Age Limit discussion

[Starlit]

I'm not even 30 and yet I already feel like a boomer

Yeah I'm 25 and already don't feel like I have a lot in common with a 15 year old. Their life and the things that matter to them are probably quite different to mine!

I support what's been announced but its kind of easy for me to say cos I'm young enough that it doesn't affect me and also I'm old enough that I don't feel concerned about older members on the forum.

[boris]

well from my point of view i see the "banning" of the older members here problematic.
especially in regard of the invitation to the sister board https://freerangenaturism.com/forum/index.php as written here https://internationalyn.org/forum/index.php/topic,31870.msg0/topicseen.html#new. this will cause a split up of this board. and it might lead to some reduction of action here.

i have been a mod on a german speaking board, similar to this one and we were in the same situation years before. we had lots of yearlong - and very active - members who grew out of the age range. so we made a new board for old ones (where also younger were able to join) and kicked them out of the youth forum. the result was a bit surprising and annoying. both forums were getting more and more calm and bland.
so we decided to reunite the two boards and make a seperate section for teens only. and the effect is still visible. the action was increasing very quick and still lasting.

maybe this could be an idea for this board as well to make different zones for only young and for all ages togehter. from my experience i can tell that in our board there are lots of discussions between older and younger members that keeps the forum alive. and from different points of view all can take some profit to get to know other thoughts.

[Dogoegma]

well from my point of view i see the "banning" of the older members here problematic.
especially in regard of the invitation to the sister board https://freerangenaturism.com/forum/index.php as written here https://internationalyn.org/forum/index.php/topic,31870.msg0/topicseen.html#new. this will cause a split up of this board. and it might lead to some reduction of action here.

i have been a mod on a german speaking board, similar to this one and we were in the same situation years before. we had lots of yearlong - and very active - members who grew out of the age range. so we made a new board for old ones (where also younger were able to join) and kicked them out of the youth forum. the result was a bit surprising and annoying. both forums were getting more and more calm and bland.
so we decided to reunite the two boards and make a seperate section for teens only. and the effect is still visible. the action was increasing very quick and still lasting.

maybe this could be an idea for this board as well to make different zones for only young and for all ages togehter. from my experience i can tell that in our board there are lots of discussions between older and younger members that keeps the forum alive. and from different points of view all can take some profit to get to know other thoughts.

I agree. I feel like the main impetus for an age restriction is the need to focus the conversation to youth issues. I don’t think that requires one to be young to do so, but an easy method of forcing it is to use such a policy. The main issue with doing so is a massive loss of population in an already small community, not to mention the loss of valuable input and wisdom. I can empathize with such a policy, but I don’t think it is very wise in the long run.

[cdw]

well from my point of view i see the "banning" of the older members here problematic.
especially in regard of the invitation to the sister board https://freerangenaturism.com/forum/index.php as written here https://internationalyn.org/forum/index.php/topic,31870.msg0/topicseen.html#new. this will cause a split up of this board. and it might lead to some reduction of action here.

i have been a mod on a german speaking board, similar to this one and we were in the same situation years before. we had lots of yearlong - and very active - members who grew out of the age range. so we made a new board for old ones (where also younger were able to join) and kicked them out of the youth forum. the result was a bit surprising and annoying. both forums were getting more and more calm and bland.
so we decided to reunite the two boards and make a seperate section for teens only. and the effect is still visible. the action was increasing very quick and still lasting.

maybe this could be an idea for this board as well to make different zones for only young and for all ages togehter. from my experience i can tell that in our board there are lots of discussions between older and younger members that keeps the forum alive. and from different points of view all can take some profit to get to know other thoughts.

I agree. I feel like the main impetus for an age restriction is the need to focus the conversation to youth issues. I don’t think that requires one to be young to do so, but an easy method of forcing it is to use such a policy. The main issue with doing so is a massive loss of population in an already small community, not to mention the loss of valuable input and wisdom. I can empathize with such a policy, but I don’t think it is very wise in the long run.

To be fair, there is also a relatively steady amount of people joining and at some age you're going to get to a point where you're not so interested in youth issues any more.

