This was a discussion we had a few times on TSNS - there were about 2000 members of that I recall but essentially it was a private forum between about 50 of us of which about 20 were active. The flowering of TSNS for about 10 years of which I was lucky enough to be in the company of for about half that, seems to have been a rather special and evanescent phenomenon in which we few, we happy few (to quote the Bard of Avon - and his wife the Avon Lady - joke for the brits there, I think!) now here on FRN are the afterglow of that bright flowering of TSNS.
So many valued friends have fallen by the wayside (e.g. Larry, Alf, Mark, Graham, Pete) - I won't list them all but the ex TSNS members will be able to recall. And some of those that do remain here post and join in so very rarely now e.g. Dave Balead, johnbare, Paul, Nib & Hymie. I used to be the most frequent poster for a while on TSNS but even my post rate has declined as has Ian's, JOhnGw's and in fact most of us.
So where has everyone gone? I also ask, paraphrasing Duane. I think I have a bit of a theory about this which revolves around two points.
1) The passing of the age of TSNS discovery
2) The unusual character of the correspondents on this site
Whilst I only appeared in the middle of TSNS's life, it was full of the members' reports of new SN experiences by many members, new thoughts and findings about personal naturism and many of the main dramatis personae had discovered eachother a few years earlier and were still 'cohering' as friends and discovering shared experience and opinion. (How they ever got together in the fiirst place defeats me but I guess, like other subsequent joiners, they just found it by searching furtively about their naturist proclivity thinking they were 'the only one' in many cases). Even during the remaining life of TSNS, these attributes of discovery and mutual understanding became more commonplace, less excitingly new and redolent of personal and group discovery and so the conversations diversified into all sorts of other topics. We had long correspondences about spouse progress, encounters, extreme sn and Larry, Ian's and my trip reports. But these things have been discussed to a finish by the same people with few or no new entrants to rekindle them with new thoughts and opinions. Fewer of us seem to go on trips any more (remember Hymies wonderful nature reserve and water treatment plant walks, Daves country rambles, Larry's barn/garage in the country retreats) and whilst those that do, such as Jbee and Duane, Bob and JOhn, that keep up the interesting flow of wonderful naked time in nature, for many of us our SN activities are now the repeated habit of years, such as Dave's cycling and sunny bowers, Ian walking the dog in his local woods, myself and Nib at home, Ricc's gardening, and so have become unremarkable and not really the stuff of exciting reports in different locales that, say Jbee, and JOhn continue to have. Ian's travelling working life discovering wonderful locales such as the moors and the Angel of the North at dawn and dusk don't happen so much as he is not working far afield any more. So it is also with Stuart and Karla who don't seem to have the time to get up the Monros so much these days. So the age of SN discovery, except for a very few of us, seems to have waned and with it the contribution of many.
On the second point: The unique character of the group and the exceptional character of the TSNS discussion was in my experience and has been expressed by others of the ex-TSNS crowd, as just not there in most other forums. Whilst other forums such as Naturist Corner, BN and others are busy and bustling with members' posts, they just don't seem to have the quality of conversation, the wry humour, the considered opinion and the depth of discussion that TSNS and nowadays FRN had/have. Other sites just don't, at least for me match up to the incisive philosophy of Alf and Bob, the wayward, wide-ranging knowledge of Jbee, the down to earth nous and advice of Larry, the heady feelings of Mark's outings, the practical presence of JOhn and the narrative warmth of Hymie's journeys and the bright intelligent, knowledgeable, often witty, never acrimonious discussion from all here and on TSNS make our group, arguably uniquely, the best naturist forum there is! But how this came about is a mystery. Just what attracted this stellar group into the little galaxy that we have? Where did these diverse yet like minded people come from - with a narrow but mature age band and a high level of articulateness and intelligence in their writing well above the norm for social media? This seems to have been a phenomenon of it's time because with a few notable exceptions, very few people have joined up and joined in the conversation that are prepared to write in articulate prose their additions to the worthwhile and sensible thoughts that typify all our contributions here like some e.g's: Ken, Reuben, Safebare and PJcomp, Norman yeldew . The fact is we are a lonely little site in the great population of the web and, like no doubt many, many other great communities, very hard to find by a relatively small population of people that are SNs/FRNs
And don't get me going on why there are no women. Even DF, our only constant female companion for quite some years, is just that - posts in her own right are probably enumerated on a single palm of digits! Yet she is a person of extensive knowledge, opinion and incisive perception - just doesn't use it here. Other women, Am, Lisa Kayaker, Nib's Cath and the few other female participants (I guess including Karla) have fallen silent from even their infrequent participations. And another mystery is why no non-naturists have ever even occasionally bothered to join in and argue with us or let themselves be converted to naturists or even sought to insult us! Why we are such a narrow cross section in such a small niche is also an enduring mystery (to me anyway).
So it seems to be that similar, like minded people aren't finding us any more and for whatever reason, some old friends no longer want to join in. I don't know why, but there it is. Suffice it to say, as I do on these occasions, that I shall continue to enjoy the esoteric but magnetic company of this convocation while it lasts and continue to participate and appreciate the contribution of all who do likewise.
Finally, Bob, Jbee, Paul, JOhn and Ian, as some of the longest standing current and frequent posters, whose opinions I have often valued, if you have bothered to read this rather substantial post, I would love to hear whether you agree with any of the foregoing stream of consciousness or want to argue other aspects and invite you to do so.
John
