Preamble: First, let me say that I am greatly saddened that I must make this page at all. If people were Anywhere near as Courteous, Well-Mannered, Civil, Intelligent & Open-Minded as we hope to attract and have here at Beauty's Castle, this should not be necessary. Common Sense is obviously a much more elusive quality than I previously suspected. In any case, this page will stand for a short while, as a more detailed reminder to some, and as an Apology to several regarding perhaps the only issue of real substance here.

Enough...let me continue...

The Hot Tub Debacle: Over this past weekend there was an incident in the Hot Tub (a "Pub Area" room) which for all intents and purposes, should Never have become an issue in any way. Unfortunately, and to My great chagrin, it was exacerbated when one of the Castle's oldest Monitors and one of the Castle's newest Monitors made a grave mistake in judgement. Both should have known better. (please note: Both of the Monitors involved meant no harm and were of Good Intent in their actions at all times.)

When several people came into the Hot Tub and began to engage in a Fantasy "Age Play" scenario ("Age Play", is a BDSM fetish sub-category and this activity should have been relegated to a "Dungeon Area" room, of which there are many) several Pub people (and others) were deeply offended and called for a Monitor. The two Monitors (one "Pub" & one "Dungeon") who arrived on the scene, Instead of having the "Fantasy Players" retire to a more appropriate BDSM related room, chastised the people who initiated the complaint (apologetic and ashamed gaze). I feel this is where much of the recent social upset arose. NO ONE sent in a Complaint to Admin about This particular aspect of the incident! Most just jumped to generally ill-conceived conclusions and began ranting. In fact it took several Days for this episode to trickle in to Administration, most likely because some people thought the Monitors were correct (another truly apologetic look), even though their 'judgement' flew in the face of All our posted rules about rooms and themes, and "using the appropriate room for different activities". By this point in time (we have been open for over 7 years!) the Default Concept, of using the appropriate room for different activities, should have been well instilled into most ALL chat people at Beauty's Castle. Nevertheless, ALL participants in this incident, including the Monitors, have been informed and chastised as necessary. No One, least of all the "fantasy Age Play" folk, intended to upset or offend Anyone!

This episode is now OFFICIALLY Over. Anyone found harassing any participants for their involvement, opinions, or mistakes made, will be removed for Harassment! (just in case some people Forget what Civility is)

Reminder to ALL: Pub Related rooms are for "vanilla" (non-fetish/BDSM) activities. In fact some rooms, such as the Club Soda itself, do not even allow public sex at all. BDSM/fetish activities are relegated to the Many rooms where this and Other activity IS allowed. These rooms are all posted on the main pages and in the rules. If unsure, write Admin or ask a Monitor(yes, they should ALL give you a Correct answer on a room's designation, if only for the areas they are in charge of. If you get "bad" info, let us know Immediately!). If anyone encounters people engaging in inappropriate activities for a room (all rooms have THEMES and they are posted) then they should email Admin with a complaint and/or have an appropriate Monitor speak to them. People who ignore this Basic rule of room behavior can and will be removed upon identification.

Children vs Age Play: I don't know how I can be any clearer than our main entrance already states. Beauty's Castle is for ADULTS 18 YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER!!! If you don't understand English, get a translator! If you can't READ, you should NOT BE HERE! Let me state this another way...THERE ARE NO CHILDREN IN Beauty's Castle!!! "Age Play" has NOTHING to do with pedophilia or child pornography!(simple fact here people) While there are MANY links to such information and many sources on the subject, I am Not going to list them here. IF you are Interested, you can chat in any of our BDSM areas, or attend a Time Out discussion on this or many other fetish/BDSM related topics. After all, that is what those rooms are for! If, on the other hand, you are too insecure, dense or biased to understand or contemplate such information (or are otherwise insane)(tongue-in-cheek s), we can not hope to help you. We at Beauty's Castle do NOT support or condone IGNORANCE! For those people who just can't get a grip on this topic no matter how they try because it freezes up their brains, I am sorry but we can't help you either!(apologetic look) Just Don't Go into the "nether regions" of the Castle if it's not for You..

