MEMBERS' CHAT
You'll notice that the Members' chat is now restored. You won't notice much difference in the way it looks on the site, but we've made a few refinements into how it's monitored to help prevent abuse. It's not perfect, but it's a lot better.
There are a few issues that you should know about . . .
On the website, the members' chat and forum is only available to Community Members. However, at the moment some member pages are accessible to Registered members through the Wix Spaces app. We're working on a method to address that anomaly.
It you are not logged in, the chat box will just be a contact to admin.
Members' chat can be one-to-one or it can be a group chat. All members added to a specific group chat can partake in that conversation.
Please let's keep the chat facility relevant to our aims and objectives. Organising beach meetings and bush walks etc is fine, but clandestine hookups for sex is not. And please don't introduce yourself to other members with sexual advances. Your sexual preferences are not relevant to a clothing-optional lifestyle. Private chats are just that - private. Nobody else reads them - not even admin. But the files will be scanned from time to time for inappropriate content. PLEASE let me know if you receive material via the chat that is unwelcome.
ENJOY!
Rok
Quite right, Richard. There is certainly nothing wrong with people meeting and forming friendships, or even further relationships. That's how life operates.
People get together for all kinds of reasons. They join sports clubs, motorbike clubs, book clubs, church groups and an infinite number of special interest groups. They join because they are interested in what that group does, and associating with other folk with the same interests. And if, perchance, people meet in the course of attending their common-interest group and form a friendship, then that's an extra perk!
Hauraki Naturally is also a special-interest group - that of promoting a clothing-optional and clothes-free lifestyle. People join because either they want to help us promote the cause, or they want to learn more about it to see how it can fit their own lifestyle.
The unique difficulty we face - and all naturist / nudist / clothes-free enterprises also face - is that the perceived association of nudity and sex, which is fixed in many people's mindsets, makes these groups the target of those who want to join for no other reason than to find sexual encounters. Other kinds of special-interest groups might attract the occasional lonely person looking for friendship, but are nowhere near as attractive to those simply looking for sex. As you mentioned, going on a hike is not particularly sexy, but throw nudity into the mix and, for some, the situation changes.
So, yes, it's a tricky situation, and countless nudist enterprises have descended into seediness through lack of vigilance and maintaining some standards. We hope that everyone on Hauraki Naturally get to feel as you do - relaxed amongst people who don't mind if you are naked.