Restructuring Florida, The Vote...

[dldiver]

Since I've never been part of any "club" on SB, I really don't understand the attraction. If there is a planned dive or a happy hour in Orlando or Tampa, I would hope that it is also inclusive of the rest of the state...& visiting membership & not just confined to a select few who happen to reside within a limited geographical location. Personally, I've met some wonderful people from around the state, the country, & even from around the world simply by posting an open invite & seeing who shows up.

I keep seeing a repetitive theme that "clubs" are seen as exclusive on here..

since i'm a relative (outspoken) newbie to SB, can someone fill me in as to what happened in the past that made them that way?

my campaign in my signature (as i've said multiple times in multiple places) is just to have a place to easily find other divers who live in the orando area and welcome and assist those coming thru town find their way to the closest dive spot.
(as most of our dives originate in orlando since we have to drive to dive generally. i dont know 'bout where you live but gas aint cheap!)

there is ABSOLUTELY NO INTENTION in being exclusive whatsoever...something i thought that was inherently understood by posting plans on the internet for everyone to see.

you peeps (thats for you, 427dave ) should know by now that i will dive anywhere, anytime, with anybuddy (i believe there's a shirt for that)! and that's how i intend for the thread/club/sub-forum/peeps place to be maintained as well.

dl.

wait! i've had an "ah ha"... so you're saying that instead of "Orlando Area Meet N Greet", I should have named the thread "Meet N Greet in Orlando" symantics, i tell ya!

 

[Oceanus]

Trying to simplify the "single forum" POV...

Subfourms too often "hide" posts of general interest

I'm not opposed to folks wanting to meet/plan/socialize/etc... I'm opposed to having to fuss with several small/slow subforums to find threads of general interest. I am very capable of searching, using RSS, and the other tools, but it easier to just have everything in one forum... and it facilitates greater interaction whereas subforums create barriers.

What I don't understand is why some people/groups/clubs feel incomplete without a dedicated forum. Please, just try posting the same thread in the main forum. Threads don't get deleted when they leave the first page...

I think the "Orlando Area Meet N Greet" thread is a perfect example. Had this been posted in the desired/proposed Orlando subforum I likely wouldn't know about it even though it's only a couple of miles away.

 

[Oceanus]

I keep seeing a repetitive theme that "clubs" are seen as exclusive on here..

since i'm a relative (outspoken) newbie to SB, can someone fill me in as to what happened in the past that made them that way?

my campaign in my signature (as i've said multiple times in multiple places) is just to have a place to easily find other divers who live in the orando area and welcome and assist those coming thru town find their way to the closest dive spot.
(as most of our dives originate in orlando since we have to drive to dive generally. i dont know 'bout where you live but gas aint cheap!)

there is ABSOLUTELY NO INTENTION in being exclusive whatsoever...something i thought that was inherently understood by posting plans on the internet for everyone to see.

The "exclusive" perception/reality is a side effect of the real separation from the main forum. The very concept of a 'regional' subforum implies that the discussions in that forum are related or of interest only to that region, if the discussions are of general interest outside the region it should be posted in the main forum for all to see. For example.... If Missdirected plans one of her Sheridan dive parties and only posts it in the Tampa forum people should assume it was intended primarily for the Tampa forum and less so for "outsiders" (not that she has/would)... because if it was for everyone it would be in the main forum for all to see. And that's how the exclusive perception can begin...

An Orlando subforum is uneccessary, even counter productive, to achieve your stated goals and I fear it will be a small, slow forum and eventually die.

• there are no/few dive locations (your going to dive in another 'region')
• You will meet more people by posting outside a subforum
• You can help people visiting without a subforum (which makes/expects them to find you)
• More people will see, and attend, your "Meet-n-Greet" if it's in the main forum

I would suggest you establish a regular monthly Meet-n-Greet event and have a running thread "Orlando monthly bench dive" in the main forum rather than in a subforum. Hold the monthly meeting at the same time (2nd Tuesday) without fail, and 'they will come'. :beer:

 

[HarleyDiver_FL]

The "exclusive" perception/reality is a side effect of the real separation from the main forum. The very concept of a 'regional' subforum implies that the discussions in that forum are related or of interest only to that region, if the discussions are of general interest outside the region it should be posted in the main forum for all to see. For example.... If Missdirected plans one of her Sheridan dive parties and only posts it in the Tampa forum people should assume it was intended primarily for the Tampa forum and less so for "outsiders" (not that she has/would)... because if it was for everyone it would be in the main forum for all to see. And that's how the exclusive perception can begin...

