Beware of Dive Chronicles photo contests!

[fairybasslet]

Please, let's not mix apples and oranges. SB is a great place run by volunteers. I appreciate this place and have been a supporter. I know at one time it took a while to get stickers, either because of a lack of communication or they ran out...something like that, but the prospect of getting stickers was not why I gave them some $.

Even though I have had some personal correspondence with Pete, I can't say that I know him very well but I have always been impressed by his handling of things. In this case, I think he defended his friend. I think he made a mistake by not reading the thread on wetpixel before answering the way that he did, but that's just my opinion. What Pete probably doesn't know is that Robyn was at ITK a couple of years ago and he probably met her. She was my buddy and I asked her to come with me. I have known Robyn for many years and I have traveled the world with her.

She is my friend and yes, I will tend to take her side. However, her version of events has been supported by many other contestants. And I know that she was reluctant to post was she did on wetpixel and only did so after being encouraged by other uw photographers to do so as a warning about the contests run by Dive Chronicles. I know she agonized for months over what to do, and that was because all of her emails and phone calls were not returned. If they had been, I'm positive the mistake about taking AMEX would have been solved. I'm sure she regrets posting the whole story now because, take my word for it, she is anything but a drama queen. All she wants to do is dive and take photos, and she is quite good at it.

 

[scubashooter]

I believe the so called "racist statement' was not meant to insult anyone. Sometimes we tend to become extremely thin-skinned and want to take offense at every little thing. I believe there was no intent to be racist in the use of that term. Give the man a break.

Pete acknowledged an obviously racially derived phrase, denied any intent to insult and apologized for it. Giving him the benefit of doubt, that would've closed the case. Thin-skinned is Pete defiantly saying no one would believe him etc, which made the apology appear disingenuous. Thin-skinned would also be defiantly challenging everyone to pile on, when many people were merely repeatedly telling him to verify facts before casting doubt on the contestant and not the organizer, who is his friend.
If you don't know the history of that "tickee" phrase, that is fine. However Pete acknowledges the racial connotation and history behind it. "What I see" is an opinion that lacks any foundation in facts, "what I get" is that the atmosphere is disagreeable.

 

[snaphappy]

The irony of it all, is that the winner apparently doesn't know if they even want the prize. Kinda funny really. Much ado about nothing.

The premise behind my original post on Wetpixel was much more than about me receiving my prize. Not only did I not receive my prize, but each of my attempts at communication with Brad Nolan were ignored,,,and the same thing was happening to several of my close dive buddies who had also won the contest. No one else wanted to speak up, and at first I dragged my feet about speaking up, but I'm glad that I finally did.

So Pete...you think it's 'nothing' when a person acts in good faith, enters a contest, pays (or attempts to pay) the entry fees, experiences the thrill of winning, only to be let down by not receiving what's been promised to them AND enduring the humiliation of not even receiving a reply to their emails and/or attempted phone calls?

I know Pete,,, my opinion that people have the right to be treated with I honesty and respect must be a shocking new concept for you, but I think that if you ponder it for a while it may come to you. But then again, maybe not.

I spoke with Brad Nolan on the phone today and I think that there may be light at the end of the tunnel. I won't breathe a sigh of relief until everyone's received what they've been promised,,,,but I'll stick my neck out here and say that I'm feeling hopeful about it. I'd like to also add that I'm grateful to Jim from Backscatter for his assistance with this matter.

Pete, even though I like a lot of your members, don't ever count on me being a regular poster here. I'm MUCH more partial to Diver2Diver (scubadiving.com). Yeah, we get posters who are jerks there...but at least our administrators are people we can respect. Robyn

 

[ScubaSteve]

The more time I spend around these web boards (definitely including ScubaBoard), the more I realize that everybody really is the same. There are very few people that you can trust to treat you with respect or to live up to their word. Sadly, this is just a reality for today. That definitely goes here and other boards that I belong to.....some diving and some photography related.

