Lair Takes the Silver

Wow.

And, double wow!

Last year was, what I thought, a fluke when The Wizard's Lair took the silver in the Bondage Awards 'Best Free Bondage Website'. But, this year, with the number of people that had been nominated, I thought I would be lucky if we broke the Top Ten. And, truth be known, I was increasingly skeptical of even making that threshold.

Indeed, I was so skeptical of our chances, that I really did not advertise the contest as I did last year. And, reading from those running the contest that there were more people nominated, and more people voting this year, and that The Wizard's Lair was at the bottom of a very long list, I thought that our chances were slim and none.

Imagine my surprise when I was sent a number of congratulatory emails about not just placing, but taking the silver again. Well, I was even skeptical then, so went to the website to look for myself. Oh my goodness.

Had a couple emails from my "Henchmen" contributors who also passed along congratulations to the job that I did to win that award. There, I have issue. This award is not to me, or The Wizard, or to Vladi Wizard, but to "The Wizard's Lair". To everyone that has been associated with the website, and who has contributed to it this last year. It is the artists who have shared their 'takes' on the Challenge, written stories for the Library, sent in serials, or shared their material with us all via the Henchman galleries. Scarlet Witch is the greatest of these all, in regards to how much contribution is made, and how much I depend on her with helping me out with the website. Her talent in story-telling, as well as her (very under-appreciated) talent with Poser (who I consider is in the top 3 within the genre in regards to skill) would serve her well on her own website. But, that she helps me out at the Lair is something that I am very VERY appreciative of.

I know that not everyone likes what I do, or how I handle things at times. I can be quite the jackass, and often times, that is the best someone can say about me. I have had a number of pretty public disputes within the community about the material of The Lair. But, through it all, I have tried to be supportive of my contributors first and foremost, and then to the community to which the website was formed. My own self, needs and ego, come in last in regards to what is done with the website. I pay money out (for contest monies, computers and Internet usage, etc) while getting nothing back in return (with the exception of the free web space and bandwidth usage by DanO at SHC).

I have seen artists leave the site, to go to other places where they feel that they would be better appreciated, and other artists who have retired from the genre, while others who have just 'vanished' without any further word. I have come to realize that The Lair is a depository of talent, a place to show off art (be it written or drawn or manipped). I have people that have followed the site since it's inception with Supergirl.net, through the closure of that website so that I moved to Abductor.net, and then from leaving that server when they went pay (since I promised that my website would always be free) to being hosted here at SHC.

And, I have spoken with new visitors, as well as people new to the genre/community who were unfamiliar with the website (and to those that have been with the community for a while and had no idea of the Lair's existence). Basically, I have a very good understanding as to the importance, and insignificance of the website. A place where people come when they are looking for reassurance that they are not alone in this fascination and outlook and desire for which we cater for and to. This is one of the first websites of it's type, and I have been around to see the community grow from relative obscurity to one that is very profitable for a number of websites that cater not just to images, but videos as well as costuming. The unusual has turned from being a kink for a few freaks, to a (mostly) accepted sexual outlet for people looking for something different and unique and adventurous. I have watched a few websites grow to many, most of those by fans of the genre who had the same love of the community which whom they shared their talents.

But, with time, these folks have moved along to other things. With little recognition, and even less (if any) financial reimbursements, most of these websites either disappeared, or went into permanent hiatus (on those free servers). But, the superheroine in distress genre is not alone in it's financial growth. Porn (to use the term broadly and loosely) is one of the largest (if not the largest) and most profitable Internet business field. Companies are jumping on the web from Russia to Rhodesia, from United States to Down Under. Politicians are standing on soapboxes to condemn the "smut", and then trying to control it through legislation (think "protect the children" with COPA and 2257) to trying now to tax the Internet (with some but limited successes). Indeed, that is what is happening more and more with a wider range of people who see the Internet as a way to profit from lots of genres, not just from our community, regardless if they follow and/or appreciate the genre on it's own merits or not (as opposed to a way to make money off of it).

Through all of this, we have plodded along. Not much has changed with The Lair. The layout and format is relatively unchanged in years. Only change has been the artists who have come and gone, and the addition of material with which we have grown with.

Why have we come in second place again, we may ask. I know that I sure have asked that question! I think it is because of the variety of material that we have. And, while the award is a bondage award, and The Lair is not a bondage web site, per se, it still has as much, if not more, bondage within the hundreds of web pages then many of the websites that are paysites exclusively for bondage. You get amazing value for the buck! Also, we update on a very consistent and regular basis. And not just with a story or two every couple of weeks, but with amounts of material that some sites would boast about for posting in a year, let alone a month!

Then finally, there is you. The fans of the genre. The lovers of those gals in spandex who often find themselves in very awkward, humiliating, and distressful situations (and thus, in bondage). The people to whom the website is made for, and dedicated to. You are the ones that have made The Wizard's Lair the place to go for quality free material. You are the ones that give me an average of 1,000,000 hits a year to see what is new with the Henchmen, the Challenges, the Library. You are the ones that have made the website the success that it has been for a number of years now, the ones who have voted us as the 2nd Best Free Bondage Website for the second year in a row.

It is to all of you, that this award is dedicated to.

Thank you.

Vladi the Wizard