I've just gone back to Hero Only mode because I found the interdependence between allies to be stressful.

Having played for a bit, I can see how having real-world friends and family as allies would be better, but I found that when trying something out for the first time there was a higer emotional cost to getting people I know involved than to reach out to people already playing the game. The down-side to that is that strangers have little vested interest in the success or failure of other strangers, are almost guaranteed to have a different communication style and likely have an active need not to let a stranger on the internet know what is going on in their lives.

A low investment in an ally means that while they may read a hero's activities every day, they may feel no need to comment or even like. If a hero writes that they are having a bad day, and you don't know them in real life, there can be the impulse to back off rather than to get involved. If that impulse is overcome, the hero may react badly to strangers asking for information or trying to help.

A difference in communication style can mean that when someone is looking for one kind of support, but getting another, they feel a little abandoned. E.g. only getting 'likes' when you are looking for comments, or vice-versa; Not getting acheivements or responses to questions, not being able to contact someone to find out why they have gone dark or how they want to be helped.

I think this system would work best in an environment where it was safe to say anything in as much detail or as little as you wanted, but because this is the internet there will always be barriers to openess for safety reasons.

When one member of a group goes dark or stops contributing, rapidly all others (myself included) feel that they are under strain or unable to connect properly and slowly the rest of that ally group stops contributing or goes dark. It was quite hard to feel alone in a room of empty chairs.

It would be nice if there was the capability for allies to do powerpacks that would encourage taking (sensible) interaction risks with their heros. If all of someone's allies are people they only know online, it can be very difficult for an ally to know what their needs are as far as communication (how often, what kind, what medium,) pick-me-ups, how to know when to butt out etc.

Superbetter does a very good job of seeming to be a place that fosters trust and openness, and by it's nature attracts some very broken people who find it hard to know how far to trust or be open in an internet environment. For those who overcome their fears, it can be a hard fall to earth when those expectations are not met.