[boris]

To be fair, there is also a relatively steady amount of people joining and at some age you're going to get to a point where you're not so interested in youth issues any more.

what i forgot to mention before. as a dad of a 13 year old it's quite interesting for me to get to know opinions of the youngers here. always a help to learn from the point of view of the youth.

[Wesley]

maybe this could be an idea for this board as well to make different zones for only young and for all ages together. from my experience i can tell that in our board there are lots of discussions between older and younger members that keeps the forum alive. and from different points of view all can take some profit to get to know other thoughts.

I agree. I feel like the main impetus for an age restriction is the need to focus the conversation to youth issues. I don’t think that requires one to be young to do so, but an easy method of forcing it is to use such a policy. The main issue with doing so is a massive loss of population in an already small community, not to mention the loss of valuable input and wisdom. I can empathize with such a policy, but I don’t think it is very wise in the long run.

The option to segment various age groups into their own categories was definitely discussed, and considered. But several reasons contributed to us believing this is not the right approach for our forum. To begin with, the existing segments (Teenz Only, Guy Talk, Girl Talk) show us that if segmented sections become available, a lot of members will be more active in their section than in the remainder of the forum. The second, and most important reason, is that we are a community trusted and known to provide a safe, moderated, online space where young naturists can freely communicate and get to know each other. Our moderation policy is lead by this established trust and as such, we do not proactively monitor private messages or feel the need to restrict a 30 year old member from messaging someone half their age.

I strongly believe that the forum we have thrives on this trust and feeling of community, and a larger number of members does not directly result in a better forum. You're right in stating that a cutoff age results in members leaving (either due to being forced to leave or by making the decision themselves). But I strongly believe that this results in younger members forming a better connection with the community in the long run. One that is more welcoming, more comfortable, more safe. I don't want to start a discussion about safety and how this ties to age brackets, so the only link that I'll explain is that age group segmentation is actively enforced by every active and thriving naturist federation in the real world.

The very intent behind this forum from the start is to focus on a younger age bracket, one that is significantly lower than the average age of naturists around the globe. I'm happy we are able to welcome such a large number of members and have an active community, and will continue to do so for the years to come.

[DrgHybrid]

well from my point of view i see the "banning" of the older members here problematic.
especially in regard of the invitation to the sister board https://freerangenaturism.com/forum/index.php as written here https://internationalyn.org/forum/index.php/topic,31870.msg0/topicseen.html#new. this will cause a split up of this board. and it might lead to some reduction of action here.

i have been a mod on a german speaking board, similar to this one and we were in the same situation years before. we had lots of yearlong - and very active - members who grew out of the age range. so we made a new board for old ones (where also younger were able to join) and kicked them out of the youth forum. the result was a bit surprising and annoying. both forums were getting more and more calm and bland.
so we decided to reunite the two boards and make a seperate section for teens only. and the effect is still visible. the action was increasing very quick and still lasting.

maybe this could be an idea for this board as well to make different zones for only young and for all ages togehter. from my experience i can tell that in our board there are lots of discussions between older and younger members that keeps the forum alive. and from different points of view all can take some profit to get to know other thoughts.

The sister board is just that, creating a separate space for people as they get older, but they already know people from this area so they can move some place together.

As far as the age as a whole, it's nothing new that we suggest free range. Even mentioned in the site rules here: https://internationalyn.org/forum/index.php/topic,69.0.html

Remember, this is International "Young" Naturists. Not International "Feels Young" Naturists and we've heard numerous points through the years. The core of this is all that there are not too many places that legit naturists in a young age can go. Almost all nudist/naturist groups and pages out there are 18+, so already if you are below that, you feel like you don't have anywhere to go. On top of that, many nudist/naturist websites out there can often times offer a...hmm..."awkward" sense of being there. 18 year olds getting inappropriate comments from people much older then them. And their demographic being out shined by people 60/70+.

And sure, there are plenty of places where minors that share those ideals can talk about it, but many of them usually devolve into sharing "dick pics" (and yes, I use boys specifically since it's more rare for girls to do it) which is more exhibitionist then nudist/naturist. So, for ones that are looking for a legit place to go, vastly limited.

