Just to add my 2 cents worth...

First off... i think two entirely separate things are attempting to be discussed in one thread. The first being edging the second being direct disobedience. Though they are intertwined... in my mind they are still two separate issues to discuss....

So, saying that i will respond to the direct disobedience portion...

Have there been times that i have purposely disobeyed my Dominate. Yes, there have been. But, i was new to my submission (this was 6+ years ago), still learning what it was about, felt that W/we were not communicating as needed, had tried to speak to Him about it and had ultimately done the one thing i knew would get His attention and (hopefully) bring me back to where i wanted to be. It was a place in that submission that i couldn't achieve on my own. (If i could have what was the point in having a Dominate to start with?) Was the task related to edging. NO it wasn't. Did i have a punishment for it. BIG TIME. Did i regret doing it, not then and not to this day. AT that point He was not being the Dominate that i needed and my attempts at discussing were not being taken seriously. So, as someone said earlier, yes i did purposefully disobey, wanting the punishment, because there was a larger issue that was the overall problem that was not just MY issue but OUR issue. (Which He did admit later... ) That was probably the last time i truly topped from the bottom with conscience thought.

Has there been times that i have recently disobeyed with TDS. Yes, there has been once. It did concern orgasm denial although not edging specifically. Did i do it on purpose... absolutely not!!! It was a purely unexpected physical response that 99.9% of the time had never been an issue. i was as shocked when the rule was broken as He was disappointed. Yes, of course there was a punishment. (And i'm only posting this because the punishment from that was posted in the Life section all ready so it is public knowledge.) But, i have also noticed that the "order" has been changed. Which would then make it more of a direct disobedience then an unconscionable accident. So, instead of perhaps setting me up for potential failure again, if the circumstances were the same, the perimeters have been changed enough to help me achieve the success that W/we B/both wish. Will the order be changed back at some point. i have no doubt it will be...

What i am trying to say is this...

NO ONE IS PERFECT be they DOM/ME or SUB! Each sub is different, their growth, maturity, need, personality, etc. will play into weather they disobey on purpose or not. Each Dominate is different as well. Who is to say that on some level the Dominate doesn't continue to issue an order just to have the sub fail? Perhaps that is part of their kink as sadists? The feelings that comes from having that extra control or the humiliation associated with the punishment... who knows? So, from my experience the question could be reversed back... Is the Dominate purposefully setting up the sub over and over in anticipation of failure? Yes they are "testing" the sub and pushing limits but isn't it also their responsibility to help ensure success on some level? IF the sub is continually disobeying (particularly one specific order) isn't there a larger issue there that they need to take a look at with the sub? Let's not assume it is an "imperfect" sub that is the cause of the failure, after all this is supposed to be a growth RELATIONSHIP so E/everyone has a part in the outcome....

As i said.. just my 2 cents worth....