notice to the Freaks ...

[Tom R]

yup.. it really does look like this scene is being typed up in here. Incidentally, if you think this forum clamp down is something don't ever head to a state thats had a hurricane pass through.. Something called martial law goes into effect immediately following the passing of the storm, this means that there are law enforcement and military all over the place. If your in shock and awe that we've put an opt-in with approval on to the OFWF sub-forum after whats been happening online, I'd love to see your reaction after going through a hurricane for real and dealing with the aftermath.

And now for something completely different....
http://arago4.tn.utwente.nl/stonedead/movies/holy-grail/scene-03.html

You get British humour but not Canadian ROTFFLMFAO, but having said that you gotta like a guy that likes Terry, John, Micheal, Graham, Terry J and Eric.

 

[Sirius Diver]

Shock and Awe, Military Law

Now there is something that I never seen before... Especially not on the 5 tours of duty I've done.



That must be something.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

But we are playing by the rules..................
They just happen to be CANADIAN RULES it's to bad all the whiners happen to be "NOT" Canadian, after all this is a Canadian forum

Just ask Iraq what happens if you don't play by "the rules"

Actually, this isn't a Canadian forum ... it's a worldwide forum. The rules aren't CANADIAN RULES ... they're ScubaBoard rules.

There are a few on here who dedicate themselves to seeing how far they can stretch them. There are a few who seem to want to spend all their posting time complaining about the moderators, instead of behaving in a manner that would make moderator intervention unnecessary.

Those few had so manipulated this forum that the majority of the people who it was created for felt too intimidated to use it. Therefore we felt some action was necessary. After reviewing all of our practical options, we chose the one we felt would best address the problem.

Rather than complaining about the moderators, perhaps you should be asking yourself whether you are a part of the problems that led to the action you're complaining about. I find it ironic that the people who are complaining the loudest are the ones who's names most frequently come up when these problems occur.

Personally, I'd prefer to just remove OFWF from ScubaBoard altogether ... for the most part the posts I read here would be more appropriate in the Whine and Cheeze forum. And the sad truth is that this forum requires more moderator intervention than all other forums on ScubaBoard combined. However, some moderators think there's still some value in keeping the forum intact, and that with some effort we can make the forum usable for those who wish to use it for its intended purpose ... which is to promote diving in the Ontario area, rather than simply promoting the business interests of a couple of local charter operations.

Time will tell which of us is right. My view is that if y'all want to play by CANADIAN RULES ... go get some server bandwidth and start your own board. Then you can create your own rules and play however you like.

This isn't your house ... you're a guest here. If you don't like the house rules ... if you just can't see any value in playing by them ... there's this little button on the upper right of your screen labelled "Log Out" ... feel free to use it.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I found it surprising everyone was banned, not just the trouble makers as they are one all the other forums.......

Actually, no one was banned. We asked everyone to opt-in to the forum. It's a simple procedure, as you discovered since you're here.

We did it because the majority of people for whom this forum was created found it too unfriendly to be here ... too much bickering amongst a couple of competing business interests.

We've so far allowed everyone back on who has asked ... including those who's behavior created the need for this action. We want this to be your forum ... we're giving you an opportunity to show us you can do so in a way that doesn't require our intervention ... you get to decide whether or not that's possible.

We didn't do this because the moderators like to impose ourselves on you. We did it because the majority of the people who want to use this forum .... people who are local to the Ontario area and want a forum where they can actually discuss diving ... were being effectively run off the board by a vocal few who hijacked the place for self-promotion purposes.

Although some of those people are back on here ... how they continue to post here will determine whether or not they'll be allowed to stay. There will be zero tolerance for the sort of behavior that has required moderator intervention in the past.

If it doesn't work ... I WILL be pressing management to eliminate this forum altogether.

You get to decide ... by your behavior ... whether or not an Ontario forum is worth the effort it's taken so far to keep it civil.

FWIW - for every complaint we've had about this action, we've received 5 or 6 from Ontario divers thanking us for trying to clean the place up. Time will tell if that's even possible.

.. Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Tom R]

Personally, I'd prefer to just remove OFWF from ScubaBoard altogether ... for the most part the posts I read here would be more appropriate in the Whine and Cheeze forum. And the sad truth is that this forum requires more moderator intervention than all other forums on ScubaBoard combined. However, some moderators think there's still some value in keeping the forum intact, and that with some effort we can make the forum usable for those who wish to use it for its intended purpose ... which is to promote diving in the Ontario area, rather than simply promoting the business interests of a couple of local charter operations.

