Suggestion Feedback on keeping ScubaBoard members

[gypsyjim]

This question is directed at all members, new and old. It is actually a multiple part question, and is designed to get us all thinking about what ScubaBoard is, or could be for someone just discovering us today or tomorrow.

Two weeks ago on Utila Colleen and I were part of 4 couples with no previous contact who were diving on the same boat for a week, so we had lots of time to chat. It turned out that 5 (6 including myself) of the 9 divers including the DM, were all members of ScubaBoard at one time or another, but I was the only actively participating SM user.

A subsequent conversation with a friend who is also a moderator, has had me thinking about this, so here are my questions:

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1) What attracted you to ScubaBoard in the first place?

2) Are you satisfied that the board addresses your needs adequately? And if not what would you change, if you could to make it do so

3) Why do you think other folks who have joined, have not stayed around?

4) Do you have ideas on what the board either did not provide well, or what might have done to scare them away, without becoming participating members?

5) Do you have ideas or suggestions of new ways to both attract and keep new members, new divers involved, and satisfied with this forum?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_________________________________________________________________

---------- Post added March 3rd, 2014 at 08:30 AM ----------

I will start by adding my own 2 cents.

I discovered SB while researching a dive trip back in '05, and was not a terribly active member for some time. I did though, find the info I was seeking.

I did soon after that did make some friends on the board, as both DeputyDan and Herman offered advice and invited my family to join their group for a trip to Bonaire.

I also later asked for underwater photography advice, and got a lot of help from such diverse members as ScubaSteve and DandyDon, who were more than willing to help a struggling novice.

I had a few conflicts in some of the threads along the way, especially early on, with some of the more vocal know it alls, but while that slowed me down a bit and kept me quiet, it did not scare me off. I just spent more time lurking till I became more comfortable standing up for my beliefs, and not afraid of the loud mouths. It just took me time to realize by lurking that they were a small minority, and not particularly as well respected universally as they might have thought, which made me feel less the outsider.

(Note) I think a lot of that 'know it all' attitude seems to have disappeared from the boards, or at least become far less of an issue. I heard a lot of feedback from non member divers between '95 and about 2000 that this "slamming of 'stupid questions' " was a big turn off, but I do not sense this same complaint from my more recent contactsd, when discussing SB. Now it seems more like SB is not supplying what divers are seeking, and they are just moving on to other sources of info.

I know many folks have moved on to FB, but while I enjoy FB a lot myself, I have never seen it as having the potential to reach as many divers, or to serve as a useful search base for dive related questions.

 

[ajtoady]

I am not going to make a list but will answer a few of the questions. What brought me here:: a friends recommendation on diving info.
Suggestions on keeping or attracting new members:eople will come and go just because , some will find the site interesting and some will not.
As far as does it meet my "needs"::I am here because I enjoy reading the posts, gleaning some info, and interacting in said posts. The classified's are also handy. If you need info it can usually be found here with a few opposing angles to a solution. As far as the, know it alls, go,,, thats human nature and it will happen.
Do I have my fav's here, Hell Yes!!! I enjoy Pete's constant foray into the , lets make that , realm! The med advice and general knowledge of T SandM is a definite perk. Really, there are way too many to list here and those are just a couple that spring to mind. I realize that people will be people and "sparring" will occur. Moderation is sometime needed and I can hope that it is done in a respectable and level headed manner.
I realize I have rambled on long enough and bid you a Good Day for now!! Safe diving and keep this site Alive!!!

 

[The Chairman]

Now, this is a suggestion I could live with.



I've a hunch Pete might not go along with it though......

Actually, we store beer in almost every refrigerator around the world. If you make a post, simply help yourself to one! But please: no PWI (Posting While Intoxicated).

It's been interesting following this thread. I found ScubaBoard while on a customer's site. I was in the process of a longish download and just Googled Scuba on the net to pass the time. I became a moderator in the first week for something I said about the Warhammer maneuver and then when they found out I was a Network Consultant, I became one of two site admins and a senior moderator. A year later and I became the owner of the site. I've found that people leave for all sorts of reasons. Their interests change, they don't get their way, they aren't allowed to continually harass others or they don't like posting by the rules. For those who stay, the rewards have been legion. The inside jokes, the camaraderie, the trips, the new skills, the new knowledge and most importantly, the other ScubaBoardians all work together to make the site magical. I love it here.

 

[gypsyjim]

Actually, we store beer in almost every refrigerator around the world. If you make a post, simply help yourself to one! But please: no PWI (Posting While Intoxicated).

It's been interesting following this thread. I found ScubaBoard while on a customer's site. I was in the process of a longish download and just Googled Scuba on the net to pass the time. I became a moderator in the first week for something I said about the Warhammer maneuver and then when they found out I was a Network Consultant, I became one of two site admins and a senior moderator. A year later and I became the owner of the site. I've found that people leave for all sorts of reasons. Their interests change, they don't get their way, they aren't allowed to continually harass others or they don't like posting by the rules. For those who stay, the rewards have been legion. The inside jokes, the camaraderie, the trips, the new skills, the new knowledge and most importantly, the other ScubaBoardians all work together to make the site magical. I love it here.

I know we often make your life more [-]difficult[/-], er interesting, but we divers do tend to be a rather outspoken, lively bunch of folks, and many of us are not afraid of making waves, or speaking our minds.