An Orlando subforum is uneccessary, even counter productive, to achieve your stated goals and I fear it will be a small, slow forum and eventually die.

• there are no/few dive locations (your going to dive in another 'region')
• You will meet more people by posting outside a subforum
• You can help people visiting without a subforum (which makes/expects them to find you)
• More people will see, and attend, your "Meet-n-Greet" if it's in the main forum

I would suggest you establish a regular monthly Meet-n-Greet event and have a running thread "Orlando monthly bench dive" in the main forum rather than in a subforum. Hold the monthly meeting at the same time (2nd Tuesday) without fail, and 'they will come'. :beer:

Since I am considered a simple man, in other words, a Dumn White Country Boy, I can only respond to this post in a simple manner.. HUH

 

[DebbyDiver]

Trying to simplify the "single forum" POV...

Subfourms too often "hide" posts of general interest.

Zackly. Who has time to click on every possible subforum to see if there is a topic of interest? It's a lot easier to load one Conch page and scroll down to see what's new.

 

[BHB ScubaTroll]

Zackly. Who has time to click on every possible subforum to see if there is a topic of interest? It's a lot easier to load one Conch page and scroll down to see what's new.

OMG! All of you are saying you are opposed to subforums because you have to click on them to view them.... And, that is what makes them exclusive? AND, that you are too lazy to do that?

 

[michaelb51]

So now we're the clickers vs. the scrollers?

BRIAN: Are you the Judean People's Front? REG: &%#! off! BRIAN: What? REG: Judean People's Front. We're the People's Front of Judea! Judean People's Front. Cawk. FRANCIS: Wankers. BRIAN: Can I... join your group?

REG: No. Pi$$ off. BRIAN: I didn't want to sell this stuff. It's only a job. I hate the Romans as much as anybody. PEOPLE'S FRONT OF JUDEA: Shhhh. Shhhh. Shhh. Shh. Shhhh. REG: Schtum. JUDITH: Are you sure? BRIAN: Oh, dead sure. I hate the Romans already. REG: Listen. If you really wanted to join the P.F.J., you'd have to really hate the Romans. BRIAN: I do! REG: Oh, yeah? How much? BRIAN: A lot! REG: Right. You're in. Listen. The only people we hate more than the Romans are the %#@!ing Judean People's Front. P.F.J.: Yeah... JUDITH: Splitters.

 

[El Orans]

This is a nice way to avoid clicking on individual subforums...

http://www.scubaboard.com/search.php?do=getnew&include=423,477,25,471,472,57,324,473,474,245&do=getdaily&days=5

Basically, it will give you all recent posts (5 days) in the European forums. Completely user-configurable.

 

[dldiver]

OMG! All of you are saying you are opposed to subforums because you have to click on them to view them.... And, that is what makes them exclusive? AND, that you are too lazy to do that?

used to be that sittin in front of my computer all day, at least my fingers go some exercise...not i won't even have that!!!

this whole discussion would probably never have taken place if central florida hadn't disappeared!!! (did anyone else notice that tampa ended up in s. fla and orlando ended up if n. fla???)

so i don't care if orlando has its own forum, sub-forum, thread or whatever the appropriate form it takes. just make it a regular place for us to fairly easily find each other....please?? i'll even be happy if i have to click a few times, and post announcements in several forums....
whatever we have to do to make sure everyone feels included.

geesh! can we have the new format and move on already????

 

[SuPrBuGmAn]

I know before the original split, thread titles from other parts of FL would catch my eye and I'd read their contents in the main forum. Sometimes, that would lead to my participation. Since the split, I only stick to the North FL and main forum. Which, like before the split, is where my main interest lie. The difference is that I'm not caught reading into whats happening in the rest of the state since my intention was never to dive outside of my area, and their threads are no longer within my eyesight

The FL regional forum never had enough traffic to warrant the split. I think we have even less participation now... Splitting just makes for several very slow, boring, forums... This can be observed even in our current state.

I think the arguement over threads being lost or not knowing where to place them while there was a single forum is bogus. If there's one forum, you place it there, obviously. As for them getting lost, impossible, since the forum never moved more than a page, page and a half a day... Lost? Right...