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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!!
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!!
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Comments
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 except for Amoa which has a technical barrier against clothes. Lots of people don't know about "dress codes" on nude/clothing-optional sims, and many of those who do don't care. So a nudity requirement won't drive away that many people.
In fact, you can have 20 people on a sim that says both on in-world signs and on OSW that nudity is required, and you'll still be the only nude amongst women in clubwear and men in black leather jackets and jeans. Maybe there'll even be people who complain about your nudity or even demand you put some clothes on.
As for decoration, that's really something that's often neglected. The possibility to walk into the water or even swim fits here, too. It kind of reminds me of two threads about beaches I've started a while ago, especially the first one (https://opensimworld.com/post/85841, https://opensimworld.com/post/85884).
There are so many issues with how beaches are built. Ground dropping from 21m to 0m, and that's supposed to be the water line. The whole beach being a mesh shelf with nothing under it but water, and when you want to step into the water, you fall down 20m. Beach decoration only consisting of a few palms. Or a few palms plus sex furniture, but still nothing else.
Beaches are either just simply there and need to be decorated or too obvious porn sets. Nude beaches are often nothing more than decoration for nude party/sex sims.
Granted, I guess most beaches were built by people who have never been on a real beach in their lives, be it tropical or otherwise. They don't know what a real beach looks like. And how are they supposed to know how to make a beach immersive if they don't know what being on a beach feels like?
Activities fall under this, too, and be it just a bit of mild role-playing (not hardcore RP level Fitheach Eun, but "playing it real") being possible. I mean, it doesn't have to be a second Coney Island (https://opensimworld.com/hop/87886). But most beaches only offer you one or both of these two activities: lie in the sun, have sex. Okay, three, Greedy.
This takes me back to swimming again. Now, this would be one obvious activity to offer on beaches. Make the seafloor slope down as gently as it would in real life, and add a swim rezzer or a few so that people don't have to run around half your island to swim. Surfing would be the next step, and it has been done a gajillion dozen times, so there are enough people whom one could ask how it's done.
Dear sim builders, just because you don't care for this, and you'd never make use of any of it, doesn't mean nobody does and would. Also, whatever you drop down on your sim, test it. Broken items should never be excused with "at least you've got something to look at".
Lastly, as you've written, it's one thing if sims have their issues that can be fixed. It's something else if you ask sim owners to fix them, and nothing happens, even if it's obvious bugs.
Some are just busy elsewhere, be it in real life, be it with another virtual project. Some haven't read your message because they haven't logged in in months or years.
Then there are those who don't fix bugs because they say it works for them (sure it does, they're privileged sim owners and not Hypergridders like the majority of us, and they've got their personal landmarks that we don't have). Others can't take any criticism, and bug reports fall under criticism for them. Others yet again say they have a personal vision of their sim, and what you see as inconvenient or even deal-breaking is part of this vision for them. And then there are those who simply can't be bothered.
By the way, I'd like to add one point which, I think, would contribute to the popularity: The sim should be at least halfway up-to-date. This refers not only to the underlying OpenSim version, but also to the decoration. Nothing against prims if they've been put to good use. But we've got something better than beach towels with exactly one built-in animation. Pairs of poseballs for dancing are just plain outdated and have been ever since Áine Caoimhe has made the Clubmaster. And I wouldn't count on vehicles scripted for TSim or older to still work properly nowadays.
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Clothing optional, well, I'd say that every sim in OpenSim that allows nudity is clothing-optional except for Amoa which has a technical barrier against clothes. Lots of people don't know about "dress codes" on nude/clothing-optional sims, and many of those who do don't care. So a nudity requirement won't drive away that many people.
In fact, you can have 20 people on a sim that says both on in-world signs and on OSW that nudity is required, and you'll still be the only nude amongst women in clubwear and men in black leather jackets and jeans. Maybe there'll even be people who complain about your nudity or even demand you put some clothes on.
As for decoration, that's really something that's often neglected. The possibility to walk into the water or even swim fits here, too. It kind of reminds me of two threads about beaches I've started a while ago, especially the first one (https://opensimworld.com/post/85841, https://opensimworld.com/post/85884).
There are so many issues with how beaches are built. Ground dropping from 21m to 0m, and that's supposed to be the water line. The whole beach being a mesh shelf with nothing under it but water, and when you want to step into the water, you fall down 20m. Beach decoration only consisting of a few palms. Or a few palms plus sex furniture, but still nothing else.
