Some people say respect is earned and not given. I've never understood that logic. I like to start with respect and go from there. One thing about the internet, respect is harder to find
here.

Just recently I got offended by the disrespect of endless spam. The staff for Pandora's Box,
not to be confused with Pandora Radio which rocks... popped into the Max Fisch forum, and did what they do 99% of the time. They post quickly into a few forums, the same message (
this week it was that they wanted someone to come clean their dungeon) and then they're off again. It's always the same kind of solicitation. "
Come see Mistress Hotpants! She's got hot pants!!!" and then they're gone. No discussion, just pure solicitation & spam. And then, a few days later it's a few more of the same, but next time it's... "
Mistress Tinyfeet!!! OMG!!!! She's got tiny feet!!!"
Fortunately Max is around to delete it. And if they wanted to put it in the announcement forum I wouldn't care less, but what they're doing is really just vandalism. Hey, I'm glad they're a long standing and good dungeon. I'm glad that some folks think they contribute to the scene at large by running Paddles. And I've been to paddles. It's a decent business. It looks like it's a fair gig there. But, it is a business. They seem to make money there, and get PR from it and host their own stuff there. But does that really have anything to do with how they act on the forums? Correct me if I'm wrong, send me a link, show me where they have contributed to the forums.
What's really bad is that there's no need for it.

Is it that tricky to be respectful of the larger BDSM community - even if it's "just online" like this forum? How hard is it to couch their request as part of a topic - to enter into a discussion. Lots of other dommes and dungeons are smart enough to pull it off. Yes I know that 95% of the people in the business here are making commercial oriented posts. But they aren't so ugly and blatant about it. Here, let me help them. Next time they want someone to clean the dungeon post this:
Subject: Cleaning MaidsHere are PB we recently had an opening for a cleaning maid! There is nothing more fun than seeing a grown man in a sissy maid outfit pushing a vacuum across the floor, dusting the dungeon, and they *WILL* do windows, or else! Anyone here who just loves being of service and making a dungeon spotless?"See, there ya go, that wasn't too hard - was it? Pop in a day later, post some replies, and voila, it's not spam. It's a topic for discussion. I bet it not only gets you more responses, but it's a much better message than the spammy solicitations. Most dommes are smart enough to figure that system out. Bring up the topic that you want. Mention that you like that topic, that you do that topic. Anything goes as long as it's allowed on the forum. Talk about sessioning in gym clothes, or a tight corset, or topless - any of those topics are fine (personally I prefer the corset one btw.)

When I really tried to figure what irked me so much about it - the bottom line about what PB does now, is it's barely above vandalism. Is it really that different from someone taking a marker and writing on the bathroom wall at Paddles... "
CHAT ONLINE ABOUT BDSM AT MAXFISCH.COM!" Yah, I know, the forum is just pixels - not quite the same as writing in marker. But it's not like you can't erase markers with a little work (maybe a bit more than erasing pixels... but the point is still the same.)
And really, I think that neither action has real merit. Neither action is appropriate. And neither action should be condoned by being ignored.
/rantmodeoffAlong the respect lines, I owe a bit of props to
Ms. Jaime Passier-Armstrong, who plays Mistress Constance in
Legend of the Seeker. Which I talked about a few times in January -
here,
here &
here. She was the Mistress in episode 8 whom Mistress Deena passed the Seeker to for additional and more brutal punishment. Sorry Ms. Passier-Armstrong, no disrespect intended ;)

Maybe the Onion News is right, this poor behavior is caused by the
impact that reality shows on our society. *shrug*