To start off with, I recognize that this entire game's ad campaign is centered around promoting this era,  so I don't necessarily see this changing anytime soon, but I do think this suggestion has been a discussion long in the making.

As most of us are aware, this game is set in the prohibition era of the United States - I'd like to propose changing this game's era to a more modern time - around the 50s or 60s -  for a few reasons.

First and foremost - a lot of us aren't terribly familiar with the era (and culture) of the twenties and thirties, as well as the cultural effects of the prohibition era of that time.  As I described to someone else in a discussion about the RP status of the game - the Prohibtion Era wasn't very dandy for a lot of people; the Federal Government was churning out bad policies almost faster than they proposed them as it had just crawled its way out of a World War, the Conservatism that was drowned out during the Roaring Twenties had returned with a fury, and and while there was organized crime, it wasn't quite nearly on as large of a scale as most of us have based our knowledge of Mafia history on.

In the six years I've been on this site, all too often do I see users fast-forward by a few decades, whether it be from the cars they drive, the pistols they carry down to the suits (and names) they choose to bear.  They open fully stocked bars in the light of day - few and far between cover themselves under the auspice of a speakeasy, and even then, the vast majority of us aren't playing a prohibition era mobster where we make our money off of smuggled alcohol - we're making it off of cocaine and heroin, two drugs that flourished during through the late 50's to late early 90's.  We're making money off of large-scale heists like loansharking, which was more common (and coordinated) in the later decades, when crime syndicates actually had significant money to dole out. 

All too often as well do I see perfectly delightful users attempt to role-play only for them to be chided in the streets because the era they've written in doesn't correspond with the era we're supposed to be in, and unless they have the time to set aside and read up on the intricacies and details of the twenties and thirties, more often than not I see those same people discouraged from speaking in the streets ever again; I don't think I'm quite too far off in saying that a very large portion of us take some of our cues from media that explored the culture in the most popular and most powerful era in organized crime (Godfather, Goodfellas, Donnie Brasco-esque stuff) as opposed to the much earlier time we're all ostensibly living in, so it's not entirely surprising when I see users become frustrated when their details don't mesh with the timeline we're supposed to be playing out - because more often than not, we're almost half a century behind.

In essence - I think the vast, vast majority of us could relate more to the game if the era was changed to a date that more or less reflects some of the modern criminal empires we have almost all come to recognize as instant classics.  The 50's and 60's (and even the 70's) presided over a period of vast organized crime expansion that corresponded with this country's huge economic gains over the post-WWII decades; the decadence, overconsumption and horrifying corruption that almost all of us associate with organized crime, as well as the more frequent use of the front business.  On top of this, it also presided over the rise of the FBI and even the CIA in this period - when the government actually had the resources (and legal tools) to begin pursuing these increasingly notorious organizations - which also began the eventual crackdown on organized crime, which is something nearly synonymous with the Mafia of recent memory. 

I agree. Plus after so much bloodlines the time should advance lol. Hell I'm even for present day, Sopranos style.

I have to say, this seems completely reasonable, and really just downright obvious. Very few players RP as if they were actually in the prohibition era. Most people come into this game and want to act like 40s-50s mobsters, like solastalgia said, they want to act like the movies they have seen. The best mafia movies took place in this time period. It makes sense to me for this game to take place in the biggest era of organized crime, not in the era where it was just building up.

Okay. I love Prohibition-era history, fashion, all that jazz (haha). That's a large amount of what drew me into this site.

And yet, moving this to the 50s-60s era might be the best thing for the site's roleplaying features. I know that I'm really in a minority as far as going to lengths to research what actually existed during this period of time, what people wore, how they treated one another, what sports they watched, all of that stuff. Most people who RP on this site...well, they've watched The Godfather, they've watched Goodfellas, they've seen the Mafia through these lenses and model their characters after them. Plenty people clean forget that alcohol is illegal, and go ahead and set up bars--not speakeasies, nothing secret about them--full-fledged bars that cater to any old joe walking in off the street. If we changed the era to the 40s-60s, not a whole lot would change significantly.

Plus, it would be fun to crowd around the television with the family as a smiling, Valiumed-out June Cleaver, then go out to kill a guy with an actual cleaver.

I like the idea of changing the era of the game as well. I always wondered why the game was set to such a specific time period (i.e. Prohibition). I know Al Capone and company was running things in those days with the bootlegging and the like, but even if the time period was nudged a few years ahead it would line up better with the current roleplaying.

Moving it forward to the suggested time periods would work as well, for it would encourage more people to roleplay. Even if they didn't want to do the research of every single detail from that era, at least they can reference to books that they've read or movies that they have seen to help them.

what we could do is add a year to the game clock and every 4 or 5 months advance 1 year

Yeah, I think this is an interesting idea.

Most people, when they think of the mob, think more of those later eras (post prohibition)

I think expanding the scope of the date range that is acceptable for role-play would be a positive step in the right direction, but I don't think it's something that really needs to be 'changed' or even said... Really if we all could just agree that as long as RPers are writing in a reasonable era (20's - 60's?), we don't chastise them, then this wouldn't be much of an issue...

I understand the tradition of the game has been to stick to the era, but as any role-playing goes - there needs to be some kind of flexibility.