Beaches are either just simply there and need to be decorated or too obvious porn sets. Nude beaches are often nothing more than decoration for nude party/sex sims.
Granted, I guess most beaches were built by people who have never been on a real beach in their lives, be it tropical or otherwise. They don't know what a real beach looks like. And how are they supposed to know how to make a beach immersive if they don't know what being on a beach feels like?
Activities fall under this, too, and be it just a bit of mild role-playing (not hardcore RP level Fitheach Eun, but "playing it real") being possible. I mean, it doesn't have to be a second Coney Island (https://opensimworld.com/hop/87886). But most beaches only offer you one or both of these two activities: lie in the sun, have sex. Okay, three, Greedy.
This takes me back to swimming again. Now, this would be one obvious activity to offer on beaches. Make the seafloor slope down as gently as it would in real life, and add a swim rezzer or a few so that people don't have to run around half your island to swim. Surfing would be the next step, and it has been done a gajillion dozen times, so there are enough people whom one could ask how it's done.
Dear sim builders, just because you don't care for this, and you'd never make use of any of it, doesn't mean nobody does and would. Also, whatever you drop down on your sim, test it. Broken items should never be excused with "at least you've got something to look at".
Lastly, as you've written, it's one thing if sims have their issues that can be fixed. It's something else if you ask sim owners to fix them, and nothing happens, even if it's obvious bugs.
Some are just busy elsewhere, be it in real life, be it with another virtual project. Some haven't read your message because they haven't logged in in months or years.
Then there are those who don't fix bugs because they say it works for them (sure it does, they're privileged sim owners and not Hypergridders like the majority of us, and they've got their personal landmarks that we don't have). Others can't take any criticism, and bug reports fall under criticism for them. Others yet again say they have a personal vision of their sim, and what you see as inconvenient or even deal-breaking is part of this vision for them. And then there are those who simply can't be bothered.
By the way, I'd like to add one point which, I think, would contribute to the popularity: The sim should be at least halfway up-to-date. This refers not only to the underlying OpenSim version, but also to the decoration. Nothing against prims if they've been put to good use. But we've got something better than beach towels with exactly one built-in animation. Pairs of poseballs for dancing are just plain outdated and have been ever since Áine Caoimhe has made the Clubmaster. And I wouldn't count on vehicles scripted for TSim or older to still work properly nowadays.
Thank you Jupiter, I agree with all you brought up EXCEPT the prevalence of required nudity. Offhand, I can think of at least 2 other sims still active, besides Amoa, that require it; one in Osgrid that I especially liked. I agree that required nudity isn't likely to drive off many users. At least not so long as nudity is the principle or sole attraction there, anyway. But I'd really like to see a sim have a broader user base without a bright line of demarcation separating it from non-nude sims, having attractions that can appeal to all.
As for violators, well, that's what people do, sadly. I don't understand it, but that's how it is, regardless of WHAT rules you have. If they won't respect a swimwear or nude requirement, they certainly won't respect a pure nudity requirement either. I've seen it frequently on nude-only sims The only recourse is to enforce the rules strictly; with banning if necessary. If and when you can't monitor it yourself, deputize' enough trustworthy users to help.
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As for violators, well, that's what people do, sadly. I don't understand it, but that's how it is, regardless of WHAT rules you have. If they won't respect a swimwear or nude requirement, they certainly won't respect a pure nudity requirement either. I've seen it frequently on nude-only sims The only recourse is to enforce the rules strictly; with banning if necessary. If and when you can't monitor it yourself, deputize' enough trustworthy users to help.
I would like to chime in here, just to say that Kinky Haven, tho not a large or popular grid, we do have a beach with some amenities other then the sex which is also available. our entire grid is adult rated and clothing optional everywhere. windsurfing, swim rezzer and kayaking are just a few of the things offered. if you can get past the fact the grid owner is a neko (not furry) and she may stop by to say hi. then we might be what you're looking for.
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Thank you, Fruit Loops for this info. I have stopped by Kinky Haven in the past, although possibly not for long enough to give it a thorough look. I will, for sure, stop by again.
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I forgot to mention that our waters are 100 meters deep so the drop off might be a bit more excessive and we're working on adding scuba diving and deep sea exploration.
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