What's ScubaBoard worth to you?

[AXL72]

ohhh...sawry

Thanks for letting me know before I embarased myself too much.

 

[Debraw]

I have been a member since 2002, 4 plus years. I opened my shop in July 2002 and joined Scubaboard in August 2002 with the referral of Scubatexan. I kind of looked at it as a tool for my dive shop and way to see what divers were looking at, thinking about and kind of keep a pulse on the industry. I do not think it is that way today. I know a lot of people that come in my shop who lurk of Scubaboard and never post. I think they are afraid to get jumped on by a few people just because you have an opnion that might not fit here. I also don't think you can get unbiased information as much anymore. I have received more than my fair share of emails and phone calls from multiple suppliers ( and other dives shops!) telling me to knock off the discounting, or insider information I am able to give. I don't do it anymore in this public forum for fear of losing my accounts or relationships. I lurk, more than post, now and mostly stick with the Happy Birthdays, and welcomes, hard to get in trouble that way. I give my opinion when asked on a wetsuit or dive site, or a trip report every now and then. Heck i will probably get grief over this post. Oh well, I have a tougher skin these days....bring it on. :mooner:

 

[The Chairman]

NetDoc talked about reporting bullying and intimidating emails, but that is really not it. If you express any ideas that are remotely mainstream, you will be hit within seconds of your post by extremists who will suggest that you are a foolish idiot,

This is PRECISELY the type of stuff you should report. If it's merely a difference of opinion that's one thing. We really don't need people calling other people names JUST BECAUSE they don't agree with them. Heck, I don't mind taking them on, and it DOES piss them off. So sad, too bad. I've had one poster suggest that I don't play fair because I expose the fallacy of this type of mindset. Too funny.

Let's keep ScubaBoard open for ALL to post in.

 

[The Chairman]

I must say, that it is gratifying to see that %72+ of you gave us a 7 or higher. I guess we are doing something right.

 

[Zeeman]

I give it a 7 - which is about as hi as I think a web site can rate in my life. to give you an idea - my family are 10, friends about a 9.5 and my pets are 9, with my hobbies at 8....

Z...

 

[pilot fish]

lmao@you getting banned. Hey, I wonder how many times H2Andy has been banned?

Ok, I am going to start a new thread called, "Why were you banned",. I want to read the war stories and who people think was petty or correct in causing their ban. Hope you will share, pilot?

Anyways, look for it.

Hi. Yes, I'l look for it.

Briefly I'll tell you it had to do with me telling the Board, way back when posters did not realize it, that you did not get a mfg warranty when you bought life support dive gear from Leisure Pro. I was even accused of, are you ready for this?, being anti semetic. It is now common knowledge that a lot of their gear is gray market but it was not known when I joined the Board a few years ago. I felt I had a duty to inform my fellow divers what I found out when I visited their showroom several times. caveat emptor

 

[pilot fish]

I must say, that it is gratifying to see that %72+ of you gave us a 7 or higher. I guess we are doing something right.

Pete, there is an increasing number of people that are posting less, reading less and drifting away. You have a good thing here but but you have to listen to everyone, not just the 7 and higher raters, Don't rest on you laurels.

 

[jonix]

people drifting away, less posting, etc. are simply the realities of a board...it's very hard to sustain interest if you really expect the board to deliver everything. i don't think 72%+ of those who voted should be considered as "resting on laurels". it simply is not conclusive taken the total membership of the board. but then again for some the forum is what it is, it's just a forum and this thread is just an indication of people's sentiments toward the forum.

in the end a forum's importance rests solely on the individual user. certainly it can be useful to people but that's for them to decide. overall i do think that the board owner and the mods have done great...i for one will stay here. imho.

 

[Ron Brandt]

This is the most usefull tool on the net !

I have met many people,gained friends and helped build my business as well as others on here.

Ron

 

[SeaLevelScuba]

Personally I value it around a 3-5, some days it is higher, most days its a 3-5. As a LDS, it provides us a wealth of information, both good and bad. Like many other folks that have already posted, this board has become too confrontational and requires alot of patience to enjoy like it once was. Theres not a day a new post isn't posted on how the LDS's are ripoffs, training agencies are no good, and new divers should just go find something else to do if they dont do it some percieved way. Almost as if the posters dont think the LDS's, the agencies, and fellow divers dont read this board as well. I feel I share something in common with everyone on this board that is a diver, I once too was a beginning diver as well. It will be the new divers coming into this sport that keeps this sport growing, driving for new techniques and evolution of equipment. When a board becomes so big and full of pissed-offphians of why you should only support 1 style of diving, or purchase you gear online, or only their way is the right way to teach scuba, it loses appeal and tires real fast.

I could only wish that back in 1976 when I learned to dive, there was a Scubaboard, instead we relied on the LDS's and instructors, and Skin Diver for reliable information. It would be nice to see Scubaboard used as a resource that would actually benefit the industry as a whole. Think of the industry as a four legged table, Divers, Retailers, Manufacturers and Training Agencies, remove any one leg and the table falls over.

Schott