Okay, it's time for me to step on my dick, here.

It's my belief that Tourguide's purpose in starting this thread, along with the "Dominant or Master" thread and some others, is to help newer or more confused/unsettled Forum denizens to define(?) themselves, so that they can be be more comfortable with themselves (meaning their self-image).

That's why these three or four threads were placed in Knowledge Base, rather than BDSM Life or General Talk. They're teaching pieces for people who haven't yet solidified their thinking, not an attempt to dictate absolute definitions to people who've already defined themselves.

They're also an attempt to place a common ground of understanding under people who might someday find themselves in a social situation and be faced with strangers using these terms. In such a case, it would be good if everyone was working from a common terminology.

I run into this frequently on the Internet in a non-BDSM context. When e-mailing with Aussies, Brits and English-as-a-second-languagers, it's always good to know that they don't mean the same thing by 'boot' or 'bonnet' that us'ns do, and it's polite to use their definitions (when you can remember).

And this brings us neatly 'round to the "Respect" thread that Dslave began, located elsewhere in Knowledge Base.

(If I misinterpreted Tourguide's intent, I'm sure he'll pop by in 'alf a mo' and set me straight.)