Suggestion What happened to the Science & Physics of Diving?

[WarmWaterDiver]

Ever since the new format was adopted for 'Marine Science and Physiology' we haven't had any of the great threads like 'Does gravity work underwater?' or speculations on pyrophoric sheep, or such any more. Just serious science questions about compartment half-times and such.

Shouldn't there once again be a sub-forum at least on Science & Physics of diving?

 

[jonnythan]

Um, my point was that ScubaBoard listens to its members' suggestions, but in the end it's a privately owned and run board, so things aren't necessarily up for a 'vote'. I'm sure those in charge are listening and paying attention to the current 'score'.

 

[WarmWaterDiver]

Thanks - I'm sure if this is the case, a polite response from said parties will follow my polite inquiries.

can you provide additional details on the structure of the decision making process of this organization? My analogy was guessing like a corporation, or most other private or public enterprises, votes are counted from shareholders, which provides the weighting factor. What governs the weighting factors in the Scubaboard cabal? Any details for those not of the inner circle?

 

[jonnythan]

Well I'm a relative newbie on the 'inside' so I'll let someone else field that, if there's anyone brave enough

 

[WarmWaterDiver]

OK - thought you would have the details, since you were the one who posted the 'not quite democracy' info.

With your limited knowledge of a tyro initiate, are you then saying your vote counts the same, more, or less than that of a non-supporting member, is what I guess you might shed light on to help us understand better.

thanks.

 

[jonnythan]

Quit reading too much into it. There's no one tallying votes on issues anywhere. I don't think any of the Staff, myself included, put more weight on supporting members' opinions than anyone else's. I don't even notice who is and who isn't to be honest, but I certainly can't speak for everyone.

If you have a suggestion, this is the place to bring it up and discuss it. The Staff and ownership will listen and act as they see fit, which is usually the result of discussion amongst the staff. Think of it more like a courtroom with a judge who exercises his best judgement based on suggestions and objections and less like Congress where majority wins

 

[WarmWaterDiver]

Just wanting clarification - if you read your post, seemed like your opinion was your vote was the only one of consequence. In the absence of knowledge, questions are normal.

Tell you what, why don't we wait for the polite response from my polite inquiries together, rather than directing activities? fair enough?

 

[Ted S]

Sorry for the delay, it sometimes takes as long as a day for me to respond to threads!

As far as adding back the forum, there simply isn't the demand for a separate area for that subject. Of course we do have several related forums and an overarching forum which is intended to house these types of discussions. If you recall, a few months back we went through a major cleaning process and removed 50 or so forums to make it easier to find the "right place". Since that change we have added very few forums and those that have been added have been based on large feedback and demand. The last thing we want is to go back to having another hundred subforums and confusing people even more so the odds of us adding back this particular forum at this time are slim, however, that may change in the future.

ScubaBoard's decisions are made by the owners, as a privately held company we have no shareholders which is the case for most corporations. The moderators and supervisors are often asked to weigh in, share their input and of course come up with their own suggestions which are discussed behind closed doors. The supervisors even go so far as to serve as a quasi-board giving us their input on some of the business changes and core site features as well. General members end up making the bulk of our changes through their suggestions and comments but ultimately what is done is decided by those that own the site. While supporting members are a group who we hold in high esteem and thank, they are in no way more privileged to get what they want than someone who is not paying when it comes to influencing what is and what is not done – every voice is important.

 

[WarmWaterDiver]

Thanks - this was one of the 50 or so forums removed. I appreciate the clarification on the overall process - nice straight answers. I'm always a fan of the direct approach.

 

[Ted S]

No problem. I'm sure jonnythan was trying to be direct as well, he simply didn't have all the answers you needed. Feel free to check back from time to time as having a suggestion come back up is never bad.

 

[jonnythan]

Glad we could help, WWD. Yes I was *trying* to be helpful, but like I said I'm a lowly newbie mod and didn't want to step on any toes. Thanks for bailing me out, Tech Admin