Given the recent start-up of a new initiative making it easier for people to get their hands on what are known as "IA lists", it got me thinking about the topic at hand and I felt it might be an engaging topic of conversation.

Let me make clear, I am not looking to discuss that particular initiative itself, or the leader pursuing it. They have every right to make their living in whatever means they see fit, it is entirely their prerogative. Good luck to them, we are, afterall, in the money making business so more power to anyone that makes money off such schemes. Just as the flip side is completely the prerogative of the buyer.

It is the buyer perspective I'm after.

What are your thoughts? Would you consider purchasing such a list?

Personally, I can't say it's something I would consider buying myself if I were a hitter. Firstly and perhaps mainly, it means I'd be giving up my identity as a hitter to another family. Terribly bad move, and probably in direct contradiction of my own family's hit squad rules. It may not take much to work out the threats in someone else's family, but I wouldn't make that any easier for them by confirming it when I approach them.

Of course, life is easier if someone else makes your IA lists, but that is to say nothing of the fact that most hitmen are able to get their hands on family IA lists anyway, free of charge. This might mean sharing the responsibility of compiling the list, but still, shared between a hit squad, it's not a large amount of effort and it's not at the risk of exposing yourself (yes, that's why Jedi wear long robes, easy exposure...) to people outside of the family. It's my opinion that if someone decides they wanted to train their gun, the help should come from within, not another family.

Even then though, for the most part according to my ancestors, the best solution is ALWAYS to do your own list. One particular reason being that you will often find targets that are not covered by a common IA list. Everyone likes cheap kills, don't they? Too right, if you can compete against two people rather than fifteen, all the better.

Some people will consider cost first, then decide if they should pick up a copy. To me, it's irrelevant, I value my privacy more than any amount of dollars. On the other hand, looking at it from the CL perspective, I suppose a wise CL might actually put someone in the role of "IA List Purchaser", someone who will be completely unaffected by revealing themselves to another family, before distributing the list freely to the bulk of the family. Average costs would plummet in that case, but still, I wouldn't do it. It's still money flow out of my pocket and into another's, for something I can do free. If you are very rich, that may be of no concern of course.

Sticking with the CL perspective, some people would say that it's good to have your HS make their own IA list, or at least rotate the task. Being a member of a hit squad isn't just about the notches on your gun, it's about more than that. Having the savvy to know the ins and outs of wartime, the determination to put yourself on the line for your family, for the greater good if necessary. The list goes on. If I don't have the savvy to make my own IA list or source one for free at the very least, I don't see that it says much about my own ability to succeed in cosa nostra.

From my own perspective, I see little gain for many drawbacks. People will do whatever benefits them directly of course, but to pay for an IA list would fly in the face of certain traditions I hold dear to my heart in this thing of ours.

Still, as I say, if a seller shifts a batch of IA lists that line his pockets nice and cosily, then absolutely well done. Making money is the bottom line. There is no debate about whether they should be sold, frankly, that's none of my business. I'm debating whether you would buy one.

I personally would not buy one but have no problem with anyone trying to make a buck at selling one. That is that families business and no one has a right to tell them how to operate.

Bravo, well said Mr.Kenobi, couldn't say it any better.

I could very easily mop the floor of my comedy club in Chicago myself, but I choose to pay someone else to do it.

If someone has an appealing product or is ofering a tempting service, people will buy it. If there's no demand for what you're selling, your product is going to fail. If someone has the blessing of their superiors to go make a buck then supply and demand will ultimately dictate the success of failure of the operation. For better or for worse, capitalizing on people's 'laziness' for lack of a better word can be profitable.

The way I see it is if you make your own or the hitters in your family help you make it its free and you get more of a satasfaction if you get the kill knowing you did all the the work from start to finish and you just didn't buy it of someone.

But that is just my opinion.

If someone came up to me and told me he could get me coke at a stunning 4 grand a unit, I wouldn't just hand over my cash and wait, because the guy is probably going to rip me off.

Much the same, if someone offerered me an IA list (and it was something I'd actually have use for) I'd be very cynical about buying it. Rather than giving just my money to a stranger, I am giving him my life. That may seem like an exaggeration, but it's true. Here's a perspective no one has yet looked at I don't think. If Joe Blogg is willing to dish out IA lists willy nilly for 100k a go, then Joe Blogg looks like the sort of guy who's willing to turn over a quick buck. If that's the case, he'd probably the sort of guy who'd be willing to sell other information. I.e. your identity as a hitter to potential rivals.

There's a lot of angles here, and as Boaby has pointed out; the drawbacks massively outweigh the advantages whichever way I look at it. As Benny said, people will always hand over cash for an appealing service; but frankly I would not see purhchasing IA lists as even slightly appealing.

Oh, and just because I know I'm going to get accused of this - I'm not claiming TM is going to sell hitters' identities on here, I'm speaking about the matter purely hypothetically, and the fact is that whenever sensitive information becomes public in even the smallest way, it can change everything!