I THOUGHT that I had found it! The PERFECT nude beach in opensim. Okay, not PERFECT maybe, but close enough to DO, with a few tweaks here and there that I thought the owner could do quickly and easily. And GLADLY, in that they would improve the experience for ALL users.
My requirements for the perfect nude beach are simple and few.
1> clothing optional. While I'm perfectly happy nude, I realize SOME people are NOT, and I would like a beach that is inviting to as many people as possible. Opensim IS a social experience after all, and it's difficult being SOCIAL while sitting alone on a deserted beach. I can do THAT at home!
2> Attractively decorated. Being a HOPELESS landscaper myself, this is important to me. I want to be in pleasant, realistic, IMMERSIVE surroundings. I want to FEEL like I'm sitting on a sunny, windswept beach, with the sound of waves breaking on the shore when possible.
3> Human only. Call me a hater if you like, but this is simply an extension of my IMMERSIVE requirement. I have nothing against non-human appearing av's, or those who choose to play them. I count them among my friends in probably a similar proportion as they exist in the general opensim population. But they DON'T EXIST in reality! So that pretty much conflicts with a realistic environment. And YES!! I realize this contradicts my desire for a sim that appeals to as many AVs as possible, but SOMETIMES you just have to make some hard CHOICES.
4> Adult only. This one I think should go without saying, but sadly it can't. I'm no lawyer, not even an RP one in world. But I live in the U.S.A. And here, to the best of my understanding, I'm committing a felony by even VIEWING a DEPICTION of a naked minor. It makes NO difference whether or NOT they are engaged in sexual behavior. It makes NO difference if it's actually 2 70 year old guys 'expressing themselves' or 're-living their childhood' by going at it. It makes NO difference if I AGREE with the law or not. I really don't believe the FBI is going to track me down and prosecute me for being on a sim with a naked child-like av, but what, on the other hand, do I stand to GAIN even if they DON'T?
5 Activities. Chat is great, but at this point in time, even the BUSIEST regions in opensim are going to have considerable periods when NO ONE but you is there. And nude regions are, and probably always will be, FAR from the busiest sims. So having things to do when you are alone there is important. Often I spend such times multi-tasking, working on something in RL while in OS too, but if one is not paying attention, this makes you just another AFK avatar, something that OS is TOO full of already. Plus it's fun to have some joint activity (beyond sex!) when other AvS are there. Activities also tend to hold visiting AVs in the region somewhat longer, thus increasing the likelihood of AVs meeting up there.
5 Listed in OSW Okay I KNOW some people have issues with the OSW way of doing things. But, like it or not, it has the largest audience of opensim users I know of. And this is important in that virtually all nude beach sims are going to start out having VERY few visitors. To have traffic there, one will have to build it up and the best way to DO that is for AVs to see that there's OTHER avs already there. OSW is ideal for that. They say that misery loves company, well so do opensim avs!! Aside, of course, from the lonely builders lost in the joys of construction on their own sims!!
This isn't an exhaustive list of desirable features and isn't meant to be. There are others. And there are CERTAINLY many factors that can make for a toxic environment notwithstanding the presence of these GOOD ones. But by and large, I think this is a good baseline of REQUIRED features in my search. But even these aren't immutable though. If you are dealing with an amiable sim owner who is open to suggestions on how to improve their sim and make it provide a better user experience, many negatives can be turned totally around.
But then again, sometimes NOT! And this is where the latest subject of my search sadly falls short. Cayo SW in the Alternate Metaverse Grid is a beautiful sim with MUCH to offer everyone but especially nudists. It has a large clothing optional area and is beautifully landscaped with wide white sandy beaches. It has what appear to be setups for holding live events(nakie beach parties, anyone?) and activities galore!! Dune buggies, a really fun balloon ride, water slides and surfing. Well... sorta, anyway. It's THERE, in part. Surfboards that appear to work, but no WAVE to ride.
On the few occasions in the past when I have brought some issue to sim owners' attention, they have always been appreciative for the information and quickly resolved it. Which makes sense. Often user feedback is the only way an owner CAN learn of a problem. The owner in this case was very friendly and we had a pleasant chat. To be fair, she never SAID, in so many words, that the surfing would be fixed, but what she DID say led me to believe it would be. My bad I guess, since several days have passed now and nothing has changed. It's really not about the surfing itself. That would be a PLUS for the region, but it's not a make-or-break issue for me. However I think it DOES reflect on a sim owner's attention to their regions. If an owner isn't willing to do the small things that MIGHT turn what APPEARS to be a dead sim (in all my visits I've yet to see anyone there other than friends I have urged to visit) into one that might generate some traffic for the grid, then why should I spend MY time on it?
There are other issues as well. Such as having a landing zone that drops you out in the middle of the ocean, a LONG way from anything that matters and no signs POINTING you to them. AND a water front that suddenly drops from @19m to @5 as soon as you step into the water. It's like 'watch out for that FIRST STEP!!!' This can make swimming and surfing (assuming it ever iS working again) awkward at best. Minor things, true and easily corrected. But seeing how my request for having the surfing fixed was received, I've felt disinclined to even ASK about anything else!! All in all it's a lovely sim with GREAT potential; it's just a shame it doesn't receive the love it deserves.
As or me, the search continues!!
| Jupiter Rowland: What you've written addresses quite a number of issues, some of which apply to beaches in general.
Clothing optional, well, I'd say that every sim in OpenSim that allows nudity is clothing-optional e... 3 years ago |