LadiesBladewing -> RE: My attempt to start a discussion (with a bit of a dissertation) (10/4/2005 5:05:40 PM)
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ORIGINAL: ZandD 1. What FOR YOU are the positive and the negatives regarding BDSM in cyberspace? The biggest positives for us are the opportunity to talk to others who share our love for this way of life, the exploration of new ideas that comes from such conversations and the ability to network and provide and use resources to build the community and help others outside of the community to understand a little better about the broad range of people who enjoy this life, whether in small bits or huge bites. The biggest negative is that the internet seems to have exacerbated the societal tendencies towards rudeness and impatience. We are a very formal group, and welcoming people is handled with patience and dignity. People who spend a great deal of time on the internet seem to have difficulty grasping the intricacies of formal manners, slowly-developing relationships and opening and exposing oneself in order to merge with a community. As a more minor negative there is the tendency for online BDSM to focus on beginning and ending with cybersex. It is most likely that I have no interest in it, but I've always found it somewhat pointless--and on the few occasions I've participated, I've spent most of the time wondering why I wasn't writing a novel instead. quote:
2. For you pre-internet practitioners of BDSM, has the understanding and practice of BDSM improved since the advent of the internet? If so, how? If not, why? I think the amount of information available has increased exponentially, and the advent of the internet and the profound impact of television/movies on our cultural perceptions has made the lifestyle a bit more visible and, perhaps, allowed individuals who might never have explored to do so. On the other hand, the internet and the media do not always give a balanced view of the lifestyle, and the individuals who participate solely in cyberBDSM may have a very skewed picture of the reality of this lifestyle. How many who only participate online, for example, would understand how to maintain the power-exchange when a child is sick, or your mate or dominant becomes permanently ill or injured? Most people in strictly cyberBDSM relationships don't have to deal with the practicalities of making this life into a day-to-day way of life. Therefore, I think that while there is a lot of information, much of it may not be very helpful if an individual has moved out of strictly cyberBDSM relationships into a D/s relationship in the real world where there are jobs, kids, dishes, laundry, bad days at work, forgotten briefcases---well, I think you get my drift. quote:
3. Do you see the internet improving our life in BDSM in the NEXT 10 years? How do you see YOUR life improving with the use of the internet? I don't see that it will make much difference in my life, other than the ability to maybe help someone else along the way who is really striving to find his or her way. I am a guide in this lifestyle in the real world, and enjoy having a chance to do so in chat and through lists and messaging, but sometimes being so available actually deters from my life, since so many forms of access mean that I rarely get time to myself anymore. That is why several times a year (this coming weekend, for example), I take 2-3 days in the wilderness, in silence, with no electronics, just to listen and reconnect to the world. quote:
and (final question) If the internet was destroyed tomorrow and there was no way to communicate that equals the ease and reach of the internet, would you supplement your desire to live this life by other means (e.g. munches, meetings, play parties, snail-mail mailing lists) or start your own groups and such? We already participate in these things, and less internet wouldn't really have a huge impact in our offline participation. What we might find ourselves experiencing, though, is a lot more companionable time together. When one or more of us are on the internet, it is a very isolationist experience. In a family like ours, it is important that the internet doesn't take away so much time that we lose our connection with one another. Losing the internet wouldn't deter our experience at all. quote:
As they say on the ESPN show "Who's #1", LET THE DEBATING BEGIN! I return you to your regularly scheduled kink, Z P.S. I love to write! Thank you all who managed to stay awake for making it down this far! Damn, I'm long winded! I love to both read and write. Hence surviving grad school and dissertations *laughs*. Glad to meet others who share the pleasure of words. Lady Zephyr
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