I hope this doesn't offend anyone because I love being able to break off and read a story on here every now and then when I'm waiting for my girlfriend to come home so I don't get yelled at for watching one of our series without her. I just think that the stories we hear on the streets aren't really relevant to the actual "streets" as I interpret them. I do believe these excellent story tellers should get some benefit from their postings be it experience or whatever but it takes away from the "ear to the street" kinda vibe I think the streets should be about. 

Story tellers are apart of our community and real communities also. I can see the benefit in having them and it makes sense for these same story tellers to be have some benefits as someone standing on the corner seeing all the different faces walking by and the shady characters moving about while they tell their stories. However, I do not think that the stories on the streets allow for interaction the same way the streets were made for. If it's an interactive RP story where anyone can jump in and adjust the story than great. That allows for actual street interaction. But if its a one way pre-written story without regards to community involvement I believe there should be a place for that. I consider those moments like listening to the radio or watching a movie. They are part of our lives but I have to actively go and pursue those pleasures. This would allow for the streets to just be concerned about the latest drama or rant and only be open to responses that regard whatever issue is being talked about.

Story tellers should have a slight vision boost and should be open to gaining experience and exposure in this world. Maybe they get a financial benefit but that is what tips are for as well.

Like I said I'm not here to degrade what the story tellers offer I'm just wondering if we should give them their own alley or "spotlight" if you will. Hell, maybe the Commiss will start hosting a Pulitzer style award ceremony for these amazing writers in all their different categories. Others might also write stories more consistently and post them there as well not just when there is a competition. 

Now to put this into a game suggestion worthy (I hope) post:

What is your idea?

Story Tellers Alley or equivalent

Has your idea already been suggested in some form or another before? (Check the Suggestions forum for past threads with ideas the same or similar to yours.)

When I searched "Story" and "Alley" I didn't see anything so sorry if I wasted time.

What does your idea entail?

See above but please give feedback if you think of something better.... or not.

How can your idea be successfully implemented into the game as it stands?

A new thread, yea I know sorry to add another one, but leave all the old post where they are.

What major changes would be needed to make your idea work?

Rework the experience and other benefits as well as code the new thread into existence.

What is the positive impact of your idea?

Gives the streets to interactive post only that will generate real conversations and responses rather that just 40 pre-written responses from one or two people. Allow for the story tellers to still get benefits from posting just not the same exact ones because it's not based off real interactions. They can still be financially compensated through tips and appreciation can be shown at the "end" of the show. This will force writing provoking things on the streets in order to illicit responses within our user base.

What is the negative impact of your idea?

Could possibly erase the activity there is on the streets if it doesn't encourage people to post more. Could also just be a huge waste of time making the new thread when Squishy and co could be dedicating that time to real game changing features. Could piss some people off because I can see a bit of RP interference if your Character is a person who loves to walk to the streets and start telling random stories to people walking by. Could get rid of the story tellers we do have if they feel as if there is no real benefit to them posting (please don't stop they are interesting). I could also just end up looking like and idiot because of this idea also.... that's pretty negative to me.

How may your idea affect the rest of the userbase?

I'm not sure exactly. You guys want to chime in?

I am going to chime in here as I have been accused of just that writing stories and not rping.

I have been rping for over 20 years, and when I first started this is how I was taught to do it.

is it wrong? maybe in your perspective, but in mine since I learned it 20 years ago and that is how we did it, it  is old school.

Also how exactly do you define roleplay? is it not  a form of storytelling?

I often start characters with no idea who they  are they develop themselves through the "storytelling"

Example would be bbygrl I started

That one night

With  no prior collaboration with anybody I simply posted her story and some random person (to this day I have no idea who it was) found a way to incorporate themselves into the storyline. And we both told a story without collaboration.

 I don't think a new forum needs to be made I think people need to think more creatively.

Thanks for the response Terrah. I don't think that I said anyone was wrong for telling stories I just don't believe the streets are the place for them. I believe the streets should be about current or former events that helped shape the world as we live in it now. I think there should be a particular area to enjoy stories that have little relevance to what is going on in the world.

But for example if you were going to write a background story about your mafioso and post it on the streets that is ok because it gives us history as to who you are and your possible point of view with your character. But if you write a story that has no impact or reflection upon the current or former state of the world then I believe we reward those works in a different way and location. 

The story you posted, although I haven't read it all the way just yet, is also not exactly what I was talking about but would possibly still fall under the Story Tellers alley with it having little impact on your origin story or the world. You didn't have a pre-written story with someone else to go back and forth with. You allowed for your story to have interaction beyond what was pre-written. If you had a story all ready to go with you or someone else with the next piece already written it would not allow for other people in the community to take part. Usually when someone does chime into a pre-written story it is ignored and rightfully so because it has nothing to do with the story or its possibly just someone "trolling."

The one you wrote and the ones i'm talking about should not be belittled in anyway I just think they need to be relocated and reworked slightly for xp purposes. 

