Dave2112
Level of Cherry Feather
- Joined
- Apr 17, 2001
- Messages
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Greetings pervs and pervettes! The time has come once again to strap an innocent victim down to my Table of Torture and force information out of....wait. That's my other job. Sorry. 
This week's installment of TQWD finds us sitting down with the newest member of the TMF Mod Squad and long-time community member...
HisDivineShadow!
*******************************
1) While you are the newest member of the Moderator team here at the TMF, you've served in the same capacity at TickleTheater. What have been the similarities and differences between the experiences so far for you?
Lots more to do here, for one thing. The TickleTheater does not see the large volume of posting that the TMF does (Nearly four times the number of posts at last check) and thus less needs to be done. The same duties tend to apply, however. The occasional troll has to be chased back under the bridge, sometimes a spammer pops up and must be mauled (Fortunately we have a bear handy ), more often a copy written clip is posted and thus must be removed, and so on.
The structure of the Mad Mods and how that affects how modding happens is probably the biggest difference. Here you have MTPJeff on his golden throne, glaring down at everyone and imposing "Reboot: Back in ten minutes" messages upon us whenever we displease him and, just below him on a marginally less golden throne, the Tzar Myriads, equally adept at dispensing kind words or harsh banishment, favoring the former. Below still those two are the senior mods you know and love. Alright, you might be thinking, get to the point you smelly hippy. The point is that the TickleTheater basically had and has now just us three Mods/Admins (Mistress Valerie, Nessonite and myself) for a very long time, no omnipresent SuperAdmin (TickleTheater's real life began to impose on him) or senior mods (We WERE just about all the mods) to form any kind of hierarchy. As such, we're a bit more independent in how we operate, modding where we see it necessary and not consulting each other unless we've a question or concern of import (Not that we don't talk, we're just comfortable operating fairly autonomously from having done so for such a long time). The Triumvirates of Rome spring to mind.
At the TMF, conversely, there is a big teamwork emphasis, with everyone reviewing and/or helping in deciding what needs to be modded and how (Well, with the newbies like myself, anyway. Good thing, that). Each way seems to work for where it is. The TickleTheater, with its smaller number of problems, does well with three active and mostly independent admins quickly dealing with any trouble spots. The TMF, with its larger and sometimes more complex problems does far better with its support structure and teamwork emphasis. I know the TickleTheater’s mod style could not be replicated here for very long.
2) Tell us a bit about yourself as you relate to the tickling fetish. How does it play out in your life, how big a part is it, what "side" do you like to play? Things like that.
How does it play out? Not at all! Being something of a misanthrope, I shun people to as great an extent as is possible. As such, the number of times I've actually given or received tickling can be counted on one hand (Takes two to tango, as they say). It is a big part of my online life (I spend much of my time online at the various tickling forums, for one) but has little impact on my life outside the interweb. Note that I don't whine or complain when I say that. I sacrifice tickling for solitude, eh?
That said, the two times I've actually been significantly involved with tickling of any kind I found myself not as I thought I would be. For a long time I thought I was a 'ler and structured my little imaginings around that (My imagination is too active for its own good, methinks). However, the first time I was tickled in any significant way, I found myself squarely in the 'lee category. This, as some may know, was the time when "Tickler/Ticklee:" in my TickleTheater profile changed to "Vastly more lee'ish than ler'ish, apparently." I was, the very small number of times I 'ler'd, an awkward 'ler, reluctant to touch anyone (Probably out of shyness and out of being unused to contact with others beyond talking). So I'm still a bit confused with regards to what "side" I like to play and probably will remain so (Content as I am to be a hermit).
3) I asked this question of Rob in the last interview. I liked the question so much, I thought I'd put it to you as well. What tickling "itch" have you not yet scratched? What would you like to do/try/experience that has eluded you so far?
Because of my inability to contain myself when actually tickled, I tend to keep from being tickled in any significant manner (Hard to tickle something that's thrashing around like crazed monkey). So I guess if I had an itch it would be to experience what it is like to be tickled in a more intense manner (And by intense I mean more than a mild tickling, which is about all I can keep myself marginally contained for and thus is about all I’ve received). That more intense manner, however, would probably require restraint. It's alright with me, though, to have this as an itch unfulfilled; without dreams, the imagination cannot truly stretch its wings and soar.
