A Cause for Anonymity

PLAN considers protecting everyone's anonymity one of it's highest priorities. Many members of the D/s community are in situations where they would suffer serious negative repercussions if it became know to certain people in their lives that they were associated with an organization such as ours or even privately enjoyed aspects of our lifestyle. We do not believe that what we do is illegal or immoral, but a few, less open-minded people do. Laws are open to interpretation and certain people can consider a spanking to be an assault, and nudity at a private party can be considered indecent exposure. We do not believe that any of these activities are actually prohibited by law, but it is not out of the question that unscrupulous political forces, law enforcement powers or moral zealots could attempt to bring legal or civil action against us. For many reasons, we consider this to be extremely unlikely. However, people can also be "outed" to their employers, neighbors, friends, co-workers, family, and ex-spouses. Such exposure can be very damaging for some people.  ("Outing" is a term used in the gay, lesbian, or Leather/BDSM lifestyles referring to being pulled out of the closet or "outed", and means having your secret sexuality preferences revealed to people in your life from which they were secret.)

We ask that all of the community adhere to the strictest code of respect for other people's anonymity. Violations of this rule usually result in immediate and permanent expulsion from the various organizations. Clearly, however, we (like every other organization) can not 100% guarantee anonymity. Knowing the guilty person was banned from the community would be little solace after the damage is done.

There have not been any incidents of outing (that we know of) in any of organizations thus far and if there were, they were minor or accidental. However, we urge each and every individual to think about this issue and decide for themselves what level of participation with the organization they feel is appropriate. We do have many people that are vulnerable to this danger who freely participate in all ways with PLAN. It is an individual's decision and it's up to will never require a person to divulge their true name for any reason.

To attend a public munch or meet and greet within the community does not require this either. There are some instances where this does become a requirement.  This is normally at the more public events where physical aspects of play are done by attendees due to liability of the place or person holding the event in case of accidental injury. It is your choice to participate or not when these requirements are made. There are also times that you will be "carded” and asked to sign a waiver. This typically happens at a club where, by law, they are required to ensure that everyone is of legal age. In those instances, you are not asked to sign a waiver of any type, just simply provide age verification. The choice is up to you regarding waivers, you can either sign your name to the waiver and show ID; or not and leave. No one will think less of you if you leave.