his time. 

I believe that when considering a person for made man it's a case per case deal and not a general set of requirements for everyone in the crew. Everyone has a different set of strengths and weaknesses. Some may be amazing street speakers and are always out in the streets either starting or participating in discussions. Others may just not be cut out for the speaking business and can be more often than not found at the gun range instead. 

I'm not saying that being active on the streets or training your gun is all one should have to do to acquire the rank of Made Man. There are many other things involved, but to have everyone in your crew run through the same hoops to become made man seems a bit boring. A great crew is filled with many different personalities and people bringing in different talents. As a crew leader I'd rather challenge my members with the strengths they bring to the team. This will bring out the best they can be and open new doors to things they may or not be completely comfortable doing. Like taking a hitter and encouraging him to participate in our streets instead of requiring him. This all strengthens the career they'll have with me and not want to throw it away so easily. 

I agree miss Zombi. Each case is different, and I have no other stringent requirements for the rank. I don't have a set number of donations or hours worked etc. The street thread is the one thing I expect from all of them. Each person has something different to offer, and I appreciate and accept that. I'm not saying "make a thread and you'll get promoted." Each person has to find their niche or role in the crew, be it hitter, earner, class clown or whatever it is that they bring to the family. Making one speech isn't the only thing I look at, but I feel everyone should do it anyway. If they wish to make street speaker their role, more power to them, and I would be extremely proud of them for it, because not many can do it.

You make it seem as if I am requiring them to be continuously active in the streets, to speak over and over, when one may not want or feel comfortable doing. I only ask that they make an attempt at it, and see what comes of it. I want them to dip their feet in and see how they like it.

I am quite intrigued by this Sir, I had heard about people having to come to the streets as a requirement for Made Man and I have looked through the family journals but my bloodline has never been in a family that required you to speak in the streets to get your button.

I think that it is a brave idea as like Miss Zombi has said not everyone has the confidence to talk on the streets. I like that you are trying to get your family to come to the streets but I think it may create another issue in the long run as you will have members that will just come to the streets and talk about nonsense and I think we all want quality rather than massive amounts of quantity. I think recently the streets have been buzzing compared to recent times.

To be honest I don't think you will get all the other leaders to warm to this idea as we have leaders that aren't that vocal in the streets but I would be interested to see what the other leaders feel about this suggestion.

I have seen this as a requirement to be made before and what we got from certain members of the family were horribly written threads and members of this community smacking them down for their posts. I have also seen encouraging a street presence lead to some great speeches so it works both ways. It used to be that family bars in the HQ forum were extremely active and a great place for those who do not know how to speak to learn. Unfortunately, that seems to have died away in many places.

It surely isn't for everyone but this IS supposed to be a role play game, we are supposed to be "in character" but we do not see very much of that either. Perhaps starting a competition within your family involving street posting or flying to cities and posting in a particular thread would ease the more timid into posting. Who knows, they might even become comfortable with it if family is participating with them. Supporting each other in your quest might be the best bet.

Even though I am not fond of this being tied to someone getting their button (I have seen some very good players who deserve their buttons but were not very good speakers for various reasons) I do believe more should be done by the leaders to encourage participation in the streets and the business districts.

This is a good point Goku and I read some of my grandparents journals and there was mention of them having to come to the streets and make a speech and themselves present to make the rank made but I know a lot including the Business district within the requirement to, but I don't want to force any of my members to come to these streets if they don't want to I try to encourage it within my family. 

I think there is a lot of other things they can do to earn the Made man rank without speaking in the streets and no one know what goes on behind the closed down of your Headquarters I could have a member always active speaking in the Headquarter rooms but then you wont see him/her on streets because they are not confident enough or dont want to hear any hash words from public towards there speech.  

Also I don't think this will stop a Rogue if they have to come the streets for Made Man they will, If they are going to rogue I think they will do whatever they have to and coming to the streets is going to be a challenge they need to get where they want to rogue. 

I am one that wants to get to these streets more and I will do in the future when I have time.

In my opinion Gimli, most people looking to rogue will find a different option when presented with the fact that they would have present themselves on the streets just to be made. Not all, of course, but if I were planning a rogue attempt I would pick the crew that would have the easiest route to Made, maybe that's just me.

Goku turns to Falcon.

My grandfather mentioned this as well, and in the hours before my speech when I was brainstorming, meant to mention it as well. Alas, scatterbrained and forgetful as all of my line have been, it slipped through the cracks.

I have before - and would again - make an exception for someone who truly struggles with the language. If I can help them in any way with it I will, I'll do all in my power to help them get their speech up to par. But if one truly can not make it presentable due to their land of birth, I will judge their merit elsewhere.

As a servant of a family several times my bloodline has been asked to make threads under Rorogs New Orleans, Chade's LV and Marietta's Detroit among others.  For me it produced a lot of drivel around good discussions, stories and posts as people would post anything just to rank.  It never helped at the time as it was not a skill everyone had.

Secondly, why haven't my bloodline used this when leaders? i prefer to use a simpler system, where people kick up, send in sr's, make some street appearances even if to join a discussion as i honestly regularly value the business district more then the streets as doesn't drop to bickering and generally do something for the family whether mentoring, collecting info, pro'ing and actually showing their value for the family.

