Do you believe the internet has made the ‘lifestyle’ more accessible to people? How has the internet impacted your lifestyle?

I came into this kinda late in the game.  Not long after I got involved in a master/slave relationship, the internet was being mocked for its lack of resources.  The forums were starting to degenerate.  And the chat rooms were starting to empty out.

I know there are still forums and chat rooms in tact, but the number of people who frequent them has halved, and the quality of the discussions that take place has severely gone downhill.  I can remember a time when you could actually have a conversation about the different ways things are done without being flamed into nonexistence.  A time when people cared more about helping each other than pointing out how much better they or their relationships are.

I think the internet has absolutely made this “lifestyle” more accessible to people.  I mean, how could it not? From what used to be a secret society, of sorts, there are porn sites and forums and chat rooms and blogs cropping up everywhere.  What used to be discussed in hushed tones in the corners of parties has developed into clubs and munches and play parties and events.

Maybe the internet hasn’t increased the amount of kinky people in the world.  But it has definitely played at least some part in giving us all a name for our kink.  A forum to discuss it in while still remaining anonymous.  A place to gather all sorts from all over the world.

I don’t know if I consider this a good thing or a bad thing.  I mean, where as we used to come together to share our kink and enjoy the fact that others are similar to us, we now bash the shit out of each other for tying our shoes differently. 

People are forever saying things like, “Oh you read it on the internet, so it must be true.”  But the same could be said for any venue, these days.  Textbook editors put their opinions in the books we use in schools to teach our children.  Newscasters put their own spin on the stories they collect.  Hell, we’re even second guessing The Bible’s translation, now, because it’s pretty much accepted as fact that [[King James]] had his translators write it the way he wanted it to be written.

Not that I believe The Bible is the work of some all-powerful, all-knowing being.  But it would be nice to know if the books it was translated from actually say what it says they do.

I am not ashamed, unlike so many others, to admit that the internet has had a huge impact on our lifestyle.  Master’s first encounters with submissive women were online.  Some of His ideas and philosophies have been ripped straight from the internet.  And some are flat out considered “internet-isms”.

This really doesn’t bother me as much as some people seem to think it should.

And I don’t really get why they think “internet-isms” are bad.  I mean, what does it matter, really, where an idea or philosophy came from if it rings true with you? Who cares if it’s something made up in a book or on the internet or just randomly out of some dude’s head? And really, all of the ways we do things – in all walks of life, not just BDSM – were made up at some point.  So what difference does it make where they come from? Why is something someone learned off the internet bad but something made up by some random dude in some obscure dungeon long before most of us were old enough to be involved okay?

And why should I believe you, some random cunt on the internet, about what’s “the right way” to live as a slave? I mean, wasn’t it just you who said believing stuff about M/s on the internet was stupid?

Oh! So what you meant was anything anyone but you says.  Ha! I don’t think I’ll listen to you either.

A lot of the ways He’s trained me came from places like B.E.S.T. Slave Training (Which, by the way, doesn’t happen to be the best way at all, as is proven by the fact that I’m still a raving cunt.) and various other sites that, at one time, were considered good information.  He’s taken things from series such as the [[Gor]] novels and books like The Loving Dominant.  To be honest, I don’t think there’s a single resource He’s walked away from without taking something with Him.  Be it a new way to handle me or something He’d never enjoy.

I’m of the mind that all information is good information.  Even the shit that doesn’t make it through my bullshit filter.  Because if I don’t encounter the bullshit, how can I truly understand the good stuff? And if that makes me a player, whatever.  He owns me and our relationship works for us.  That’s all that really matters to me.

prompt found at SubmissiveGuide