A question about Scuba Board posting etiquette

[FPDocMatt]

As a new diver, I'm fascinated by all the new things to learn. So what I do is, I post a question. Many of the replies are friendly, interesting and helpful. But some of the replies are delivered in a sort of veiled irritation; the gist of them is that they think I should have read up on the answer to the question before posting it.

But then Scuba Board simply becomes a source of information, and only information not contained somewhere else. As the sum-total of all scuba knowledge is approached, the amount of permissible questions to be asked on Scuba Board will diminish to near-nothingness.

To me, the purpose of Scuba Board (and any social forum) is interaction with others of similar interest. Some of this interaction is the transfer of information.

If I were sitting on a dive boat with others going to a dive, and I asked a question, such as "Say, what's saturation diving?", nobody would say, "You can find the answer to that question in any advanced diving manual." This would be a rude response. Yet on Scuba Board, this is a very common sort of response.

So my question is: Are questions that I could have found the answer to by doing a simple web search permitted or not?

 

[HowardE]

Hi Matt,

This is a good question...

Any question worth asking on ScubaBoard is deserving of an answer on ScubaBoard.

In my opinion... the response, "just do a search" is kind of lame. If someone went so far as to post a question, then they deserve an answer.

We also have the "green zone" (Basic Scuba and New Divers) where people must stay on topic, and be extra polite.

So to answer your question specifically... Ask any question, and you should get an answer. If people are being rude or inappropriate, then simply click the REPORT POST button at the bottom of that post, and the Moderator Team will look at that post, and possibly take action.

 

[yodelhawk]

Hi Matt. Have thought the same thing myself a time or two. Half the fun on this forum is getting a response from an actual person. I am very thankful to the wonderful members that share their knowledge and help out a newbie like me. I'm here to meet other divers of all levels and maybe cultivate some friendships that could lead to possible dives with them in the future. To all those who cheerfully help me out and keep me out of the hyperbaric chamber with your good advice...Thanks guys!!! To the ones who I'm a nuisance to... please feel free not to answer my post... But have a great day anyway

 

[FPDocMatt]

So to answer your question specifically... Ask any question, and you should get an answer. If people are being rude or inappropriate, then simply click the REPORT POST button at the bottom of that post, and the Moderator Team will look at that post, and possibly take action.

Thank-you!

I didn't realize there was a "report post" button. I did know about the ignore list, I've put a couple of the more charming posters on there.

The thing is, I would rather ask a human being than look something up in a reference book or on-line. Because the human interaction is the real motivator, not the search for information.

 

[HowardE]

Matt... In the How to Use ScubaBoard forum, there are lots of helpful tips, including how to report a post.

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/how-use-scubaboard/403118-how-do-i-report-post.html

 

[redacted]

The thing is, I would rather ask a human being than look something up in a reference book or on-line. Because the human interaction is the real motivator, not the search for information.

Remember the kid in school who made a habit of asking rather trivial questions? In a short time it became obvious that it was really an attempt to initiate some social interaction rather than an honest quest for knowledge.

And then there was the kid who was always asking "How do you spell...."

After a while, it got pretty old. In some cases kids started avoiding them or purposely giving him wrong answers.

Over time, either the behavior changed somewhat and the kid fit in OK or the kid became an outcast.

The key is balance.

 

[TSandM]

Matt, I think you've asked a number of very good questions, which have elicited good discussions.

It is true that the number of topics is finite, and questions get recycled. But the cast of characters here changes over time, and different points of view and different methods of expressing them will show up. Thus revisiting topics can actually be productive. And as my friend NW Grateful Diver often observes, the real purpose of a place like ScubaBoard is interaction -- we like to talk. Those who like to snark are here, too; you can report them or ignore them, and we do try to rein them in in the "green zones".

 

[FPDocMatt]

Matt, I think you've asked a number of very good questions, which have elicited good discussions.

It is true that the number of topics is finite, and questions get recycled. But the cast of characters here changes over time, and different points of view and different methods of expressing them will show up. Thus revisiting topics can actually be productive. And as my friend NW Grateful Diver often observes, the real purpose of a place like ScubaBoard is interaction -- we like to talk. Those who like to snark are here, too; you can report them or ignore them, and we do try to rein them in in the "green zones".

By the way, I never know when I read one of your posts whether you're T, S or M.

 

[koozemani]

Matt, I think you've asked a number of very good questions, which have elicited good discussions.

It is true that the number of topics is finite, and questions get recycled. But the cast of characters here changes over time, and different points of view and different methods of expressing them will show up. Thus revisiting topics can actually be productive. And as my friend NW Grateful Diver often observes, the real purpose of a place like ScubaBoard is interaction -- we like to talk. Those who like to snark are here, too; you can report them or ignore them, and we do try to rein them in in the "green zones".

You'll figure out soon enough which posters are reliable to give you an honest insightful answer to a question, and which will give you the smart a$$ reply. There is a small pool of both with the majority being moderates piping in with their 2 cents.

I say ask away. As long as you are sincere in what questions you ask, you will always find someone to answer them. Even the most experienced members of this board were new once. Some forget that, but many more don't.

 

[oreocookie]

Sometimes the search function is a great tool to finding the answer to the question you have, since you'll almost never be the first person to want to know whatever it is. When it works, you get the answer from other people and the peace of mind that you're not alone in whatever problem/confusion/curiosity you might have. Sometimes you'll find out other things that you hadn't thought of that you wouldn't have by asking the question yourself. I know that a lot of new members don't know about the search feature or if they're new divers, they don't try it because they might think they're the only one with that problem or question because everybody else in their class understood or could do it on the first try.

In time, you'll start to realize which topics come up every couple of weeks and you'll have to figure out how to answer them. Sometimes it helps to remember what it's like to be a new diver, and remember what it's like not knowing everything. As you've noticed, not everybody remembers what that's like.