Sam’s back. Barb’s sharing the work. Sam is trying to let her.
I had this post ready to publish, then went back to check whether Barb had answered a message.
She had.
I opened her reply anyway.
So that’s how the reopening is going.
Hello again. It’s October, and we’re back.
If you were here before the break, thank you for coming back. If you’ve just found us, you haven’t missed an entrance exam. You can start here.
This is Naked Voices. People write in about nudity and the ordinary things that get complicated around it. Living with someone who wants you to put pants on. Wanting to visit a nude beach but getting as far as the parking lot and reconsidering your entire personality. Having a good day, then hearing a remark you’re still thinking about that night.
We publish those accounts, and the conversation continues underneath.
Sometimes the replies help. Sometimes somebody answers a question nobody asked. Occasionally we have to remind people that the person who wrote the email is still there, reading what everyone has decided about them.
You don’t need to be a longtime nudist to participate. You can be curious, reluctant, experienced, or still deciding whether any of this is for you.
Before the break, running this place had become too much for one person. I’d sit down to deal with one thing, notice another, and still be there when I should have stopped. Then I’d come back to check whether anything had happened while I was gone.
Usually something had.
I enjoyed the conversations. I still do. But I was getting tired, and tired isn’t a particularly good qualification for deciding whether somebody meant to be an asshole.
Barb offered to help, and I hired her before we closed for the break. That arrangement is now getting put to work.
She’s our co-moderator. She’ll answer questions, deal with comments, and make moderation decisions. If she handles something, you don’t need to wait for me to approve her answer.
Barb owns a nudist resort. She’s used to answering questions, handling complaints, and dealing with people who have very different ideas about what should be allowed. We’ve talked about how that experience will fit here and what we’ll need to work out as we go.
We were sorting out who would handle what when I started typing a request for her to send me every moderation decision before acting on it.
Every one.
I got halfway through before noticing I was giving her responsibility and then asking her not to use it.
I deleted the request. Asked her to flag anything she wanted another opinion on instead.
That message took longer to write than it should have.
There will still be occasions when we need to talk something through. We may make different calls. If you ask Barb a question and don’t like the answer, asking me afterward won’t automatically get you a better one.
The inbox is open again. If you have something you want to send, tell us what happened and why it’s stayed with you. A particular conversation. A visit that went differently than you expected. Something you agreed to and now wish you hadn’t. Something funny that you’re still slightly embarrassed about.
You don’t have to make yourself look good. You don’t have to finish with advice for everybody else.
We can’t publish every submission, and an answer may take a while. Please don’t send someone else’s private details just because they’re part of your story. We can work out what readers need to know without giving them everything.
One account is already waiting.
Some of you will remember Jordan, who wrote in with questions before his first nude beach visit. He went, and he sent the account we promised to share when we returned.
For anyone meeting him for the first time, we’ll include enough background that you won’t need to dig through the earlier posts.
Jordan’s story goes up Monday, November 2. I’m not telling you how the day went. He’s written it himself, and you can hear it from him.
I’ve just checked that his submission is ready.
Now I’m closing the inbox long enough to publish this.
Next: Jordan’s beach account. Coming November 2.”
