Quote Originally Posted by Ranai
Hmmm. Interesting.
I suppose titles can be convenient in a chatroom environment as an easy-to-recognise signal of a role one wants to take?

I have read about people using the freedom of the internet to appear sometimes as this, sometimes as that gender (and I would not see a problem in it, as long as everyone knows that what is going on is role play).

A question out of curiosity from someone without chatroom experience: How do switches identify themselves, if at all? Or do you just use neutral names? Or has someone perhaps recognised some individuals with the same mannerisms, who sometimes turned up as Sir [insert fancy name], and sometimes as slave [insert other fancy name]?

And how about real life BDSM meetings. Do switches simply use their names?
Weeeeeeelllllllllllllllllll.............

I'm not entirely sure of the protocol on this one but seeing as how I am rarely comfortable taking any sort of role in a chatroom other than 'person there to talk to other people', I tend to use the nickname I've been using since my mom gave it to me when I was 18 or 19: craftygirl. I dunno it if sounds sort of subbie or not (girl and all) but it just suits me.

RL events.... I couldn't keep a straight face calling myself Lady Shannon or Mistress Shannon or subbie shannon so I just stick to my first name, Shannon. There is one switch that I know of in a local group who uses Lady and her first name ......

That being said, I also tend to be very fluid in my interactions with people and am very much a go-with-the-flow person, so I feel like any title limits me somewhat in people's expectations of how I will act. And role play is just not my thing. *shrug* So Shannon it is. :-)

Edit to add this: when I am playing with someone, I address him as Sir if I'm on bottom ... he calls me whatever he wants of course......one of my friends calls me, simply, "girl." I actually like that quite a bit. If I'm topping, then I have him (different guy) call me Ma'am but sometimes one boy I know throws in Mistress, and that is OK by me too. But the Sir Ma'am thing also hearkens back to my conversative religious and Southern upbringing, so it's comfortable and familiar.