vield
Posts: 354
Joined: 1/1/2004 Status: offline
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Hi Dastardly, Thank you for beginning an interesting discussion. I can not remember when I first started doing this stuff, but it was long before there was an internet and long before I reached puberty. I certainly craved to learn and to meet compatible people to talk to as well as to play with, but in those days I had to try to find my own way. In the process I made most of the mistakes a person can make, I discovered people are not always what they seem, and I learned a lot of lessons. I have done my best to reach out and help new people learn as much as I can ever since, just because I know how much I wished I had that early on. I tried number of places when the internet did become available, and was glad to find a great set of bulletin boards, forums, chat rooms, classes and dom, sub and switch discussion groups on the old classic Prodigy. A BD/SM community formed then, which was very awesome. We had a "Newbie Packet" and permanent forums for new folks to visit, which were staffed by volunteers known to be good and respectful. I met many great people (and some not so great) on line, at events held by folks from P* and in person. I finally was able to do quite a bit of mentoring and outreach. In about Oct 1999 Prodigy folded that network for economic reasons to try to sell things differently, and in the process they destroyed that community we had. People carried on with theior lives and communicated through AOL, Delphi, and other systems, and commercial BD/SM sites such as Alt, Bondage, Spank and many others set up sites which essentially one must be a paid member to use. I tried several of these but found they were not useful for me. I had pretty much given up on web sites being useful by 2000, and since I had gotten involved in local BD/SM discussion and social groups in my area and in regional large BD/SM weekend events since the mid 90's I was busy enough in the scene in real time, A dear Domme friend I had been helping to learn the scene turned me on to CM when it was very small. I found this free site to be very interesting. Over the years I have found friends here and have enjoyed talking to many, advising people about safety and consensuality, and as I learn at least as much from people who share their thoughts with me as they learn from me, life stays very interesting and the discussions continue to interest me. LOL not all discussions, of course. We each do have very individual interests! I find CM to be a friendly and open place to be because that is the way "WE" make it. I believe it to be very important to be open to the new people, as I wish I had found when I was new. There will always be predators, users and a few unbalanced types trying to find new victims to take advantage of on line and in person. Here one can find good folks too, but one must make one's own decisions as to who to listen to. On any system many newbies will be nervous and shy. I like the way CM flashes current bulletin board posts across the screen, because this can help people decide to get involved!
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As always, your mileage may vary! vield
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