Ladies and gentlemen across the six cities,

As promised we would communicate our intent and plans for this community. Last Monday night the standing leaders got together and discussed the way forward. In this announcement you will learn of what we hope to achieve and how we plan to do so, including some general remarks as this will probably create a lot of different sentiments.

What we hope to achieve.

We aim for a community which is driven by fun, excitement and engagement in business opportunities and social interaction. Each of us escaped from the dullness that civilian life pushed on us and we ended up here hoping to find a more intriguing life that would give us all kinds of benefits. However in recent times this community has really been ruled by a select few. These select few, motivated by fear of possibly dying, attempted to control all variables, leading to society that stands far from what majority came to seek on this side of the law. Although the wish to live long is reasonable, the accompanied attitude prevented this community from reaching it's full potential. Therefor we hope to instil an attitude focused on living instead of one focused on not dying.

How we hope to achieve that.

We allow anyone to participate on an active level in this world, the level they are motivated for. Motivation and dedication will get you to the place you want to be, regardless of your past, amount of friends or the amount of money one possesses. We move away from the unrealistic concept that someone in New York decides who runs a business in Los Angeles. Or that someone in Las Vegas is to say who can run an organisation in Philadelphia. To enable that, the following guidelines are in place.

1. The leaders in Chicago, Detroit and New York operate in their city as they like.
Whether they use the traditional auth system, or take a more experimental approach, they are free to do so. In building their city the leaders agreed on trying to offer a fun and engaging experience for their members, instead of herding sheep and keeping them in the dark. 
 

2. Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Philadelphia are open for business.
People with the ambition to do so and who are unsponsored and able to, can setup shop in any of these cities. People who are sponsored should talk with their crewleader, but in general is agreed that people with ambition are not held back any longer. A leader agrees when his people chose to pursue this opportunity, but in no sense is a leader from one city authing one into another, as that suggests authority over another city. The term 'auth' is not relevant in these scenarios.
 

3. There is a maximum of 2 crews per district in Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Philadelphia.
If someone wants to setup a business in a district with 2 crews present already, they should remove one other crew. Failing to do so, or not showing the intent to do so in the first 12 hours will allow the rest of the country to remove the new invading crew.
 

4. Protection is offered to those crews who add to the community.
People have grown rightfully scared of the opportunity to operate in their own city, as often they were indeed destined for death.
We hope to change that by offering protection to the crews who are active, to leaders who engage often with their members and the community. Those who add value to the rank of Made Man, those who teach young and old, those who dare to enable individual talent, instead of herding sheep... those people get our protection. Given the nature of our world, the ambition to run a business, to be involved, to matter is obvious. Through this we hope to encourage that and protect those who show great efforts that go beyond their own ego's.
 

5. Crews who don't add to the community are not offered protection.
People who are very proficient in marksmanship, those who spent hours on the training range, those who inherited great sums of money from their ancestors, those who hide in the shadows, those who shy away from public interaction, those who keep others down... those, you know which types we mean, those are not offered protection. Being a hitter, being rich, being quiet is all okay and none of those people are hunted because of that. But if a crew in majority is made up of these types, they add no benefit to the community and therefor they are not protected.
 

6. War
If groups who are protected want to test the strength of their hitsquad, obviously the unprotected groups would be ideal targets. On the other hand unprotected groups want to test their strength as well and so they should. However attacking a protected group will obviously result in the protection forces coming down upon the attackers. Good luck in that case.

When two protected groups attack each other, it is considered a turf-war and only the directly involved groups have to battle it out, without further involvement of the community. Fights over control of an area makes sense and we shouldn't be scared of that happening. Allowing a civil war to happen over it makes no sense at all though.
 

Disclaimer.

These guidelines are an attempt to change the attitude that's been dominant in this world for so long. We move away from fear-inspired reservations towards fun-inspired participation. The current leadership does not claim at all there won't be flaws in our design of the community. Dangers will arise and problems will surface and as a community we will adapt when they do. A community changes and over time we will need to update the guidelines communicated here. For this reason we offer Current Community Guidelines that will always communicate the latest information regarding the design our community.

Debates hosted at Speakeasy's
In short time debates will be held at speakeasy's across the country where more detailed announcements will be made regarding how protection can be earned, when it's given and how that will be communicated.


You will probably have many questions, many hopes and many doubts. We would like to hear about them. Please debate in here or come and have a talk with us. Open communication, questioning each other has mostly disappeared from these streets. We ask you not the be afraid to show your disagreement or doubt as it's a very healthy thing which we shouldn't hide from each other. We do ask you to always engage each other in a respectful manner. 
 

