This edition of the alt.sex FAQ was written in the early part of 1994 by the last Alt.sex FAQ Committee. They reflect the best wisdom and knowledge of all the participants on the committee at that time.
Since those days, however, alt.sex has been overrun by advertising spam of such unbelievable volume that nobody asks questions anymore. There are no “frequently asked questions” on the newsgroup and maintaining an FAQ for it, especially one of the considerable quality found here, is simply not worthwhile or even honest.
Consider this a historical document. It reflects alt.sex as it existed in its finest, most golden years. Some sections will never be out of date; it’s hard to imagine good advice on oral sex or virginity or even buying a great sex toy ever going out of style. Anatomy doesn’t change although our understanding of it might. Some sections, however, are dreadfully out of date; The sections on Sexually Transmitted Diseases, Legal Issues, even Terms and Acronyms have fallen far behind the times. For lists of current resources, Yahoo might be a better place to start.
Alt.sex is a newsgroup dealing in human sexuality. Discussions on alt.sex are often frank and honest, and the language used on alt.sex is reflected in this FAQ. People who feel they are likely to be offended by educational materials dealing with human sexuality should not delve any farther into this archive.
This FAQ uses sexually explicit words, phrases, and even images as part of its educational mission. This material is for information purposes only. **No material of an explicit erotic nature is intended in this FAQ. **
"You know, talking. That other thing you do with your mouth to make sex more enjoyable."
- MegaZone
A FAQ (Frequently Answered Questions) sheet is intended, according to news.answers, to reduce the amount of traffic on a typical newsgroup by answering the most common questions that would be asked of someone conversant in that newsgroup's topic.
Alt.sex is not a typical newsgroup. It receives significantly more traffic than the average newsgroup, for one thing. If the statistics are to be believed, alt.sex is the singlemost widely read newsgroup of Usenet-- a significant statement when one-quarter of all machines receiving Usenet do not include alt.sex as part of their feed.
Readers of this group have more than enough to read through without having to filter out inappropriate posts. To help prevent the constant debating of these points, this document serves as a guide to the Frequently Answered Questions. If you are new to this group, please take the time to read through the FAQ, even if only to read the Table of Contents.
This does not mean these things are not subject to further debate, merely that they have been considered by the readers here. If you have something significant to add to the subject, feel free to post to alt.sex.
Not every question has a definitive answer. Everyone has different tastes, preferences, and physical attributes, so it is nearly impossible to answer many questions with certainty.
Every effort has been made to keep attributions to authors in this FAQ file as accurate as possible when available. In many cases however, the name of the original contributors has been lost through repeated transfers. I have corrected typos and other errors as I come across them but some slip through, nevertheless.
The alt.sex FAQ is copyright (c) 1989 The alt.sex CABAL, (c) 1994 The alt.sex FAQ Project.