As far as the activity level even if we did create a separate section just for 40+ year olds, look at it this way. There are roughly 50 "active" accounts that are over 40. I say active based upon their login history of logging in less then 6 months ago. Chop that down to roughly half of that for the ones that still talk. So thus, you are left with about 20-25 people that have said something within the past 6 months. How active would that make a section? Can just look at Guy Talk and see the level of activity which is pretty low and has a much larger amount of people with access to it. Free Range is also currently sitting at a little over 300 members.

Like we mentioned in the main post, this won't be easy, and we recognize the change for a lot of people. But we don't need another inactive board, and we need a place where the worlds youth has somewhere to go. As we get older, there are many places we can go.

[Turbo_]

Would this rule also apply to the moderators?

[DrgHybrid]

Would this rule also apply to the moderators?

More then likely. I'm the closet one to the rule, so that would still be 4 more years till I hit 42. My goal has been to bring in a couple people that we believe would make good fits. I was the one that pushed for @Sofia for example and she has done an excellent job.

[Turbo_]

Would this rule also apply to the moderators?

More then likely. I'm the closet one to the rule, so that would still be 4 more years till I hit 42. My goal has been to bring in a couple people that we believe would make good fits. I was the one that pushed for @Sofia for example and she has done an excellent job.

I like the way you guys are setting things up. You still got some time left lol

[Sofia]

Would this rule also apply to the moderators?

More then likely. I'm the closet one to the rule, so that would still be 4 more years till I hit 42. My goal has been to bring in a couple people that we believe would make good fits. I was the one that pushed for @Sofia for example and she has done an excellent job.

Thanks but I know I have a lot to learn and with your help I can someday take some pressure of you @DrgHybrid

[Turbo_]

Would this rule also apply to the moderators?

More then likely. I'm the closet one to the rule, so that would still be 4 more years till I hit 42. My goal has been to bring in a couple people that we believe would make good fits. I was the one that pushed for @Sofia for example and she has done an excellent job.

Thanks but I know I have a lot to learn and with your help I can someday take some pressure of you @DrgHybrid

How long have you been a mod?

[boris]

I agree. I feel like the main impetus for an age restriction is the need to focus the conversation to youth issues. I don’t think that requires one to be young to do so, but an easy method of forcing it is to use such a policy. The main issue with doing so is a massive loss of population in an already small community, not to mention the loss of valuable input and wisdom. I can empathize with such a policy, but I don’t think it is very wise in the long run.

the more users will not be here anymore, the more threads and posts in the forum gets like written anonymously. so it might be a way to unpersonality...

The option to segment various age groups into their own categories was definitely discussed, and considered. But several reasons contributed to us believing this is not the right approach for our forum. To begin with, the existing segments (Teenz Only, Guy Talk, Girl Talk) show us that if segmented sections become available, a lot of members will be more active in their section than in the remainder of the forum. The second, and most important reason, is that we are a community trusted and known to provide a safe, moderated, online space where young naturists can freely communicate and get to know each other. Our moderation policy is lead by this established trust and as such, we do not proactively monitor private messages or feel the need to restrict a 30 year old member from messaging someone half their age.

I strongly believe that the forum we have thrives on this trust and feeling of community, and a larger number of members does not directly result in a better forum. You're right in stating that a cutoff age results in members leaving (either due to being forced to leave or by making the decision themselves). But I strongly believe that this results in younger members forming a better connection with the community in the long run. One that is more welcoming, more comfortable, more safe. I don't want to start a discussion about safety and how this ties to age brackets, so the only link that I'll explain is that age group segmentation is actively enforced by every active and thriving naturist federation in the real world.

The very intent behind this forum from the start is to focus on a younger age bracket, one that is significantly lower than the average age of naturists around the globe. I'm happy we are able to welcome such a large number of members and have an active community, and will continue to do so for the years to come.

as long as there are no complaints about harassment i don't see the need for restriction of pms or in the forum.
the obvious frugal use of the teens only zone just shows, it is no problem for the youngers to have a wider age bracket.

