Now that was a good post!
Just a slight follow up:
If someone into BDSM does not wish to engage in tickling, that is fine.  Tickling is unpleasant to some, and no one should have it forced on him or her.
If someone into tickling does not wish to engage in BDSM, that is fine.  What is wrong with being tickle-centric?  I would not condemn someone for being spanking-centric.  If that is the only thing he or she likes, then fine.
Mutual respect is the key.   That means I need to be respected as someone who could never inflict or receive pain/restrain or be restrained.  But it also means that I need to respect the value of the high sexual response and heightened sense of well being in BDSM practitioners. 
In a nutshell, they are just like me.  Human beings always have differing interests.
And yes, I have thought about how much fun it would be to tickle torture someone--I have been reading stories since 1999 and even wrote one just for this board--but I have never actually done it.  I do not even know if I could do it in real life.  
My primary tickle dreams are 75% romantic and 25% horseplay--exactly what I have done in life.  Nothing of long duration.
As I wrote earlier, I acknowledge that there must be something of BDSM in me, but try as I might to find another fetish, I find nothing exciting in a list of fetishes I found on line.  I even went to a leather and fetish shop on Christopher Street in Greenwich Village, and absolutely nothing turned me on.
And given the number of responsibilities I have in real life (my job included) plus all of my other interests plus my love for reading literature, where do I find the time to learn about BDSM?  Those who love it MUST learn as much as they can.  Play has to be safe and informed.
But I am just here for a few tickle thrills on the Internet.  😀
So, given what is a vanilla nature with a spot of tickle torture thrown in, I fear I would be tossed out of any BDSM gathering.  
That does not negate what I said earlier about having some BDSM in me, however.  But how far do I wish to go?
I, for one, can appreciate and honor the master/sub thing, and I can see how psychologically healthy it is to explore hidden aspects of one's personality.  When I did theater many years ago, we had many exercises in which we took on other roles and carried out improvisation.  BDSM role play sounds just like that, but with the added dimension of physical stimulation.
I would enjoy theater improvisation with BDSM folks, but power exchange scares me.  In the book I read (When Someone You Love Is Kinky), a sub talked about how, at a party with other kinky people, if her master wanted a drink and she was in the middle of a good conversation with a friend, she had to end the conversation abruptly and serve him immediately.  I can understand how giving up control could feel sexy to someone else.  However, my reaction would have been: "Get your own damn drink, fool!  I'm busy." 
And if I were the master instead of the sub, I would indeed get my own drink.  Why would I ask someone else to get it for me?
This is why I would never be able to do the master/sub thing.  I would not be able to do it right, and people would tire of me quickly. 
I hope this makes sense.  Right now I am more confused that I let on.