For those who STILL might not "get it" for some reason, a few extra points:

Everyone is entitled to an Opinion, but it Doesn't change the Rules. In the BDSM areas of the Castle, BDSM/DS themes and Scenes are Allowed. That people have not chosen to act on some particular fetish does not change their ability or Right to do so.

If people find some types of scenes or discussions distasteful to their own desires, they may leave the room, or ignore it. (Q: Why don't you add an "Ignore Button" like Other sites have? A: Because we believe that such a button is akin to an Ostrich putting its head in the sand. It Discourages communication, tolerance, learning and experience and Encourages disassociation, small-mindedness, narrow thinking, intolerance, and a host of other Negative qualities we hope to keep out of our Castle. Mature Adults "get along". Period.)

What will be done about "Age Play"? Nothing. Unless it breaks a standing rule of the Castle, or theme of a room. We DO NOT CENSOR people because of a few who don't Agree! While Beauty's Castle Administration may not itself agree with a particular point of view, We DO believe in FREEDOM of CHOICE & Expression!!!

For those few people who consider themselves "true BDSMers" but still can't cope with "Age Play", think about this: if we censored an act EVERY time people (even many) complained about their 'sensitivities' and 'morals' then there would NEVER have been a Dungeon or Corridors at all. NEVER.

Reminder to ALL: Beauty's Castle is for MATURE OPEN-MINDED ADULTS. If you find that common sense is eluding you and you think that we are a bunch of 'immoral assholes', you found the WRONG chat site! Better that you found out sooner than later. Please go somewhere fit for children under 18 or for "small-minded immature" persons.

VISA & Adult vs PORN: A few months ago we "turned off" our ability to process new VISA payments due to exorbitant processing fees imposed by VISA through our payment processing company, iBill. Then, a few weeks later, with some deft help from iBill we were able to eliminate those fees and reinstitute accepting VISA payments. The problem we later found out, was that VISA charges Extra processing fees for PORN sites (the classification is for Transaction Processing Fee purposes ONLY!). That is, for Adult sites that serve up PORNOGRAPHY, specifically in the form of PICTURES and VIDEO, VISA was charging a huge annual fee. Beauty's Castle is a TEXT CHAT site for ADULTS, but we are NOT Pornographic! Beauty's Castle and all its related sites don't host a single piece of pornography (although we have links to others that do). As a result, Beauty's Castle was no longer considered a PORN site by VISA. Sadly the word "ADULT" often gets confused in meaning with the word "PORN" and has become almost synonymous in the public vernacular. Porn sites are charged Heavy processing and charge-back fees.

Reminder to ALL: Beauty's Castle is for ADULTS 18 YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER! THERE ARE NO CHILDREN IN Beauty's Castle!

Johnny Vegas Ad & a "British Pub": Surprise! We put a small statement at the top of our main page stating "As seen on BBC television's 'rm101' with 'Johnny Vegas'". Well, it is True!!! Some few people thought this hypocritical as they felt it was contrary to how people were behaving, especially some of our Monitors, when the shows were aired and we were subsequently deluged with new visitors. It seems, although we in Castle Administration have no posts or evidence of such, that some people may have been dealt with in a rude and unfriendly fashion by our patrons and possibly by some of our Monitors!(appalled gaze) Let me make this Perfectly CLEAR...we at Beauty's Castle were THRILLED to be acknowledged in such a fashion by BBC television and are THRILLED too that so many people from the wonderful British Isles have made this Castle their Home! We ARE and have ALWAYS  BEEN a Community that Welcomes people from EVERYWHERE....our only barrier to chatting here is the Language and other than that, ANYONE who meets the criteria on our Entrance Pages IS WELCOME to make Beauty's Castle their Home! Sadly, a few people even suggested that we make a "British Pub" so that some people wouldn't be 'disturbed' by others who spoke a little differently or had a different sense of humor than what they were accustomed to encountering! We, of Course, said No!!(furious look) Needless to say, I was truly saddened and shocked to learn that we might have a few such small-minded and potentially bigoted people at this site. For the record, such attitudes are NOT welcome here at Beauty's Castle and run Contrary to All Beauty's Castle Stands For!(appalled, astounded, incensed, insulted & hurt look) (personal note: it is truly pitiful that I felt the need to make even those last few statements)

