Suggestion Feedback on keeping ScubaBoard members

[gypsyjim]

This question is directed at all members, new and old. It is actually a multiple part question, and is designed to get us all thinking about what ScubaBoard is, or could be for someone just discovering us today or tomorrow.

Two weeks ago on Utila Colleen and I were part of 4 couples with no previous contact who were diving on the same boat for a week, so we had lots of time to chat. It turned out that 5 (6 including myself) of the 9 divers including the DM, were all members of ScubaBoard at one time or another, but I was the only actively participating SM user.

A subsequent conversation with a friend who is also a moderator, has had me thinking about this, so here are my questions:

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1) What attracted you to ScubaBoard in the first place?

2) Are you satisfied that the board addresses your needs adequately? And if not what would you change, if you could to make it do so

3) Why do you think other folks who have joined, have not stayed around?

4) Do you have ideas on what the board either did not provide well, or what might have done to scare them away, without becoming participating members?

5) Do you have ideas or suggestions of new ways to both attract and keep new members, new divers involved, and satisfied with this forum?
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---------- Post added March 3rd, 2014 at 08:30 AM ----------

I will start by adding my own 2 cents.

I discovered SB while researching a dive trip back in '05, and was not a terribly active member for some time. I did though, find the info I was seeking.

I did soon after that did make some friends on the board, as both DeputyDan and Herman offered advice and invited my family to join their group for a trip to Bonaire.

I also later asked for underwater photography advice, and got a lot of help from such diverse members as ScubaSteve and DandyDon, who were more than willing to help a struggling novice.

I had a few conflicts in some of the threads along the way, especially early on, with some of the more vocal know it alls, but while that slowed me down a bit and kept me quiet, it did not scare me off. I just spent more time lurking till I became more comfortable standing up for my beliefs, and not afraid of the loud mouths. It just took me time to realize by lurking that they were a small minority, and not particularly as well respected universally as they might have thought, which made me feel less the outsider.

(Note) I think a lot of that 'know it all' attitude seems to have disappeared from the boards, or at least become far less of an issue. I heard a lot of feedback from non member divers between '95 and about 2000 that this "slamming of 'stupid questions' " was a big turn off, but I do not sense this same complaint from my more recent contactsd, when discussing SB. Now it seems more like SB is not supplying what divers are seeking, and they are just moving on to other sources of info.

I know many folks have moved on to FB, but while I enjoy FB a lot myself, I have never seen it as having the potential to reach as many divers, or to serve as a useful search base for dive related questions.

 

[scottishscuba]

Apologies for not reading all the answers on the thread but there are 7 pages.

I'm a relative newbie to SB, I've frequented a forum for one of my other sports for years and am a moderator on that forum.

I found and joined AB because I saw a thread that interested me when I was searching for something on google. Being a forum frequenter I decided to join.

I have noticed that there are some members who are very forthright in their opinions and can be quite nasty. On several threads I've seen, if I were the OP I'd be very very hurt. The board is very fast moving (cf the other forum I use) and it must be a moderating nightmare. I do wonder if there is some leniency towards older more established members though?

Even now with only a few months on the board, I am getting to know whose opinions I would value, who just wont let something go and who I would ignore! SB has been a valuable resource to me, though I do feel that some of the more experienced divers can be a bit disparaging of newer divers (or members) asking questions. SB is a worldwide forum, but I think the majority of members are in the north american continent which can lead to misunderstandings.

Overall I dont think there is much for SB to change, though there are a very vast array of forum choices with little thread movement, it is a bit bewildering to start with. I've started using the new post facility which greatly helps with keeping up with things.

 

[KevWind]

You say that like dog piling is a bad thing

Only when I am the MilkBone

 

[knotical]

... I have noticed that there are some members who ... can be quite nasty. ...

Feel free to report nasty posts. And especially if in the "green zone" forums like New Divers and Basic Scuba.

 

[Tigerman]

1) What attracted you to ScubaBoard in the first place?
2) Are you satisfied that the board addresses your needs adequately? And if not what would you change, if you could to make it do so
3) Why do you think other folks who have joined, have not stayed around?
4) Do you have ideas on what the board either did not provide well, or what might have done to scare them away, without becoming participating members?
5) Do you have ideas or suggestions of new ways to both attract and keep new members, new divers involved, and satisfied with this forum?

I wont read all the thread, but my personal opinions is that;
1) I found it while researching some things not long after my OW certification
2) Mostly...
3) Because they either a) got banned or b) cant be assed with all the "noise" generated by peoples overly high "passion" for their personal beliefs
4) see 3)

 

[danvolker]

I have noticed that there are some members who are very forthright in their opinions and can be quite nasty. On several threads I've seen, if I were the OP I'd be very very hurt. The board is very fast moving (cf the other forum I use) and it must be a moderating nightmare. I do wonder if there is some leniency towards older more established members though?

