Time to open the Solo Forum?

[KeithG]

I say open it up. Does anyone think there is a need to hide, sneak-about OR prevent others from learning? After all, We are (mostly) adults here on scubaboard.

Solo is just another way of diving. Diving is a pastime. A pastime based upon personal choice. It is not RIGHT vs WRONG.

I was actually surprised that I can post here. It appears I am a member of the Solo Diver Group. No idea why. I do not remember joining. I also cannot remember either the pass-phrase or the secret handshake. Now I am starting to get a little worried...are there solo forum ninja assassins?

The only forum I am aware of that should have an "abandon all hope" warning is the Pub Inferno (Dante) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[lowviz]

... Does anyone think there is a need to hide, sneak-about OR prevent others from learning? ...

I see this forum as the essence of an INCLUSIVE group. Don't screw it up.

Let's look at an EXCLUSIVE group for comparison. DIR. One way is right. You can join but you will do it our way. The public can see our missives, but you are not allowed to drink from the cup or post unless you join.

Let's look at an INCLUSIVE group. Solo. Wanna join? No prob, just go dive. You don't even have to tell us. Now you are one of us, we may not even know that. So what? You don't care and neither do we. Have fun, be safe.

 

[Bob DBF]

Since you are solo, you can say anything you want as a pass-phrase and the secret handshake is WTSHTF just grab your Johnson.



Bob

 

[The Chairman]

It's time for this forum to come out of the closet. Trolls will not be tolerated. That means, this is the place to discuss HOW to solo dive, not IF you should solo dive. That topic is best left for the New to Scuba forum.

 

[Zieg]

But Wait! It's nice and quiet in the closet. No one to bother you, just an occasional troll who bangs on the door and if you ignore them they go away (like anyone on this forum can ignore anything).

 

[boulderjohn]

It's time for this forum to come out of the closet. Trolls will not be tolerated. That means, this is the place to discuss HOW to solo dive, not IF you should solo dive. That topic is best left for the New to Scuba forum.

As further explanation, my understanding is that what Pete just wrote was the rationale for the setup. People who wanted to discuss the processes for diving solo were being interrupted by people with a "just say no" attitude. By adding the step of having to join the group, the thought was that these discussions could be held in peace.

This means that discussions about whether or not one should dive solo are not appropriate to the forum, but they are appropriate outside the forum.

 

[The Chairman]

I believe that this forum predates any agency allowing for a solo cert, or that they started out about the same time. The noise level of "you're gonna die" was just too much for the Mod Squad to handle, so we made it opt in. The open nature fits the current climate concerning solo diving.

 

[Akimbo]

Thanks Pete/NetDoc

I logged off to see what the Solo forum looks likes and see this:
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/solo-divers/

Greetings Unregistered,

You have entered the Solo Divers forum.
This forum is intended to discuss the limits, skills and techniques related to solo diving and not to debate its relative merits. This is a "No Troll Zone" and offenders will be blocked from participating in the forum.

And this a little lower on the page:

Forum: Solo Divers
A no-troll area for divers to discuss this growing trend in our sport. Whether you do it by choice or to facilitate other divers, there are important topics to address

Also there is no "+ Post New Thread" button. Maybe I missed something but I didn't see where it says you can post if you become a member. I do like that the message is short and sweet compared to the DIR forum.

 

[uncfnp]

Akimbo. It looks like they have completely opened the forum. Anyone can see and post, no membership needed. If you sign in as a SB member and go to the Home screen for the Solo Forum you should see the New Thread option.

NetDoc FWIW I and the majority of voters in the recent poll would have prefer to have kept the forum as a read only forum and preserved the permission group status.

 

[Akimbo]

Akimbo. It looks like they have completely opened the forum. Anyone can see and post, no membership needed. If you sign in as a SB member and go to the Home screen for the Solo Forum you should see the New Thread option...

Of course, I forgot that you have to register on Scubaboard to post... duhhh. Maybe wide open won't be a problem? I imagine if it becomes too aggravating for moderators they can make it "register to post" like the DIR forum. Hope I didn't open a bucket of worms.

Edit: Solo does show in my profile as a permission group. Maybe this artifact will become a status symbol to the earlier participants.

OK, probably not but at least it can prevent us from having to register again if it does revert to "register to post".