Virus picked up the todays newspaper, word on the mafioso streets drug are racketing each city cops got details and trying crackdown find who is dealing with what. Virus takes a hit off his blunt laughs hmmm........ Interesting wait till some of the fallas back at Large Compounds hear about this be step in front cops hopefully. 

Walks up from the side street

"New work is always on the streets, you just have to find it"

Pilot walks past and wonders what  language virus6 is speaking? After coming up with a blank he keeps walking

Alf looks over at this man with his eyebrows raised.

I can hear the words are coming from your mouth,but im unsure of what your saying is this some special "Gangst'a" speak that we mere mortals of this world are not custom too?

With that Alf turns and walks off only to return when he has aquired the use of a translator

Translation:

Virus picks up todays newspaper, word on the streets is that the cops have got details on the drug rackets and are going to crackdown on them and find out who is dealing what. Virus takes a drag on his cigar and laughs.

Hmmmm... Interesting, wait till some of the fellas down at large compounds hear about this, hopefully they'll step in front of the cops.

Alf hears mr wheeler's translation and thanks him for the remarkable way he translated this,he to must be fluent in "gangst'a" speak.

Even though you did it beutifully im still none the wiser as to what is being talked about here.

Alf skips off, and wishes good night to you all

Thank you very much for your translation Mr Wheeler.
Another some what pointless thread leading to no real point or value .. no offence Mr Virus, but perhaps next time try going with a little story with time and effort, and always say it in your head before speaking aloud, something that took me many years to master, but I think I finally got it.

While its not exactly what we're used to I don't see any reason to burn him that harshly for how he speaks. He tried to bring something to the streets and people are jumping on him because its not the style that they would speak in. Give him a chance to learn by giving him input instead of just dismissing it. If you can't do it constructively on the streets then send him a mail and explain your thoughts that way.

Besides smiling assassins shouldn't be out here on the streets so quickly to label every speech they don't like as trash. I thought they were supposed to be stealthy and stuff like that. Just a thought.

Mr Virus was approached by some men and driven back to his place of employment.  He was congratulated for hsi effort, but instructed on the error of his ways.  This thing can be a learning curve...

BloodyFaster approaches Don_Wheeler with a piece of paper

Would you sign this for me. Could you write:" To BloodyFaster With love, from your favourite translator"

After receiving the paper back, BloodyFaster runs to tell his friends about his meeting with Mr Wheeler.

Vinnie watches the ongoings after Virus6's speech. He gathers his thoughts behind a cigarette and speaks up. Sympathetic towards his Family member.

Why do people feel it necessary to address the man's speech publicly with negativity, instead of ignoring it and moving on. I thought we were a community that's run by a code of respect. If you see activity in the street that doesn't live up to your standards, ignore it and move on. It's kinda' like what my ma' used to say to me, "If you don't have anything nice to say, keep your mouth shut."

Vinnie puffs his cigarette and continues.

Just let the higher-up's handle matters like this. I'm sure the man is just new to public speaking, as am I. There was nothing disrespectful said, I personally feel that he did nothing to deserve these reactions.

Vinnie puffs his cigarette and prepares for a confrontation.

Alf walks through Vinnie’s smoke cloud, something he hates as much as speeches that are less than impressive.

Vinnie would you class me as a "higher-up"? i would, so therefore i have the right to pick holes in such a less than impressive speech not only did it make no sense, it was not even proper English.

The streets are about relevant subjects that all rangers of lower-higher members of our community, people who come to the streets who have not thought about how they present themselves or even have a valid argument or discussion often find themselves in the same position, it has always been that way as am sure it will continue to do so.

There members of our world who can help with this kind of situation, there are means and ways.

The streets are for well thought out speeches, for debates and for tales of the old times,not for ignorance or silly speech’s like this one in question.

With that Alf reaches over to Vinnie and takes the cigarette out of his mouth, throws it to the floor and stamps it out.

Grabbing his pack to light up another cigarette, Vinnie picks up where he left off.

Obviously you have taken offence to my stance on this, I mean no disrespect by any means. But, yes, you are a higher up. However, you insulted the man's intelligence. What does it accomplish? Nothing, except maybe this young man will never post in the streets again. The bloodlines that have been rooted within this thing of ours are always speaking about lack of activity in the streets, I see this as a step backwards towards our streets flourishing as they did in the old days that everyone speaks of.

I'd also like to add that I made a slip up in my earlier speech, I meant to add on "and you were at one point" after ", as am I".

So firstly, i insulted the way in which he chose to speak. His talking skills are less than inspirational let’s face it.

Secondly this speech cannot even be close to being called "activity" as you put it. It was a waste of mine and everybody else's time how stood round and listened to him. This is a harsh but yet valuable lesson to the young man, as it is to everybody else. what it accomplishes is for this young man and every other young man or women when they come to the streets is to think about what and the manner in which the speak, this is the unfortunate reality of the world we live in, if he wants to take up a role of street speaking then this lesson is one which he can take and turn it into a positive.

