These are good questions. It does feel like we've settled into somewhat of a routine where we have one game at a time, and the game usually involves some combination of me, Galz, faust, gkrieg, LL, Space, mcmc, DS, maybe iguana, maybe EFHW, maybe a slightly less regular player. (And some others I am sure I am forgetting, sorry!) And I love all these players to death, but it does get a bit repetitive, not having enough new blood.
Part of me thinks perhaps we should be more outlandish with setups? I mean, another part of me, the part that likes incredibly balanced, rigorous games, says no way jose. But when I think back to the most entertaining games over the long haul, some of them were a bit wild. I mean, for me personally, some highlights were: Joetheonah's Deep Space Nine (Mafia 19, I think?), Modern Comm (Mafia, uh, 30 something maybe? somewhere in there), the first PYP slots game run by faust (40, I think?), and each of those were semi nuts, while still being not totally crazy.
I'm not totally thrilled about the prospect of moving, although I think it's a totally legit point to raise. Just seems like we might lose sort of the only thing we have going for us, this sense that this is our home and we have a history here. I think even just looking at a different, like, posting layout, may wreck the experience for me a bit, kill off that nostalgia factor. I don't know. And I wonder if other places are as friendly as we are.
It's a bummer the Forums don't see as much traffic, because that is, obviously, the main issue. I wonder if we could somehow advertise our little mafia sub forum, maybe on other gaming sites? I mean, I don't know, I could put out a call for people to join, like I could tweet or FB it. (I have a not-trivial 21K followers on Twitter.) Probably we would not get cream of the crop. Maybe on gaming boards, though. IMO the key is to bring people to us, not to go somewhere else. I could be wrong though!
I'd love to talk more about this though. It was my 30th birthday two days ago, and naturally it made me think back. I'm quite happy, I gave a good life, and f.ds, and mafia in particular, has been a part of that happiness for the last, what was it, six years? I've met people all over the country, sometimes in person, even from Europe--hi, Eevee!--because of this great group. It's facilitated me staying more in touch with my brother--hi, mcmc! It's more than just a distraction from work, it's really been a great, positive influence on me, and I value you all for being part of it.