A few more thoughts on community

I have to say I was both surprised and energised by the reaction to my last blog, which seemed to indicate I'd tapped into a motherlode of dissatisfaction with the current status quo on this website. For too long, in my view, Xhamster has existed almost as a frontier town in the old wild west, its more forward-thinking inhabitants subject to persistent abuse and denigration from the bullies who think they rule our town. Well, I have news for them: it's a new century, and their dominance is as transient as a piece of tumbleweed rolling past the OK Corral.

All of us here are interested in viewing pornography in its various forms. A slightly smaller number are open to discussing the particular elements they find most fascinating, challenging, alluring. A much tinier percentage actually produces original content, most usually personal photographs or videos, but occasionally also blogs or short fiction. It is in their willingness to commit so wholeheartedly to the spirit of openness and transparency that such members are the lifeblood of Xhamster.

I will confess that at times I do catch the scent of cordite in my nostrils. There is indeed a battle on the horizon, but the lines have not yet been drawn nor the ranks decided. Perhaps I'm in the minority with my talk of respect and fairmindedness, but I think it's far more likely that I speak for a majority of Xhamster members who have long felt disconnected from higher ideals when between these electronic walls.

The crucible is this: honest discussion and depiction of mankind's most primal urge is only possible within a truly liberalized forum, but - let's be honest - much pornography falls well short of that liberal touchstone; it is up to us to square this particular circle, to elevate ourselves above the base heart of much of the material we are discussing. We call them 'adult movies', so let's be adult in engaging with this genre and our own interest in watching it.