A few extra points:

When Johnny Vegas mentioned the Castle on TV it almost brought us down the traffic was so heavy and the potential cost so great. It was extremely frustrating technically and strategically but we were Happy to have the new interest! More People! That is what we are ABOUT! However, we STILL run the Castle at a loss and use personal funds, time and other resources to keep it up. That's right, there are thousands more FREE users than there are Citizens. When we have enough Citizens that we can afford to turn away publicity, we would be Happy to do so. First we have to have at Least Twice as many Citizens. The Ad also shows that we are Not just a 'backwater' chat like those most people come across. Nor is Johnny Vegas the only 'celebrity chatter' who has & does chat here, although he is the only one to Admit it.

WE NEVER Authorized people to be removed from chat for "just mentioning Johnny Vegas". People were only removed according to the Castle's stated rules and policies, as they always have been. If any Monitors had removed someone for Other reasons, then it should have been reported by the individuals involved, as it was most certainly NOT a Valid removal. We have addressed all such incidents that were reported at the time.

We have NEVER condemned the Johnny Vegas rm101 episode!(appalled look) And if ANY of our Monitors acted in such a fashion or displayed such an attitude, they acted on THEIR OWN, and WITHOUT our Approval or Authorization! (completely serious & incensed look)

Reminder: Monitors are Citizens too, however they are NOT Castle Administration!(see below)

Castle Citizen Flags: While this is less of an "issue", a few have asked questions about them and their appearance on our new entrance page. First, the number of flags and their position was a web design issue and has Nothing to do with their relative importance, number of Citizens per country, etc. However, we did Not use flags that don't have Any Beauty's Castle Citizens from that country. If you are a Beauty's Castle Citizen and don't see the flag of YOUR country up on the main page, please feel free to let us know and we will do our best to add it to the Castle Entrance!

Primal Scream: Another recent misconception that may have been enhanced by recent events, is the use and purpose of the Primal Scream. Primal Scream is First and Foremost a NON-Monitored room. That means NO Monitors! It's ONLY Theme, if it can be said to have one, is to "Howl at the Moon". In fact, "Howling at the Moon" is how we decided upon the name...it is a euphemism for the same thing. (ie. "howling at the moon" is a form of "primal scream" - get it?) It was created so that people could Vent Frustrations WITHOUT fear of being removed or chastised for what they said, no matter how primal, vicious, mean spirited, baseless, witless, or nasty the statement was. It is an "Enter at your OWN risk" room. In fact Monitors are encouraged to NOT go there.

Recently several people have treated it as a complaint board and that is fine, as long as they take into account the purposes above. IT IS NOT A MESSAGE OR COMPLAINT BOARD and has NOTHING to do with any sort of OFFICIAL COMPLAINTS.

OFFICIAL CASTLE COMPLAINTS are in the form of EMAIL ONLY. Posts in Chat are NOT valid complaints and NEVER have been!!! To keep track of All peoples' posts and what they are about is IMPOSSIBLE (not to mention absurd & Big Brotherly).An EMAIL to ADMIN or Mistress Beauty is the ONLY VALID form of Official Complaint at Beauty's Castle and that has ALWAYS been true. That people are TOO LAZY to send an email (or cut & paste a few posts) speaks VOLUMES about their sincerity and the Importance of their complaint. We do NOT promote "LAZY WHINERS".