Ah Goku how i remember reading in my ancestors journals of how hard it was to make to the rank of made. I do remember the mention of street presence and I am in the same boat as you of why it is no longer a requirement. Reading that they had to give one or more speeches in the streets. 

I forgot to mention this earlier, I would say if someone was going to rogue making a street speech to get their button isn't going to deter them too much, I would say that a significant donation to get to made would cause people to think again about rogueing as they would of had to put in a fair amount of work to generate the money.

Anna smiles to Goku; it's always nice to see a crew leader on the streets speaking, and she recalls a comment made by Goku a while back saying something along the lines of him feeling he should maybe have more street presence. 'Nice', she thought, 'to see somebody act upon that. Maybe this can be a start of something, maybe see more leaders out here in the near future'.

Why is it that street activity is no longer a required thing to be a made man? The practice used to be almost universal, and now, I believe it's actually scaring away some potential members from me. That's all fine and dandy really, if you don't want to put in the work, I wouldn't want you here anyway. 

My blood has never experienced this as a particular set requirement for reaching the rank of Made, although I do quite like it as an idea. How on earth are you to become a respected member of our society, to become Made, if the world doesn't even know you exist, if your existence is entirely silent? 

When my mother got her crew, she didn't really want to set rank requirements. She would've preferred to assess each member on an individual basis, to decide when she felt they were genuinely ready rather than because they did x and y. But our world has become more impatient, more me first. I personally perceive that as a drawback of the reorganization of our world into districts. As more and more of us are given the chance to wear bold suits, wear slanty suits, wear Godfather suits, more and more feel that it is an entitlement that they should be allowed to do so, rather than feel that doing so is an honor that they should work towards. And I think that that filters down into the concept of ranking.

Another issue is undoubtedly that so many leaders have such lax and minimalist requirements that, as you say, having anything more complex is likely to put people off joining, although with hindsight, I would prefer that the entitled and lazy stayed away from any crew I was part of.

I think another stumbling block is that so many are arriving on our shores with little English or find the idea of speaking in a language that they aren't wholly comfortable using particularly horrific. It feels wrong to force people in this situation to speak out, but then, can you really, and do you even want to, be using "one rule for one, one for another"?

So, when my blood has been authed, we've encouraged, we've led by example, but we haven't forced.

Sure, if you're new to this world you might (more like probably will) be ridiculed if your words aren't well composed or your topic is not relevant.  But how else are you supposed to learn? 

This is one of the greatest drawbacks to me. Firstly, it deters people from learning, it brings a fear of the streets into play which is something that I'm not too sure how we can help people overcome. It's definitely not a desirable state of affairs to have people seeing the streets as the big bad wolf where people will ridicule them, but at the same time, I'd hate to see our streets have their standards drastically lowered on the basis that we just want more people on them. I think that'd be a bit of a kick in the teeth to the speakers out there who put considerable time and effort into the material that they present. I think that that's probably why people do get ridiculed for poorly composed and irrelevant speeches.

And I'm not sure that that is a bad thing altogether. Sure, we want more people on our streets, but at what cost? Do we want the lower standards that may come from this? Do we want to accept any old crap without question, or do we want speakers willing to put the time and effort in to what they present? It's a tough call, I can't help feeling that unless crew leaders would be willing to get more directly involved with their members street activities - and when so many leaders have little to no street presence at all, it is enough of a stretch to suggest that they should enforce it on others, let alone take more of an active interest in others - and ensure the quality of their output, that this is a situation where we either accept a small core on the streets who post mostly good shit, or we accept the words of anybody but risk some shambolic performances and accept those without question.

I don't think ridicule is a good response to someone who is struggling with the actual mechanics of the language. Ridicule should be more reserved for people who are showing a flagrant lack of respect or making a wildly illogical argument. I don't think we should just lower the standard and accept whatever nonsense anybody decides to flap at the gum about either. 

If we want to see more quality street activity we're going to have to take it upon ourselves to help achieve that. Just the fact that we're all out here talking so much here recently is encouraging more people to speak up. Since we are the ones who seem to prioritize the art we should be the ones to help aspiring orators build up that skill.

I am a fan of Consigliere Goku's method. While I don't want to see people treating the streets like a college term paper I like to see roadblocks and prerequisites for becoming Made. While it may cause some quality candidates that are just turned off by street speaking to look you over it will also prevent many headaches by weeding out those who are only looking for an easy route. It also seems like he is ready and willing to help an associate hammer out the details of their speech, which is what I would expect from a leader with that particular requirement.

It's also a way to add unique perspectives we might have never heard otherwise. Even though some people are not good speakers or are not confident with their English they still have valuable ideas and insights to contribute. It's funny to me that shooting people and being willing to take a bullet are things we expect, but dipping your toes into the pool of public speaking is taking things too far.

I see nothing wrong with you setting certain criteria or goals for your family, that's your choice, at the same time, personally I think that each person should be judged Individually.

If we were all trying to be the same, that would make for a pretty boring world. Just because one persons personality isn't as outgoing as the next doesn't mean that they are not working just as hard to achieve their own Individual goals. 

Goku, this is one of the reasons that has always pulled me towards the crews you lead.  You require things of us that most people wouldn't.  Things that push us, and better us as mafioso's.  This is one of the best things you could do for us, it even helps us to become known as people of the community, keep up the good work!  This is a reason why we all support you full heartily.