Couldn't agree more, the streets never used to have many stories, they used to be primarily for in game announcements and discussions. The plethora of pre written stories (not saying that they arent good, just not my cup of tea, so I seldom read or get involved) is just a cheap way of racking up vision and exp as well as securing durden mapping. Historically, the business district was always the place for story telling, going for a meal or drinks with friends, going on a date with a significant other etc. However now the stories are all in the streets and the business district is dead. 

Regarding a characters background, I think that should be limited to one of 3 places, your profile, a back alley, your HQ. Not everyone knows you or your exploits, so really the streets are not the place for these kind of stories. 

Just my two cents on the topic.

If we're talking about these threads offering limited opportunity for involvement, most of the community do not involve themselves in the streets anyway, so it's really not a big deal. You don't have to filter much out to find the content on the streets that you are looking for. 

I've been thinking about this a lot.  Every few weeks someone writes something that suggests people who are roleplaying need to get out of the streets which are meant strictly for roleplay happening in the 1930s setting.

Every time I see this suggestion come up in one form or another I think....  gee, it would be really useful if we had another forum.  You know, a place where people who wanted to talk about the game in a way that wasn't roleplaying characters in a 1930s setting (such as auth announcements, contests, debates, witty rapport, commentary on takedowns etc) the could do that in a space that wasn't all clogged up with people roleplaying out stories... they could do that.  

This Forum Would Be For Non RP Talk About The Game (AKA OOC) ... if you will.

And then I smack my forehead and go "oh yeah, there is one of those already." 

If the issue is that you won't get vision or VIP credits for writing there and you really do want to separate out the two for clarity; why not make a suggestion that says "Hey can that board earn us exp/vision/lottery entries too"  ... IF IT DOESN'T ALREADY. 

See, since the Admins haven't really told us how that thing works, I think it's possible that it does so you might ask. 

Just an alternative suggestion that doesn't get made often.

See this was the part that I was concerned about when it came to making this suggestion. People becoming defensive or upset because they believe the way they do things are being attacked rather then see that this is just a suggestion that would allow for things to go just a bit different. I know change is difficult for a lot but let’s be objective to see if it would actually better our world first. Your role play is still something that can bless this world and it should. It should be allowed and encourage and rewarded. It just should have an exact home. Like I have been saying please don’t stop writing them even if it is in the streets for now. 

Every time I see this suggestion come up in one form or another I think....  gee, it would be really useful if we had another forum.  You know, a place where people who wanted to talk about the game in a way that wasn't roleplaying characters in a 1930s setting (such as auth announcements, contests, debates, witty rapport, commentary on takedowns etc) the could do that in a space that wasn't all clogged up with people roleplaying out stories... they could do that.  

This Forum Would Be For Non RP Talk About The Game (AKA OOC) ... if you will.

And then I smack my forehead and go "oh yeah, there is one of those already." 

 I’m sorry but I don’t get it or I don’t agree. I believe all of those things you listed are RP in character about the current or former state of our world that have impact on the way it would or would not function going forward. OOC things such as:

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Post new topicThis Forum Is For Non RP Talk About The Game (AKA OOC)

Are all about the game but completely out of character. They are where they belong and we’ve all witnessed some post be reassigned to their correct homes. They shouldn’t receive any benefits at all because the offer very little to our world setting. I don’t believe storytellers such as your self should not benefit from VIP credits, vision, xp, or whatever reasonable gain that can be discussed at all. You guys have earned it and put in the time writing quality and lengthy post. But you also have done that without regards to the community being involved which is evident with these several post within minutes as if you are racing for IA’s or something.

If you have mafia related stories that have to do with something that is not making an impact or observation about things that are actually changing our world it should be elsewhere than on the streets. You should not be penalized but you should also not be rewarded the same as someone who is moving the world with their words so to say. 

Again I know it’s easy for someone to pick apart one or two things said but big picture here folks. I’m not here to argue or belittle anyone at all just have a healthy discussion about something that could possibly make our world better... or worse depending on wha we discuss.

The idea that anything that isn't a story should be in OOC is probably the worst suggestion I've ever heard but I don't agree with the other side of this either. Frankly, if any post-related system should take priority for a re-work, it's the credit VIP lottery. 

A lot of very good points are raised here:

https://mafiareturns.com/comm/thread/1394788#218401215

A few thoughts from reading this thread.

There is a disconnect between some users as to what constitutes RP. I'm not an RP boffin and have no other points of reference other than this game, but my view from this game is that roleplay is acting as your character, i.e. a 1930s mobster with some allowance for game mechanics and an enjoyable experience. To others, roleplay is only telling a story involving your character and little else.

Personally, I have no interest in reading the latter and virtually never click these threads (other than by accident) as I do not enjoy them. I am sure some people feel the same way about my threads and this isn't an indictment of these people, merely that their offering does not cater my taste. However, by having this stance, I can honestly report that I have never struggled to find the content I want to read, if it exists, and therefore do not feel it necessary for another forum to be created for this purpose.

