SL Mafias/Familia's

So you believe that some folks in SL, playing at being "mafias" further the real mafias agenda and evil? I'm trying to understand how you think this is harming anyone?

And I wouldn't call the movie Wiseguys and the show The Sapranos ignorant. They were both extrmemly well done, moving, thoughful and fact filled.

By that logic, do you think folks playing at being "SS Agents" further the Nazis' agenda and evil?

Do you think that should be allowed in SL?

Thank you for the correction on Gor and I think it is great that your rl person spends so much time in the gym. Five days a week. Wow!

I grant anyone their second life, their first life or however many personalities they have. However it wasn't a wild assumption I made. It was sarcasm. You couldn't get sarcasm out of my commenting on someone not being able to see his dick in years? You really need to lighten up.

Follow the overall thread and you will see that the remarks that you find an offense to diversity were prompted by several dumbasses talking about how they were ganged up on and shot or how they accidently wandered into so-called 'mafia' territory and were ambushed.

I wonder what your view of diversity would be if me and my buds decided to dress up as Syrian terrorists and 'bomb' establishments throughout SL.

David, what are the defining aspects of the Mafia? The modern icarnation, I am not talking De' Medici here. I don't even think it needs saying.

If you join a mafia, and then do not participate in mafioso activity, I would say your not really roleplaying.

"Harms no one" is subjective, you may not, but others sure do. I remember one well known scripter running into a mafia that moved into his neighborhood well over a year after he moved there. They harrassed the hell out of him. I have also heard other stories from people in world and on the forums about Mafia harassment. If an elf or some other group's member whose RL counterpart does not exist or does not involve itself in organized crime harrasses you, one can't really say, "He belongs to an elf group, all elves must be harrassers." However, when Mafia members harrass you, and carry on about "the family", it's pretty tough to extricate yourself from that stereotype. Mafia activities are, after all, the things that are romanticized in the films you are praising.

Please note; I am not taking sides in Jolene's issue. I was not there. I am speaking in general about the Mafia. Not to mention it sounds like there may be more to the story than we are hearing.

Normally, I would be right there to defend you if you were being unfairly painted because of group affiliation. The Mafia, however, is a bit of a different animal. We all know the stories. They kill amd extort. I would wager that most folks who join online mafias know the stories very well and, in fact, those stories are most likely a driving force behind the decision to join. It's been romanticized how many times? To deny the fact that the Mafia deserves it's image is to deny reality.

I don't know of any organized Viking groups AND Vikings do not exist today, the Mafia does.

For instance it's harming society with emulation, by trying to persuade people or by guiving them the idea that mafia is a cool thing, exactly like someone here is doing. By providing a FURTHER source of misiguiding information and ignorance.



What facts? That mafioso are good and honorable guys persecuted by the evil and cruel police? come on... be real...

So we are now measuring evil based on the scope of the death/destruction/violence? It's OK if Hollywood makes it sexy? I wish we could absolve all of our social responsibilities with such hyperbole.

Look, I think the whole thing is goofy but I can see the fraternal aspect of it. It really really sucked in TSO and while I hate to see it here, if people want to do it they should be able to. But, I do see how in some eyes the comparison will be made between the mafia and terrorists. They both do the same thing. You seem to want to give one a pass because of scale. That is not right and certainly not worth responding to someone by telling them to 'lighten up.'

On the TSO note, I believe this is one of the things that drove people away from it. (The Mafia). Whenever I speak about TSO to someone else who played there, the Mafia inevitably comes up, and generally not in a positive light.

The mafia, in RL, kills people - horribly. Definitely not an organization to take pride in. What I am pushing back against is the direct comparison that people who role play in a virtual world as mafia family members are somehow akin to terrorists, or that those who enjoy films like the Godfather or video games are also akin to terrorists. Talk about your moral relativism. That is the hyperbole I am pushing back against, and I stand behind my statement of lighten up. News flash, we cannot die in SL. We have policies and tools in place to deal with griefing. Dragging the Nazis, Al Qaeda, etc into this matter just inflames it and adds no more clarity to it, especially when we are talking about a virtual world.

I imagine what drove people away is the complete and utter boredom of TSO.

Here here. But the Mafias and underaged brothels didn't help either, especially for mainstream players.

Should they be allowed? Of course, as long as they don't harass folks and break the TOS or Community Standards. I've seen several folks from Jessie dressed in SS-like uniforms.

I'd allow most things - I've seen people wandering around with IRA group tags on. Now as a Brit I should object to people role-playing UK terrorists, but I don't. FWIW I'd allow people to role-play Islamic terrorists too.

Certainly you are roleplaying if you take the part of a pretend mafiosa and plot against other mafi families. If you attend meetings and discuss plans, gather intel and attack each other's HQ's. It's as much roleplaying as any other roleplaying activity I've seen.

As to knowing griefers that were members of an online mafia, I have no doubt that you and many others have seen this. But that doesn't mean we are all like that. Infact, most of the folks I've met in mafias have been very friendly, fun to be around, and in no way endorse griefing bystanders. It should be a consensual and fun activity.

I've met a hell of a lot more griefers that weren't mafia members.

I'm not saying online mafias are wonderful. i'm not saying they are filled with saints and do-gooders. I AM saying that they have every right to roleplay mafia members and form families, as long as they abide by the rules.

My main point is that generalizations and insults against everyone involved in this subculture is a bit ridiculous and ignorant. I don't think you will find a single person in SL that can claim i griefed them, or even that I was rude to them. (I hope not anyway.) And yet I'm loyal to the Valentinos and do what i can to help out when needed.

