And yes Lee.... I still love you!
And Jester... Can't take a joke?
I don't know if I could be considered being able to "take a joke" or not; I find most people overestimate their own sense of humor. But, hey, no offense. I just think claiming deep, personal relationships with people, and vouching for their character, based on a shared sexual fetish, is....well, whatever. I guess I don't have a common frame of reference to offer an opinion on that part of it.
But, perhaps I
am a little bitter about it all. Every year, we non-NESTers have to deal with the NEST buildup, the NEST countdown, the posts from NEST, and, afterwards, the "wasn't NEST great!" posts. Even though there's a separate forum for that. It always ends up filling up the main board. And God help anyone who posts a dissenting opinion. The unbeliever must be shown THE TRUTH.
Y'all have the right to do whatever you like. I just wish you'd stop acting like people who aren't into the whole "meeting with strangers and sharing something intimate, just because they're into it, too" thing are
weird. Boundaries are not necessarily a bad thing. I'm sure people thought Kujman was a "sweet guy" too.....at first.
If "gatherings" are so benign, and virtually indistinguishable from, say, a sci-fi convention, how many married sci-fi geeks have to lie to their spouses about where they're going? You can't be expected to introduce a TMF/NEST friend to your spouse, family, or other friends and tell them
exactly how you know them, can you? That's all I'm saying.
I'm not saying there's anything wrong with NEST, or similar gatherings, whatever the kink; people are free adults, after all. But to insist it's something it's not is disingenuous.