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anthrosub -> RE: good old days (11/11/2005 3:11:42 PM)
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I think the main issue at hand (and there's no cure for it) is this...
With the advent of the Internet, people who would otherwise have lived out their lives with their fantasies confined to the boundaries of their respective lives are now able to come out and play...in droves. I'm sure this has happened before whenever a new communication medium arrived but as we all know, technology seems to have an exponential affect. For example, before it was common place to send and receive mail, people had to do most of their communicating face to face. Afterwards, they were able to speak their mind without having to "represent" themselves in person, allowing them to sometimes come across in a way they would not have in the flesh.
The Internet adds yet another ingredient (in addition to the much larger audience)..."anonymity." Anyone can be anybody on the Internet. They may get found out eventually but until they do they are part of all the noise that must be filtered out when meeting people.
Although I was too young to have experienced it, I can imagine when people in the lifestyle sought each other out before the Internet, they were much more likely to find others genuinely interested in the lifestyle. Why? There was an investment in time and effort involved, plus having to "walk the walk" on the spot.
I'm very suspicious of the watershed of new members signing up here and elsewhere every single day. How many "Dominants" and "subs" under the age of 25 can claim to be accomplished in their respective orientation? How many "Dommes" are on this site who have the idea that the full scope of Domination is doing things her way simply because she says so? I could ask many more academic questions but I think this makes my point.
The flood of people online means there's more "categories" of Dominants and subs than existed prior to the Internet. The majority of these categories would likely not be recognized so much as being a "type" as being a "stage" of development by those who have full accomplishment to their name. In the four years I've been looking online, I can count what I consider to be accomplished Dommes on both hands with a few fingers left over. Of course, I realize this determination of mine is subjective but the point is still valid. There are simply too many pieces of straw to find the needle in the haystack anymore.
Finally, I think there's something to be said for having achieved a level of respect through real time interaction. In this sense, each person truly earns that respect as they had to do in the "good old days." With the Internet, there's too many people who are Dominant or submissive in name alone.
anthrosub
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