What I do think exists is a larger problem being a distinct lack of non-story content a lot of the time. The premise of similar proposals to this suggestion has always been "if we move the stories, there will be more posts we like" but this has never actually been evidenced in reality. All that would happen is that you would have a very vibrant story forum, catering to a small amount of the users who choose to read it, and a very quiet street forum as no additional content will be created.

I think we should try to address why there is a lack of non-story content and whilst there are game mechanics playing a role in this, it is also a problem perpetuated by users permitting, accepting and subsequently rewarding those who have little to no vocal output. Until that changes, the content will be limited.

Finally, whilst the system is certainly far from perfect, if the goal of the VIP Credit rewards was to encouraging people to post, it has been successful. I do not have data in front of me to support this claim but it seems evident that there are more street and business district posts than when I last actively played. As ever though, the devil is in the detail and the question should now be one of whether this increase in activity is actually beneficial to the game as an experience. When we begin to consider that, we can then look at what we are rewarding, whether we think Estarossa actually deserved 261 credits (at today's credit price equivalent to $110,925,000) in a 14 day period (28/10 @ 23:30 - 11/11 @ 23:30) for his stories or perhaps they should have gone elsewhere? 

The idea that anything that isn't a story should be in OOC is probably the worst suggestion I've ever heard 

I find it no worse a suggestion than the assertion that my interactions with one or two other people are somehow 'less important' than your chosen brand of interactions.

Repeatedly people have come to the suggestion board to say "no offense but get your fucking stupid 'pretend shit' off my roleplaying board" ... which to me is quite possibly the worst suggestion I've ever heard.

The streets are LITERALLY titled as being strictly for 1930s based roleplay and time and time again there is someone on this suggestion board asking the admins to remove roleplaying from the board to make room for interactions that in any other community would NEVER be considered roleplaying.

Contests. Newsletters. Announcements. Debates.

While I can decorate any post to 'sound' like my character is saying or doing it - if I have to sit here and go "how can I make what I want to say about the game sound like I'm saying it as a character in the 1930s" I'm not saying what Tara Mastrosimone would say... I'm saying what DeAnna the player of MafiaReturns wants to say... I'm just changing some keywords so it doesn't get moderated and deleted.  

I'm content to live and let live - if the admins are chill with you guys doing that, fine.  I'm not in here raging against the system trying to kick you out and trying to stop you from having fun and being rewarded for it but CONSTANTLY that's what you guys are doing to us.  It's not cool.  I don't think you guys are assholes, but I think maybe you're seeing things only from your perspective.

Because of the writers on this site, people don't just get vision/exp/credits because they churn out one or two barely thought about posts a week.  They have to think.  They have to be creative.  They have to consistently be active to be competitive.  And isn't that the point?  Isn't the idea that we WANT you to have to keep churning out tons of discussions and contests and newspapers to earn credits because an active community is a FUN community that people will want to be a part of?

I think Squishy is fucking brilliant.  He knew, prior to the lottery, that people like me, and Keats, and LG and other writers were going to write regardless of a system of rewards.  But once the rest of the community saw us getting rewarded for posting they would instantly sit up and take notice and start coming out to the streets again.  BOOM!  Instantly active streets.  A lively community that new people will be encouraged to join and take part in.  No one wants to stay at a roleplaying site where the most recent post on the forums was like three days ago!

You're all complaining about all the posts 'clogging up' the boards and right now all I can think about is how amazing that looks to new players.  It shows there are active people here and they're having fun.  Isn't that what we WANT?!?

Could people like me who roleplay with one or two people be more inclusive?  Sure?  Do you know what else could happen?  People who pop into my threads and randomly say stupid shit that had nothing to do with the story could not do that... but trolls be trolls.  And writers be writers and both live here at MR.  So... I suck it up.  You suck it up.  Nothing is perfect but if you're having fun and I'm having fun, what's the problem?

Guys, Squishy is unlikely to further divide up the boards (at least not until the new site launches) and even if he does I think that it would be to the detriment of the community.  I think some of the very best debates/commentaries of recent memory have come from you guys being butthurt over the credit rewards system.  Admit it.  Some of the posts in the streets recently happened because you're upset and trying to make a point that it's too easy to abuse the system... and then, ironically, you've managed to make the community more active and engaging.

I know it's fucked up.  It's not perfect.  There are people who post who drive me nuts too.  I could name names and pitch huge fits but it's not worth it.  This is all of our hobby/game ... can't we just play and have fun?  Why do we have to point fingers and say "my style is better than or more right or more worthy" than yours.

Sorry, I've misrepresented the premise of your suggestion.

I think the thread linked to earlier has some strong points about what should be rewarded and what should not. 

I don't think we need to move stories out of the streets to achieve that necessarily, but even making the business district non-city-specific would probably assist with relocating those. However, as the vehement defense above attests to, some people don't want to post anywhere else.