It was friendly members like Herman and DeputyDan who welcomed questions and extended their friendship, (and others like ScubaSteve and DandyDon offering useful advice) in '05, when I first stumbled in here that made me keep coming back.
More recently though it has become a huge family of members I have come to see here as friends, and chat with almost daily, many of whom I have now had the chance to meet and dive with.

--------------------------------

Pete, I just "reported" post #1 of mine in this thread, asking for a Mod to make a correction in it. I said I discovered SB in '95, but that was a typo. I wandered in first sometime in '04, and joined in '05 when I wanted to post a question.

 

[Hawkwood]

....
Pete, I just "reported" post #1 of mine in this thread, asking for a Mod to make a correction in it. I said I discovered SB in '95, but that was a typo. I wandered in first sometime in '04, and joined in '05 when I wanted to post a question.

Fixed.

 

[diver 85]

The old front page was a lot better IMO---had the latest posts listed there, UW pics that divers were posting & was easier to navigate seemed like.......IMO, they fixed something that was NOT broken......My 2 cents worth....

EDIT:...surfing around google got me here in '06---& very few I talk to now days knows about SB......

 

[Scuba_Jenny]

Of course not! The cost to ship the beer would be too much. Airline size bottles of rum is the best way to go.

mmm somebody mention rum?

1) What attracted you to ScubaBoard in the first place?
I was looking for the local internet dive club, I did a search for it and ScubaBoard came up. I eventually joined the other online club, but SB kept my interest.

2) Are you satisfied that the board addresses your needs adequately? And if not what would you change, if you could to make it do so
Yes. Before SB, it was difficult for me to find beach diving buddies. With SB, I now have a bunch of buddies. The local forums are awesome. You can connect with other divers, share site information, and plan group outings. Some of the outings do sport a SB banner, however, there are costs involved with supplying those and surprisingly sometimes things get lost...
Moonie for example. Moonie was the brain child of a member who suggested we send a gnome around to different dive gatherings, fill out a log book and pass it on to the next person. Was a great way to get to know others around the world, and at one time some fierce competition on who got to host Moonie!

3) Why do you think other folks who have joined, have not stayed around?
Various reasons. Some come for specific information, get it and leave, others are not interested in participating in online forums, and while they are present, they rarely if ever post. Others, scuba is no longer an activity they participate in. :shock:
I dive with a few people who are members but choose not to post anymore, mostly because of the dog piling and cyber bullying.

4) Do you have ideas on what the board either did not provide well, or what might have done to scare them away, without becoming participating members?
Just because they are not participating, does not make them valued members. Course, posting by more members, I would assume, makes for good numbers when trying to secure advertising.

5) Do you have ideas or suggestions of new ways to both attract and keep new members, new divers involved, and satisfied with this forum?
Keep on keeping on.

 

[gypsyjim]

Fixed.

Thanks. Jenny spotted that error, not me.

I am not very good at proofreading, spelling, typing.......

---& very few I talk to now days knows about SB......

As I travel these days I meet quite a few divers who are or have been SB members.

I was quite surprised when I first discovered SB roughly 10 years ago how our local dive shop was so negative about this sight. To me it was exciting to finally have a way to speak directly with other divers, ask questions, swap tales and recommendations, etc.
We divers used to have only dive magazines, and gear catalogs to choose gear and dive trips from, until the rise of the LDS. To me the rise of internet sights like SB was a logical growth direction, which began to allow divers across distances to connect directly, for the very first time.

The dive shop actively discouraged any talk of SB and went out of their way to put it down if I dared to mention it.

I realized as I thought about it though, that the LDS saw SB only as a threat to their monopoly on gear, info, dive travel, etc. They feared everything and anything to do with the internet, as a threat to their market which it can be, rather than accept the internet as a reality they can not change, and find ways to use it to their advantage.

 

[danvolker]

I see this when we go to the DEMA Show each year, and get to speak with many Dive Shop owners....almost universally, they hate Scubaboard, as a threat to their Dive Shop being the primary source of all knowledge....and because whatever is really "hot" and should be "bought" at the shop on any given day--may have just been ridiculed on SB.

Solutions?

1. NetDoc runs a "class" for Shop Owners to "teach" them how to deal with bad reviews on SB, to make lemonade out of lemons.....SB is not "going away", so they would be better off by embracing it. 20 years ago many shops hated the Internet and rec.scuba, and told their divers the Internet was a joke they should avoid....This strategy clearly did not work out to well for them
2. Someone agrees to be the Dive Shop Advocate each month....Pete finds 20 members that have the marketing and writing skills to do this, and then they draw straws each month to see who the unlucky winner is The winner looks for nasty posts that Dive Shops will hate ( or can be emailed about a post by a shop), and then deals with the post or thread in the manner best for the industry...sometimes this won't be good for the shop, but most times it should be...in the long run. The shop can use this for their own buying strategies and marketing as well.
3. Pete creates a special version of SB for any member that owns or manages a Dive Shop, with all negative gear or training posts redacted. Since this only leaves about 3 posts per week, the Shops soon figure SB is no threat, and they don't worry or talk badly about it any more

 

[Rich Keller]

I do not think the shop owners need an advocate, they should be addressing these problems themselves. Having moderators forward shop owners links to threads that mention their businesses is a good idea to help that happen faster. If SB were to get directly involved, which is probably a bad idea, it should be as an independent third party, not taking either side.

 

[Scuba_Jenny]

(Back in the day when I was a mod..) if there was some bad press on a shop, boat, etc., a mod would contact the party and invite them to post on the board their side of the story. Win-win for all.