SAFETY: Safety is of the utmost importance in any D/s relationship. Without it, serious accidents can happen. The Dominant should constantly be checking His submissive, making sure she is ok, and not feeling that she is in any danger. New dominants should never attempt complex scenes without first attending workshops or meeting with others to learn the skills necessary to safely conduct a scene.
SANE: This means a variety of things. Always, always play with a sane person. Sane means one is conscious and able to make decisions, in a clear and unaffected manner, always being in control of Y/your own actions and not letting outside factors disturb Y/your ability to know right from wrong. Of course, there are common sense things that any SANE individual would avoid. For example, suspension outside the 86th floor of a skyscraper would be just plain dumb. So, try to use some common sense when Y/you are contemplating scenes. (i would like to give credit to my good friends anessa{E} and buttercup for helping me out with this definition.)
CONSENSUAL: This one is easy. No means No, no matter what. The consent has to be mutual. For the Dominant as well as the submissive. she must consent to submitting to Him, to serve Him and He must consent to give and be served to. This is another good reason for safewords. Safewords mean no, i dont consent anymore, i need to stop and should be respected immediately. Once again, NO means NO.
Always being Safe, Sane and Consensual is of so much importance. i cannot stress it enough. It really is the only way to play. SSC makes things much smoother, much more enjoyable, and safe for A/all.