FACT: Many if not MOST people will "yell and scream" at the slightest provocation and don't think twice about "shooting off their mouths" in a crowd. But when it comes to actually having the presence of mind to put a complaint in a normal well "thought out" email, they just Don't care enough to, or can't be Bothered. If those involved don't care, we certainly don't have the time to either. However, a Valid Complaint is Different! Period. It separates the "blow hards" from the seriously concerned people.

Still don't understand what Primal Scream is About? A few reminders:

It is for "Yelling" and "getting your YaYas out" without worry of censorship. It is in NO WAY a room that is "Watched" or used in Any Official way! It IS and Has ALWAYS been for "Blowing Off Steam"! NO ONE OFFICIAL Listens to what is said in that room and we NEVER will! That is NOT what it is FOR!(exasperated look)

Monitors vs Castle Administration: Apparently some people have come to think that Castle Monitors are the same as Castle Administration and that the two are Interchangeable. THEY ARE NOT! Some people think Monitors can and do speak with Authority on Castle Policy. This is NOT TRUE and 100% FALSE!!! As much as They (Monitors) might like to think so, and as much as chatters may want to make them so, it is just is NOT TRUE. Sorry.

Monitors Enforce the RULES, LAWS and CUSTOMS of Beauty's Castle, as Stated ONLY. If there are "errors", "problems", or "disputes" with an infraction people should (and MUST) contact Admin, just as they would go to a Judge about an improper Speeding Ticket. Cops don't argue with the Drivers & vise versa. They give Tickets. The same goes for Monitors. They give "removals" or "twits". Monitors, just like Police, don't Make the laws or decide what the Speed Limits should be. (Common sense rears its head here again..)

A few Monitor Facts:

Monitors are Citizens too! They have and are entitled to their Own Opinions & Attitudes on a most all subjects! In general these should fall CLOSE to what Official Castle Administration believes and promotes, however, they are Individuals and we are NOT "mind police". There are bound to be areas of difference. While a Monitor's views on a given subject may not match the Castle Administration's views on a given topic, they Should coincide on topics where the Overall Castle is concerned. If you see a Castle Monitor posting things CONTRARY to what is Generally Believed and Stated about Castle Policy, Philosophy and Law, EMAIL ADMIN ASAP! Let us KNOW! A Monitor espousing beliefs about Beauty's Castle contrary to Castle Administration is doing Damage to Our Community and the position of Castle Monitor, and most likely should be Removed from their position! A Monitor's Attitude about Beauty's Castle SHOULD REFLECT that of the Castle's Mistress & Castle Administration, otherwise they would Not have been selected as a DEFENDER of the REALM!

General Reminder to all: As a Long standing Administrator of many diverse online communities (on AOL, Compuserve & many BBSs), I am quite well aware of how Monitors, Sysops, Section Leaders, etc. are viewed and act. If they are found to be giving out "Bad attitude" or are "Acting Unjustly", then we deal with the issue and correct the situation. However it Still doesn't make them "Spokes-people" or "Policy Makers".

Summation: Nothing has changed here at Beauty's Castle. Our Rules & Laws & Customs remain as they have for most all of Beauty's Castle's existence. Most ALL problems, as in any society, arise from poor communication, poor understanding, and lack of attention to what people really are saying. Add in selfishness and ignorance and you have a volatile cocktail waiting for a flame.

Beauty's Castle is ALL about READING and Understanding RULES & CUSTOMS and being a MATURE & CIVIL Adult. We are a Community based on MATURE ADULTS. 99% of ALL our problems and issues arise from people NOT meeting that small requirement.

Beauty's Castle does Not condone or support individual ignorance of our Stated & Implied Rules & Customs.

While much in this document may not be to Everyone's liking, we at Beauty's Castle can not and WILL NOT lower the Castle's High Standards for Communication & Maturity to suit the needs of the few.

Sincerely,

Mistress Beauty & Beauty's Castle Administration