Quote Originally Posted by tydnchaynz View Post
*huggles butterfly* you did it!!! great thread sis.......and hello all. i'm 41, currently under consideration (awaiting my collar with heartfelt joy), and have been in the lifestyle for about 15 years.......i too started online before my real time experience. I would like to insert a little caution here that those of you who are new and think that online is just "play", please talk to someone with experience so that you learn just how deeply an online relationship can affect you.

Again, as many have said, ,the only dumb question is the one not asked. Trust me, in this lifestyle......not asking can also be dangerous *soft smile*. Feel free to PM me or yell out in chat. Look forward to meeting everyone.

Tyd
I absolutely agree with you here, tyd. Because of the fact that online play isn't face to face, people assume that it isn't real, in the sense that it's only "pretend." That isn't true at all. There is a real, live person in front of each of those computer screens. Online play can very quickly become very real, though sometimes (a lot of the times, actually) it becomes real to only one of the people involved. I can remember many times when my online Doms said or did something that deeply affected me and I would sit in front of my screen with tears running down my face.

What is really interesting about this site is that we have so many people of varying ages and years of experience, so we all have something to offer. I myself am 47 with 10 years experience (which includes both online and r/l). Like others have said here, we all start at the beginning; we were all newbies at one point and we all have to keep that in mind when dealing with newcomers to the site. I'm in chat quite often, but I also post a lot and there is always PM. So I'm available when needed by others.