After having my first gathering under my belt, perhaps I can offer some insight to some of the concerns, since I shared many of them before.
I am not a social person by nature. I hate crowds and can withdraw easily when confronted with a lot of people. But upon arrival at the gathering, I was greeted warmly, both by people I knew thru the forum (Euphoricy and Raya) and by those I never spoke to before (Capnmad, Fire Guardian, Impaler and Classy). They all made me feel at ease and made it easier to handle when more started to arrive later (K-dog, Crystal, Bella, Aura, Venray, etc.)
Honestly, I went into the gathering with no expectations, which I think is the best way to go. If you go with any pre-conceived notions about what happens, you'll either be disappointed or freaked out. Best not to expect anything. Going that route, I had a friggin' blast! Classy became my smoking buddy, K-dog became my brother in lean before we had a name for it and Lee showed us all what an awesome bartender she is. No one demands that you play. You may be asked, either to 'ler or 'lee, and you can just say no. There are no hard feelings, begging, anger or anything. You say no, then no is the answer and no one judges. By the end of the second day, chances are you will feel compelled to join in, if there's any going on. And truthfully, it's not even sexual. It's just a bunch of friends hanging out together and having a good time. No pressure at all.
You will not be attacked. All gatherings have the consent rule. No one is allowed to harass you about playing. Again, they can ask, you can say no, maybe later, not feeling it right now or whatever and they will respect that. It's not some orgy of drooling lunatics that grab every person that walks by. It's really not much different than just hanging out at home and having a bunch of friends over. If you feel awkward or overwhelmed by just the sheer amount of people there, go sit by yourself somewhere and collect your thoughts. I did that a few times the first day or two. Believe me, the sense of belonging and family will quickly override your sense of awkwardness and you'll be talking and joking with everyone. There were around 30 or so people at the gathering I attended I believe, and I can honestly say there wasn't one person there I didn't like. And now, I can't wait to go back.
Hope my personal experience helps a few who are leery of attending. As I said, it was my first gathering and I've been kicking myself in the ass since for not having attending any sooner. And once you attend your first, you'll feel the same way.