4) This is a weird one, and I hope you don't mind me sharing a bit of insight with our members. In the Staff sections of the TMF, you refer to yourself (by screenname) in the third person often. "HDS has performed this action..." and such. I have been extremely curious as to why? Is this a separation of online persona and real life? Or is there something else to it altogether?
HDS has wondered at the answer to this question himself at times (Did I do that on purpose or not, eh? ). It is but one symptom of this one 'acquiring' idiosyncrasies over my time online. Every so often I type or see something that appeals to me and I become attached to it. These oddities appear at every forum I visit as well as in emails and, occasionally, on website pages I construct. The third person is but one instance. Others include my use of "many moons" in lieu of a more standard unit of time, "this one" supplementing the third person, "eh?" at the end of sentences (Sometimes for no apparent reason), "aye aye" at the end of sentences (A more recent addition) and various British-associated words (Wanker and the like) snagged from BigJim (Among others). Some come from the many books and magazines I’ve read; some come, like wanker, from other forum members. Few to none of these, however, appear in my real life personae. Wanker and “eh?” are perhaps the only elements that have made that jump.
However, I skirt the point. The specific origin of the third person and "this one" elements may be evident to students of Japanese animation: Kenshin Himura of the manga/anime Rurouni Kenshin. Kenshin often uses "this one" and other pseudo-third person elements when speaking. I believe the anime was airing back when this one (I swear I'm not doing these on purpose. >.>) joined the TMF and, since I was TV-addicted back then, I must have picked it up after numerous episodes. So, blame Nobuhiro Watsuki (the creator of Rurouni Kenshin).
5) You've been left one million dollars by a rich relative with the express stipulation that you give 25% of it to one single charity or cause. Who gets the money and why?
Government watchdog groups of both ends of the spectrum. I am a strong believer in Lord Acton's line that "power corrupts": so long as there are men and women in power, there will be temptation for and succumbing to corruption and greed. While the citizenry should themselves monitor their government by keeping well-informed on issues dear to them and their country and questioning what they feel to be wrong, there must always be groups dedicated to shining a light on the halls of power. Only by keeping our eyes on those in power can we hope to reduce corruption in government. No party or affiliation is immune from Lord Acton's words so support must be given to organizations of all stripes, even if one does not agree with all of any particular group's views.
6) Outside of the tickling part of your life, what passions do you have? What makes you "you", leaving out the fetish part?
Japanese animation and manga, as if I hadn't annoyed any and all enough with that by now, is my great obsession. It’s a genre/media class that’s appealed to me for a very long time, although I did not know it when first I saw it. That element has gradually expanded, leading me into my love of technology (Excluding cell phones and portable music players) and all things interweb via my personal website, which is dedicated in no small part to anime. Aside from technology and anime, I suppose my only other passion is reading. I like to read anything and everything I can get my hands on, from all genres and authors.
7) If you could have any one superhuman ability, what would it be?
The ability to travel through space, over stars and planets, simply looking at it all would be my choice. Just to be able to see what lies out there in all its glory would be wonderful. Hopefully this ability would include an equally super-powered camera to take with me. I’d probably spend all my time floating around Neptune, though; always did like that planet.
8) Two part question: What was the last great book you've read and the last great film you've seen?
The book one is hard. I read too much to keep track of everything. I suppose the most recent book I have read that I enjoyed was Faust: A Tragedy by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. A rather good play it was. As for movies … this is harder. I watch very few movies. The 1961 version of A Raisin in the Sun springs to mind as the most recent film of worth I can recall.
9) This question is also somewhat of a two-parter, although it's pretty much the same topic. You've been associated heavily with the art communities of both major tickling forums. First off, what kind of art (in general, not just tickling related) strikes your fancy the most? And, how do you see "the place" of tickling art within our fetish? As opposed to video and live-action clips and the like?
Kind of funny, that, since I have no artistic abilities myself. I don’t really have any particular brand or style of art I like more than any other (Assuming one ignores anime/manga as a category). I visit art museums whenever the chance presents itself and have found that I enjoy most all forms of artwork, from more classic paintings and sculpture to some of the more modern art one might see at an art theater. That said, I am rather fond of landscapes (Or photographs of such), especially ones of more wild or natural settings. I like nature; she doesn’t put on any airs.
