In the latest development concerning former naturist/nudist social sites on Ning, at least one of the sites I was a member of has become a casualty. Skinbook, arguably the most popular of Ning’s nudist sites, has now closed.
You will remember from this posting that Ning decided to prohibit all nudity from its sites, including those run by and for naturists and nudists. There were various nudist sites on Ning, but those I was most familiar with were Skinbook, Bare Friends International (BFI) and Free Range Nudists (since renamed Free Range Naturists, or FRN). The blanket prohibition of nudity did not sit well with any of these sites, but the attempts at finding solutions were varied.
There was already talk some months before about BFI moving away from Ning due to problems with Ning administration, and the anti-nudity rule seems to have been the final impetus needed to put the plan in action. The site can now be found at a new address.
FRN tried first going the diaspora route with members joining groups on MySpace, Facebook, Yahoo, Flickr, Google, etc., and even creating an FRN group on Skinbook itself. The reasoning was that even if those groups didn’t allow nudity, at least the risk of seeing everything disappear due to an overzealous worker at Ning could be compensated for. Most recently, they found a new home on the elgg system, which does allow nudity, and everything is being centralised there.
Skinbook is the only one that promised a seamless transition to another site. It did so after first seeking an exemption from Ning for its group. I find it hard to believe they would actually make such a request given Ning’s final word on the matter. However, they did say that some art groups were in the same boat as some of the portraits exhibited were nudes. I don’t know what happened to the art groups, but Skinbook did not get any special treatment, at least not in this regard.
When it was clear they could not stay on Ning and keep nude pictures, they tried to transfer to another platform. The first try was at grou.ps. They do seem to have tried hard at making it work for quite some time. However, they eventually found it too complex and opted for grouply instead. But many complaints came from the membership regarding spam and other problems at grouply. At least, this is what they said.
The most recent attempt was to start from scratch at www.theskinbook.net and have everyone register all over again. This apparently caused other problems, and the plug was finally pulled for good, with some regret but especially with a certain amount of bitterness on the part of Site administrator Karl Maddocks.
Maddocks sent a message announcing the demise of Skinbook that was supposed to reach all members. I never received it, and I’m apparently not the only one. But the letter was reprinted on various nudist websites and blogs. Here is what he had to say:
"A message to all members of www.theskinbook.net:
"It is with much regret that I have come to the decision to bring Skinbook to an end.
"After all the effort (and money) we have put into saving the Skinbook network; the complaining, negativity, abuse and general lack of support we have received (sic) from our users has been quite frankly, disgusting...
"I am no longer prepared to provide the Skinbook network to any members past or present.
"As much as we have attempted over the past couple of years to bring together the naturist community and give the naturist lifestyle a positive public image, the treatment of my team here at Skinbook has finally made it clear (to myself at least) why this lifestyle is both fragmented from within and ostracized from without.
"What you take this to mean is up to you to speculate individually.
"For me this revelation doesn't require an explination (sic), it requires merely a reaction; my reaction being that from now on I see fit only to completely distance myself from this lifestyle (from both a philosophical and physical stand point) and most certainly from ANY medium which serves to promote it.
"Good luck in your quests to find unity within your chosen lifestyle... you need it!
"Karl Maddocks”
He then added a post scriptum in which he adds that he and his team retain all rights to the Skinbook name, logo and any other associated media.
See also, among others, this posting.
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