 

[BDSC]

The premise behind my original post on Wetpixel was much more than about me receiving my prize. Not only did I not receive my prize, but each of my attempts at communication with Brad Nolan were ignored,,,and the same thing was happening to several of my close dive buddies who had also won the contest. No one else wanted to speak up, and at first I dragged my feet about speaking up, but I'm glad that I finally did.

So Pete...you think it's 'nothing' when a person acts in good faith, enters a contest, pays (or attempts to pay) the entry fees, experiences the thrill of winning, only to be let down by not receiving what's been promised to them AND enduring the humiliation of not even receiving a reply to their emails and/or attempted phone calls?

I know Pete,,, my opinion that people have the right to be treated with I honesty and respect must be a shocking new concept for you, but I think that if you ponder it for a while it may come to you. But then again, maybe not.

I spoke with Brad Nolan on the phone today and I think that there may be light at the end of the tunnel. I won't breathe a sigh of relief until everyone's received what they've been promised,,,,but I'll stick my neck out here and say that I'm feeling hopeful about it. I'd like to also add that I'm grateful to Jim from Backscatter for his assistance with this matter.

Pete, even though I like a lot of your members, don't ever count on me being a regular poster here. I'm MUCH more partial to Diver2Diver (scubadiving.com). Yeah, we get posters who are jerks there...but at least our administrators are people we can respect. Robyn

And everyone that reads this thread can bet their sweet a _ _ that from now on when Brad Nolan/Dive Chronicles has a photo contest, they will do a much better job at handing out prizes than in the past. And the future winners can thank you, Robyn, because you came forward and called them out for doing a really crappy job at running a contest and overall customer service. Let's hope they have learned a valuable lesson from this experience. And to think, it all could have been avoided so easily.

And hat's off to Jim at Backscatter for getting involved. Obviously a class act. As a matter of fact, if I decide to upgrade my video system in the future (I currently have one of theirs now), I will certainly consider them when I buy.

 

[Deefstes]

Jeepers! I just finished read both threads, this one and the one on WetPixel. I don't know why I did it because it doesn't affect me and I don't know any of the people involved. I live on a different continent and don't even know where Bonaire is.

It probably intrigued me so much because I really DESPISE crooks (I've been crooked a couple of times) and from my point of view (and I really tried keeping it objective) this Brad dude appears to be a crook.

This particular prize with the original poster who's credit card didn't clear / wasn't accepted could be a bona fide mistake, in which case I'd have expected Brad to come forward, explain exactly what happened and rectified the situation. He didn't, well he did come forward not with what I'd call a good PR message. Seriously shot himself in the foot there.

OK, perhaps he wasn't being a crook but just have bad public relations skills, could be. At least Jim's very good response suggests that by offering some sort of a plausible explanation. But what about the other winners who didn't receive prizes either? Brad seems to be very mum on that topic.

C'mon Brad, please, give us a reason to believe that you are for real and not the Crook that you currently appear to be.

 

[The Chairman]

C'mon Brad, please, give us a reason to believe that you are for real and not the Crook that you currently appear to be.

Are you kidding me? They don't want an explanation at this point: they want BLOOD! I presented the other side, and look at how heinous I turned out to be. I don't think Brad wants to jump into the water at this point. Somehow I besmirched the person's character who has YET to be charged anything by calling her card "bogus". The hypocrisy is the continual slamming of MY character because I had the temerity to present what I had been told. Besides, Slaphappy says she is working with Brad via voice. Good for them! Not all things need to be resolved publicly!

The funny part? If I were as heinous and dishonorable as peeps like BDSC make me out to be, then why do I allow such negativity towards me on MY forum? Why don't I just sweep these things under the rug? Why don't I just cower under his siege? I am not afraid of the truth and the discussion that brings it out! BDSC makes jumping to conclusions based on very little evidence an art form. Yet, I have not and will not return the favor and tell you PUBLICLY what I think of him and his personal attacks. I would rather discuss the facts as I understand them and have a discussion that helps to clarify it for all.

