Is there a way to send a message to someone without having to make five public posts first?

[happyharris]

I want to reply to someone who has advertised something in the classifieds section. In fact I only registered with the system in order to message them about something they advertised for sale. It seems like a shame that items for sale, which (at a guess) would be disproportionately useful to newbies, would have a restriction like this.

Is there a solution to this?

 

[Zef]

Is there a solution to this?

Yes....stick around and fulfill the requirements to post in the classfieds section and/or contact members privately.

Had you done a little bit of browsing/research you would have found that there has been a ton of recent discussion activity about making the classifieds section of ScubaBoard more secure and reduce the prevalence of scams...one of the solutions was post count, so if you find it too burdensome a challenge to overcome then this place is not for you...if you can stomache the minimal requirements, then welcome and I hope you get a good deal on whatever you are looking for.

-Z

 

[happyharris]

Thanks for your response.

contact members privately​

This is what I was trying to do. I don't want to make five pointless posts that will spam the public boards, just so I can send them a direct message. Is there a way to contact someone privately that is not a direct message?

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

Tell us about yourself.
Where do you dive and how long have you been diving?
I know how to make this thread blow up to multiple pages.
Do you use split fins?
Are you MOF or NMOF?
Ever heard of DIR?
Has anyone ever told you to “get a back plate and wing”?
We’ll have you up to about 15 posts in no time.

 

[happyharris]

Actually, I think I misunderstood your reply. I read it as
(fulfill the requirements to post in the classfieds section) and/or (contact members privately).

But now I think that you probably were saying (fulfill the requirements to post in the classfieds section) and/or (fulfill the requirements to contact members privately).

Still, I would say that generally with classified ads, there is a desire to remove scam ads, but the person who is advertising something for sale probably does not want to turn away prospective buyers. Ho hum the joys of message board meta-threads.

 

[tridacna]

Actually, I think I misunderstood your reply. I read it as
(fulfill the requirements to post in the classfieds section) and/or (contact members privately).

But now I think that you probably were saying (fulfill the requirements to post in the classfieds section) and/or (fulfill the requirements to contact members privately).

Still, I would say that generally with classified ads, there is a desire to remove scam ads, but the person who is advertising something for sale probably does not want to turn away prospective buyers. Ho hum the joys of message board meta-threads.

You're almost there. This isn't hard. Trading is a bonus for being here. Not the primary purpose.

 

[Zef]

Actually, I think I misunderstood your reply. I read it as
(fulfill the requirements to post in the classfieds section) and/or (contact members privately).

But now I think that you probably were saying (fulfill the requirements to post in the classfieds section) and/or (fulfill the requirements to contact members privately).

Still, I would say that generally with classified ads, there is a desire to remove scam ads, but the person who is advertising something for sale probably does not want to turn away prospective buyers. Ho hum the joys of message board meta-threads.

The board member in question that you are meaning to contact, can initiate contact with you....if you post who it is, I would be glad to contact them on your behalf and arrange for them to send you a DM.

-Z

 

[Pavao]

.

Is there a solution to this?

I think so, post on the for sale thread a message for the seller to DM you since you don’t have the privileges to do so yourself and let the seller decide if they want to take the risk.

Or, you can make 5 post in about 30 seconds thus becoming a trustworthy buyer. (There’s some sarcasm here)

 

[happyharris]

Tell us about yourself.
Where do you dive and how long have you been diving?
I know how to make this thread blow up to multiple pages.
Do you use split fins?
Are you MOF or NMOF?
Ever heard of DIR?
Has anyone ever told you to “get a back plate and wing”?
We’ll have you up to about 15 posts in no time.

I know how to make this thread blow up to multiple pages.

haha - seems like it is abusing the system rather than going along with it, but I'll play!

I added some stuff back on the introduction board, but I'll expand on it here. I am a very new diver: a Discover Scuba dive a couple of years ago, then got open water certified this month at a resort in Jamaica. Still feeling very much like I am not safe to dive and need someone with experience to dive with.

Hopefully I'm going to Barbados in February, and I want to take the opportunity to dive there. I did my discover scuba dive there with West Side Scuba (hope it's OK to mention them) - they were great and I will go to them again. To be honest, if I had known earlier this month that I was going to Barbados in February, I probably would have skipped the resort certification and done the Open Water with them.

I really like Barbados. My wife and I have a nine step plan to buy a place near the beach in Barbados, and fly back and forth between chilly Boston and lovely Barbados. Step 1 is win the lottery. I'll let you know if I ever get to step 2.

Anyway, more about me, should anyone care to know. I'm 51, male, married, two kids (one in college, the other recently graduated). My wife has no interest at all in diving and won't even come on the boat as she gets vertigo. (Is there a term for solo diver meaning someone who always needs to get a dive buddy assigned to them? Not solo diver as in self-reliant diver.)

I love gadgets, and I'm trying really hard not to make scuba an excuse for gadgets, but instead to focus on my love of being in the water, nature, and seeing interesting things. (But that dive computer with inertial guidance that will give you a 3-d map of your dive is so cool . . .)

I don't use split fins. I use use rental fins. For the near future I will be diving while on vacation, rather than vacationing in order to dive. For that reason I want to minimize the amount of stuff I bring with me. Initially (as in, before the Barbados trip) I plan to get

• a cheap z-knife
• a cheap light
• a cheap wet book and pencil
• an integrated DSMB and reel
• a mask (will actually go to a store to find and fit one)
• a computer

Everything else, I will rent.

I was MOF before I got trained. Then I was told that it was a signal of "in trouble" so I stopped doing it. I didn't actually realize that is was a matter of opinion.

Yes, I have heard of DIR. I think I am so new to diving that I don't even want to think about it yet. I am just going to be doing very simple dives initially in very safe situations. Maybe some day I'll start thinking about deviating from the PADI training, but not yet. Honestly, I'm 51, and I'll only be diving when I happen to go on vacation to place that where it makes sense. If I do 100 dives before I die, that will be a lot! Doesn't seem worth getting into the complexities of it.

Nobody has ever told me to get any equipment yet, least of all a backplate and wing. I fully expect people to tell me that I absolutely need to get my own regulator and BCD. I will try to resist.

 

[happyharris]

The board member in question that you are meaning to contact, can initiate contact with you....if you post who it is, I would be glad to contact them on your behalf and arrange for them to send you a DM.

-Z

Thanks for your offer of help. I did manage to contact them, after getting my number of posts up with (in my opinion) pretty useless posts.