Time will tell which of us is right. My view is that if y'all want to play by CANADIAN RULES ... go get some server bandwidth and start your own board. Then you can create your own rules and play however you like.

This isn't your house ... you're a guest here. If you don't like the house rules ... if you just can't see any value in playing by them ... there's this little button on the upper right of your screen labelled "Log Out" ... feel free to use it.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

We did this, with a twist no nicknames, no alaises here as you have done with your own board(Nice board BTW), which serves a total different purpose then this board.

 

[Boogie711]

My view is that if y'all want to play by CANADIAN RULES ... go get some server bandwidth and start your own board. Then you can create your own rules and play however you like.

Well, just in case anyone needs help decyphering Tom's Post , a few have decided to do just that.

Much like Uncle Pug was a Moderator on the Deco Stop, and NWGratefulDiver participates on the separate Pacific Northwest Board, we decided that there was an opportunity to fulfill a need which wasn't being served.

www.ontariodiving.com is for mature, ALIAS-FREE discussion of diving issues unique to Ontario. You have to use your real name to sign up, which we feel will greatly reduce the trolling incidents which are the heart of many of these problems here on Scubaboard in the first place.

Before anyone ties their shorts in a knot, this is NOT intended to replace Scubaboard, compete with Scubaboard, give Scubaboard a drive-by taunting, whatever. None of that. However, since the moderators seem to continually say "start your own board," and since we're trying to work WITH the moderators (or at least most of them), some dedicated volunteers have decided to do just that.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Before anyone ties their shorts in a knot, this is NOT intended to replace Scubaboard, compete with Scubaboard, give Scubaboard a drive-by taunting, whatever. None of that. However, since the moderators seem to continually say "start your own board," and since we're trying to work WITH the moderators (or at least most of them), some dedicated volunteers have decided to do just that.

... and FWIW, the moderators on this board (at least the ones I've spoken to about it) understand and support what you're doing.

My suggestion regarding starting your own board isn't directed to people who (as in the case of your board or TDS) want to create a place to fill an information need ... it's directed at those who wish to turn our forums into controversies. That's not what ScubaBoard is all about ... and those people would be better served taking that approach to a different forum.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Mr Adams]

And now for something completely different.

http://www.andyfoulds.co.uk/amusement/bushv2.htm

 

[uwhooligan]

... and FWIW, the moderators on this board (at least the ones I've spoken to about it) understand and support what you're doing.

My suggestion regarding starting your own board isn't directed to people who (as in the case of your board or TDS) want to create a place to fill an information need ... it's directed at those who wish to turn our forums into controversies.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

My first post here in a while as I too (like many on this page it seems) only read the posts on OFWF and this last week has been a writeoff. At least the deleted post was all in one post which was easily ignored, locking the freaks out did little to improve the situation as the topic is still going on, I don't care about conch diving in florida, we get our own tornados and hurricanes in Canada thanks, we only call in the army when Toronto can't dig itself out of a 4 foot snowstorm, then someone will cut a hole in the ice and go diving. I dont need TOS to govern my internet behaviour for the most part so I dont read them.

Controversy ? I hope you take into account this latest mess was started because a moderator decided to post his 'opinion' based on hearsay, despite his own experiences, which he later admitted in a supplemental posting. I might not have been on SB for all that long but I have been online for over a decade, homebroadband for over 7 years, used many many forums over the years, I've seen it evolve. What GDI did initially certainly appeared to be what we used to call baiting, some here call it trolling. At any rate if I get a phone call from one of my friends vacationing in Florida telling me that such n such a dive shop was ok , this was was crap, this one didnt even ask me to see my c-card collection (why would they ask for a tech card at all unless you were getting on a boat, which GDI said they weren't, and not just tyre kicking ?) I dont think my reaction would be to post it on Scubaboard.....

 

[hnladue]

Bob (Grateful Diver),

I am not an official OFWF as I live in the States. But I have spent most of my diving time with the freaks. Without this section of the board I would not have met any of them nor would I have a chance to keep in touch and schedule any more trips with them. They truly are a great bunch and the friendship they have shown me is better then any of the locals I have here. Please keep me in mind if you decide to elminate this section!!

Heather.