I've managed to meet some of the closest friends here. Perhaps why it's become a mainstay for me for the most part....the clips are nice from time to time, but in my opinion not the meat of the community. The conversation is.
I completely agree. It's the common interest that gets us in the same place...but it's what comes after that keeps us here. The clips and images could be taken away tomorrow and I'd still be a part of this.
Ok, let's take Ray and I. We're friends on a very deep level. Met because of tickling....but have continued regardless of it being a part of conversation. we talk on the phone, exhange PM's occasionally meet up....and it's more often than not....without tickling even coming up. It's because we've gotten to know each other and realized we have much to share outside of it.
There are a lot of people like that for me here. When the talk or interaction
is about tickling or any shared fetish, it is
very very good. We can't lose sight of that, either. We came here for a reason, and to find others to share in that is important and great.
I guess you just have to take things as a whole and not become short-sighted in what the term and concept "community" is really about. I think people can have the misconception that if you spend a lot of time here, you must be obsessed with your fetish....but in fact, we spend a lot of time here because of the PEOPLE....and ALL of the things that make those people important to us.
I liken it to say....a VFW. Ok, all the people there have service in the military in common...what brought them there. But, they'll go and drink and talk about football, politics, thier families....it's not a 24/7 conversation about war or something. But if that topic DOES come up...you KNOW you're in a place where EVERYONE else gets what you're saying, because it's not just you.
The TMF is like that. It's a central meeting place for a lot of us. A place where we found each other for one reason, but continue for all the others. And people need to start realizing that all of us are complete individuals and accept each others strengths, flaws, problems, successes and even our faults.