At some point, you have to look at the efforts to defame Brad on the various forums. The internet is a POWERFUL force, and some misuse it for their own reasons. Drama, profit, revenge are among a number of reasons peeps will use the internet to force their will on others. There are a lot of good reasons to use that power, but you should ask yourself if the various posters are being FAIR or are they just being petty or petulant? It often degenerates into lots of posters exhibiting mob mentality and doing the very thing they accuse others of doing! Look at this statement:

I know Pete,,, my opinion that people have the right to be treated with I honesty and respect must be a shocking new concept for you,

I have to admit, that I don't see ANY respect for me in this statement. What? Am I immune to having respect directed at me? Why should I be shocked when you don't even live up to your own "concept"? I would be more shocked if you actually SHOWED me any respect and respectfully disagreed. Let's face it, if we ALL had the same understanding, ScubaBoard would not exist. There is nothing wrong with disagreement AS LONG AS it doesn't degenerate into a dog pile on peeps who present an alternate view.

Snaphappy has indicated that she spoke to Brad, and really that's the best place to resolve these types of differences: personally. We all make mistakes, and I probably make way more than my share. El Orans has had my back far too often on stuff I miss or forget, and I PUBLICLY thank him for that! Look at the snafu we had with our own contest! Ouch... that left a mark! You won't find me denying it happened and it's why I get others to run those things. I suck at those details and have not tried to run a contest SINCE!!! I try to learn as I go along!

So please... continue the dog pile as you see fit. Tell everyone how I am related to Khaddafy and that I am the worst admin on the planet. Extrapolate that my disagreement really means that I am an arrogant SOB and had a frontal lobotomy. These aspersions often tell us more about the poster than the subject of their wrath!!! Still, I will read through the vitriol to see if anyone has something of substance to say. If I can change something or rectify a wrong, I will do that. However, if there is something that MUST be addressed, please send me a PM. I just might miss it otherwise. You might want to copy El Orans while you're at it!

 

[BDSC]

BDSC makes jumping to conclusions based on very little evidence an art form.

Thanks for teaching me to be an artist!

 

[Deefstes]

Pete, don't get me wrong, I was not directing my distaste at you but at Brad, even if I know you came out in defense of him. The thing is, you presented the other side (good on you) but I'm not sure you were really told the true other side by Brad. Unfortunately you have taken more flak than you deserve because you were seen to stand up for Brad.

True, not all disputes require a public resolution but this one has become so public by now that I think Brad could do very well by coming out with the truth publicly - that's of course if he is so innocent as he claims to be but the very fact that he remains so silent on all of the unanswered questions doesn't exactly work in his favor.

Of course I can't insist that he comes clean publicly, that's his choice. If however he feels like clearing his name, I for one would be quite satisfied if he could set our minds at ease over these simple questions. If he doesn't feel like answering these it could only mean one thing (at least in my book), he is not as squeaky clean as he claims to be.

1. How can he appoint a winner of a competition if he knows that he won't award the prize? I mean he knew that she hadn't paid, or so he says.
2. Have the other winners of the competition received their prizes or not? I mean ALL of them, not some of them.
3. The other claims of people not receiving their prizes, are they blatantly lying or have they all used Amex to pay their entry fee?

Actually I can immediately think of quite a few more questions to ask but maybe I should rather leave it here.

I hope you don't think this is unreasonable.

 

[fisheyeview]

So please... continue the dog pile as you see fit. Tell everyone how I am related to Khaddafy and that I am the worst admin on the planet. Extrapolate that my disagreement really means that I am an arrogant SOB and had a frontal lobotomy. These aspersions often tell us more about the poster than the subject of their wrath!!! Still, I will read through the vitriol to see if anyone has something of substance to say. If I can change something or rectify a wrong, I will do that. However, if there is something that MUST be addressed, please send me a PM. I just might miss it otherwise. You might want to copy El Orans while you're at it!

Pete, how can I trust what you are sying if you can't spell Quadaffi???????????