Re:
hyperskeptic's OP ... I was introduced to Relationship Anarchy (RA) by a guy named Richard (username levitte) on Polyamorous Percolations. Relying on his guidance, I assembled the following entry for the glossary on that site:
Re: does RA make sense ... certainly.
Re: is it tenable ... not for everyone, but for many people yes.
Re: am I, Kevin, ready to set sail on the RA ocean ... nope, too chicken/comfortable with the structured relationships I've already got. This is largely because I don't think my two poly companions would go for the RA adventure.
Re: is RA a subset of poly ... no. It is arguably a subset of (responsible) non-monogamy, but it covers more ground than poly. I do think poly and RA can overlap.
Re: is anarchy really the best word for it ... if you visit
Wiktionary, you'll observe that anarchy doesn't necessarily entail violence. It just means that one is shrugging off the agents of authority that predetermine one's life. It means the shrugging off of the traditional order of things. Is the word "anarchy" loaded with violent connotations? Yes (at least in the U.S.). But those connotations are technically misinformed, and in any case, I'm pretty sure the phrase "relationship anarchy" is here to stay, so we might as well get used to it and make the best of it.
Re: what about "relationship-queer" ... good idea, but alas, "relationship anarchy" has already taken hold. That's my assessment anyways.
Re: the rest of this thread (after hyperskeptic's OP) ... it seems to me that many/most polyamorists are inclined to define polyamory (and other poly-related words) in their own way (which is probably why polyamorists in general are infamous for arguing about semantics). I am thinking RA is destined to follow the "same" kind of path, and already is headed that way. My own interpretation of RA is crude, subject to change, rather subjective, and perhaps not cool of me to talk about here ... but I do find the topic interesting and thought I'd share what I know. Having read the whole thread I suppose know more now, but I have to say I liked Marcus' posts best in the sense that they gave me the greatest sense of clarity about what RA is (and what it means). Second place then goes to hyperskeptic for framing what I thought were the most important RA-related questions.
Glad I noticed and checked out this thread; it was a good learning experience for me.