Should SB be mandatory for new divers ?

[emoreira]

It would be proposed to make SB mandatory for any new diver being certified.
With your new credential, the diver should open a new account in SB, so as the new diver can make a visit to the threads and learn as we all have learned with this site.
Thoughts ?

 

[Jeff Toorish]

I like ScubaBoard --but there is a lot of information on boards like this that is simply not accurate and some of it is downright dangerous.

Rather than make SB mandatory, we should make Basic Open Water certifications provisional, lasting a limited amount of time unless the diver receives additional instruction.

Jeff

 

[spectrum]

There is a wealth of experience here. I have and continue to benefit from my seat time viewing ScubaBoard so I would encourage this as an activity.

I would be hesitant to mandate the activity as it's not well suited for all. IMO the board has some definite biases especially in gear selection and agency dogma. There are also many cases where threads with good information are polluted with nonsense. If a person does not have critical thinking skills and the ability to sort it all out they will be confused and misinformed.

Additionally folks have different learning styles, levels of web access / comfort. I would be totally in favor of promoting awareness and encouraging engagement.

Pete

 

[JahJahwarrior]

If an agency were going to require members to join a forum, they would require them to join their own forum, not an open forum like Scubaboard.

I don't feel that OW or any other certification, aside from "Internet Diver" should require membership of an online forum. I do feel that every diver should take advantage of an online forum.

 

[Web Monkey]

It would be proposed to make SB mandatory for any new diver being certified.
With your new credential, the diver should open a new account in SB, so as the new diver can make a visit to the threads and learn as we all have learned with this site.
Thoughts ?

Just the Accident and Incident section.

Maybe it would cut down on "trust me dives".

Terry

 

[TSandM]

My husband gives his students a list of online resources. ScubaBoard is one of them.

 

[shark girl]

Mandatory? No. I think most of us with an interest in reading about diving online probably find our way here pretty quickly. But Lynn's mention of Peter's list got me thinking- perhaps a sticky thread with links to useful Scubaboard threads and other informative web resources for new divers (kind of a 'new to diving FAQ'?). It would make basic information easy to find (Scubaboard is great but the search function is not the best). I'm pretty bad at bookmarking handy stuff, but maybe some more diligent soul would have some suggestions.

 

[carrielsal]

I walked into an LDS this afternoon to get some air. The instructor was out on the floor giving OW students a tour. He points at me and says, that's carrielsal from scubaboard! Then proceeded to tell them about our local forum, Texas Swamp Divers.

 

[tomboyy]

I like ScubaBoard --but there is a lot of information on boards like this that is simply not accurate and some of it is downright dangerous.

Rather than make SB mandatory, we should make Basic Open Water certifications provisional, lasting a limited amount of time unless the diver receives additional instruction.Jeff

Bad idea...That just gets rid of the people that don't dive and requires the people that do to undergo unnessesary re-training and expense.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I think the only thing that should be mandatory in scuba diving is having fun ... Lord knows we pay enough to do it that we should just have to enjoy ourselves.

Everything else should be up to the individual user ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)