I'm not sure what your argument is for. The OP is from the Panhandle and wanted his trip plans and dive reports to be a part of DDD as many who live in the Panhandle have said on this thread that they wanted as well because we all dive together in the same area. In this sense all of us have nothing to lose and everything to gain.
I will leave the posters to answer this.
Please know I have already stated my interest; new users and the growth of SB. Anyone that knows me knows that I am pretty transparent. My cards are always on the table. I care about the new user. I care about everyone finding "a group", having fun, diving, and learning. I care about SB, to be honest. We are the worlds largest online dive community, which is fair enough but I'd like to see us as the only "go to" website. Hey we all have dreams - so that is one of mine
WB416 stated my ambitions well - I simply have a vision of what SB can be. So far, so good. We have come a long, long way so why not keep on working for the user and see what we can be?
Hey, What does everyone think about a sub group in Florida and maybe Deep Dixie called Panhandlers? I always question my posts as to if I should place them in Florida Conch, which those threads disappear in hours, or in Deep Dixie, any feedback?
Looking for identity and a place to post - not asking to be totally absorbed by DDD hook line and sinker
I have said that the panhandle needs to be in DDD for years. I think we should call is Flora/Bama Divers or somthing along those lines.
Asking to be a part of the group he dives with but still looking for identity
That sounds GREAT to me.... I have to check both areas and weed through them to find our area....
Florida has several GREAT diving regions, Keys, South Florida, etc etc.... The Panhandle would be a GREAT bud group. I'm for it!
One VOTE here.
Again looking for a sure place to post /a group but not asking to be called a DDD
oh, If we are the Panhandlers do we need to hold up cardboard signs when we add to posts?
:-D
<giggle>
It Don't need to be ALL about Florida because the point would be to combine part of the DDD terretority with the panhandle area. JMO
This may be a good idea too, like Tampa has a Club.
oh wow look at that, thank you Barry. Proof that I spend way too much time on SB. I dunno, can we even get another group within the DDD? Is that allowed? There are still a lot of Floridian panhandlers who may not check this section so maybe I"ll start a thread there and see if goes anywhere.
Looking to be in DDD but separate.
My vote is for a Flora-Bama-Panhandle sub group.
Same as above
I like the Flora-Bama... as a sub of DDD
""
LOVE The idea! Why not make it something like "Central Gulf", that way we can group all those interested into one area?
Liking the idea of grouping
I have to admit that I was k-fussed as to where to post so it may not be a bad idea (new section)
DDD has that little remark about leaving Florida out of it and the Florida folks generally would rather give the panhandle back to Al anyway (in all regards-not just diving).
For now DDD works for me but I have to ask-where are those folks who live in Orange Beach or Mobile going to post? Honestly, if your dive boat is heading out from Mobile to Pensacola you are probably hitting the same sites in the Gulf.
agrees but asks for a separate section
SPBGM, With nearly 10,000 posts I'd guess you are quite used to the forum but for some of newer posters it is very confusing, I'm never quite sure where to post and when I'm directing new divers to SB, I find myself explaining that they should post in both places sometimes, or DDD, or FL Conch sometimes. It's a mess in my eyes. If you are diving in Pensacola, FL, then you should I would think post in FL Conch, but that sucks as the thread will be 4 pages back in a day due to the heavy traffic from the keys. If we have "An Extra Click" we can target the people in our area, the people that want to read about Whiskey Wreck, or Navarre Beach, etc, without sifting through the Keys threads. I think this would also make it easier for new divers to find diver in this area if you can drill down to our area. If we can get a subgroup created, it doesn't mean you have to use it either. If you want to post to FL Conch you still can, it will just give you another option to drill further down to your target audience!
More of the same
But Barry's point that it's confusing to post our stuff everywhere to somebody new is very valid because i was that newbie a year ago. I don't think that it would be too much trouble to have a panhandle group similar to the tampa bay group. It would be one place to look for dives and reports (you wouldn't have to look for upcoming dives in the upcoming dive section and search the regular florida section for dive reports) plus it wouldn't be confusing to the newbies.
