Everything is a risk and part of SSC/RACK is learning to identify and manage that risk. It does not mean 'never do this because it is edge play' it means 'when you do this, be aware that you should be considering these issues...'

Edge play is only considered such because it possessed a greater risk of harm (either physical or psychological). By this definition rope play is not at all edge play. To be precise, *most* of rope play is not edge play but *some* of it may be...

Using a rope to tie someone's arms behind their back is not as risky as tying a rope around their neck and stringing that up to a light fitting... In the first instance, the risk is possibly cramp and maybe pins and needles from slight restriction of the circulation. There may also be a risk of the sub stumbling and falling over because they do not have thier arms for balance and a greater risk of hurting themselves in a fall because hands cannot be used to steady them and prevent a fall. A Dom can manage these risks by keeping an eye on the subs position, being ready to catch them if they fall and making sure there is nothing to fall on which is likely to cause greater damage, and also keeping an eye on the circulation. This is easy for a Dom to do and many will do this without even being told that they need to.

In the latter case, the risk is more severe - there is a significantly higher risk of death. A Dom in this case needs to be more on the ball in terms of safety. He may need to consider safety harnesses to prevent falling, have recus equipment on hand and so on. He may even consider it too dangerous to do and avoid the risk in that way.

In all cases of BDSM, you have to be aware of the risks and consider how you should deal with them. That is what the S parts of SSC means and the RA part of RACK.