This is inspired by a new player to our shores who asked a simple question on IRC:

'quick question: is there a difference between a family and a crew?'

The first response from someone was simple and too the point:

'Nothing. Your crew is your family. Your family is your crew.'

However, I felt it was a little different and it sparked a mini debate. My argument is simple, we are all in a crew, reporting to your crew leader. Your crew leader is then usually associated to the City Godfather (or acting Godfather). Now when you have all the Crews in a city together, they then become a family. Let me show an example using New Orleans:

Godfather Stamina - City leader, he runs the New Orleans FAMILY

Underneath him he has;

Chris_Flannery
TheCancerousTumor
The_Civilian

All of whom run crews as part of the New Orleans Family. There members are then crew members when talking about being loyal to their crew leader, but family members when talking about being part of New Orleans. For me, when In Character, this is how it should work;

• As an individual, you are a crew
• A group of crews work together as a family

However, when you now look on the OOC side of things;

• We have Crew Leaders
• But then we have an option to 'Leave Family'

Which confuses things more. As that indicates what the original answerer to the question answered: 'Nothing. Your crew is your family. Your family is your crew.' Clearly OOC supports this view, but personally, and perhaps more importantly, I feel that my view is the most 'realistic' for Role play and In Character.

What are your thoughts on the matter?

I think it's an issue of connotation in most cases. I look at it as everybody is in a crew but only Made Men or people with important roles are in the Family.

I have always seen it as Made man and above are the family, wise guy and below are associates - Crew is the term for everyone the Crewleader is in charge of. The Godfather runs his cities crews through his own family. Sooo....

Godfather - Head of all crews

Crewleader - Head of his crew

Made and above - Family

Wise Guy and below - Associates

In my point of view, the Godfather is the boss of a crime family whilst all other crewleaders in the city ruled by the Godfather, are the capos of the family.

i differentiate it more in different terms although to a degree overaps with deadlysins

to me once upon a time a family was something you became close with of various levels of as deadlysin describes but integrated top to bottom in the city, it seems always to have a function, a status for each part like a family.  I differentiated a crew as somewhere that you just seemed to be working for someone but felt you were just a money maker and didnt feel much more.  You would follow orders but a lot of time wouldn;t want to die for people as they meant nothing to you.

In my opinion my family goes as far up as my "Crew Leader" and as low as made men. The godfather to me has their own family and is more like the leader of the "syndicate" in whatever city they are in.

Just my opinion.

In my opinion the city is a family split into crews and each crew is a seprate family

Godfather - Head of all crews

Crewleader - Head of his crew

Made and above - Family

Wise Guy and below - Associates

Got to say I agree with DeadlySin on this one, this is how I've always viewed it.

Looks about right to me as well.

I say you are all correct in this argument.  The way I see it is we all are playing a game of fantasy of what the mafia from the bootleg area is and how they are structured and operated.  The thing is, everyone has their own idea of how it works and they're own imagination as to how it looks/structured.  But that's one of the many reasons this game is fun.  It's a little something different for everyone.

Now that being said there's a part two to my theory.  Each crew leader has a different view on how things look, operate and are structured (see where I'm going with this?).  Therefore each individual crew/family/syndicate has it's own vibe and it has it's very own feel, look, chain of command style...At least that's how I see it after having only two characters so far.

This is an interesting question and I will reply with my heart and not my mobster persona.

I have been in many crews/families and I will tell you what is the difference between a family and a crew...that is the Crew Leader!

The Crew Leader makes all the difference for me. If HQ is silent, if the Crew Leader does not respond to your mail, if you make the effort to liven up the crew/family and you hit a brick wall, if you write your Crew Leader a long mail, explaining your concerns are greeted with condescendence and lack of seriousness (by both the leader and family members)...then it is a crew. Nothing for me to be motivated about, it only gets me down.

If the Crew Leader is motivated, keeps you informed with mass mail, makes an effort to have a HQ that EVERYONE can take a part in, if he responds to your mail and directs you to which person to go if you have issues, if there is RESPECT...then I will go out of my way to take a bullet.

A CREW leader sits back to rake in the money...a FAMILY leader takes care and respects his family!

That is my opinion.