I see artwork in the tickling community as an outlet for expression of a kind not likely to be seen in other medium (Clips, for instance). A company producing video clips is bound by the good ‘ol laws of economics, supplying what the consumer will purchase. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this; indeed, if no one LIKED what was being made these companies would not be long for this world. Additionally, there are simply things that cannot be done in a video. Portraying characters that are fictional (Anime, for instance) or situations difficult to replicate (Aliens as ticklers, for instance) are also out of the bounds of clips. Stories have the potential for these, but not in such a visual form. Artwork lets the artist unleash their own individual tickling side, unconstrained by a production budget or the constraints of what folk’ll purchase. Take, for example, Fairfeather. Those familiar with his work will remember that each piece as its own flair, its own little bit of comedy and wit. That’s an expression of Fairfeather’s own take on the tickling world. Artwork also enables the fantasies of non-artists to come alive through requests or commissions. Getting your own personal video shoot done is possible, but difficult. Seeing your fantasy lee or situation takes but a message to one of many artists accepting commissions and it is done with little cost. Few things, in my experience, are as satisfying as seeing a little piece of your own tickling imagination coming to life. It is most certainly no replacement for clips nor should it be. It, rather, is a complement to them, just as stories complement artwork and clips and photographs complement the same. I simply see it as the more “free” subset, one where the only restriction on what one can conjure up is one’s imagination.
10) And, of course, the obligatory Question 10. If you could invite any three people, living or dead, to dinner...who would they be and why?
Richard Adams, Warren Zevon and Diogenes the Cynic. Richard Adams penned my favorite two books of all time, Watership Down and Tales from Watership Down, and I'd like to meet the man and thank him. It was partly because of Watership Down, which I read back in the third or fourth grade, that I developed a great love of reading, something I am most glad I have and have kept. One can learn so much from what is to be read in this wide world. Warren Zevon is my personal favorite artist/composer. However, some of his songs defy easy, rational explanation (Excitable Boy springs to mind), so I’d like to ask him about those. Of course, if he’d consent to providing some after dinner music so much the better, eh? And Diogenes I find fascinating, personally (This is the philosopher who lived in a tub in the streets and famously told Alexander the Great to “stand out of his sunlight”). My own misanthropy compels me to desire a conversation with one who found mankind’s achievements worthless.
********************************************
A special thanks to HDS for his wonderful insight and candor in this interview. It was a real pleasure for Yours Truly and hope it was for you as well. See you next time!
Click Here for Previous TQWD Interviews!
__________________
This week's installment of TQWD finds us sitting down with the newest member of the TMF Mod Squad and long-time community member...
HisDivineShadow!
*******************************
1) While you are the newest member of the Moderator team here at the TMF, you've served in the same capacity at TickleTheater. What have been the similarities and differences between the experiences so far for you?
Lots more to do here, for one thing. The TickleTheater does not see the large volume of posting that the TMF does (Nearly four times the number of posts at last check) and thus less needs to be done. The same duties tend to apply, however. The occasional troll has to be chased back under the bridge, sometimes a spammer pops up and must be mauled (Fortunately we have a bear handy ), more often a copy written clip is posted and thus must be removed, and so on.
The structure of the Mad Mods and how that affects how modding happens is probably the biggest difference. Here you have MTPJeff on his golden throne, glaring down at everyone and imposing "Reboot: Back in ten minutes" messages upon us whenever we displease him and, just below him on a marginally less golden throne, the Tzar Myriads, equally adept at dispensing kind words or harsh banishment, favoring the former. Below still those two are the senior mods you know and love. Alright, you might be thinking, get to the point you smelly hippy. The point is that the TickleTheater basically had and has now just us three Mods/Admins (Mistress Valerie, Nessonite and myself) for a very long time, no omnipresent SuperAdmin (TickleTheater's real life began to impose on him) or senior mods (We WERE just about all the mods) to form any kind of hierarchy. As such, we're a bit more independent in how we operate, modding where we see it necessary and not consulting each other unless we've a question or concern of import (Not that we don't talk, we're just comfortable operating fairly autonomously from having done so for such a long time). The Triumvirates of Rome spring to mind.
At the TMF, conversely, there is a big teamwork emphasis, with everyone reviewing and/or helping in deciding what needs to be modded and how (Well, with the newbies like myself, anyway. Good thing, that). Each way seems to work for where it is. The TickleTheater, with its smaller number of problems, does well with three active and mostly independent admins quickly dealing with any trouble spots. The TMF, with its larger and sometimes more complex problems does far better with its support structure and teamwork emphasis. I know the TickleTheater’s mod style could not be replicated here for very long.