Thank you.

I do have a question and perhaps it is something that I missed while I was listening.. Is there some way to tell who the protected families are from the unprotected ones? Will it be obvious or just a gamble that people will take when they attack?

That being said I look forward to seeing more families that communicate rather than remain silent. I am sure many others are like myself and are very interested in seeing what comes out of this.

A very practical question, Dusty and thank you for asking it here in public.

Ideally, we'd like things to be natural and when everyone with ambition is active in the community they will understand which groups should be protected because of their presence in this world. But aside from that there's a whole series of ideas to communicate protection status depending on what works best. Obviously groups who are confident in their good standing can just talk with any of the leaders in Chicago, Detroit or New York whether they have information on protection statuses. Clear communicated statuses could be a thing or anonymous tipping could be a thing. People who add to the community will quickly grow in confidence about their protection status.

In the current state of the world, entrepreneurship and offering diversity is already a means of adding to the community and will quickly earn a group favour. They can build on that by their overall presence in this world. Or the lack of that can remove favour from them.

Overtime when long-favoured groups are around, they will be included in decision making on these matters. But as stated, as the community changes, the setup of what we communicate here will change as well. We will adapt to reach our goal.

Kairi walks by just as she hears RobOakheart beginning his speech. She listens intently on the future of the country and how things will be ran. She smiles as she sees a great future. After the speech is done she walks up to her bossman and says, "I really like this idea Bossman, I can't wait to see how this plays out and see a new way of life as we know it!" 

Thank you RobOakheart for taking the time to answer my question.

I see what you are saying though and I think I have a better understanding. I hope that this will be interesting to many people as I am sure it would be nice to get the cities populated to their full potentials. I am excited to see what will happen around them. This should certainly spark some great interest.

Mouseycop pokes her head up as she listens to her boss speak, a grin splitting her face as she grew excited at the sound of the opportunities coming soon. Climbing up a light pole she grinned more. 

"Sounds like an awesome Idea Mr. Rob. I can't wait to see how this works out!" 

"If groups who are protected want to test the strength of their hitsquad, obviously the unprotected groups would be ideal targets. On the other hand unprotected groups want to test their strength as well and so they should. However attacking a protected group will obviously result in the protection forces coming down upon the attackers. Good luck in that case."

Group who are protected can attack  groups that are not , per say this unprotected group fight's back , does the protected group at that point get help from the protection forces?

Walking through the streets Sophia comes across a crowd of people in the midst of a discussion on how the land will be governed from here on out. She listens intently until the prestigious Don finishes speaking and a couple questions had been asked before she stepped up and voiced her opinion. 

"I do like the concept of what has been laid out here, I'm hoping it all works out well. Though there is one thing I do have a question about. As you stated in regards to LV, LA and PH that anyone unsponsored will have the chance to set up operations in any of these cities. I understand that this world is now rebuilding from a series of wars that killed most everyone. Though at some point there will be enough space for everyone to be within the walls of a crew. As we know once the rebuilding process has been lifted and all operations are up anyone that continues to be walking the streets past a week will be gunned down. So my true question is, how easy will it be for people to venture into these new lands once they are sponsored because in most instances, for their safety people will need to be sponsored."

She sat back on her haunches her ears perked forward. Her  maw gently shut, snout pointed straight ahead. Her eyes were alert as she listened to this proclamation from the human.

It seemed an intent to bring the criminal world back to  some sense of livability was actually being attempted. Even her kind had a government of sorts, every wolf had an equally important role within the pack. Certainly they were searching for the way to avoid past mistakes, that alone was apparent to  the canine.  She would have to  watch and see, words  were often spoken by men, and often not kept.

Two very good questions from both of you. I'll address Stone first.

That is quite a difficult question to answer and I feel it will be probably judged on a case by case basis as there will be many factors to take into account which will differ each time the situation occurs, such as the reasons for the initial attack and the level of protection or lack their of that each family has earned themselves previous to the war breaking out. On the one hand if the protected family don't have what it takes to finish a surprise war that they have started perhaps they have no right to ask for aid if they find it turning against them, on the other hand the protection system is based on how much a crew contributes to the betterment of society so if the gap between the two crews in this regard is large enough, it might be in societies best interest that they receive aid. As you can see, it's not cut and dry.

