A Survival Guide For New Users

[RU4SKUBA]

Most of the time I just ignore your comments, but this one was really quite good! :mooner:

 

[Lisa Mongy]

Great insights! Love these replys! LMAO on the mud wrestling with a pig . . . it is SO true . . .

Also, there is a difference between constructive criticism and the old school:

If you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything at all.​

 

[Mike Boswell]

Rob, Re "How to Survive":

I don't know if this comment is appropriate here, but when I first joined SB I was naively unaware of the "politics" of the place, and that often caused some problems for me. I was pounced on a few times, by different gangs, as I wandered innocently through the prison yard.

There is also a lot of history here, and some ancient feuds that surface from time to time.

Should newbies be made aware of these dangers? Should they be told that there are certain cliques on SB, who they are, and what their belief systems involve?

Or, like me, should they learn the hard way?

 

[adurso]

If you enjoy a particular user’s perspective – then stalk the knowledge by visiting their profile & clicking on statistics to locate all their recent and archived posts !!

It's particularly interesting to search through their profile for posts that have received "thanks."

Or, if you are a bit shy about broadcasting your stalker tendencies, then just locate their posts by doing a user name search through the advanced search options .

Or create a sock puppet and stalk away....

 

[D_B]

You can also do as I did at first , just wander around without posting reading anything that looked interesting or looking for threads that discussed a question you had
... looks like I got over the not posting thing though

 

[TSandM]

Mike, how could you possibly define all the polarized positions on the board? There are some big ones -- the backplate people, the deep air people, the DIR people and the "I'd rather die than go DIR" people. But there are a mess of smaller ones -- the split fin people, the paddle fin people, the OC people, the rebreather people, the team divers, the solo divers. I think a new diver is going to find out that divers, like almost everybody else in the world, tend to form groups of similar opinion or behavior or region or whatever, and compete with, argue with, dismiss or criticize anybody who's different. Life is just plain like that.

 

[Mike Boswell]

Mike, how could you possibly define all the polarized positions on the board? There are some big ones -- the backplate people, the deep air people, the DIR people and the "I'd rather die than go DIR" people. But there are a mess of smaller ones -- the split fin people, the paddle fin people, the OC people, the rebreather people, the team divers, the solo divers. I think a new diver is going to find out that divers, like almost everybody else in the world, tend to form groups of similar opinion or behavior or region or whatever, and compete with, argue with, dismiss or criticize anybody who's different. Life is just plain like that.

I couldn't do it. But I think you could, and you made a pretty good start with your post.

 

[Diver0001]

Mike, how could you possibly define all the polarized positions on the board?

Simple. Newtonian physics.

For every reaction is an equal and opposite reaction.

If you say, "I like DIR", then someone will say, "DIR sucks".

If you say, "DIR sucks", then someone will say, "DIR is the dope".

Same with every

Pro/anti PADI discussion
Pro/anti BP/W discussion
Pro/anti horizontal this-or-that discussion,
Pro/anti <some incredibly stupid detail> discussion

About 98% of discussion on internet forums is what I call "playing in the margins".... it's the cyber lawn cutter's equivalent of cutting the grass with fingernail clippers one blade at a time.

R..

 

[Pullmyfinger]

Just pay attention to what Blackwood, Grateful Diver, and TS and M post. There are others, but these three stand out as having thoughtful posts.

-Mitch

 

[Paladin]

Mike, how could you possibly define all the polarized positions on the board? There are some big ones -- the backplate people, the deep air people, the DIR people and the "I'd rather die than go DIR" people. But there are a mess of smaller ones -- the split fin people, the paddle fin people, the OC people, the rebreather people, the team divers, the solo divers. I think a new diver is going to find out that divers, like almost everybody else in the world, tend to form groups of similar opinion or behavior or region or whatever, and compete with, argue with, dismiss or criticize anybody who's different. Life is just plain like that.

You forgot us vintage divers!!!!! How could you forget us?