Page 98 - AVN June 2015

TECH NEWS
BateWorld (continued from page 40)
How does BateWorld manage to appeal to gay, bi and
straight men without becoming political or alienating
anyone? Is there something about the shared experience of
male masturbation that cuts through the differences?
Yes, exactly. BateWorld is a masturbatory oasis from
the noise of the world. The men on BateWorld have
a sense of respect for each other that I’ve never seen
demonstrated anywhere else online. There are men
on our site who deeply care for each other. The bonds
that are created outweigh any outmoded romantic
stereotypes, though there have been a few couples
brought together, and even two weddings. Yay!
Masturbation is important to our identity as
men—gay, bi or straight. I was delighted to see the
growing presence of straight guys on BateWorld, but
I never expected that either. I think it proves that
masturbation is something we all share. If we can
drop trou and jack it together with pride and a sense
of shared masculine energy, the labels just don’t mean
anything.
Are women allowed to become members? If not, do any of
them get angry when they’re told they have to go away?
The short answer is no, women aren’t allowed on
BateWorld. The very purpose of our site is to allow
man-to-man communication. It’s a place to share
masculine energy, and by nature that means focusing
solely on male sexuality.
We do allow for photos of women in private
folders, but otherwise the environment is completely
cock-centric. Occasionally a woman will join, and
we explain our policies as diplomatically as possible.
Most women seem to understand and it hasn’t been
much of an issue.
I want to make it clear that our policies don’t mean
that we’re anti-female. I personally want all sexes and
genders to be sexually free and open. But in matters
of sexual identity, it’s productive and encouraging to
have gathering places for others who are wired like
you. There are sites devoted to masturbation for both
sexes, and I hope that somewhere there’s a women’s
masturbation site where men aren’t allowed. We can’t
be all things to all people.
What were, and are, your main challenges in developing
and growing BateWorld and its affiliated websites? Do you
see a limit to your potential reach, or is the sky the limit?
The demands of rapidly changing technology are
really tough. Five years ago, tablets weren’t even a
thing. Now they’re a thing. Who knows how long
they’ll continue to be a thing.
When we started out on this little romp, we had
a website. Now we have a much larger property
to maintain—covering multiple platforms. Under
Peter’s direction, we’ve begun to span the web with
related sites. There’s an affiliate store with bator
products (TheBateShop.com), and we’re putting
the final touches on our new blog (BateWorld.com/
blog). We’re also developing a separate site that goes
beyond masturbation, so that’s what I mean when I
say it’s become an amusement park complex. There’s
a lot to keep track of.
With TheBatorBlog I’m now basically writing and
editing a magazine that has to be updated multiple
98 | AVN.com | 6.15
The short answer is no,
women aren’t allowed
on BateWorld. The very
purpose of our site is to
allow man-to-man
communication
—David, BateWorld.com
times per day, and that’s not really something I was
expecting. It’s tough to keep up with the pace, but I
also love editorial work so it’s a natural fit for me.
As for the future, Peter once asked me to
write down my prediction for BateWorld’s 25-
year anniversary. Here’s what I wrote: Our chain
of BateWorld Skate-N-Bate franchises is wildly
successful. Incorporating free Wi-Fi with a kick-ass
coffee bar and holographic porn, our latest roller
bating outlet just opened on the moon.
I see that on BateWorld’s homepage, you have to remind
people that “ORAL AND ANAL SEX TOPICS AND IMAGERY
ARE NOT ALLOWED.” I understand why you would need to
do that, but it also begs the question how you keep your
members on the topic of masturbation, and also whether
BateWorld will ever expand into other areas of sex play.
Personally, I find it really painful to limit the scope of
men’s dialog. But I’ve seen sites that started out with
a theme turn into just another hookup site, and we
don’t want that for BateWorld.
The thing is, even if Peter and I believed it was a
good thing to open it up to a wider sexual spectrum,
we wouldn’t, because it’s our members who
really determine that the site retains its focus on
masturbation. There’s a core group of men who create
much of the site’s flavor, so to speak, and we respect
their views.
The members report to us when they find content
that violates our terms of service, and we also have
monitors who voluntarily watch the site for content
violations. So it’s very much a community effort.
BateWorld is an online environment with a unique
community of men focused on cock energy. There
are zillions of other places where other topics can be
discussed, but only one site just like ours.
It doesn’t look like you have an affiliate program for Bate-
World. Are you thinking of starting one?
We chose not to have an affiliate program as a matter
of economics. Revenue sharing would mean that we
wouldn’t be able to keep our prices as low as they are.
When did the BateShop launch? Can you talk a little about
its growth and the types of product you offer?
TheBateShop.com opened around 2011 I think. It’s
a really cool addition to what BateWorld is all about,
because it enhances the whole experience with a wide
variety of products related to masturbation. We’re
an affiliate site with comics, porn, live performers,
calendars, clothing, cock rings, lube, cum rags—so
basically all the basic necessities of wanking.
Our programmer Phil has been really instrumental
in evolving the BateShop to its current state. It’s an
online department store for masturbators.
There’s a growing selection of international
products in the BateShop, which can be shipped from
countries outside the U.S. to save on postage for our
non-US customers.
You also just launched The BatorBlog. Since BateWorld is
already a social networking community, what role do you
see The BatorBlog playing in the big picture?
Well, for one thing, with the blog (BateWorld.com/
blog) we can reach a wider audience with news,
discussions and information about masturbation as
well as highlighting subjects that aren’t necessarily
focused on bating.
Adding an editorial feature to BateWorld seems like
a natural progression for me. I’ve been writing blogs
on the site from the beginning. A few years ago we
opened a blog section on the BateWorld Community
page, and what we’re doing now is taking the next
step with that.
We’re expanding on the original version and taking
it outside and opening it up to a wider audience.
With The BatorBlog we can highlight movies, art,
and cultural events that don’t fit strictly into the
BateWorld environment.
I’m looking forward to being able to branch out and
represent what I consider to be the whole man. It’s
healthy and fun to be a bator, and I love that we have
a place where men can just focus on that, but as men
we’re also here in the world outside as well. With The
BatorBlog we’ll have content that can enrich other
parts of the body and mind.
How is 2015 and beyond looking in terms of BateWorld
membership expansion and global reach? Do you have any
new products, offerings or news you would to share?
Peter and I both have plenty of projects on the burner.
Peter’s much more focused on world domination than
I am. He has a real talent for it, and that’s his area of
expertise. My own goals are rather modest. I prefer to
continue to grow at a gradual pace the way we have
from the beginning, but continue to add new features
and upgrade the user experience. But I trust his
instincts and let him do the driving.
2015 will be a big year for me as a designer because
we’re nearing completion of our new responsive sign-
in pages (which will include a sign-out page as well).
This is the beginning of a site-wide responsive design
upgrade.
In 2015 we’ve also projected the opening of our
new site that goes beyond masturbation. That’s still a
secret, though.
BateWorld is fairly small compared to many other
sites, but what makes us unique is that we aren’t just
a business, we’re legitimately interested in offering
bators a sense of community and providing for men
a fun and safe place to express themselves sexually.
I feel really privileged to get to design such a great
place to play! Thanks to all our members and our
great staff! (The puns just write themselves…)