17 Comments
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Matt's avatar

How about we all sign up for BeReal and bomb them with hundreds or thousands of nudist photos

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Dustin Cox's avatar

I believe there is a more diplomatic approach to getting the best outcome.

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Matt's avatar

Which is what?

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Dustin Cox's avatar

1. Acknowledge their efforts and policies. Start by expressing appreciation for their platform and the measures they take to create a safe and inclusive environment.

2. Highlight the value of non-sexual nudity. Emphasize how non-sexual nudity plays an important role in art, culture, and education, helping to foster understanding, inclusivity, and respect for the human form.

3. Reference other platforms or policies. Mention how other platforms or organizations handle non-sexual nudity, highlighting the balance between safety and artistic freedom as a successful example.

4. Suggest clear guidelines. Recommend developing transparent, enforceable guidelines that distinguish between sexualized content and non-sexual nudity in an educational, artistic, or cultural context.

5. Offer to collaborate or provide input. Suggest being part of a dialogue or sharing resources to help refine their policy.

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the naked gentleman's avatar

Hear, hear! This is well thought out, well written, important, and absolutely correct.

BeReal isn't even on my radar, but it would be a great concept if it lived up to its name.

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Jacob's avatar

Excellent article, Dustin! Thank you for bringing light to this.

I enjoyed BeReal while it was good, but finally left recently. My decision was motivated by these random enforcement issues, as my account was one that got suspended for several days for “violating” the policies that are discussed in this article. But the final reason for leaving was that all of my friends were already gone. I was left interacting with just two people who I otherwise see and connect with elsewhere, so BeReal just became more of a burden.

I did download and save all of my posts, though. I think apps like this offer a fantastic journal/diary that we can use for reflection. 1SE (1 Second Everyday) has a similar purpose, prompting users to record one second of video to document each day. But BeReal’s approach was slightly different, and I really enjoyed it.

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Evan Nicks's avatar

I feel the same but I’m still on there. Now I have just one friend left. It’s feeling very lonely.

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jparr's avatar

Thank you for your well written and reasoned post. It has been my experience when trying to appeal an iusse on social media platforms that the person appealing a decision is at a disadvantage. You don't know who you are appealing to or even if your appeal is being read. There is no discussion with the entity on the other end who is making the ruling. Its hard to use a reasonable approach with the operators of most sites.

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West Coast Wil's avatar

So... What is the best way to confront this social media company's bias. Certain groups would spread the word to put pressure on this company if they were discriminated against. We naturist, likely due to the social stigma factor, tend to remain in the background without pressuring companies to treat us fairly, and without actually educating (not just trying to educate) them about what Naturism really is.

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Kane's avatar

Great, informative article Dustin! Didn't even know about this platform but it's unfortunate of their hypocrisy. Very well written, thanks for sharing

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The Nudist Archive's avatar

Nothing will change here unless and until Facebook abandons hypocrisy, ignorance and censorship. I’m not holding my breath.

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Dustin Cox's avatar

We have to keep up our work in advocating for the naturist community. Keeping up the pressure can eventually get a foot in the door to start the conversations.

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The Nudist Archive's avatar

I totally agree about keeping up the pressure. FB is a hollow shell.

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Greenbare Woods's avatar

Planet Nude overlays pictures of people with "see anyway" clicks. Censorship is insidious even on nudist channels. The AI censorship is virtually instantaneous. Very disappointing. Planet Nude needs to complain loudly to the host platform.

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Evan Nicks's avatar

Thank you for your feedback. I don’t love the “see anyway” overlay either, but it’s what allows us to operate on this platform while staying compliant with their guidelines. Readers can adjust their Substack settings to view the content without the warning. Just go to your account settings, find the “Content Preferences” section, and enable the option to view mature content without warnings. Hope this helps! Let me know if you need assistance.

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Greenbare Woods's avatar

Perhaps including a link to BeReal would be helpful for some readers.

I've never heard of BeReal. I post naked pictures on X every day. They stick a stupid cover on my pictures that readers have to click, (so does Nude Planet) but X doesn't censor the pictures.

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Hart Tom's avatar

Great article! I really hope they learn from what you so well explained.

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