Nudists will always be a scorned minority because they/we are simply incapable of working together towards a common goal: mainstream and social acceptance of the naked human body.
Whenever any half-decent catalyst comes together, like SkinBook as was (and demolished by insider-backbiting and sniping), or a slick modern social media network like the Naktiv site, people run along excitedly saying how marvelous it is to finally have a "place to call home". After a while though, people begin to jostle for influence, minor issues become personalized, and people fall out with one another, then they go off in a huff and refuse to say a nice word about the site again. More than that, a whispering campaign of mud-slinging is begun.
All this serves is to splinter the already factioned groups even further. Take a recent example. Some idiot posted a verbatim article from another website on the Naktiv site. The author of the original article was understandably upset, but rather than contact the Naktiv site admins and lodge a complaint, so that something could be done about it, the response was instead to post a blog denouncing the ENTIRE Naktiv siteas plagiarist. Note that this was one user, from over 1600 users, who had plagiarized a post, and now the entire site is black-balled. This doesn't happen on Facebook.
What's the difference? The difference is that Facebook is an entity, and the Naktiv site is still small enough to be regarded as a personal place. This makes the Naktiv site an easy target for an unanswerable smear campaign. As the saying goes: "throw enough mud and it will stick", and stick it does, regardless of the true nature of the situation. And the more mud, the better, the more scandal, the better, the more you can get people to become embroiled in sniping at one another, the less notice is taken of the main issue. It's no wonder Skinbook folded with an embittered founder. This so sad, so futile, such a waste of resources, and so unnecessary.
We were talking about gaining mainstream public acceptance of nudity. Not the plagiaristic antics of a single user on a multi-user site. This isn't a parish council meeting, where people are trying to upmanship one another for use of a particular chair. This isn't a private nudist club with parish council note-taking and representatives with special case voting rights for the correct queue position at the barbeque. We are talking about a social media network which can help to promote our common goal: mainstream public acceptance of human nudity. Remember?
United we stand, divided we fall. Where do you want to go with this, what do you want to do?
people r people,clothed or clothes-free.
though,given the relative unpopularity of the naked/naturist way of life,we perhaps should be a little more tolerant of the other's ideas,no matter how codswallop-like they may be. ;-). Also,as a new member of the community and to the Naktiv site,thanks for the welcome!
Yep, we keep working at it.
I know your frustration. I have a Christian group that, on occasion, have gone haywire over doctrinal issues and refuse to talk to me face to face, or as the bible says "come now, let us reason together" (Isaiah 1:18). Even though I am not the one who blew things apart, I was "wrong" for even trying to explain what I really said. So yeah, I understand. But we keep working at it.
The important thing, Richard, is that despite your frustration, a few days later the Naktiv site is still in business and "cool rationality" prevails among most of those who post here.
I tend not to post a lot, though. I've posted on a number of Nudist/Naturist/Clothing-Optional/Naked-positive over the last — how many years has it been? … Invariably someone comes along and posts an angry response to what I had thought was a pretty innocuous observation. I've tried to learn to shrug my shoulders rather than go immediately into a reactive and self-defensive mode. But that's not always easy …
… any more than it's not easy to monitor what one hopes is a good forum with more than a few topics raised which are a bit controversial, but necessary for the advancement of life-style that includes the option to get naked in the company of others who wear much or who wear nothing at all. I hear your frustration at a careless plagiarism and an intemperate reaction that doesn't follow protocols that would ease the damage rather than intensify it.
And I can't help but agree with you: I, too, raise my eye-brows and wonder if that kind of reactivism isn't going to do more to debilitate the growth of the movement than some inappropriate acting-out on a clothing optional public beach. I doubt that many are going to want to be part of a quarrelsome, conflicted group no matter how much it otherwise touts the wholesomeness of getting naked in community in public. That's why I don't get out and post a lot …
Thing is: it's tough to maintain one's balance winds of conflict begin to batter from several different directions at once. These issues aren't unique to "Naked culture": I've seen the issues tear apart churches and PTAs and political action groups and environmental groups as well.
So thanks, Richard, for what you've done to advance the community of those who want to get together, undressed or dressed as is their presence, and just "get active" — which seems really to be the primary concern of this website/blogsite/forum for "Naktivists".
And "Keep Calm — and Stay Naked"!
Allen
It's a hard work to build something new!
Hard doesn't begin to describe it. It's like pushing water uphill 🙂
I personally want to keep fighting for the right for social acceptance and to be nude or clothed in public at my own discretion.