As promised, I’ve begun an autumn ‘tour’ of the various naturist sims in Second Life, with the intention of bringing up to date reports from many.

What I’ve noticed is that several ‘naturist’ venues have kind of re-assigned themselves as ‘clothing optional’, whereas I see very little evidence of textile beaches becoming ‘clothing optional’. In Second Life, as in real life, there seems to be a new conservatism, with naturism being an easy target to be squeezed and corralled into smaller areas.

One of the last reports I wrote, in June, was about Amoras Nude Beach, which remains firmly, defiantly naturist, (apart from its clubhouse area, clearly marked as C.O.) so hooray to them for that.

Clear signage to note the difference between the smaller clothing optional area and the larger naturist one. I love the bikini top casually draped over the sign!

Happily, I note that Amoras seems to be getting decent traffic figures, but the title of this blog entry, ‘Use it or lose it’, is a reminder that for any SL avatar who identifies as naturist, it’s incumbent on you and us to regularly use the facilities thoughtfully provided by naturist-friendly sim builders. Equally, it’s incumbent on you, the SL avatar who doesn’t identify as naturist, to fit into our lifestyle. Sim builders don’t want to be creating in a void, any more than bloggers want to write into a void. This isn’t, I should add, any reflection on Amoras, more of a general observation on sims, naturist or otherwise, in general. If you like a place, support it by regular attendance.

Harry, our photographer, takes time out to read in the Amoras clubhouse

Harry reports that one of his favourite items at Amoras was the clubhouse, very much resembling the restaurants in French naturist campsites. I didn’t notice this clubhouse when I visited Amoras in June, perhaps I missed it, perhaps it’s new, but Harry enthused about it. ‘You can choose your meal and your drink from the menu. I’d got talking to Rosie, so we sat and had a meal in their restaurant, a main course and dessert, which I thought was a fabulous touch’.

Eline, Amoras’ owner, also provides onscreen notices that give a clear indication the dress code within Amoras. There’s no excuse for not understanding the rules, and no excuse for keeping a pair of board shorts on and presenting yourself as one of those creepy guys who never gets naked, then makes inappropriate remarks in IM!

The impression I got from Amoras when I visited was that it is very much set up to reflect one of Second Life’s great strengths, the sociability angle. Harry was able to spend time simply chatting with avatar Rosie over a meal, and then dance and chill. All of these create the circumstances in which SL friendships can be forged, gentle pursuits and the opportunity to engage with other SL users from around the globe. It’s an excellent sim, photogenic and lending itself to low-key, friendly chat and dancing – an example of SL, and the SL naturist community – at its very best!

Ella