Celebrating 10 years of ScubaBoard!!!

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Ted S

SB Co-Founder
ScubaBoard Supporter
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This weekend I was checking out a local dive shop and stumbled into a conversation about diving in the industry... as the associate and I kept chatting we hit the topic of ScubaBoard and suddenly his eyes opened up like I had mentioned something special; he commented how "no one could not know ScubaBoard"... it was one of the most awesome moments for me.

Heading home I realized that this post and a BIG kudos are 2 weeks over due, so here it is.

July 13th 2000, 10 years and 2 weeks ago, we turned ScubaBoard on and this account was created (at the time I was “Tech Admin&#8221:wink:... Back then SB was just a small part of a group of scuba diving sites known as SucbaSource and while we thought a forum would be fun, community was new to the web so we didn’t have any amazing expectations for what we were setting up. Still we put out best foot forward and were soon joined by a group of amazing users who turned into mods & recruiters and a viral buzz throughout many local dive communities with users trickling in. That pace kept increasing much to our amazement and a few years later we were the biggest diving forum out there.

Things changed, as they always do, and us original founders (there were 3 of us: Tom, Cole and myself) parted way with Pete (NetDoc) jumping in to pick up the pieces... From there the roller coaster headed straight up with SB becoming the biggest largest site in SCUBA. Period. That’s even truer these days with huge numbers like 4.8 million posts that prove it.

While my role in the business behind ScubaBoard ended several years ago (Pete brought me back for a few years) it's been amazing to watch from the sidelines as the community grows and grows. Never in my wildest dreams did I foresee being able to walk into a random dive shop and have people jump at the mere mention of SB. Over 150,000 people have joined this community in 10 years and who knows how many millions have stumbled on by, read a post, or two or three, and experienced SB. It’s an amazing accomplishment.

I am much more a lurker these days than the active user I was 10 years 2 weeks ago, but being able to log on and see conversations, old names, new names, it’s great. So a very, very big kudos to Pete, the staff, and the mods for making SB into what it is today. The same to the faces from the past, a few of whom are still around, many more of which have wandered off to other parts of life. And of course thank you to each and every person who has, or will, logged on and made this site into what it is, you are the community and you all rock.

To the next 10 years of ScubaBoard!

As a fun throw back check out the attached pics which show the first 5 years of SB websites.

- Ted S (aka Tech Admin for the old timers)
 

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Thanks for the birthday announcement, Ted. We should have baked a cake. Yes, ScubaBoard has indeed grown into a major presence in the diving community. My hat is off to all involved.
 
Ted!!!!!!

Many thanks as I have you to thank for the many great local dive buddies I have in my diving life!! I've also met and dived with many great SBers in CA and FL because of SB.

I owe you lots for what you've done for my diving. If you're ever in NYC or at the same dive site with me, I have to buy you a drink!! :hugs:
 
Wow -- only ten years. I guess I've been involved with SB for half its lifetime, then!

It is an astonishing resource, where you can get information about any corner of the globe. And it uses up an awful lot of my day!
 
Thank you Bill! It's a fitting coincidence that you jumped in for the first reply... Bill was heavily involved in many of the first community dive events we had in SoCal in the early days when people were just hearing of this new "scuba board".

ScubaSam, appreciate the offer but let's table the drink and give every member a high five (ouch that would hurt) for driving SB to where it is... and of Pete & Team for keeping the wheels churning.

Walter... I see you reading the thread; your 10 year mark isn't far away, hope you decide to chime in.
 
Congratulations!

I wish I could see the photos you posted more clearly.
 
Happy 10th BDay. My Son was born July 13th, 2000. 2 great things that happened 10 years ago!!!

I have only been on SB for a year now and have to thank you and the rest of the people that keep SB up and running :thumb: Thank you!!! I have meet a great number of people on there and have had the pleasure to dive with a bunch of you. Now some of these new dive buddies I consider some of my closest friends. Without SB this would have never happened.

Thank you again!!!!
 
Thank you Bill! It's a fitting coincidence that you jumped in for the first reply... Bill was heavily involved in many of the first community dive events we had in SoCal in the early days when people were just hearing of this new "scuba board".

ScubaSam, appreciate the offer but let's table the drink and give every member a high five (ouch that would hurt) for driving SB to where it is... and of Pete & Team for keeping the wheels churning.

Walter... I see you reading the thread; your 10 year mark isn't far away, hope you decide to chime in.

Yes, agree absolutely about Pete and his team of mods and advisers. :clapping: They put up with us members and deserve credit for continuing and maintaining what Tom, Cole and you started.
 
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