KidK9
Contributor
Kane(adian):
Actually, you're 1347
History of Scubaboard...
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Actually, you're 1347
Kat:
Darlin', it would've been more effective if you'd left out the "Mr." LOL
Kat
Contributor
You men ! You just improve with age. More worldly & distinguished, with each passing year.
But women, well we just get old. But thanks for calling me darlin'...*blush*
That was sweet.
But women, well we just get old. But thanks for calling me darlin'...*blush*
That was sweet.
Sweetheart, women get more interesting as well. Give me a woman with some experience any day. I have no idea how old you are, but I'm willing to bet you're more attractive now than you were 10 years ago.
Rick used my name in vain when he claimed in vain that I am older than him. In fact, Rick wanted to be a farmer but dirt was not yet invented when he was born.
I had an interesting observation on a recent dive boat when I was reading in Dive Training Magazine or some other such rag that older divers have special problems and are over the hill. I looked around at me and Rick and Dave (who is 70 this year) and John (who got certified this year at 80) and Claudine who is going strong at 80. And I looked at the younger folks who were fidgiting and grossly overwieght. I said to myself - self - who are these magazine weenies talking about?????
I also read your article and saw that you think that men gain and women lose with age. That reminded me of a DEMA when these young girls were signing posters. I latched onto the booth where Lauren Hutton was signing and even went to get her some popcorn. I got front row seats to the Rockettes at the Fox Theater in St Louis and was amused that Susan Anton upstaged all those young girls.
I have a picture of myself sitting on the tailgate of a pickup at Hilma Hooker in Bonaire. I am surrounded by wonderful women of great education and great experience. On my lap is the 19 year old daughter of my best friend. All the shallow young man ask who is the girl in blue. All the wisened older men ask who are the wonderful women you are with. Those who have an awareness of the arts, an appreciation of the world, and their own money.
Just last night I asked the mother of one of my students if she would like to get into the pool. She replied that I wouldn't want to see her in a swim suit. I replied that I am a mature man and not a shallow soul. Mature men look at things other than physical perfection.
So - I agree that chronological age is irrevelant. Look only for that man who looks for perfection only in his steak or in his beer.
Go diving with me - or Rick - or Dave and we'll show you that stuff that takes a sloooow and experienced eye to see. You won't go far but you'll see a lot. Put that into the terms that you want to relate it to.........
I don't have the charisma that Rick does but I am working on it.......
I had an interesting observation on a recent dive boat when I was reading in Dive Training Magazine or some other such rag that older divers have special problems and are over the hill. I looked around at me and Rick and Dave (who is 70 this year) and John (who got certified this year at 80) and Claudine who is going strong at 80. And I looked at the younger folks who were fidgiting and grossly overwieght. I said to myself - self - who are these magazine weenies talking about?????
I also read your article and saw that you think that men gain and women lose with age. That reminded me of a DEMA when these young girls were signing posters. I latched onto the booth where Lauren Hutton was signing and even went to get her some popcorn. I got front row seats to the Rockettes at the Fox Theater in St Louis and was amused that Susan Anton upstaged all those young girls.
I have a picture of myself sitting on the tailgate of a pickup at Hilma Hooker in Bonaire. I am surrounded by wonderful women of great education and great experience. On my lap is the 19 year old daughter of my best friend. All the shallow young man ask who is the girl in blue. All the wisened older men ask who are the wonderful women you are with. Those who have an awareness of the arts, an appreciation of the world, and their own money.
Just last night I asked the mother of one of my students if she would like to get into the pool. She replied that I wouldn't want to see her in a swim suit. I replied that I am a mature man and not a shallow soul. Mature men look at things other than physical perfection.
So - I agree that chronological age is irrevelant. Look only for that man who looks for perfection only in his steak or in his beer.
Go diving with me - or Rick - or Dave and we'll show you that stuff that takes a sloooow and experienced eye to see. You won't go far but you'll see a lot. Put that into the terms that you want to relate it to.........
I don't have the charisma that Rick does but I am working on it.......
Well I guess it's only right that I chime in and explain a bit more about the history of what has become the largest scuba diving community on the internet (although if you told me that 5 years ago I would have laughed at you).
As several people already pointed out, I am member #1 but I am not actually the founder, or at least it would be incorrect to state that I came up with the idea for the board. In all truth this board was more or less an accident. Around 5 and a half years ago in July of 2000, a business that was then known as the ScubaBoard network owned by King Neptune and Lady Diver decided it was time to start a message board where people could talk, it seemed like a fun idea, a little interactivity to add to an already popular network of sites.
At that point there were not a lot of message boards on the internet... and certainly not many for diving. There was of course the ScubaDiving.com diver to diver board, rec.scuba, diverlink (maybe) and a few others (although I'm not sure on the timing of them each). For whatever reason none of these sites wanted to use the new sort of software what we were using (software what looks much like what you see today but with a lot less features).
In any case, ScubaBoard.Com was just one little part of this big diving network with all sorts of article sites and photo galleries and other fun features. Little by little people found us and for whatever reasons they chose to stick around. Pretty soon some "regulars" emerged who helped bring on more people and the site started rolling. Within a few years it was pretty clear that ScubaBoard was really going to be something; it was around that time that the owners of the company decided to move on and sold it to NetDoc. The board had always had a lot of emphasis behind it and it was always a "commercial" site but NetDoc came in at the ideal time and empowered the moderator team and me as the marketing/ development manager to really take things up a notch.