This makes perfect sense to me. The criminal 'world' as it was during the actual prohibition era wasn't anything like what most people think. For a start, 'organised' crime was still very much the domain of the robber-barons; the industrialists and political figures who used their existing wealth and influence to get away with murder - Nucky Thompson of Boardwalk Empire being a pretty good example.

in Chicago and New York particularly, figures like Torrio, Capone, Luciano and Maranzano were exceptions rather than the rule. Although there was the Outfit and the 5 points gang, Italian organised crime (which is very much the basis of this game) was nowhere near the powerful machine it became in the 40's-60's. Even in the height of the prohibition, Italian organised crime was largely comprised of small-time petty gangs squabbling for scraps and was generally speaking no more powerful than the Irish, Germanic or Eastern European 'crews'. Capone's clashes with the Irish in Chicago during prohibition - particularly the Laundry Wars and the struggle for control over the milk unions - are examples of this. In the '20's, The Italian American Mafia was challenged by other factions to an extent that wasn't repeated until the emergence of the Russian Mob in the late 80's to early 90's.

In short, the image of the stylish, respected, all-powerful mobster that ran with a highly structured and hierarchical crew didn't really exist until the well after prohibition ended - the 40's, really.

The change makes a lot of sense, the 40's-60's were a much more interesting time for the Italian Mob, it's when they began to cultivate and exert a lot more political power and broadened their base of operations. The image we all have of the typical mafia structure is one that was most commonly employed in the mid 20th century, especially by the Five Families in NYC.

This is a really, really small cosmetic change - but one I'd absolutely love to see!

I think it's time for the Admins themselves to provide their opinion seeing as the idea has been received with 100% approval so far.

^ I agree and would love to know what the admins think.

When I read the title of this suggestion I didn't think I'd like it, but after reading several points I like this idea a lot. I've enjoyed writing RP posts in the 20's and 30's, but as the game moves forward with new features I wouldn't mind seeing a change in the game era. This would be a fun change.

It's been 9 days, what's become of this?

I think this is a really fascinating suggestion and one that I've been putting a great deal of thought into. I believe that this game change would only benefit the site and I'd like to bring it to everyone's attention- as well as try to receive an official response, as it seemed like many people were supportive of it and it may have gotten lost in the shuffle. 

Honestly, what would have to change mechanically? Anything? As the original suggestion notes, the game mechanics actually fit the 50s/60s era better than the prohibition era we're supposed to be in. Cocaine and Heroin were much more of a factor in the 50s and 60s; if we were truly a prohibition era game, we'd have a higher focus on alcohol. Do we have a single prohibition reference in any crime or action? Granted, I might be missing something- but I suggest that if we changed this game from 20s/30s era to 50s/60s tonight, there would not have to be a single change in game mechanics. In fact, an era change might even make the game slightly more realistic, due to the frequency of flights, the prevalence of aforementioned drugs, and economic inflation.

So if there wouldn't be any mechanical issue at all, we should consider intangible aspects.

To begin with, I'd say that "But we've always been prohibition era!" is both a valid and invalid argument. On the one hand, traditions should be respected- but there also should be a reason why the tradition sticks around. The simple truth of the matter is that very, very few people realistically stick to the Prohibition Era right now. Or ever. Sure, we do a good job of limiting cell phones or modern cars or computers or whatever from the streets- but if you look at most RPs or stories... we're already mostly in this vague "20s/30s/50s/60s" blurred area (with the exception of WW2, of course- people are pretty good about not mentioning that one). 

So if it's not causing mechanical issues and it's not directly impacting any serious intangibles, why SHOULD we do it?

There are people here who have been writing the same kind of RP for over a decade. I was only on the old site very, very briefly and I haven't been back here to MR in years. But some people have been playing this game for a longer time than prohibition actually lasted. Shifting this game from the 30s to the 50s is not an earthquake; it's a reshuffling. It's not changing anything about the actual game itself, but it would introduce an exciting new era for storytelling purposes. 

As I was considering this, I was surprised how much of thinking regarding the mafia is rooted in the 50s/60s. Why not stick to the era that leads many people here? The (non-flashback) Godfather and Goodfellas era of the 50s/60s? The original suggestion phrases it so well that I direct anyone to it if they're just reading this recent comment. 

I'm very curious to hear what everyone has to say on this. It seems like a relatively minor change that would open up exciting new possibilities and potentially be a breath of a fresh air to the site.

This is one of the best suggestions I've read to date. The timeline thing had always been a struggle for me and made it more difficult for me to RP because I get frustrated by some of the very things mentioned - unrealistic settings, open bars with no covers, big drug sales, inflation, etc. Stuff that does not belong in the 20s/30s. Not to mention those two decades themselves were so hugely different - the Great Depression changed the culture of the US dramatically during that time. So much of the story would fall into place if the timeline were advanced to the 50s/60s and for once people talking about their ancestors would actually make sense. 

Just to point something out - the streets say 1930s. Prohibition ended in 1933. It's not that much of a stretch for people to own bars since 6 years of the 1930s (which is as specific as the date gets) was not spent in prohibition.

I don't think anything necessitates a new game, since nothing would be changing.

I suppose you could frame this not as a game change, but as a game clarification.

Other than the introduction that states this game takes place in the 1930s, is there anything in the game structure itself at all (as opposed to player created content) that would suggest we're in the 1930s more than the 1950s/60s?

So it's not making a new game instead of MR; it's more clarifying what MR already is and has been forever. 

I think an era change would suit it better. Especially given some of the RP'ing we see being quite out of period.

I'd welcome a change to the 50s/60s lots of my favorite mob movies and stuff took place in that era