As for you seeing it “as a step backwards” well I’d rather have less of the interesting talks and debates that currently exist than more of this type of speech. So in effect it is not taking a step in the wrong direction, however if we let every single person come out here and talk without any thought process then the streets would be littered with absolute trash.     

There is many ways he can talk in the streets am sure his crew have somebody who can listen in private before he comes out here, somebody who can correct his language and point him in the right direction

I really wish people wouldn't use words like 'community' to describe our thing. It isn't a community, it is a business. We aren't here to hold hands, hand out cookies and pretend that below average street appearances are acceptable. That isn't something we should ever promote and I think a large quantity of our current problems can be attributed back to the tolerance and hand holding of days gone by.

Whilst our thing runs on a code of respect, it is all relative to position and power. Virus here, a Wise Guy yet to make his bones in Las Vegas has done nothing to be spared the whip from those who have made their bones should they choose to exercise it. Things could escalate and should Virus' bosses in Las Vegas take offence, then they can take it further. As far as I can tell, Richard felt his man showed enthusiasm but needed some fine tuning and that is as far as it goes. Matter over.

Why then, the need to run to the defence? Virus isn't here fighting his corner, why does he need anyone else to do it? His bosses decided not to do it, so where is the issue? I see none. Sometimes mollycoddling and kissing everything better doesn't work quite so well as a quick slap around the head.

I guess I'm as tired of seeing people bitch and moan about how mean everybody is as I'm sure those same people are of seeing people being mean, but all I can say is wake up, this is the Mafia. If you can't handle that we aren't all the nicest people in the world, then I suggest you find a new profession. I hear vets are nice, lots of fluffy animals to cuddle with.

(OOC: Whilst as players we are all for encouraging everyone, from an in character perspective we have no reason to do so. Community, which is about the benefit of the whole with equal input from all the respective operating parts, is completely at odds with the hierarchical nature of the dictator-style Mafia Family of which we are all a part in one way or another. Whilst often OOC our userbase is referred to as a 'community', in character I really can't buy into it.)

I hear Gwarble is a part time vet. Beware for your pets!

There are understandable positions on either side of this but I'd have to agree that occasionally being told something you have produced is junk will force an individual to reassess the way they approach future efforts and try harder. I came out here a little while back and presented a tool I have employed in my own HQ to help people make the inevitable mistakes anyone will make with public address, without the reprimand of the more experienced in these streets. It has proved useful so far and many such mistakes and oversights have been pointed out in a constructive way with helpful advice, in a closed environment. Helping prevent situations like this.

Fact is, if you do come to the street and present something, you are open to ridicule. The very fact you decided what you had to say was worthy of everyone's attention means you willingly open yourself to the vocal opinion of anyone listening. Although this can seem harsh on occasion, there is lessons in everything. Harsh criticism can be extremely helpful. If you can wipe away the tears long enough to see the point the critic made. I'll tell you a story, maybe illustrate my point a bit...

Lighting a cigarette, Tyrion took a deep drag and looked around at the various faces.

Many generations ago, way back at the start of my line, one of my blood documented similar situations in his journals. He was keen to develop a street presence. Being enthusiastic and clueless he charged into the streets with reckless abandon. He knew not to cause trouble and that was it. What followed were a few months of criminally poor speeches. The critics in those days were every bit as fast and harsh as now and they did what they had to and shot my ancestor down at every word. Some of that criticism was nothing short of brutal. This went on until he was eventually shot by a rogue purely on the basis of his public stupidity. He never offended anyone, he never discussed anything controversial, he was polite and loyal to the end. But. He was shit at street speaking. As terrible as it may have seemed to his children at the time, the rogue that shot him did the entire bloodline a favour.

His children eventually saw that, as well meaning as he was, he'd been an idiot and made countless schoolboy errors. They saw that what he was saying had neither direction or substance. They saw that he never raised any genuine insight or perception of current events. They saw all the mistakes he had made. And. They learned from them! Generation after generation learned from the last and so each raised the bar for the next.

Fact is, if you present something in these streets, you are opening yourself up to the judgement of anyone who cares to listen. That's a fact. That's what are streets are and that's what makes them such a rich source of entertainment for all. You speak here among us, you must expect whatever you get, you must be prepared for it, you must be able to take it on the chin. If you are unable to take criticism I would recommend practising in private or controlled environments until you feel more secure. These are the streets. As Gwarble said, they are not a place for hand holding. This is the Mafia, we are ruthless villains and murderers.

If you can see past the insults and take constructive note of the criticism, learn from it and move on, you will improve with time. Life isn't easy. Nothing worth acquiring comes for free. It takes work. That work can be hard.