PLAYING SAFE

[br****]

SSC, PRICK, RACK, or other—what's your way of ensuring safety and looking out for your playmates? ⛑️

[do****]

Ssc

[Bo****]

Safe words, consent, condoms, no overindulging on booze or other things, keep a blade handy if you're playing with ropes.

[Hexy]

Safe words, safe signals in case of gags, quick release methods and make sure aftercare is always readily available

[do****]

Verbal and nonverbal communication. End quote.

[typhoon2]

I always ask playmates 'What do YOU mean by that? so that both parties know exactly what we're talking about. I ensure they understand and that I am aware of all issues pertaining to planned play. Later on, I might be more adventurous as I undertand their reponses and preferences but early play is heavily-scripted and cautious. I don't think any acronym properly covers my style but even if the terms are used, I'd still strive to ensure that we both know what's what.

[PN****]

I think all Doms have a responsibility to care for their subs, but PRICK should be forefront IMO. We all made the decision to play. We all have our role in making sure we keep our wits about us to an extent as well. Again, trust is everything. You have to trust your partner, but also yourself.

[Zhurendragon]

I use both, PRICK, and CCCC. Caring and communication are as absolute to me as consent, but each person does have a personal responsibility to know what they are or are not willing to try, and the risks involved.

[Fo****]

Before I play I as a sub I always make sure to establish a safe word but even before that I always revert to the acronym ASkSAM covers all my bases .

[Lm****]

Communication and mutual knowledge plays a great part in this. Also a safe word/signal is always required. Generally better talk before and start slowly to know your partner.

[Bi****]

💯 communication is the key, always

[Hexy]

I think a big issue is that people dont know what these letters mean and often no one wants to educate their meaning effectively, SSC - Safe, Sane, Consenting. PRICK - Personally Responsible Informed Consented Kink. RACK - Risk Aware Consent Kink... As an Asperger's person, i often find that when people just shout letters at you and expect you to understand is just foolish. If we cant communicate on a simple level without being lazy about typing a few extra letters to fully explain what these abbreviations are then i dont think we can "educate" anyone on these topics.

[St****]

Except safe word and a hand gesture (a tap) one of my play partners gave me a small keychain with a little light, it was amazing because even though my hands were tight in the back and my mouth full I felt very safe. The feeling of safety helps me to get into sub space ❤️❤️❤️!

[De****]

I like RASH.
Risk Aware Sh*t Happens

[MissTakenDeep]

While I agree that we all have a personal responsibility to know what we’re getting involved in, I’ve met too many people who’ve been taken advantage of, and a couple of people quite willing to take advantage of them, due their lack of knowledge, experience, confidence, or understanding. Personally I’m more for SSC or RACK than PRICK. I feel they invoke much more communication and understanding between the people involved, whatever the dynamic.

[CopperKnob]

Its an understanding of what the acronyms mean, not only the positives of them but also understanding where they fall short (because they very much do, all of them). It's how they are being applied by each individual.
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It's about open, meaningful, and effective communication.
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It's not just about safe words/signals, but having respect and trust that they'll be used appropriately and acted upon.
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It's about having the knowledge and skills around the act being done. Not having a gun ho/devil may care attitude.
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It's about each individual having their own risk assessment and divulging it to the other party/s.
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Most importantly, it's about having a relationship with the other individual/s whereby you know that the above is in place.

[Ey****]

Communication is KEY 🔑!!!

[Je****]

Verbal and nonverbal are a must. It also helps to have a basic understanding of his and her anatomy. And depending on the scene and kink some pre-care such as cleaning tools, toys and wearables which will be attended to. I honestly don’t see enough of that pre-care happening as much as I like.

[az****]

Like double trouble says both verbal and non verbal maybe a meeting in public place to learn more about one another

[PN****]

8 hours ago, MissTakenDeep said:

While I agree that we all have a personal responsibility to know what we’re getting involved in, I’ve met too many people who’ve been taken advantage of, and a couple of people quite willing to take advantage of them, due their lack of knowledge, experience, confidence, or understanding. Personally I’m more for SSC or RACK than PRICK. I feel they invoke much more communication and understanding between the people involved, whatever the dynamic.

