The Syndicate

The way I see it there is "Mafia DH" and "Regular DH". When I play mafia, I will do/say almost anything to get a win, particularly as a baddie. I do try to keep within good form though, and I think I do well with that a majority of the time. But I don't take anything I do or say in game out of the game, ever. I also have a very thick skin when it comes to things said in a game context. This is a game that by it's very nature relies heavily on confrontation, after all. But as I said, I tend to think that as long as everything is handled within the boundaries of a "gentleman's code" so to speak, I'm not too worked up about it. The rare times I have been worked up (and admittedly this has happened far more frequently on The Syndicate than anywhere else in my extensive mafia career.) Have been when those conflicts and confrontations break the fourth wall so to speak.

I can (and have) said my two cents on these issues in the past, and for my part I'm being very mindful of the games I sign up for and the players I interact with so as to avoid negativity. It's worked so far for me, but it's a double edged sword because mafia is something I'm very passionate about and I'd rather NOT have to police myself in such a way, at my own expense.

Circling back round to the topic at hand, I feel a lot of Canuck's frustrations. I think for the most part we're all very reasonable, mature individuals. The problem it seems to me is that there is very little distinction between the interactions players have in the games they sign up for and the interactions they have elsewhere on the site.

What I'm trying to articulate, very poorly, is again that idea of there being two sides to myself, the me that plays the games and the me that is just... me. In a game, it should be 100% expected that there will be conflict and confrontation, as long as it is within the spirit of the game. Professional athletes beat the fucking shit out of their best friends every day of the week. The problem is that there is very little disconnect between those in-game conflicts and our out of game relationships sometimes. And I think this discussion helps bridge that gap, so hats off to Canuck.

In closing, Be Kind.