How about a 'meta' TUGs talk subforum?

[Sealed]

What I mean by 'meta' is a place to talk less about bondage itself and more about the community and safety surrounding TUGs. Basically, for discussions about 'serious' topics surrounding TUGs.

For example, I wanted to make a thread earlier this week about local TUGs communities and how accepting they are (as I think a large majority of people here are LGBT, but my local TUGs community isn't as accepting), but I didn't wanna put it in TUGs Talk amongst threads like 'Tied up in a sleeping bag' and 'What's your favourite bondage position?' where my post will be seen as a little bit of a downer.

It's the same scrolling through there a little, you'll come across posts where people discuss what is too far and consent in general wedged between polls about favourite gags. Obviously these topics that go a little deeper into the whole practice of TUGs are welcomed by the community, but I think we could have a better place to discuss them than in TUGs Talk.

[chadmc90]

Hi.

It may not be a bad idea, honestly. I would be open to the idea if others think it would be a good idea.

[bondagefreak]

Unfortunately, given the apparent low level of literacy among a portion of the membership *hint hint*, I cannot voice my support for this.


A fuss is made nearly every time the moderation team requests a topic be moved over to the appropriate section and apparently some users are still unable to differentiate the difference between "Art/Photos/Story Requests/TUGs Talk/Suggestions and Comments/etc".

Even in mid-2018, these boards are apparently still a puzzle for many.
And to think that these forums are already obsolete and haven't changed at all since the early 2000s...


Under ideal conditions, this would be a good idea. However, I predict a 'meta' TUGs Talk section (or however else you want to call it) would quickly turn into a moderation fiasco.

[Deleted User 1591]

That's what Fetlife is for if you're seeking in depth discussions of bondage in society.

[Sealed]

That's what Fetlife is for if you're seeking in depth discussions of bondage in society.

If we didn't make a forum/subforum just because '[other place] does it better', this forum would cease to exist. Stories can be found on DeviantArt easily, and the whole TUG Discussion area can be replicated on Discord servers.

The point of a forum is to make your voice heard more than on other platforms: if I were to make a post wanting to discuss something more serious about TUGs, everyone gets that little orange icon next to the subforum name to know there's unread stuff there, including my post. If I were to sign up for a Fetlife account right now and ask a meaningful question, almost nobody would hear.

[bondagefreak]

I have to agree with [mention]Sealed[/mention]
This place should not limit itself to non-serious discussions. Serious topics are just as important as the light-hearted ones. As proof, the TUGs Talk section is currently a mixture of both (though obviously one is more favoured than the other) and the most read/commented story on this site is a BDSM tale that is heavily riddled with morally debatable scenes and plot points.


As mentioned above, I like the idea of separating TUGs Talk from TUGs issues/discussions/debates, but I fear this will become a moderation fiasco.

[mention]Sealed[/mention]
While the idea brews in everyone's head, don't shy away from opening up meaningful threads in the current TUGs Talk section. It's still the designated section for all TUG/bondage-related topics and discussions.

[cj2125]

I agree wit [mention]bondagefreak[/mention] in that another subforum might not be the best solution right now, specially since the boundary between "serious" and "non-serious" can be a bit blurry for some people and moderating it could become a nightmare. I think that, at least for now, it's better to include the "serious" talk in the TUGs Talk subform. There are a few serious discussions there so I see no problem in you posting your topic, in fact it's a subject I would like to discuss too, so I recomend you go ahead and post it anyway

[chadmc90]

If anything, we would have to explicitly define what constitutes as "serious" tug talk topics and add sections for those specific categories. For example, instead of having a category named "serious tug talk" we would have "tug safety" subforum

[Sealed]

I have to agree with @Sealed
This place should not limit itself to non-serious discussions. Serious topics are just as important as the light-hearted ones. As proof, the TUGs Talk section is currently a mixture of both (though obviously one is more favoured than the other) and the most read/commented story on this site is a BDSM tale that is heavily riddled with morally debatable scenes and plot points.


As mentioned above, I like the idea of separating TUGs Talk from TUGs issues/discussions/debates, but I fear this will become a moderation fiasco.

@Sealed
While the idea brews in everyone's head, don't shy away from opening up meaningful threads in the current TUGs Talk section. It's still the designated section for all TUG/bondage-related topics and discussions.

What story is that, just out of curiosity? The story with the most replies I found was Bound and Gagged in a Sleeping Bag, but I think that's your story :p

I guess TUGs Talk will have to do for now for serious topics, considering the reasons others have listed. I wanted it as a sort of retreat from all the over-fetishism this site seems to have in regards to very unsafe scenarios and ideas (I'm talking completely out of my ass here, I love unrealistic scenarios lol), but it'll undeniably get hit with a lot of topics that rather belong in TUGs Talk.

[bondagefreak]

[mention]Sealed[/mention]
Yup, that's the one. And contrary to popular belief among those who have not read it, "sleeping bags" actually have very little to do with it.

The fact that a PG17, non-TUG story takes the top spot as far as popularity goes, says much about this forum and the potential this community has for developing and discussing mature/serious themes.

[Deleted User 1591]

The fact that a PG17, non-TUG story takes the top spot as far as popularity goes, says much about this forum and the potential this community has for developing and discussing mature/serious themes.

It says a lot about the membership of this forum, really. It says we have a lot of horny guys who see TUGs as a secondary to horniness. I won't decide whether that's good or bad on a site that's supposed to be about Tie Up Games. That's up to [mention]chadmc90[/mention] to decide.

