SSC - short for Safe, Sane, Consensual - is a term most likely created in 1983 by David Stein of the GMSMA. It has since become one of the common abbreviations in the BDSM community. SSC is however not without controversy since for some people the terms are not strict enough. This lead to the term RACK.

The three parts of SSC are:

• Safe means that anything done needs to be done in a way that identifies and prefents health risks. This includes that you learn and experiment with new things before trying them on your partner (i.e. brand a piece of meat before branding a person).
• Sane means that any activity needs to be done with a clear head. Most people interpret that as a ban for alcohol and drugs from scenes.
• Consensual means that all activities require informed consent. In other words, all people involved need to understand and give their OK to go ahead with an activity.