A Survival Guide For New Users

[Diver0001]

I would like to point out a few things to users who may be new to Scubaboard and/or new to internet forums in general and to make a couple of suggestions how to survive life on the forums.

Live and let live

One of the great things about an internet forum is the diversity of opinions. It gives you a lot to think about but also a lot to agree and disagree with! There will be topics or opinions that are (or become) irritating to you and topics that have been discussed to such an extent that existing members have become somewhat divided in "camps" that exchange standpoints as opposed to engaging in any meaningful discussion.

This is normal on an internet forum and my advice to you, when you see it, or when you realize that you are part of such a "camp" is to live and let live. You simply won't be able to convince some people to change their minds so don't try. Agree to disagree and do that respectfully and we'll all have a better time!

Write what YOU think

There will be members on the forum who prefer to talk about things negatively. They are not the majority, but they do occasionally demand a lot of attention and can suck the life out of discussions. The biggest mistake to make is to respond to that. Simply ignore it and write what YOU think. You can seldom make your point with people who are bound and determined to be negative so avoid the trap of getting sucked into spending a lot of time on it. It will just frustrate you and suck you into bickering.

Use the ignore function

You will encounter people on Scubaboard who just push your buttons with everything they say. This is normal in any large group of people and because people are anonymous on the internet they can tend to be even edgier than normal.

You can't do anything about this except ignore them. If you find yourself unable to restrain your instincts to argue with them, then your best bet is to add them to your ignore list. This is a key strategy for avoiding frustration and it might surprise you to discover how FEW people you really need to ignore in order to keep yourself sane.

Use the REPORT button

Sometimes people simply go too far. This is natural. However, responding to something that is over the edge will only make matters worse in most cases so when you see something that you think goes too far (even if you’re not sure) then simply REPORT it to the moderators and allow them to do their work.

Have fun

Keeping things in perspective is important. Sometimes discussions get so intense that you will start to lose perspective. This is a normal part of participating in an internet forum. When that happens, back off, for your own sanity and for the sanity of people who read your posts, and look for the lighter side. This is a diving forum. Diving is fun and talking about diving can be fun too!

R..

 

[Rhone Man]

Good post.

I'd add:

• "Prepare to be patronised from time to time - it just happens, deal with it and don't take it personally. If you post saying 'I am thinking about doubles/tec diving/rebreathers one day' you will get a swathe of 'You need more experience' e-mails amongst a few helpful ones."
• "Stay out of the Pub unless you enjoy agreeing with (or arguing with) people with views on the right hand side of the political spectrum."

 

[ScubaSteve]

I'd add as well:

• Be prepared to accept that you likely do not know everything. A common mistake among "man" is that we often believe "I just got trained and therefore I know IT." (whatever it may be). Accept that you don't know what you don't know and understand that the advice being doled out on ScubaBoard is often from some very knowlegdable and caring members who just want you to enjoy and be safe.

OK well I need to edit and add a PUB reference

• Stay out of the PUB unless you really like the HCT and Politics

 

[Naucrates ductor]

• "Stay out of the Pub unless you enjoy agreeing with (or arguing with) people with views on the right hand side of the political spectrum."

Stay out of the Pub unless you enjoy reading leftist pap from communists, socialists, fellow travelers, enviro-whackos and other useful idiots.
ND

 

[Diver0001]

Thank you. These were exactly the kinds of posts I was hoping for. (although I'm not sure we can use the word "whackos" on a survival guide).

R..

 

[hvulin]

and use Search... it doesn't kill or bite...

 

[TSandM]

I'd add:

When you post, try to think of how you can make a positive contribution to the thread. What information did the original poster want that you can add? What good, rational arguments can you muster to support the opinion you are about to write? It is often easy to identify and name and describe a problem, but it is far harder (and much more useful) to propose solutions to it.

Second, give other people the benefit of the doubt. If you think someone MIGHT be trolling, or MIGHT be insulting you, assume they're not. The worst that can happen is that you'll write a nice post that wasn't really needed.

 

[Straegen]

and use Search... it doesn't kill or bite...

and leverage google search via "search term site:scubaboard.com" if you are going to do a lot of searching. Takes load off the servers, doesn't have a delay between searches and has more criteria specifications.

 

[vladimir]

You know that annoying, borderline-trollish guy? The one who keeps provoking you to argue with him? Chances are, the most annoying thing that you can do to him is not respond. Make your point and then ignore the bait he will undoubtedly dangle in front of you. He's squirming at home.

 

[Mike Boswell]

If you want pleasantness, be pleasant.
If you want respect, be respectful.
If you want to be loved, be lovable.

If you want to fight, go away.