So @Capt Jim Wyatt made a statement in another thread about the great thing about Scubaboard was that there were so many people that are willing to share their knowledge and experiences with others. I completely agree and it's one of the reasons why I have enjoyed it here as much as what I have.
This then got me thinking about other places that I could (or could have) garnered the sheer amounts of knowledge and experiences that I am able to draw from here? Being overall pretty new to the dive culture (four years) I don't have experiences with some of the things that I'm told were big in the past like dive clubs where there was an active mentoring that happened between old and new divers.
I am really fortunate that not only did the dive bug bite me but that I am also able to dive pretty regularly and I believe am turning into a pretty good diver overall. However, I would not be anywhere close to where I am mentally if it were not ScubaBoard and the internet overall when researching questions that pop up including parts of diving that I don't even do yet.
I guess my question through all of this is to the folks that came up through club diving or other areas where you gained knowldge (LDS, friends, figuring it out on your own). Based on your recollection is ScubaBoard and to a lesser degree the internet the new dive club for knowledge? We all realize that at the end of the day knowledge is good but you need time in the water to really put knowledge into practice so in that regard the LDS, dive clubs, and other outlets still serve a purpose. However, even though I have met only a couple of people off this board I have drawn knowledge from a LOT of people on here.
If you could follow my thoughts through my rambling what say you?
This then got me thinking about other places that I could (or could have) garnered the sheer amounts of knowledge and experiences that I am able to draw from here? Being overall pretty new to the dive culture (four years) I don't have experiences with some of the things that I'm told were big in the past like dive clubs where there was an active mentoring that happened between old and new divers.
I am really fortunate that not only did the dive bug bite me but that I am also able to dive pretty regularly and I believe am turning into a pretty good diver overall. However, I would not be anywhere close to where I am mentally if it were not ScubaBoard and the internet overall when researching questions that pop up including parts of diving that I don't even do yet.
I guess my question through all of this is to the folks that came up through club diving or other areas where you gained knowldge (LDS, friends, figuring it out on your own). Based on your recollection is ScubaBoard and to a lesser degree the internet the new dive club for knowledge? We all realize that at the end of the day knowledge is good but you need time in the water to really put knowledge into practice so in that regard the LDS, dive clubs, and other outlets still serve a purpose. However, even though I have met only a couple of people off this board I have drawn knowledge from a LOT of people on here.
If you could follow my thoughts through my rambling what say you?