That was a few years ago and since then we have grown and grown and grown. I've watched us go from a few thousand posts to a few thousand members to millions of posts and tens of thousands of members. Despite the fact that there are only several million active divers in the US, ScubaBoard is one of the largest forums out there, period (wow).
While we were not the first board in the diving world by any means we really seem to have thrived because of the community that built around the site. It’s funny to think back and remember that not so long ago we were the little niche forum trying to take on the giants. Now I look around and see us as the general site with all sorts of fantastic local and niche communities developing for specialized groups – it’s a great combination that really makes the best of what the internet has to offer.
While it may sound a bit clique, ultimately It's not software, logos or pretty graphics make this site what it is today -- it's the members, the original group who helped get things going (some of whom are still around, many of whom have moved on) and the new members who continue to join day after day making the site bigger and bigger and bigger, and of course the moderators – past and present – who have helped and helped and helped. In just the past few weeks we've seen tremendous growth in membership and posts taking us to a whole other level. I'm more of you have noticed the server hiccups, that growth is a big part of the problem but it's a problem we like to have and a problem that is being worked on actively by many talent peopled at our hosting company.
I could probably write an entire book on the little details that made the board so interesting over the year but that’s for another day (or month).
I’d be glad to give more insight into our past and as the person who has overseen the development, design and marketing of this site for nearly 6 years I’d say I’ve got a little idea as to our past. So if there’s something else you’re wondering about or remember from years back just let me know… let’s make this thread the official 2006 ScubaBoard history thread for anyone who cares to read it!
As several people already pointed out, I am member #1 but I am not actually the founder, or at least it would be incorrect to state that I came up with the idea for the board. In all truth this board was more or less an accident. Around 5 and a half years ago in July of 2000, a business that was then known as the ScubaBoard network owned by King Neptune and Lady Diver decided it was time to start a message board where people could talk, it seemed like a fun idea, a little interactivity to add to an already popular network of sites.
At that point there were not a lot of message boards on the internet... and certainly not many for diving. There was of course the ScubaDiving.com diver to diver board, rec.scuba, diverlink (maybe) and a few others (although I'm not sure on the timing of them each). For whatever reason none of these sites wanted to use the new sort of software what we were using (software what looks much like what you see today but with a lot less features).
In any case, ScubaBoard.Com was just one little part of this big diving network with all sorts of article sites and photo galleries and other fun features. Little by little people found us and for whatever reasons they chose to stick around. Pretty soon some "regulars" emerged who helped bring on more people and the site started rolling. Within a few years it was pretty clear that ScubaBoard was really going to be something; it was around that time that the owners of the company decided to move on and sold it to NetDoc. The board had always had a lot of emphasis behind it and it was always a "commercial" site but NetDoc came in at the ideal time and empowered the moderator team and me as the marketing/ development manager to really take things up a notch.
That was a few years ago and since then we have grown and grown and grown. I've watched us go from a few thousand posts to a few thousand members to millions of posts and tens of thousands of members. Despite the fact that there are only several million active divers in the US, ScubaBoard is one of the largest forums out there, period (wow).
While we were not the first board in the diving world by any means we really seem to have thrived because of the community that built around the site. It’s funny to think back and remember that not so long ago we were the little niche forum trying to take on the giants. Now I look around and see us as the general site with all sorts of fantastic local and niche communities developing for specialized groups – it’s a great combination that really makes the best of what the internet has to offer.
While it may sound a bit clique, ultimately It's not software, logos or pretty graphics make this site what it is today -- it's the members, the original group who helped get things going (some of whom are still around, many of whom have moved on) and the new members who continue to join day after day making the site bigger and bigger and bigger, and of course the moderators – past and present – who have helped and helped and helped. In just the past few weeks we've seen tremendous growth in membership and posts taking us to a whole other level. I'm more of you have noticed the server hiccups, that growth is a big part of the problem but it's a problem we like to have and a problem that is being worked on actively by many talent peopled at our hosting company.
I could probably write an entire book on the little details that made the board so interesting over the year but that’s for another day (or month).
I’d be glad to give more insight into our past and as the person who has overseen the development, design and marketing of this site for nearly 6 years I’d say I’ve got a little idea as to our past. So if there’s something else you’re wondering about or remember from years back just let me know… let’s make this thread the official 2006 ScubaBoard history thread for anyone who cares to read it!
Thanks for the history lesson and all the hard work you have put in over the years.
I have been around for a long time and man this board has grown. In some ways I do miss the early days when I could read and answer most every post. There were so few of us then we knew almost everyone. I often wonder what happened to some of the old regulars we never hear from now.
I have been around for a long time and man this board has grown. In some ways I do miss the early days when I could read and answer most every post. There were so few of us then we knew almost everyone. I often wonder what happened to some of the old regulars we never hear from now.
Ted, Diver to diver started in '97, Diverlink followed in '98.
Walter,
That makes sense... I know they were both older, I just wasn't sure how much.
That makes sense... I know they were both older, I just wasn't sure how much.
I believe D2D started about Sept of 97, several folks who were active there at that time are here now. DL followed in January.
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