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I have written previously about the relationship between the Web and Human Sexuality. I have also explained how the mounting complexity of our societies has had a cumulatively suppressive effect on Human Sex. In spite of the seemingly greater "publicness" of sex, people find themselves somehow less able to manifest their true, individual, unique sexuality. Why is that? Simply because one of the basic requirements of mass socialization is the adoption of easy identifiers, of labels. There is less time to deliberate over subtlety than earlier in our history. What breeds a feeling of contentment in human beings is the same today as it ever was: to feel one's self a part of a group, and for that, to feel less anxiety for the unknown.

Because modern societies are so large, bringing together people from widely varied backgrounds, value sets, beliefs and customs, they have given rise to universally subscribable cooperative systems for defining what things are. Labels, in other words. To participate in a society is to understand its labeling systems. And because large, modern societies have to accomodate such a broad spectrum of people, the labeling and identification systems such societies create necessarily demand that nearly everyone has to compromise some aspect of themselves in order to be accepted, and that some smaller number of people have to compromise significant aspects of themselves in order to be accepted. It is a bell curve.

Enter the Web. Let's now consider the effects of the very, very recent advent of the Internet on all of the above. Virtual Places created the opportunity for Virtual Personae. Quite simply, when they came online, people could be other than they are. In the very early hours of the Internet, the freedom of that opportunity was incredibly exciting and compelling. There had been long self-suppression, and suddenly... there was an outlet.

But then something unfortunate happened. Fear kicked in, as it always does. Fear of what could be hiding in those Virtual Places over-rode the joy of the unprecedented self-expression that was also possible in those Virtual places. And then, to make matters much worse, the Web became a medium through which harm could actually reach you. Viruses, spyware, fraud, phishing, identity theft, all manifested real danger. The Web became a liability in our lives. Opportunist Violators, in their various forms, came very close to ruining the greatest communications gift mankind has ever invented for itself.

I believe that tragedy has been averted. But we're not yet out of the woods.

I have previously explained why online pornographers occupy a unique position of responsibility to the future. Of all the many ways in which our societies require that we compromise our individuality, the repression and sublimation of sexual identity is the most injurious to us. I would argue, it is that which accounts for most of what is wrong in the world today. Ironically, sexual rampancy, promiscuity and pornography figure among the top of the list of things many people would think of if asked why things are as obviously broken as they are. But it is consumerism, the misguided elements of organized religion that condemn sexuality and the hideous devaluation of human life that have brought us to this sorry place. Pornography, for calling to the most inalienable core of the self, extends a hand to everyone. Porn calls to all of us and it calls us by our truest names.

But, alas, the industry of online porn is among the feared. We have a history of opportunism and advantage-taking. We are web savvy in the extreme. We are in possession of the most effective monetization techniques ever spawned by e-commerce. Each of you must answer to yourselves as regards your own actions. But, as an industry, we have the excuse that we have been persecuted -- along with sex itself -- to use in our defense. Free Speech is the ideological manifestation of that defense. It has served us well. But, the use of an ideological absolute in our defense has alienated us absolutely. We have to act strategically, also.

We are at a crossroads now, one of the most important our species has ever faced. The Web is nothing less than a bridge off this Awful Island we have created. We will either cross and get off, moving on to a wide and exciting future, or we will shrink back from the bridge in fear and face certain doom.

By permitting people -- as Virtual Personae -- to set aside the curtailments of self that they have had to impose on themselves to participate in society, and that have been imposed upon them, we will achieve a "reset" effect. I cannot claim to know exactly what will come. But, it is obvious from even our nascent experiences as online pioneers, that traditional boundaries of geography, culture and language are disappearing. We are learning to create communities based on other than the things our local societies tell us are important. We can connect now as human beings, first.

I have spent many words describing the importance of blogging, RSS and OpenSource to the opportunity that exists. But, let me make it as clear as possible now. Blogging is the arrival of true democracy on the Web. It is more, even, than that. It is the highest, most perfect expression of democracy we have ever known. Every person may count, and every person may be heard. Leadership, greatness and talent may easily rise to the surface, supported by all those who think any individual deserving of such elevation. RSS is the mechanism through which these ideas may be rapidly disseminated. It is also the way to stitch porn back into the fabric of society. OpenSource is the technological taking-back of the Web, severing innovation and standards-creation from the grip of pure commerce. How can you think the convergence of these developments at the same time a coincidence?

I urge all of you to examine your businesses, to recognize what is our duty to do as industry, and to join me in returning sexuality to its rightful place in everything and in everyone. It doesn't hurt, either, that you can do the right thing and make a shitload of money in the process. Reach out to your old customers in new, more empathetic ways. Reach out to new customers, by finding and building your own little bridges to the so-called mainstream wherever you can. In both cases, let them tell you who they want to be, offer their Virtual Personae playgrounds and amusement parks.

Build it, they will come.

Jack Mardack