The sister board is just that, creating a separate space for people as they get older, but they already know people from this area so they can move some place together.

As far as the age as a whole, it's nothing new that we suggest free range. Even mentioned in the site rules here: https://internationalyn.org/forum/index.php/topic,69.0.html

Remember, this is International "Young" Naturists. Not International "Feels Young" Naturists and we've heard numerous points through the years. The core of this is all that there are not too many places that legit naturists in a young age can go. Almost all nudist/naturist groups and pages out there are 18+, so already if you are below that, you feel like you don't have anywhere to go. On top of that, many nudist/naturist websites out there can often times offer a...hmm..."awkward" sense of being there. 18 year olds getting inappropriate comments from people much older then them. And their demographic being out shined by people 60/70+.

And sure, there are plenty of places where minors that share those ideals can talk about it, but many of them usually devolve into sharing "dick pics" (and yes, I use boys specifically since it's more rare for girls to do it) which is more exhibitionist then nudist/naturist. So, for ones that are looking for a legit place to go, vastly limited.

As far as the activity level even if we did create a separate section just for 40+ year olds, look at it this way. There are roughly 50 "active" accounts that are over 40. I say active based upon their login history of logging in less then 6 months ago. Chop that down to roughly half of that for the ones that still talk. So thus, you are left with about 20-25 people that have said something within the past 6 months. How active would that make a section? Can just look at Guy Talk and see the level of activity which is pretty low and has a much larger amount of people with access to it. Free Range is also currently sitting at a little over 300 members.

Like we mentioned in the main post, this won't be easy, and we recognize the change for a lot of people. But we don't need another inactive board, and we need a place where the worlds youth has somewhere to go. As we get older, there are many places we can go.

i just can follow your thoughts. and it is good to be a "young" nudist forum. but i just wanted to show the problems that may and will occur. even if it's only 20 or 25 active user going out of here.
as the alternative board is quite quiet and and very few active members, i don't know if it will be an option for me...

but nevertheless i wish this forum and its members all the best for the future. i will not be here very long anymore. if you wanna stay in contact just hit me up for skype or what ever...

[Delta]

If I may add my two cents:

IYNO has always been a youth community for naturists as much as it has been a naturist community for young people. That is the whole reason we have the dorm, an area for sex talk was pretty much inspired by the advice columns found in some youth magazines. Definitely not a typical feature for a naturist community, but one that is quite common in a youth community.

We have been fairly tolerant of members outside our target age range in the past. Particularly long-standing members were welcome to stay, to sort of not let the family drift apart. But I also feel a lot of that was due to denial that life goes on, that doors always close and others open, that familiar people move away and new friends appear in our lives. Some people left setting signs - like Stuart and Karla deciding to end their membership here and found Free Range Naturism, or Pisco transferring ownership of the site to Wesley. Others just faded away - including Danee, who was at times the biggest advocate for keeping the family together, has been away from this community for the past four years. Things change, and we need to face that, or we will not remain a youth community for long.

For advice on how not to do it, just look at any established physical naturist club. Often, lots of their members will be people who were young in the summer of '69 or something along those lines, and who embraced social nudity back then. And now, look at the clubs that always stuck to their own. Sex, Drugs and Rock'n'Roll has long made way for marriage, heart medication and 60s hits. This is not the future we envision for this community.

Luckily, we have had a steady influx of members all across our target age range, and it really makes me happy that it is often the younger and mid-range members that are driving a lot of the activity here. So yes, cutting off some of the older members might cost us some activity in the short term, but we will still have plenty of community left, and I do expect that by making sure this place stays welcoming for the young adults of tomorrow, keeping our eyes on the future, rather than the past, will be a net benefit in the long run.

[NudistMetalHead]

My personal feelings on Free Range is that they need to welcome in a few admins/moderators. Especially since I think they are only ran by 2. But, we want someone to suggest as well to move on to. And, of course, we can't suggest TN as they are just terrible.

Considering on what those 2 talked on, they should welcome conversations on other topics. Not just on nudism.

Just recently joined over there and the trouble I'm having is that there is only conversation on naturism and literally nothing else.  They could do with discussion on other topics.