 
Ann Will: You began Planet SOMA, in part, as a way to do writing you've wanted to do. You've been at it a while now -- how do you think doing the site has affected you as a writer? David Gwynn: I guess the biggest effect is that it has made me actually WRITE, which is probably the most important thing for an "aspiring writer" to do. Granted, a lot of what I've written might have been best left unsaid, but I try to catch myself before uploading anything TOO ridiculous. I don't always succeed... Mostly I write about what interests me, in the hope that it might interest someone else too. Focuses change; the emphasis used to be primarily sex, but carnality is on my back burner right now, replaced by rants against the santitization of America, etc. All the same, I do feel a stirring in my loins and foresee that sex will become a primary topic again soon. The biggest problem with me and writing professionally is that I'm a little lethargic. I want to have people say "come write for us" rather than do the work of telling people "I should come write for you." I guess that would make me the "aloof top" in this particular case. Ann: You write that the site has allowed you to make world-wide friends. Any romances with people you met on the site? David: Well yeah...but of course I never kiss and tell... I've carried on some long distance flirtations, some of which actually have become physical when I've gone on some of my marathon road trips. It's happened locally too; I'd estimate that I've probably done the nasty with at least ten or fifteen people I've met as a direct result of Planet SOMA. In at least one case, I've even I think a lot of would-be suitors are afraid I'll reveal a few too many embarrassing details. And a few are afraid I won't reveal enough embarrassing details. Ann: Did anyone from your past ever see themselves in the pictures or journals and write in, happy or angry? David: If so, I haven't heard from them or from their lawyers yet. I changed some of the names to "protect" some of the people I'm still friends with (and some of the people who did particularly embarrassing or stupid things). I did recently get email from an old acquaintance who figured into the story peripherally, if at all. He was amused. Ann: Nightcharm, is, of course, porn-related, so we want to know: what is your opinion of web porn? David: I don't really visit web porn sites (Nightcharm and a handful of non-commercial fetish sites excepted). If I get the urge for GIFs and JPEGs, I usually hit Usenet (which seems to be the source for a lot of pay sites as well). I'm a cheapskate when it comes to web sites. There's also the fact that I used to include a small photo gallery on my site. I pulled it when it became abundantly clear that a good 50% of my vistors were going straight to the pictures and never visting the rest of the site. That got me a little bummed out because it was my least favorite and least labor-intensive section. The pictures and the few remaining links all disappeared one weekend when I was in a particularly grouchy mood. Strangely enough, though, I'm going back to my "roots" as it were, and working on another site, which is related to some specific fetishes, and will include some pictures (maybe even of me) and links to related sites. It will be pretty low-key (though fabulously designed) and it won't be linked from my main site. And yes, I am being a little cryptic about the subject, huh? Ann: D'oh! You're anticipating my questions! Can you share any more with us? David: I'll say that it's largely about a fascination with footwear...one that a surprising number of guys have. With straight men, it's the leggy blonde in high heels. With fags, it's a soccer player in cleats or a skater in DC's or whatever. Ann: What do strangers seem to write to you about the most? Is there a certain section that gets the most response? David: Right now, one of the biggest topics is the gentrification and sanitization of San Francisco (which is more local in scope but has implications for other urban areas as well, especially New York City). Bars, sex clubs, and other non sex-related dives are disappearing at an alarming rate as San Francisco becomes an upscale Disneyland version of a city. Then there's my assertion that there is no such thing as "gay culture." My biggest response ever was to my April Fool's page where I transformed the site into a rainbow flag laden parody of the average "gay site," portraying myself as a disco-loving "straight acting straight appearing" muscle clone, included links to Abercrombie and Fitch, the Advocate, and Genre, etc. The frightening thing is that, even though I was not at all subtle, some people still didn't get the joke. I've even gotten email from moderately famous people accusing me of "gay cannibalism" for not toeing the "gay is good, gay is great" party line, which allows for no dissent or questioning of the superiority of our "culture" and "community". Blecchh... I also get a good response to the road trips and to my section on San Francisco in the 70's. One big misconception about my site is that Planet SOMA is a leather site. I guess this is due to the fact that my neighborhood is historically home to a large leather "community." I like the bars down here because they play rock and roll, they're openly sexual, and they attract a diverse crowd. Not because I want my nipples tweaked or because I want to be tied up. There's nothing at all wrong with either of those things, mind you, but it's not what gets my 'nads racing. Ann: You can feel free to share what does get your nads racing if you are feeling revelatory...we voyeurs would always enjoy that. David: As far as actual activities go, I'm a sucker (pardon the pun) for good old-fashioned vanilla oral sex. I can sometimes be persuaded to fuck, but it's not a big goal for me. Frankly, I often t Watersports is a vice I've been known to indulge on occasion, as are light role-playing and the aforementioned fetishism. But my big weakness is for 3-ways and groups. I figure that if sex between two people is great, it can be exponentially better with a few extra participants involved, even if they're just watching or whatever. I love to pick up couples. My taste in men runs toward the scruffy: long-hairs, skaters, people who don't look like they spend most of their afternoon at the gym, the Body Shop or the Clinique counter at Macy's. Tans and muscles don't particularly excite me, and grotesque amounts of either are a major turn-off. Like every faggot who ever placed a personal ad, I'm also guilty of being primarily into guys my age and younger. I'm not really concerned with how "masculine" my partners are; cute sissies are as welcome in my bedroom as sneering skinheads. The only rule is that no one is ever allowed to call me "sir". I once went out with a total submissive. I didn't know what the hell to do with him; I'm more used to someone with at least a LITTLE initiative. Eventually, I just made him strip down to nothing but his boots and scrub the kitchen floor while baking me corn bread. He pretended to like it, but I could tell he wanted more. My roommate was really excited, though. The kitchen was never cleaner... Ann: Would you ever do any nude pictures? David: I've never really included nekkid pictures of myself on my own site, which is odd because I'm a pretty obvious exhibitionist. Maybe it's because I don't want Mom to see them. I wouldn't rule it out, though, I've sure taken enough of them... Actually, I'm usually astounded that anyone would want to see me in the buff (although I do get requests). I'm not exactly the stuff of pin-ups. Ann: Au contraire!
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carried on a bit of an affair, which is consummated semi-annually in a variety of time zones.
hink it's more trouble than it's worth, particularly when negotiating safety issues and acting (or not acting) on them. And I regret to admit that the only thing I like up my own butt is the occasional tongue.