No one is gonna actually get hurt or actually wield any real power. It's make believe, but also a way for folks to get together and play. I seldom have had to shoot my weapons in a mafia confrontation, but when i have, it's been against other mafia members or griefers, and it was actually pretty damn fun.

Apparently you've never watched either. They are in no way protrayed as innocents, or even nice guys in either body of work. But they are portrayed as human. And both of those projects involved direct real-life mafia info.

I agree.

What is confusing to me is that those who are upset about being identified with Mafia themes, especially with references to Mafia films such as "extrmemly well done, moving, thoughful and fact filled" that deal with documenting black markets, murder, extortion and the like, get cranky when they are viewed in a similar light when they RP Mafiosos online. It's like a guy RPing a Nazi getting upset when a guy charges him and screams "DIE YOU KRAUT!".

If you want to be Mafia, don't get all indignant when people identify you with the mystique. You can't have it both ways.

I watched more than enough, and was quite disgusted but how sympatyzing was the point of view. Some movie directors should better go shot documentaries on the fauna of the african savannah... maybe some good hearted lion would do the world a favor and feast

I am not saying roleplaying mafioso, nazi or islamic terrorist shouldnt be ALLOWED, but they shouldnt be surprised or complain if people have a disgusted expression when they look at them.

David Valentino is my elected representative in this thread. Everything he says, I second.

If I was was role playing a Fransiscan Monk, and was part of a group of Fransiscan Monks in SL, would you not expect me to behave like a Fransiscan Monk?

Edit to add: I think a central part of the issue here is that there are certain groups that carry a stigma. If that stigma is founded in fact, such as with Mafias, terrorists, the KKK, or Nazis, it's going to evoke some feelings from some people. I wish I could tell you otherwise, but I can't. Claiming offense at being identified (at least to some extent) with the documented RL actions of the group you are roleplaying is really kind of counterproductive reasoning is it not? Why join if you don't want to embody at least part of the mystique and reputation? if you don't plan to participate in any of the activities those groups are notorious for, why join? Why call it a Mafia?

Ok, basically what I'm getting is, if *YOU* belong to a certain group that others take offense too, it's ok, but if someone says anything about it, that's not? Just take it for what it's worth, it's their opinion, listen to it, or not.

Do what you want. But don't get upset when someone says they think it's wrong. As far as the Aryan's and everything else that people are tossin' out here, I don't agree with them either, does that make me an evil person because I think they're wrong? No. It makes me a human being with an opinion.

If you want to emulate a proven evil group of people, have at it, but don't expect those who have issue with it to give ya hugs and kisses for it. Ya take the good with the bad in life, mostly put upon us by our choices. You choose to belong to a "mafia" you should take the criticisms from some the same as you accept the accolades from others.

Shade (founding father of the FETED INTERCOURSE)

Yay I voted for David too

I have to agree here. If I am wearing a title that says " Race car drivers association", should I be upset if folks think that I race cars?

Me thinks I would be being a little bit naive or disingenious if I did.

Heh. I'd rather role-play a terrorist than a Mafia soldier. Instead of Gotti or Lansky, I could play Ben Franklin, Che Guevera, Abraham Lincoln, Mohandas K. Ghandi, Frederick Douglass, David Ben-Gurion, Susan B. Anthony, the current Dalai Lama, or Jesus Christ, for example. All branded terrorists by contemporary authorities, all hunted in some way.

Terrorists, if they win, are noble people who see ahead of their times and make hard choices. If they lose, they are tragically inhumane people who twisted their own ideas through violence. Mafia soldiers are grotesque people with insanely twisted loyalties who seek personal gain through inhumane means. Period, so far.

Copolla's The Godfather is like Robin Williams' Mrs. Doubtfire. Williams made a comedy to show how badly society treats divorced fathers. Few people got the point. The romantic tone of Copolla's movie was supposed to stand in stark contrast to the horrors these people were actually perpetrating on society and themselves, a very dark satire. Few people got the point.

Yes, the Mafia are American cultural icons. Al Qaeda is not. Makes no difference at all. The Mafia is more cuddly than Al Qaeda merely because we say so.

Play 'em all and take the consequences.

corrected spelling

*giggles**waves* HI ROBERTA!!!!!! Hehe Just came to check on this forum, turning out really good!!! *claps*

Lets do this, U all play SL how u want to play it, and Let ME play SL how I want to play it, U call me dork, I call u dork. I agree my time in game has more Drama, but eh, compared to all the good times I have had, SO WORTH IT!!! I Love All of my family! And to me, I cant ever call them just friends, cause u know what, they are more than friends to me, they are my Second Family, a family I wish I always had, most of the time *giggles.* I would not trade it for a thing in the word!

I hope that from all of this, that maybe, u might want to get to know mafia Better, Cause not all of us are bad, Like I said My family isnt here to grief, we want to stop it, and it if means a few citizens get hurt, things must be sacraficed. We are truely sorry and never mean for any of u to get invovled, And as far as not coming to Heaven Island, thats totally up to u. I wont force u to come, but Im telling, its something awesome.

Once again *claps* Good Job!

"Speaking as a member of a Mafia family you can quote me when I say that not all Mafia Families are gun toting, trigger happy people on a power trip."

Wow, that's some great roleplaying right there. rofl

avoiding to comment about Seth's delirium about terrorism... not even worth it.



Living in the country where mafia is born and continues to do the most damage, no, i don't need nor want to know it any better, maybe you should. Probably if you really did you would carefully avoid calling yourself part of it.