2) Tell us a bit about yourself as you relate to the tickling fetish. How does it play out in your life, how big a part is it, what "side" do you like to play? Things like that.
How does it play out? Not at all! Being something of a misanthrope, I shun people to as great an extent as is possible. As such, the number of times I've actually given or received tickling can be counted on one hand (Takes two to tango, as they say). It is a big part of my online life (I spend much of my time online at the various tickling forums, for one) but has little impact on my life outside the interweb. Note that I don't whine or complain when I say that. I sacrifice tickling for solitude, eh?
That said, the two times I've actually been significantly involved with tickling of any kind I found myself not as I thought I would be. For a long time I thought I was a 'ler and structured my little imaginings around that (My imagination is too active for its own good, methinks). However, the first time I was tickled in any significant way, I found myself squarely in the 'lee category. This, as some may know, was the time when "Tickler/Ticklee:" in my TickleTheater profile changed to "Vastly more lee'ish than ler'ish, apparently." I was, the very small number of times I 'ler'd, an awkward 'ler, reluctant to touch anyone (Probably out of shyness and out of being unused to contact with others beyond talking). So I'm still a bit confused with regards to what "side" I like to play and probably will remain so (Content as I am to be a hermit).
3) I asked this question of Rob in the last interview. I liked the question so much, I thought I'd put it to you as well. What tickling "itch" have you not yet scratched? What would you like to do/try/experience that has eluded you so far?
Because of my inability to contain myself when actually tickled, I tend to keep from being tickled in any significant manner (Hard to tickle something that's thrashing around like crazed monkey). So I guess if I had an itch it would be to experience what it is like to be tickled in a more intense manner (And by intense I mean more than a mild tickling, which is about all I can keep myself marginally contained for and thus is about all I’ve received). That more intense manner, however, would probably require restraint. It's alright with me, though, to have this as an itch unfulfilled; without dreams, the imagination cannot truly stretch its wings and soar.
4) This is a weird one, and I hope you don't mind me sharing a bit of insight with our members. In the Staff sections of the TMF, you refer to yourself (by screenname) in the third person often. "HDS has performed this action..." and such. I have been extremely curious as to why? Is this a separation of online persona and real life? Or is there something else to it altogether?
HDS has wondered at the answer to this question himself at times (Did I do that on purpose or not, eh? ). It is but one symptom of this one 'acquiring' idiosyncrasies over my time online. Every so often I type or see something that appeals to me and I become attached to it. These oddities appear at every forum I visit as well as in emails and, occasionally, on website pages I construct. The third person is but one instance. Others include my use of "many moons" in lieu of a more standard unit of time, "this one" supplementing the third person, "eh?" at the end of sentences (Sometimes for no apparent reason), "aye aye" at the end of sentences (A more recent addition) and various British-associated words (Wanker and the like) snagged from BigJim (Among others). Some come from the many books and magazines I’ve read; some come, like wanker, from other forum members. Few to none of these, however, appear in my real life personae. Wanker and “eh?” are perhaps the only elements that have made that jump.
However, I skirt the point. The specific origin of the third person and "this one" elements may be evident to students of Japanese animation: Kenshin Himura of the manga/anime Rurouni Kenshin. Kenshin often uses "this one" and other pseudo-third person elements when speaking. I believe the anime was airing back when this one (I swear I'm not doing these on purpose. >.>) joined the TMF and, since I was TV-addicted back then, I must have picked it up after numerous episodes. So, blame Nobuhiro Watsuki (the creator of Rurouni Kenshin).
5) You've been left one million dollars by a rich relative with the express stipulation that you give 25% of it to one single charity or cause. Who gets the money and why?
Government watchdog groups of both ends of the spectrum. I am a strong believer in Lord Acton's line that "power corrupts": so long as there are men and women in power, there will be temptation for and succumbing to corruption and greed. While the citizenry should themselves monitor their government by keeping well-informed on issues dear to them and their country and questioning what they feel to be wrong, there must always be groups dedicated to shining a light on the halls of power. Only by keeping our eyes on those in power can we hope to reduce corruption in government. No party or affiliation is immune from Lord Acton's words so support must be given to organizations of all stripes, even if one does not agree with all of any particular group's views.
6) Outside of the tickling part of your life, what passions do you have? What makes you "you", leaving out the fetish part?
