Thanks for a very reasoned reply Ruby. I'm probably a little over-sensitive about some of this - there is a lot of censure of the more 'extreme' lifestyles even within the BDSM community - hence my (somewhat tongue-in-cheek) reference to wacked-out weirdoes.

There is a wonderful line in 'Slavecraft' (Daedalus Publishing): "Few have walked on the moon, but we do not call them extremists"

To answer your questions/suggestions:

1. I like having a contract for several reasons, I suppose. Mostly because for me, I want (need?) my slavery to be as real as humanly possible. The contract means that I simply have to get through times of difficulty or of pining for old freedoms, rather than turn around and say I don't feel like serving today. It also protects both me and my owner, in some ways. Her from accusations of abuse, kidnapping (hehehe!), false imprisonment. Me from ... well, not a lot really... but it does include her responsibility to feed and house me as long I'm her slave.

2. We wrote the contract ourselves, and it is refined from time to time as points occur to us; boundaries have been removed at times, clarified at others.

3. I don't want to share it in the forum... I'm not embarrassed by it, but it feels intensely personal, somehow.