Sophia, as it stands the current active crews of the world are housing roughly 240 members of our society, with room for maybe another 40. This leaves roughly the same amount unsponsored or slightly less perhaps, which is more than enough for people to be able to call upon should they wish to strike out on their own in a free city. There is an onus on the current leaders of New York, Chicago & Detroit to give this plan every opportunity to succeed, as such, not expanding our own cities to the point that there are simply not enough left to strike out on their own.

I think Mr. Rake pretty accurately describes how I feel on the subjects of those questions as well.
We aim to enable people and to give them chances. One of those is to attack a crew of people, unprotected by the community, but there’s some risk for them as well. Being well-spoken doesn’t mean you are a strong hitter. Being a teacher of numerous thugs in our world earns you respect, but it does not mean you are a great district leader.

Leading an operation means possessing a number of qualities and people will be advised about that. If they still venture out there to make claim to a district, or part thereof, they should personally be ready and able to do what’s necessary in my eyes. We want to see groups shine in this world who possess a diverse set of qualities. Only having one means you probably should be part of a bigger group, instead of being one by yourself. So, no, if an unprotected group defends against the attack of a protected group, it should be an isolated battle and the bigger community should stay out. If a weak group intentionally exposes themselves, they carry the responsibility.

Addressing the question Ms. Rivers asked, people in generally are not to be held back. If a person already crewed in any city has the ambition to grow, but plays a vital role already within their current operation the crewleader and member should understand each other’s goals. The question for any crewleader to ask is whether they want to keep their member because of it’s worth to their organisation or whether they simply don’t want the talent to be out of their reach, or possibly become competition. If the latter would be true, a leader is herding people, instead of enabling them. This touches on the very subject of whether we are allowing people to live and shine, or whether we are controlling others out of fear, whatever the cost to our society might be.

So the general idea is that if a member is crewed, but is ambitious to move out on their own, they should be allowed to do so. If a member has this much worth that a crewleader doesn’t want their member to leave, to me it only makes sense that the member recogniseszes they are worth that much to the organisation in the way they are treated. If not, to me that feels like keeping someone down, leading to a disgruntled member. That’s not my favourite kind of member to have, but each leader is in essence free to do as they please. But obviously the current leaders are encouraged to support the ambitions of their members. That does not mean a leader should make their own family grow weak. There’s a line separating these two and a leader should recognise when they are controlling their people out of fear or whether they are honestly guarding the family’s interests.

It had only been a week since A.M's father had passed away, the time for mourning was over. The sky was clear, and a breeze of fresh air pulled threw the streets of New York. Even though A.M was never the one for violence, something had to be done to get bread on the table. Within a single week he went from stealing a purse from an old lady, to robbing local shops and setting up drug labs around town. Time was good, and A.M even decided to join a criminal enterprise down in Brooklyn...

'Well that escalated quickly' A.M mumbled while he counted a fat stack of cash. 

He finished up his daily routine and went down to main street for a well deserved cup of coffee. His boss, RobOakheart was standing in the middle of the street, holding a short speech and handing out instructional flyers. A.M shook Rob's hand, and took the flyer back home so he could take his time in reading the entire thing. When he finely read threw the instructions A.M took his time to call Rob, complimenting him on his plans.

Good luck Rob, I hope all turns out as you planned! where the final words threw the phone, as A.M hung up the phone. 

I am thoroughly happy to see this. These streets have needed a change like this for some time and I am so glad to see it finally happening. 

I applaud you all for this! 

Iv'e supported this whole ethos change to our world both in public and in private. Its very much a welcomed proposal of change. We're in a time where something like is NEEDED, we have been too long scared of those who have a talent for our way of life. We seem to hold a preconception that because they have a natural flair for how we operate that we should keep a close eye on them, for all the wrong reasons. 

We have a blank, clean sheet to start a fresh from. Now is the time to try our hardest to implement systems and ways of thinking that do not hinder those who want to progress and those of us who have been blighted because of our pasts with certain influential people of this world. I have fell victim to this more times than i care to remember, right up to my late father.  

Lets not be naive here though, we know as a community this way of thinking will not happen over night and it may end with the current regime we have in place but just for once, even if its for a small period, it would be so satisfying to actually believe in a system that allows for all of the above to succeed. 

I do however have a few reservations and questions; Are you expecting the rest of the cities to adopt this logic and forward thinking or is a case that you are only persuading your city of NY to act this way. My concern is that other cites just can not let go of a way that has been for many years and that stereotype and preconception will always play a pivotal role when deciding ones future going forward. I ask because if these opportunities only exist within your set up, i can only imagine the demand to enter your fold, myself included. 

