A question about Scuba Board posting etiquette

[The Chairman]

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

Yes, they are permitted and even encouraged. The science and the protocols of diving change with time and discussions that highlight these are incredibly helpful. Quite often, what was not a good idea five/ten years ago is common place today.

Fortunately, a lot of what powers ScubaBoard is unbridled passion. People want to share and learn and are incredibly passionate about (to them) their well thought out approach to diving! Sometimes, what we see as a given has not been thought thru by others and so they have not arrived at our, seemingly enlightened, position. It's good for all of us to be circumspect not only in how we dive, but in how we answer questions. Confrontational posts are almost always taken the wrong way. It's better that we learn to tolerate those with skills different than ours. If we are truly superior in our skills, it won't be long before others will be chiming in to sing our praises.

 

[t-mac]

Thanks for starting this, Matt. Every time I see one of those "why don't you use the search function" posts, I wonder why the person actually took the time to open the message and then type a response. If it is so annoying to see the same questions posted again and again, it seems to me the easiest thing to do is simply read the header on the thread and ignore it rather than inconveniencing yourself further. I'm not at all suprised by the support you've seen here and from my perspective the folks who have responded to you are some of the ones with most consistently insightful posts anyway. Besides, the search function sucks anyway!

 

[RickyF]

Matt,
Remember that this board is really no different than people in real life. You have those that are kind, considerate and always willing to help and then you have those that are rude,obnoxious and just plain nasty. It looks to me like you have been around to know this just like me.
Also remember that some answers you may be given can be totally wrong. Weigh out what everyone says and the right answer will become apparent.

 

[k ellis]

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?

Ive been around the block with this issue a time or two myself. What you have to remember is there are those people who are not trully social. Youll find this in every rank from Open Water Diver all the way to course directors. Howard mentioned it best in just reporting it.

Ive attempted to answer some questions I have seen you post and on behalf of myself and all of the true hearted divers on the board I do apologize that there has been some less then desirable replies to your questions.

If I or any other divers can answer any questions you have you can feel free to message me. If I dont know the answer it may take a while but Ill do every thing I can to get you a good answer.

 

[DandyDon]

Passion! Yeah, that's my defense for stupid at times. We don't have a smilie for that do we...?

 

[k ellis]

Fortunately, a lot of what powers ScubaBoard is unbridled passion. People want to share and learn and are incredibly passionate about (to them) their well thought out approach to diving! Sometimes, what we see as a given has not been thought thru by others and so they have not arrived at our, seemingly enlightened, position. It's good for all of us to be circumspect not only in how we dive, but in how we answer questions. Confrontational posts are almost always taken the wrong way. It's better that we learn to tolerate those with skills different than ours. If we are truly superior in our skills, it won't be long before others will be chiming in to sing our praises.

Very well said. I just wanted to chime in a little on this.

As divers we do come from all walks of life. You will find those here who deal with others very well and want people to learn and encourage it. I want divers to excel and become good at it and learn to love it as much as I love it. Then there are those who seem to forget what being new at one time was. Even if they began in the 60s and 70s they too were once curious divers and had questions too ask.

I personally let things roll off my shoulder as I deal with screaming and yelling with cursing and lies all day long so on here it really does not change much. However some people work in an office and are not exposed to people as much so they have not learned to deal with people as well as others have.

I always attempt to keep my answers on point and to the question and try to show respect in them when I do. I have a time or two got off topic but it just does not promote the love of diving as well as snide remarks or hatefull replies.

As I have learned in my law enforcement career you can stand and argue with people all day long and yell and look just as ignorant as they are acting. Or you can stay calm and let everyone around you see you are not the nut case but you are the one who is experienced in dealing with these situations. They will eventually realize who they can turn to and rely on for answers and which ones are not a good candidate to receive advice from!

 

[The Chairman]

Passion! Yeah, that's my defense for stupid at times. We don't have a smilie for that do we...?

How about :sinq:

 

[FPDocMatt]

Reading here about accidents, near-misses, and downright tragedies, I am struck by what a serious matter scuba diving is. Scuba Board is a social venue, but it's also a lifeline for us all, in that we receive life-saving information here every day.

So even though I've felt insulted a few times in recent weeks here, in future I'm going to temper my reaction with this newfound understanding of the deadly seriousness of this sport. For example, if someone scolds me for not being adequately cautious, or uses a somewhat negative tone to tell me something that might save my life, that's not quite as insulting, is it?

And a lot of the people here are technical divers. As serious and dangerous as recreational scuba diving is, what they do is many times more so.

Finally, I'd like to say that the flames I've gotten here have been few and far between. I haven't felt particularly picked on or abused, the way I have on some other forums in the past. The vast majority of the members of Scuba Board are very genteel folks indeed.

 

[The Chairman]

I haven't felt particularly picked on or abused,

Thanks for the input. I'll discuss this with the mods and get on to them to pick up the pace!

 

[DiveNav]

Matt,
the point is ...... more questions you ask and happier NetDoc will be

Alberto (aka eDiver)