I definitely agree with your statement in that the others invoke more communication. The problem is, RACK can come with it's own share of problems. ESPECIALLY to a new sub or dynamic where one party doesn't fully grasp what is going on. If you are an M/s, RACK is perfect. As for a general dynamic or D/s, I'd have to humbly disagree.
As for SSC, that should always be a core. You really can't have any of the others without it. And that definitely takes communication.

[ey****]

I feel the problem with the acronyms is people don't know what they mean, I mean they know what the letters stand for but not what it *means*  and/or often have their own interpretation of them - especially if it's something they can use to weasel out if something goes wrong.

In all of the acronyms, however, you have to understand what the risks are and how to mitigate them. That's the Safe in SSC, that's the Risk Aware in RACK that's the Personal Responsibility in Prick - so on.   You also have to make sure the other person is also aware - it's the Informed in Prick - but also ties in with the Consent part of each acronym.   (that, for example, someone might consent to rope play, but might not have had their been aware there was a risk of nerve damage, for example)

Kink is also a bit like riding a bicycle that once you get going you do a lot of things second nature.  My last play was last Friday, I played with 4 different people - one of which was my wife, one of which was someone I knew and had played with before, one of which was someone I knew but had not played with, the other was someone I literally met that day.

In all cases we'd talked up front what we'd do based on mutual likes and experience - some of the play involved sexual contact so we swapped certs - and we all knew, and could verify, each others experience.   In 2 of the 4 cases there was someone else about who could help with any problems - the other two one was my wife and the other was someone who had expressly asked for it just to be the two of us and to be honest everything was low risk and there were ongoing conversations on consent.

How this might vary comes to context.  I tend not to play with folk completely new to kink, but this has happened and this is when more talks are needed.  Not so long ago I was helping/spotting for a sub who'd never done breath play, so myself and the Mistress both talked to him about what was involved, that this was a high risk activity and there was no pressure to try it and as well as the Mistress being experienced (and a qualified first aider), I would also act as a spotter if anything looked wrong.

[Mo****]

I prefer the 4C's specifically because of the different levels of consent and the addition of care.

Here is an excerpt of an article found on Tickle.Life I think breaks the acronym down nicely:

Caring
Caring brings in the ethical point of view in BDSM. It gives importance to each person involved and their uniqueness. Through caring, you can also focus on trust and intimacy when you participate in kinky sexual activities. Here, partners can present their sexual values and explain them to each other. You can discuss the definition of safe or good BDSM with your partner(s).

Communication
By bringing in proper communication, it will help in creating a better understanding of the participants. Since people have different limits, communication can help the partners know about them beforehand. Say, for example, that you want to bring something a little more out there into the bedroom (like a dragon dildo, for example). Communicating that with your partner will help you to learn more about their fantasies. It will also help in embracing the uniqueness of your identities and assist you in conveying your needs.

Consent
Even though consent is present in SSC and RACK, 4C's approach tries to bring clarity to the same. It is because, in most cases, the consent remains unclear, which brings in confusion. Hence, the 4C's approach presents consent in three different levels. They are:

The first level is surface consent, which focuses on the concept of "yes means yes," and "no means no."
The second level is scene consent. Here, the focus is on discussing and negotiating the scene in detail. Even in the middle of the scene, any partner(s) can withdraw their consent using the safe word.
The third level is deep consent, which is an ambiguous level. Here, the partner(s) might not be in a mental capacity to use the safe word.
Caution
Caution has a close relationship with consent, communication, and caring. Here, it is about emphasizing the unique experiences of each person involved in the activities. Caution also brings in flexibility and variation. It is a way to navigate through risk and bring in safety for different sexual practices coming under kink, especially BDSM.

[Ta****]

It depends all from witch game I play or which technique Im going to use

[Co****]

As almost everyone has highlighted in some form in their response… Communication , Communication and for those at the back COMMUNICATION!

Essential Before, during and after …

[mu****]

Anonymity