Conchdivers Sitefinder

[ReefGuy]

Scuba_Jenny, cBulla, and I are working on a new addition to the Conch Divers site...a Sitefinder. We're hoping that this will become THE list for dive sites, dive shops, and charters in the state of Florida. I'm working on the back end right now, and have come up with the following. We're interested in feedback, so please post your comments and suggestions. I don't want this to get much more complex than it is right now, but am willing to consider anything reasonable . What do YOU want to see?

The conch divers database is designed to help divers find shops, charters and sites in the state of Florida. The proposed functionality of the database is as follows:

Sites will have
locations (ie, Tampa, Upper Keys, etc.).
addresses (mailing if on land, GPS or Lat/Long if offshore).
a list of any fees (ie costs to get into Gennie)
a description
depth
Type of dive (wreck, cave, reef, springs, etc.)
website


I hope to link with mapquest (prefilling the dive site information) so that users can get driving directions.
If possible, distances from the site to the charter or shop will be calculated.
Sites will be linked to one to many charters and one to many shops


Charters will have
locations (ie, Tampa, Upper Keys, etc.).
DM policy (ie. DM on boat, DM in water (optional), DM in water (required), etc)
address
Fill types (air, nitrox, trimix)
Phone Number
Rents Gear
website
Charter types (6pack, cattle)
Boat Types (sailboat, zodiac, etc)

Charters will be linked to one to many sites and one to many shops

Shops will have
locations (ie, Tampa, Upper Keys, etc.).
Address
Fill types (air, nitrox, trimix)
Classes
Phone Number
Gear Rental
Website

Shops will be linked to one to many charters and one to many sites

Registered users will be able to enter sites, shops, charters, as well as Reviews.

Reviews may be written on shops, sites, or charters.

New sites, shops, charters, and reviews will not be displayed until approved by a webmaster

Charter Reviews and Shop Reviews will have a rating and a description

Site reviews will have
rating
description
date of dive
weather
bottom temperature
time of dive
visibility
rater

As we get more reviews for sites, we will hopefully be able to establish yearly trends for site temps and weather.

 

[Wildbill]

Jeff,

That sounds like this site will be a really good site for info and will one of best on the board, thanks for the efforts to all involved. Speaking of which, I'm some what computer literate and do the webmastering on the local Jeep Club I belong to so if you need any help with anything give me a shout.

Wildbill:cop_2

 

[rdougmatthews]

Could you add in something about handicapped-friendliness under charter operators, or maybe a more generic category for "special certifications & services" that could include HSA and other special qualifications?

 

[ReefGuy]

Doug, I certainly could, but I need a little more information on what you're looking for. What's HSA and what would other special qualifications be?

Wildbill, thanks. I'll probably have quite a few questions (and would sure appreciate opinions)

 

[NINman]

You might also want to think about doing this for opensource. I would like to add a feature like that to our site also. What will you be running that database on?

 

[GrierHPharmD]

I can't wait to start entering info!

 

[GrierHPharmD]

Scuba_Jenny, cBulla, and I are working on a new addition to the Conch Divers site...a Sitefinder. We're hoping that this will become THE list for dive sites, dive shops, and charters in the state of Florida. I'm working on the back end right now, and have come up with the following. We're interested in feedback, so please post your comments and suggestions. I don't want this to get much more complex than it is right now, but am willing to consider anything reasonable . What do YOU want to see?

The conch divers database is designed to help divers find shops, charters and sites in the state of Florida. The proposed functionality of the database is as follows:

Sites will have
locations (ie, Tampa, Upper Keys, etc.).
addresses (mailing if on land, GPS or Lat/Long if offshore).
a list of any fees (ie costs to get into Gennie)
a description
depth
Type of dive (wreck, cave, reef, springs, etc.)
website


I hope to link with mapquest (prefilling the dive site information) so that users can get driving directions.
If possible, distances from the site to the charter or shop will be calculated.
Sites will be linked to one to many charters and one to many shops


Charters will have
locations (ie, Tampa, Upper Keys, etc.).
DM policy (ie. DM on boat, DM in water (optional), DM in water (required), etc)
address
Fill types (air, nitrox, trimix)
Phone Number
Rents Gear
website
Charter types (6pack, cattle)
Boat Types (sailboat, zodiac, etc)

Charters will be linked to one to many sites and one to many shops

Shops will have
locations (ie, Tampa, Upper Keys, etc.).
Address
Fill types (air, nitrox, trimix)
Classes
Phone Number
Gear Rental
Website

Shops will be linked to one to many charters and one to many sites

Registered users will be able to enter sites, shops, charters, as well as Reviews.

Reviews may be written on shops, sites, or charters.

New sites, shops, charters, and reviews will not be displayed until approved by a webmaster

Charter Reviews and Shop Reviews will have a rating and a description

Site reviews will have
rating
description
date of dive
weather
bottom temperature
time of dive
visibility
rater

As we get more reviews for sites, we will hopefully be able to establish yearly trends for site temps and weather.

Just a suggestion: you might want to add something about rater's experience (0-50 dives, 50-100, 100-500, >500, etc.) and cert level (I know that's not always relevant, especially in S. Fl!)

 

[CBulla]

Just a suggestion: you might want to add something about rater's experience (0-50 dives, 50-100, 100-500, >500, etc.) and cert level (I know that's not always relevant, especially in S. Fl!)

I dont think the raters experience and cert have much to do with the sites. I do, however, think it would be relevant to know the level of the dive (easy, medium, hard - ow beginner, ow/aow experienced, very competent diver).

Cert level? Ohhhhhhhhhh.. you mean the cards we use for Go Fish

 

[Scuba_Jenny]

its that OW Naui vs. DIR thing

 

[rdougmatthews]

Re: handicapped diving & the HSA: The Handicapped Scuba Association (http://www.hsascuba.com/), from what I've read, has put together a certification program for instructors and divemasters who want to train or support handicapped divers. I thought it would be good to know generically which dive shops had facilities for special needs divers, e.g. folks that would have trouble walking across the boat with gear on or have trouble climbing up a rear-mount ladder, and HSA training seemed like the most efficient way to express that. IAHD (http://www.iahd.org/en/index.htm) is another assocation that appears to offer that same training outside the US.

Anyhow, the request stated more generally would be for some kind of measurement or checkbox for handicapped-friendliness, either explicitly by citing certifications or by describing facilities or first-hand experiences.

Also, I agree with CBulla that the experience of the person offering information shouldn't be relevant -- in fact, I find that my earliest dive log entries would be far more useful in site descriptions than my later, lazier dive entries. ("misc. tropical fish, misc. coral, back on boat with 501 PSI")

DM