I think just the opposite, if I am a case in point....I am not even allowed to respond to some people now if my response could be considered a rebuttal or anything other than agreement.
"Some" of the moderators are very good, and some are very petty and with obvious agendas in their choices as to who and what to moderate.....and don't be surprised if this post by me gets edited out....or if I get banned from this forum for saying this!!!!

 

[The Chairman]

I'm just posting here to get liked my NetDoc.

When it comes to opinions about ScubaBoard, all are welcome and all are valid as well as important. I know you meant to be funny but I encourage discussion and even dissent about ScubaBoard, our practices and our mission. I also encourage dissent and commentary about myself. Well, at least I don't allow the mods to moderate those discussions.

Only when I am the MilkBone

That's where the mods come in.

 

[The Chairman]

some are very petty and with obvious agendas in their choices as to who and what to moderate...

Now Dan, the only agenda is to keep the forum friendly and viable. I've been moderated more than you, and I never take it personally. Ever.

There are several ways to deal with censure. You can man up and try and effect a change in yourself or you can blame everyone else. People do that with Scuba accidents all the time. Denial: it's not just a river in Egypt.

 

[DiveNav]

I joined SB when I got back into diving in 2005 and I was looking for dive buddies and places were to dive here in SoCal.

Then one day I went crazy and decided to start a "successful scuba business" (I am still working on the "success" portion of it ).

Then I met Pete in 2007 at the Long Beach Scuba Show: he liked our eDiving Scuba Diving Simulator and gave us a spot in the Manufacturer's forum.

The rest is history.

We use SB (along our own forum) to support our (~55,000) customers, to stay up to speed and to provide updates to the community. We encourage our customers to check out SB.

If something happens in SCUBA .... SB knows about it!

Alberto (aka eDiver)

 

[Diver0001]

I think just the opposite, if I am a case in point....I am not even allowed to respond to some people now if my response could be considered a rebuttal or anything other than agreement.
"Some" of the moderators are very good, and some are very petty and with obvious agendas in their choices as to who and what to moderate.....and don't be surprised if this post by me gets edited out....or if I get banned from this forum for saying this!!!!

This is the third post in this thread you've made about how moderation is unfair. As I said above, not all "problem children" are dealt with equally. I don't want to air the dirty laundry publicly but since you keep bringing it up, I feel a response is justified.

Pete is right. He is still the most moderated member on Scubaboard. But you don't see him moaning about moderators on the open forums. Why? Because he understands *why* he was moderated and appreciates that it was necessary.

In your case, you feel it is unfair that we don't allow you to stalk and bicker with a particular user and you blame moderators for that. This is Scubaboard, not the Dan Volker board. Moderators understand that you feel "entitled" because of who you are and what you've done, but our job is to protect the interests of the *other* 200,000 users, not to give you special treatment.

R..

 

[Soakedlontra]

This question is directed at all members, new and old. It is actually a multiple part question, and is designed to get us all thinking about what ScubaBoard is, or could be for someone just discovering us today or tomorrow.

Two weeks ago on Utila Colleen and I were part of 4 couples with no previous contact who were diving on the same boat for a week, so we had lots of time to chat. It turned out that 5 (6 including myself) of the 9 divers including the DM, were all members of ScubaBoard at one time or another, but I was the only actively participating SM user.

A subsequent conversation with a friend who is also a moderator, has had me thinking about this, so here are my questions:

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1) What attracted you to ScubaBoard in the first place?

2) Are you satisfied that the board addresses your needs adequately? And if not what would you change, if you could to make it do so

3) Why do you think other folks who have joined, have not stayed around?

4) Do you have ideas on what the board either did not provide well, or what might have done to scare them away, without becoming participating members?

5) Do you have ideas or suggestions of new ways to both attract and keep new members, new divers involved, and satisfied with this forum?

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---------- Post added March 3rd, 2014 at 08:30 AM ----------

1) My regular buddy introduced me to SB.

2) Yes, after I have learned how to filter its vast and ,at times, overwhelming content, began to start threads that were specific to my diving situations and got my skin thicker. How to improve it? I wish there were more females moderators and members who would post their comments everywhere not just in the forum for women only. I am not sure what the ratio is, but I feel that SB seems to be dominated by males, still.

3) Every time I mention SB to divers who have been on SB or heard of it the first comment that pops out is "Oh dear, that's not a very friendly place to be". In other words, SB has the reputation of being a "boxing ring" for divers.

4) For me the most scary thing on SB was the language that some members used (and some still use) to express their views. I have been verbally attacked on SB and for a while I did not post anything except in one particular forum because I felt safe there. In those days I was new to social media and there is no doubt that on the internet hell can break loose far more easily than in the real world and miscommunication is the norm, it's just the nature of the beast.

5) More women should raise their voices on SB.