Safer sex is sex in which transmission of body fluids such as blood and semen from one partner to the other does not occur. Note that it is safer sex, not safe sex. The following is a small collection of things to remember which I have found in my reading on safer sex. It is not an exhaustive list, but the links at right contain easy-to-read, comprehensive, and authoritative information. Just because a guy/ girl/ tgirl is hot and ready to fuck, and seems nice and sensible, doesn't mean they're not an STI risk. There are a number of things you can do to keep yourself safer:

Always have safer sex
That means not coming into contact with your partner's blood, semen, vaginal juices, or faeces. For penetrative sex, always use condoms.

Safe practices	Possibly safe/ safer practices	Possibly unsafe practices	Unsafe practices
- masturbation (touching only yourself) - massage - dry kissing - rubbing clothed bodies together	- vaginal intercourse with a condom - anal intercourse with a condom - oral sex with a condom or barrier - rimming (oral-anal contact) with a barrier - Using sex toys with a condom	- hand contact with your partner's genital/ anal area, without a glove - sharing sex toys without cleaning them or using a condom	- vaginal or anal intercourse without a condom - oral sex without a condom or barrier1 - rimming (oral-anal contact) without a barrier - contact with blood

¹ My understanding is that HIV is unlikely to be transmitted through unprotected oral sex unless there are open wounds in the recipient's mouth. However, diseases such as gonorrhoea may still be transmitted from an infected partner's throat.

Avoid having sex with an infected partner
While this seems obvious, if you do believe a potential partner has an infection, you may choose to take precautions or you may decide to avoid sex with that person altogether.

Get tested regularly
I get myself tested and checked up annually, as advised by the Melbourne Sexual Health Centre.  If you have risky sex, then it should be more frequent.

Know the enemy
Educate yourself about STIs and how they are acquired; then you'll know how to avoid them.

Communicate
Communicate with potential and relationship partners about your respective health status.

Avoid high-risk behaviours
Obviously, avoid activities listed in the 'unsafe practices' column of the table above.

Avoid high-risk partners
Some people like to do risky and unsafe things, and if a casual partner is prepared to partake in a particular unsafe act with you, then they're almost certainly prepared to do it with a whole lot of other people as well.

Limit the number of partners you have
Reducing the number of different people you have sex with reduces the numer of opportunities you have to catch different STIs.

Stay focussed
Don't let sexual excitement cloud your judgement. Try not to let the heat of the moment, when you're actually playing, influence what you would do if you were stone-cold unaroused. For this reason, I believe it is better to be sober and unaffected by drugs or alcohol when playing, especially in risky situations like beats.

Get vaccinated against Hepatitis B
Hep B is sexually transmitted, but the vaccine for this disease offers lifetime protection against infection.

Consider non-penetrative sex
There's a whole lot of fun to be had without penetration. Explore different options.

Abstinence
This is obviously a highly effective way of avoiding STIs, and can be done without disengaging from the alt-sex lifestyle. It may be that you choose to attend a gangbang or swingers party but take the role of a voyeur and simply watch and masturbate. I have done this several times in the past, and it was good because I left the party knowing that there was no chance that I had contracted an infection.

Source: Marr, Lisa. Sexually Transmitted Diseases. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, 1998