[chadmc90]

The fact that a PG17, non-TUG story takes the top spot as far as popularity goes, says much about this forum and the potential this community has for developing and discussing mature/serious themes.

It says a lot about the membership of this forum, really. It says we have a lot of horny guys who see TUGs as a secondary to horniness. I won't decide whether that's good or bad on a site that's supposed to be about Tie Up Games. That's up to @chadmc90 to decide.

Well its supposed to be a home for both mature and non mature content, but we can't really control the popularity of some tugs over the other without outright banning such content. I personally don't think this forum is overrun by "horny guys who only care about the sex," especially since the new site was built. The balance is much more level than it used to be.

As for the original topic of this thread, i will consider a TUGs safety forum, as that would the the only topic i feel would be worth its own section.

[bondagefreak]

It says a lot about the membership of this forum, really. It says we have a lot of horny guys who see TUGs as a secondary to horniness. I won't decide whether that's good or bad on a site that's supposed to be about Tie Up Games.

I agree that it says much about the membership, but I do not understand the interpretation you make of it.

In fact, the majority of posts and comments made on the above-mentioned story have been, and still are, about serious things, moral dilemmas, ethics, grey zones, relationships, what is acceptable and what is not...etc.
Bondage, kink, self-bondage and tie-up games can very much be mingled with character conflicts, relationships, bdsm, ethics and moral dilemmas. These things add an element of depth to a story and have come to be hugely appreciated by a majority of both men and women participating here...especially those who've come to terms with being TUG/Bondage-enthusiasts and who actively seek out to indulge their passions in RL.
The three administrators (including [mention]chadmc90[/mention] himself) can testify to that since they've all partaken (at one time) in the ethical debates featured in Bound and Gagged...

Are TUGs healthy? How can they fit into relationships? How much is too much? Why are TUGs considered to be in the grey zone? What about consent? Safety words? Why do we enjoy TUGs?
These are all valid question IMHO.

Hook up sites (like Fetlife) are where "horny guys who see TUGs as secondary to horniness" go.
We, on the other hand, should keep this board open to all discussions pertaining to Tie Up Games, bondage and the many grey areas, consequences, doubts and reflections they entail.


As a member, I welcome and embrace these deep, community discussions relating to real-life implications FAR more than the "horny", childish Tie Up Games enjoyed by most of the young males on here.
I very much believe there is room for both, games and serious discussions on here.

As for what the site was originally about, it should be mentioned that the original site creator lost interest in this little TUG escapade a LONG time ago. As individuals, we are constantly evolving and so this site must evolve as well. These phpbb boards are getting heavily out of trend. Limiting this site to childhood memories or fantasy games would be equivalent to condemning it to a slow, but certain death.

Younger generations have questions. They want to explore themselves, they want to interact with others and talk about their doubts, their uncertainties.

What better place than here to allow young and old enthusiasts to mingle with one another and grow together?!

Sending [mention]Sealed[/mention] and other like-minded ones to sites like Fetlife is definitely not the way to keep this community from spiralling down into oblivion like most other phpbb-based forums.
Better they ask their questions here and see what our community has to offer.
Who knows? We may even learn a thing or two about ourselves in the process...
If not ourselves, then about others who share this common interest.

There is nothing to lose, and so much to gain.
Let's keep an open mind about this.

[LK3869]

Fun thing first: if a sub-forum about bondage and life should be created, it already has an obvious title: "TUG life"
But that would still be vague...

Seems to me having "serious" comments and discussions triggered by the stories is the main reason for such boards to exist. In that sense, such discussions happen naturally or they don't, depending on who's reacting and who catches on and adds their two cents.
Sometimes it works and sometimes it falls flat, not sure a dedicated section would make things better. Material for reactions is already all around the place

Still, as clearly expressed by the board's name and the newly updated posting rules, the "game" aspect is the cornerstone here and readership mainly visits for "leisure"...

I tend to feel the TUG world misses a place with hard but mature, responsible and reflexions-inducing TUGs - if anyone feels entrepreneur-minded, I'm open to any proposition - but this board is the most diversified if've found so far and that's something valuable.

[TheBaconDude]

If anything, we would have to explicitly define what constitutes as "serious" tug talk topics and add sections for those specific categories. For example, instead of having a category named "serious tug talk" we would have "tug safety" subforum

I think a problem with that would be that “tug safety” is a lot more defined, and I’m not sure that many people would talk in it, if it were to be a sub forum. Something like “tug life” (LK3869) or a meta/serious tug talk section (like [mention]Sealed[/mention] suggested) would have broader borders on what people could discuss, instead of just focusing on the safety aspect. I realize that, as [mention]chadmc90[/mention] and [mention]bondagefreak[/mention] said, there might be some problems with having a sub forum that is so broad, but I feel just posting all tug talks inside, well, tug talks, would be better than separating the talks into other smaller sub forums that few people would post (topics) in.

As [mention]bondagefreak[/mention] said, the normal tug talk forum is still a mixture of serious and fun topics, and our community (at this moment) is small enough that if a post is made, it will likely be seen by all who browse the tug talk forum.

[Deleted User 667]

I personally like the idea of a "TUG Safety" subforum. Considering we have a lot of "younger" members, a lot of whom will be exploring. It'll teach people simple things like what to do if you loose the key to your handcuffs while wearing them