Japanese animation and manga, as if I hadn't annoyed any and all enough with that by now, is my great obsession. It’s a genre/media class that’s appealed to me for a very long time, although I did not know it when first I saw it. That element has gradually expanded, leading me into my love of technology (Excluding cell phones and portable music players) and all things interweb via my personal website, which is dedicated in no small part to anime. Aside from technology and anime, I suppose my only other passion is reading. I like to read anything and everything I can get my hands on, from all genres and authors.
7) If you could have any one superhuman ability, what would it be?
The ability to travel through space, over stars and planets, simply looking at it all would be my choice. Just to be able to see what lies out there in all its glory would be wonderful. Hopefully this ability would include an equally super-powered camera to take with me. I’d probably spend all my time floating around Neptune, though; always did like that planet.
8) Two part question: What was the last great book you've read and the last great film you've seen?
The book one is hard. I read too much to keep track of everything. I suppose the most recent book I have read that I enjoyed was Faust: A Tragedy by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. A rather good play it was. As for movies … this is harder. I watch very few movies. The 1961 version of A Raisin in the Sun springs to mind as the most recent film of worth I can recall.
9) This question is also somewhat of a two-parter, although it's pretty much the same topic. You've been associated heavily with the art communities of both major tickling forums. First off, what kind of art (in general, not just tickling related) strikes your fancy the most? And, how do you see "the place" of tickling art within our fetish? As opposed to video and live-action clips and the like?
Kind of funny, that, since I have no artistic abilities myself. I don’t really have any particular brand or style of art I like more than any other (Assuming one ignores anime/manga as a category). I visit art museums whenever the chance presents itself and have found that I enjoy most all forms of artwork, from more classic paintings and sculpture to some of the more modern art one might see at an art theater. That said, I am rather fond of landscapes (Or photographs of such), especially ones of more wild or natural settings. I like nature; she doesn’t put on any airs.
I see artwork in the tickling community as an outlet for expression of a kind not likely to be seen in other medium (Clips, for instance). A company producing video clips is bound by the good ‘ol laws of economics, supplying what the consumer will purchase. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this; indeed, if no one LIKED what was being made these companies would not be long for this world. Additionally, there are simply things that cannot be done in a video. Portraying characters that are fictional (Anime, for instance) or situations difficult to replicate (Aliens as ticklers, for instance) are also out of the bounds of clips. Stories have the potential for these, but not in such a visual form. Artwork lets the artist unleash their own individual tickling side, unconstrained by a production budget or the constraints of what folk’ll purchase. Take, for example, Fairfeather. Those familiar with his work will remember that each piece as its own flair, its own little bit of comedy and wit. That’s an expression of Fairfeather’s own take on the tickling world. Artwork also enables the fantasies of non-artists to come alive through requests or commissions. Getting your own personal video shoot done is possible, but difficult. Seeing your fantasy lee or situation takes but a message to one of many artists accepting commissions and it is done with little cost. Few things, in my experience, are as satisfying as seeing a little piece of your own tickling imagination coming to life. It is most certainly no replacement for clips nor should it be. It, rather, is a complement to them, just as stories complement artwork and clips and photographs complement the same. I simply see it as the more “free” subset, one where the only restriction on what one can conjure up is one’s imagination.
10) And, of course, the obligatory Question 10. If you could invite any three people, living or dead, to dinner...who would they be and why?
Richard Adams, Warren Zevon and Diogenes the Cynic. Richard Adams penned my favorite two books of all time, Watership Down and Tales from Watership Down, and I'd like to meet the man and thank him. It was partly because of Watership Down, which I read back in the third or fourth grade, that I developed a great love of reading, something I am most glad I have and have kept. One can learn so much from what is to be read in this wide world. Warren Zevon is my personal favorite artist/composer. However, some of his songs defy easy, rational explanation (Excitable Boy springs to mind), so I’d like to ask him about those. Of course, if he’d consent to providing some after dinner music so much the better, eh? And Diogenes I find fascinating, personally (This is the philosopher who lived in a tub in the streets and famously told Alexander the Great to “stand out of his sunlight”). My own misanthropy compels me to desire a conversation with one who found mankind’s achievements worthless.
********************************************
A special thanks to HDS for his wonderful insight and candor in this interview. It was a real pleasure for Yours Truly and hope it was for you as well. See you next time!
Click Here for Previous TQWD Interviews!
__________________
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Seriously, HDS is a great guy, and an excellent choice for TQWD. I always have to respect a guy who admits and accepts his idiosyncracies without neither pride nor shame. 
That,i am sure is a record that will never be equaled again.
