Is this going to be the new norm?

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With all due respect, several of the posts you made in the SAC thread were off the mark and I believe others tried to clear it up for you. You seem to have a lot of difficulty grasping a simple concept yet you want to castigate others who are trying to help you see things better.
 
Over my time on Scuba Board, I think there are somewhat fewer ongoing 'point of view warrior' battles breaking out, at least some of the tired old debates (e.g.: adequacy of PADI & similar training, what the target end product of basic OW training should be).

That said, Scuba Board is a publicly assessable forum with a large membership, and as such will be a 'sampling' of the human race, which means a wide range of personalities, educations, personal experiences, home cultures, interaction methods and so on. Even some of our current 'hot topic' issues are discussed by most in reasonable fashion.

And there are, and perhaps always shall be, controversial issues people care about making a case for (in the context of our modern day 'culture war' mindset, where people often debate, not to change their opponent's mind, but hoping to win at least open-mindedness in onlookers).

Which is fine. Civility should remain. Modest sarcasm can emphasize a point without being too ugly. One suggestion I try to be mindful of, with variable results; be civil, even if strongly championing a cause. If your opponent results to insults, he will partially discredit himself. You can't exactly 'win' an argument, but you can make your case well. People will make up their own minds.

I think Gandhi was onto something with that 'Be the change you want to see in the world' bit.

Richard.
 
I think Gandhi was onto something with that 'Be the change you want to see in the world' bit.
Richard.

What is this "Gandhi" fellow up to these days?
 
Someone shot and killed him. But, in a last ditch effort to snatch victory from the jaws of rhetorical defeat...we remember some of what Gandhi had to say, not the other guy.

Richard.
Lucky for the other guy...
 
I've been a member since 2007. Seems about the same to me over those years. There was only one guy that I (and many others) got into serious arguments with and haven't seen him here in a few years. Perhaps there is a little more "in fun" sarcasm last few years--like "Split Fins will kill you quicker than....." I have no complaints. I used to belong to pretty much every scuba forum you could find, but found that there just wasn't enough posts elsewhere so I quit all but a couple of local ones and ScubaBoard. I have found that over time it gets harder to find something new to talk about, but that's the same with any activity. Actually, I learned something new today about breathing, so must check that thread now.
 
Haven’t been around long to really see any changes. From what I read on older post I think it use to be much harsher in general. I think nowadays it’s more of quirky remarks as someone else has posted that sometimes are hard to grasp online without any visual or gestural clues.
 
Ivbe been here since i think 03. This a is much more civil place than usta year. We are pretty civil here, but again compared to the past. We all still have the same problems with remaining on the same level of discussion. IE you ask a beginner question and some one takes it to a tech level and the bcikering begins again. But not so much as you will die but more the area of . that is not technally correct or making minor corrections that would mean more to those commenting than to the one that opened the thread. Much like......explain the on gassing thing at a beginner level and someone says its like carbonizing a soft drink, and immediately the topic jumps to M levels and differential tissue pressures and soda bottles are confusing. It is working much better and I personally have heard much fewer people saying they are being made to feel deliberately inferior or stupid by the level of comments on the board. For those times YOU have to do your part to keep he comments on your level by reminding others of your understanding level of the topic. Look up some threads by searching for something like "split fins" And then if you start a thread one of my peves is the ones that ask what is the best _______ I can buy. The responce will always be the best for what. IE what would the best and worst fins to get to oppose the drift currents in coz.
 
I thought this thread was about me for a minute.

Because my name is in the title.

You seem to have a lot of difficulty grasping a simple concept yet you want to castigate others who are trying to help you see things better.

Argumentative counselor!!!
 
Many thanks to Kharon. I appreciate the topic. This is near and dear to my heart. One of the things I have always enjoyed about Scubaboard is the generally friendly nature of the board. When I was asked to become a moderator, I was happy to give back to the source of so much of what I have learned. I was happy to help maintain the atmosphere that I found so much more respectful than what I have found elsewhere online.

I find that different hobbies attract different types of members. Cars, trucks, guns and some others attract many people that have to be right and want to impress others with what they know more than some other activities. Many scuba sites go that way as well. The benchrest shooting site is more respectful as is the site I visit about raising cattle. The friendliest site is the one devoted to tractors.

I have found that firm and fair moderation is generally appreciated except by those that are bullies and blowhards. There are literally no members whose knowledge is worth having if they are abusive and insulting in the way that they communicate. Sometimes it seems that they are worth it to some members but the problem is that when topics routinely devolve into insults and criticisms, a great number of intelligent and thoughtful members simply stay on the sidelines and don't contribute or quit visiting altogether.

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you is a good rule to live by online and face to face. That often leads some to express complaints that to do so is being politically correct but in my opinion that is not the same thing.

Lastly I will point out that there are some forums that are considered green zones where new members are encouraged to ask any question, no matter how ignorant in may sound without fear of being teased or criticized. There are special rules for posting in these forums. If you grow accustomed to the care we take in moderating one of these forums and then venture into one of the more advanced forums or an equipment forum, you may find, for better or worse that the moderation is a bit more tolerant of sarcasm or petty comments. This may make it seem that Scubaboard has grown more snarky but it may just be that you are seeing a different side of the same board.

Finally, as a mod, let me share here that we try hard in the time we have to discuss our decisions and the direction of the board amongst many of the active mods to coordinate our approaches and our values while also having a rather diverse group of mods that does this work.

This thread has been moved to the site feedback forum. It is not a topic that fits within the parameters of the basic scuba forum. At the top of each forum is a description of the purpose of the forum along with any special rules for the forum. It is interesting to read these descriptions when starting a new forum.
 
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