Padi and Dan?

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We're happy to host a forum for any agency for free but it has to be something that they see the value of and see the need to spend time on (to reply to questions, interact with their customers). We cannot speak on their behalf.
 
I will speak on their behalf, since I know the answer.

PADI - Has been offered a forum, and they have been discussing it internally. Their "hang up" is - determining who at PADI would respond for them, and they're also worried that they could be inundated with questions, which would pose additional challenges. I have patiently waited for them to reach a decision on their own about this, and respect that in larger companies, it's sometimes difficult to reach a conclusion about some matters quickly and easily. PADI and I have spoken about this several times however, and it's still a strong possibility in the future.

DAN

1) Did have a Q&A Forum here on SB. They (after long internal debate) concluded that the forum itself was actually a detriment. DAN, as an insurance company, is bound to certain laws. They cannot discuss personal information, or give insurance advice on the internet. What applies to one person may have circumstances for others. The end result would be; people asking questions, to which a representative from DAN would reply, "to answer that question, you should call DAN".

B) People were asking medical advice in the DAN forum. People would actually post questions like, "Dear DAN, I was diving 2 hours ago, and now I have tingles in my fingers; what should I do? I await your response." Again, the only answer DAN could give would be, "Call DAN and/or Call your doctor"

Ultimately, what is the use of a Q&A Forum, when the only "A" would be "Call DAN"? I can understand this position, and agreed with DAN that removal of the forum would probably be in everyone's best interest.

If anyone else tells you otherwise, they really don't know. I am the director of Sales and Marketing for ScubaBoard, and I am the one who has spoken to the people at both, and I am the one who pulled the plug on the DAN forum when the decision was made. I share this publicly, to be purely transparent with our users, and since I don't think that any top secret information is being disclosed.
 
Also, there are enough DAN and PADI representative on ScubaBoard that most any question you ask in the general section will get you a DAN or PADI answer (usually followed by the reason from every other agency about why they don't do that :D).
 
Several years ago, a lady in PADI's Q&A Department told me PADI has a policy of not responding to anything on any forum. Unless that policy changes, I wouldn't expect to see them have a forum here.
 
Several years ago, a lady in PADI's Q&A Department told me PADI has a policy of not responding to anything on any forum. Unless that policy changes, I wouldn't expect to see them have a forum here.

Several years ago in internet terms would be equated to eons ago in the rest of history. At this time last year, we had less than 40 companies represented on ScubaBoard with Q&A Forums - Now we have more than 60, plus the handfull of certification agencies that also accept Q&A on SB. Two years ago at this time - many of the companies that are now represented on SB told me, "we just don't respond to people on forums." Now they do. What I posted earlier in this thread is what people high up in the PADI chain of command told me personally... Policies change with the times, and people have realized that internet forums are a great way to communicate with the public. Especially via ScubaBoard.com
 
Yes Howard, policies do change. If that one has changed, PADI may well cooperate with ScubaBoard and have a forum here. I'd love to see that happen. It would eliminate conflicts in discussions as to exactly what PADI's policy is on various points. For a number of reasons, I don't expect them to change their policy, but I really hope they prove me wrong.
 

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