This leads my onto my second question, if you like. If your will is to be implemented world wide and its not adhered too are there reprocutions for that? Will a city fall out of favor for that? I have a genuine concern and interest going forward, as i can safety say that my lineage has fell foul of such behavior countless times.

All-in-all though, very positive steps towards a better working world. 

Given that the Don has addressed us saying "we", rather than "I", I would be surprised if this didn't already carrying the seal of approval from those with a seat at the table. In which case, I would imagine outdated thinking would not be well received and, as with any such address, conformity is mandatory across the country. 

Though I am extremely suspicious/skeptical of points 4, 5, and 6, the first three are good for Our Thing.

My question is this; because the crew situations in the open cities will be much more dynamic, is this announcement accompanied by any decisions regarding, for instance, the free movement of associates between crews?

Change is never easy. Offering it is one thing, but it will be a challenge for family leaders and members of our community to adapt to change.
When the standing leaders discussed the way forward, we agreed to take on this challenge together, for we all recognised the flaws of the system we've grown accustomed too.
 

I think an important part of what we try to do here is that people should learn to accept competition and differences again. In a country as large as America, it makes sense that different groups run their business in different part of the countries. A group in New York shouldn't worry about a group running the casino's in Las Vegas. If either group starts to display an identity of aggression, than there's concrete reason for worry and it makes sense to respond. It doesn't make sense to keep removing all possible competition, until there's nothing left, but "friends". That leaves you in a state of false peace, where everyone waits in boredom until someone stabs them in the back.

For too long we've collectively hid our faces, shying away from what is only natural to happen in this place. That what our ancestors feared, still came for them all, as it's inevitable, whatever path you choose. With this we promote participation over hiding. Despite the challenges it may bring us, it should make things more interesting and rewarding for everyone.

Aristides, you bring up a good point. Due to the circumstances of our world I suspect many people will have found housing in a family they perhaps wouldn't prefer any longer, after seeing all the available options some time later. I urge people to give their new leaders a chance, but still I can understand if people are unhappy. Given the extraordinary situation we find ourselves in, we'll discuss this matter as crewleaders. Whether there will be an announcement or not, I advise any member who feels unhappy, to respectfully communicate that to a leader. Perhaps a leader isn't aware of what's amiss, but might be able to make things right. Hiding how you feel doesn't help yourself, nor your leader. Both parties should be realistic about this I think.

As Bjorn was listening to all the stories told by RobOakheart and the comments of his audience even questions that got phrased he was wondering if this also happened when his father was in this world. Would these topics be openly discussed as well?

Knowning some of his father's frustrations eminating from the memoires and private journal entries he had read he knew this was not the case. He remembered vividly his father had spoken of men he trusted, men he could not work too closely with than he wanted because they had not given the permission to set up a semi independent operation they knew they would make a great success.

As he listened to the last words spoken by Don Roboakheart in response to Insta's question he took up all his courage and asked his own question, one that he had been thinking about from the first moment they had started to speak on this subject

Don Roboakheart, I would like to first congratulate you on your courage for running a competitive operation from NY with your friend Godfather Christiangato showing their intent to let ambitious men rule the world who work hard to provide for their families as well as their work associates. This would mean for me that hard efforts, intelligence and talent will be rewarded where it is found, or even if it's hidden people have the chance to step up and showcase it.

Now I would have a question which I would like to pose to you if you allow it,

My questions would be, if your and godfather Gato's dreams come true, and the world is filled with industrious minds and their trusted group of intimates and they all are very social and seemingly contributing to a thriving criminal underground and making the police bash their heads in. What if these men and women are excellent diplomats and it becomes nearly impossible to favor one above the other like they are your children and one cannot pick a favorite one. How would you determine which family deserves the protection of the current alliance of the big city leaders. Will this partially be economical as well, e.g. I assume having such a protective force set up and maintained, it has quite the bills racking up quickly, or would there be no other factors involved aside for the ones you have described so far?

Honestly I love the new plan. In the past we have seen a very similar scenario in which it wasn't quite as appealing because everybody knew that the people sent off were surely destined for a bullet.

I think this new re-invented version of how to handle these empty cities is very fair. I could see this revitalizing the community, providing many strong cities and helping the community grow as a whole. I'll be looking forward to seeing this plan executed and how it turns out.

Freddy reads the street poster that has been nailed to a local telephone pole.

Rob promises a new life to those  that work hard and want to prosper.

Thinking it looks and seems like a good idea, Freddy puts the thought in the back of his mind and travels on down the street contemplating a future move and how much it would really cost him.