That or adding the panhandle to DDD like Denise suggested would be a good idea.
Honestly we need a Gulf Coast or Northen Gulf Coast section, Grouping areas that have somthing in common.
This is SpearBoard solution to this subject AND IT WORKS.
Upper Gulfcoast
This is the area for spearfishermen in Panama City, Destin/Ft. Walton, Pensacola, Alabama, Miss., and Louisiana.
*shrugs*
I can only really speak for myself, but I never look into subforums. I'd much rather anything important be directly in a main forum.
Ideally for me, we'd have all the Northern Gulf in a MAIN forum. Oh, and all the FL Cave stuff posted in its proper forum as well.
Then, I wouldn't bother with either DDD or FL Conch crap.
Spreading information out on countless subforums just isn't any easier or more organized to me... Its just clutter.
Asking for a main forum ideally which NG/DDD would be
I vote for option
3.) have the Panhandle secede from Florida - Just simply redfine your area and make all of the FL panhandle part of the Deep Dixie Divers Group. No new forums and much easier to read threads/forums
Would like to be in DDD but would like area re-defined. Again someone asking for identity w/ and in the DDD forum
All very valid arguments IMHO.
For me, I reside in the panhandle, and the majority of my DBs are from the DDD area.
In order to find a post of interest, I will scan both the Fl and DDD forums about once a week.
To make it easier to follow a thread, I subscribe to it as soon as my interest is peaked. Then it is very simple to use the quick links and go straight to whatever thread holds my interest at the time.
I am not adverse to change, if it is for the better, common good. However, chnage for the sake of change is a PITA.
My .02¢
So let's make this change something that makes sense.
Now that I've been living in Florida for over a year, I can add my opinion from the experience of being actively involved in another forum where this wasn't an issue and this one. The Florida forum is way too big. I'm not interested in most of the threads in it but look through it anyway in case a new poster goes there instead of elsewhere to post about diving the panhandle. I like the idea of keeping all panhandle topics in the DDD. The problem is we'll lose out on some potential new contributors in the forum because they aren't aware that the panhandle has seceded.
Worried about new posters which SB can cover with a re-direct.
I prefer changing the DDD description to include the Northern Gulf Coast diving.
I don't like the idea of a club or another layer of "sub" anything.
............. I now return you to your regularly scheduled broadcast ..............
Another liking the idea of DDD including Northern Gulf Coast in title and description
I don't have a diving home on Scubaboard in Louisiana. There is no diving worth mentioning in this state. I make most of my dives in the Panhandle or northern Gulf of Mexico. I would participate in a forum that was dedicated to the geographical and functional diving in this region.
You and a bunch of others have this problem. Hence the ongoing discussion as it has never been organized correctly.
Northern Gulf should run from Louisana Through the panhandle. There is some GREAT diving in Louisana and this board is not just about commercial ops.
If you look at Spearboard.com you will find a lot of divers out of Lousiana.
I'm sorry but Mr.X/OP did not simply ask to be absorbed by DDD. Further, he simply brought up something that has been brought up before. See this link
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/3752503-post1.html I know no one here is keen on discussing
Cave Country (fair enough) but you will see it has for a long while been on the list of things to get done right. Just like the panhandle. Anyway, I'm just saying this isn't a new question/concern by any stretch of the imagination. It is just MrX brought it up at the right time (poor guy
) That said, now we have an opportunity to really do things right, with the support of the board, where before we had our hands tied. Anyway....
I didn't have the time or desire to go through every page so I just did the first three pages (per my settings). I didn't even go to where everyone was coming together in agreeance. However, it is clear people would like to have an identity. It seems it doesn't matter so much if it is as a sub-group or if they are identified in the name but they do want identified, understandably so. That said, some are fanatical about that extra click, should a sub-forum be made. So why not, as many have said would be okay by them, combine the name to reflect the actual area it encompasses it is one less click, since a few are worried about that, and it holds all of you together as one united front.
One thing I did notice while looking through the thread was many wanted a good description, if not for themselves many hope the description to be clear for new users (which I found thoughtful).
I also liked that some had went looking and "found" lost members
... no... really I am!
