BDSM creators doomed eventually?

Go to the mall.

I know, it's not exactly wonderful at the mall. But you wont see a BDSM rack in every other window. Oh, and a man screwing another man in a poodle costume.

<snip>

This is how happy I am ----->

Oh yes, it's common around SL. and that's my point.

I would like to see it be represented fairly. I don't want SL to become BDSM world. Or frog sex world. Or any <insert kink> world.

I sympathize with Linden Lab wanting Second Life to be "normal".

Go to the mall.

I know, it's not exactly wonderful at the mall. But you wont see a BDSM rack in every other window.

Today me and a good friend of mine we're discussing the BDSM market in SL. Both of us being creators of BDSM gear etc etc. The topic that we both sort of got stuck on was a certain company that basically, took over the collar trade. I won't mention this company but any SL BDSM lifestyler would know which company it is.

Here's me and my friends shared thoughts, and also my own.

First, i'm not here to badmouth this company because I need to say for a free collar it's a wonderful one. tons of options, all the bells and whistles, automatic updates and constantly improving it. To be quite honest...for a free collar it rivals, and outdoes most of the collars you see for sale in SL. Even my pets use them and I rather enjoy them because of the ease to use, the features and the constant updates.

Now...being a "free" collar, I believe this is going to impact some of the big players as far as collars and BDSM gear goes. To the point of taking over eventually, which I don't see far away. I myself stay away from collars as far as what I create but as I said, with the advances this company makes I see many commonly used things in the BDSM lifestyle being incorporated into them as we speak, and in the future I'm sure. So in my opinion it is going to affect the trade of the BDSM lifestyle pretty harshly eventually. And no, you can't compete with free things in SL. Especially things that are quality made such as their products.

I fear that eventually most of the big companies and well known companies are gonna go under unless they either cheapen up significantly, or don't mind investing money into a business as opposed to making money. Could higher forces such as the Lindens be a part of this? I'm not dissing them but yes, they have done some shady things in the past and are in the workings of some now.

As far as my business goes, I make it by with a few hundred, maybe a few thousand extra a month which for me, is good. Enough to buy a few toys and new outfits. But as a established and longtime company, or a company wanting to make it. What do you do?

Again this probably isn't to important to non BDSM people but if you are a BDSM company owner, you need to make decisions...we all need to make decisions I think because I see a take over coming.

Comments are welcome ofcourse from everyone

...says Mistress Love's pet.

and I'm sure David Icke saw reptillian humanoids all over the place.

Well I don't believe it is common. But I can see why BDSM fans wished it were common. Nobody wants to be seen as a pervert/deviant.

I've always been sexually deviant.

Before I discovered SL the term BDSM barely existed and yet in SL it's as common as RL golf. I don't think that's a good thing for Second Life.

SL shouldn't have to be a hangout for sexually related cliches.

Linden Lab is going to put a gimp mask on BDSM and lock it in a box. They'll then push the box into a nice SL 2.0 shadow.

Go to the mall.

I know, it's not exactly wonderful at the mall. But you wont see a BDSM rack in every other window. Oh, and a man screwing another man in a poodle costume.

This is how i view it.

LL will be able to claim, unlike the other grids, that they have an Adult Content Grid, where the adult content is controlled and one does not have to worry about running into obscene scenes when showing SL around to their Boss, or Professor or Parents or Children.

This is not the end to anything. This is just the beginning of a new way XXX and extreme violence content is treated on the grid.

Ease up, folks - Five isn't advocating censorship. It is fair to make the observation that BDSM appears ... APPEARS ... to be overrepresented in SL. I've heard of it, and I believe most "normal" people get off on a little light bondage, but the lifestyle stuff that involves ball gags and anything more creative than a riding crop... not "normal" in first life.

Sadly, this apparent overrepresentation leads people to believe that SL is some den of iniquity. Well, it is, but outside the confines of what is "normal," which is why it's only businesses are being relegated to Ursula/Pornadelphia, and the private dungeons and such are supposedly untouched.

Despite all of that, OpenCollar will definitely impact sales for everyone else. Free is hard to beat for most people, even if it's only "good enough."

Open collar is no more of an impact in the grand scheme than the free MLP beds were.

Despite all of that, OpenCollar will definitely impact sales for everyone else. Free is hard to beat for most people, even if it's only "good enough."

Wrong.

And the free MLP system completely demolished the #1 sex bed system that existed before MLP.

That, is SL history.

welcome to how things work.

Did they evolve and offer a better product that provided enough reason to be bought? If not, then they would have been demolished easily enough by any of the competitors offering better service and products.

Open collar is no more of an impact in the grand scheme than the free MLP beds were.

I've seen about 5 or 6 different sex bed systems out there now... all competing and doing well against the free stuff just fine due to the quality of service and products.

I wonder if Open Genitals will destroy the sex trade too...............