I had hoped to get a male perspective at some point, but it seems that guys are just too shy, or not into blogging, to present themselves as possible writers for the blog. I still hope to add a guy to the staff, either permanently or as someone who might guest blog. In the meantime, I’ve added Eva Pookes to the staff, and her main remit will be exploration of the ‘non genuine naturist’ sims that abound in SL. I should add that the number of ‘Eve’ or ‘Eva’ avatars that have turned up in SL Naturist so far are purely coincidental. Perhaps there’s a subconscious thing wherein SL naturist ladies adopt the ‘Eve’ name or variants of it, I don’t know. Anyway…on with the show!

Eva will be ideal for the job, being a feisty girl who takes no BS from anyone!

I spoke to her at length prior to and since her appointment, and let me tell you she’s going to be a great asset to SL Naturist.

Ella: You’ve been in SL a long time.

Eva: Yeah. I’ve seen a lot of changes, both in how we look as avatars and how the grid has subtly changed.

Ella: And you’ve always been a naturist in SL?

Eva: Quite a militant one! I set up a group to fight for naturist rights. And that has got me banned from some sims, lol! I was a member of the Manatee Naturists…

Ella: …oh, me too! It was my first SL naturist place where I felt at home.

Eva: Yeah. And you remember they closed, re-opened and then closed again and somewhere along the line just withdrew from naturism despite it being a popular naturist spot? Well, I took the owners and officers on in a vocal way and started handing out notecards demanding the sim’s reinstatement, and for that I was banned. I felt they’d betrayed us a little.

Ella: I don’t remember the incident.

Eva: I couldn’t access all the members. They turned it into a ballroom and I used to hang around there, hassling visitors about how they’d just pulled the plug. I suppose it was griefing, a little, but I felt we needed to band together as members of the place who used it regularly and fight to have it retained. I’m not sure if I’m proud of that or not. I should go back and see if the ban remains!

Ella: And since then you’ve….?

Eva: Been in different places. Few last the distance, which is a shame as some have been good builds. I think we’ve got to the point now where SL Naturism is confined to a few places, but they’re uniformly excellent. Of course, some don’t understand the difference between being a naturist and just being naked. There’s some educational work to do, in SL as well as continuing work in the real world.

Ella: And what do you think you can bring to the role I’ve assigned you?

Eva: I don’t take any s***. I’ve been playing this game a long time and I’m battle hardened, lol. I’ve no qualms about tp’ing into a sim and swatting away unwanted attention, while hopefully pointing out just where it is that the owners are going wrong with it. Don’t get me wrong, cyber’s fine, but not on a public beach in SL. That’s not naturism, that’s exhibitionism. I’d hope to use my contributions to promote good, strong, healthy images of naturism as it should be. You and I aren’t here to dictate on others’ SL’s, but I think that these other sims, what you call ‘non genuine’, sometimes might skew people’s opinions on what naturism actually is. That’s not good for us in SL is we attract age-players, and it’s not good in RL if people playing this game then imagine that all naturist women are willing sperm receptacles.