Who, precisely, are we not permitted to criticize on this board?

[letterboy]

Sorry, I have to laugh when people say SB is toxic or that the moderation is to heavy handed.

Y'all should have been in here back in the good ol days.

Every so often one of these the moderators are mean to me threads pops up and it brings up the same topics, moderation, staff is mean to me and I got banned for no reason. But if you could go back several years (10+) this forum has changed dramatically and made changes to staff and structure to in response member feedback. With a forum of this size there will never be 100% positive interactions all the time.

 

[Jack Hammer]

I’ll probably get moderated for this...

I’m the ScubaBoard troll. See, when we have a terrible dive tragedy like the Wave Dancer, Stewart, or Conception incident, new members join in droves, and many of them are in the legal profession. My job is to seek out those who would pollute the thread with conspiracy theories and piss them off so badly that they spend their time searching for things I said years ago, take screen shots of them, and get them so mad they leave the incident thread and gang up on me in a wadded panties thread.

How am I doing?

I think a little more focus on the usage of emergency chainsaws would up your game a bit.

 

[Wookie]

I don't have a high bar, but as I have alluded to setting a civil tone and not being demeaning would be a good start; in other words model the behavior that @The Chairman says is expected on SB.

I don't have the same beef as the OP, I've never been banned or complained about moderated (and yes I have been a few times, using humor in the new divers forum, thread merges etc). But I have posted several times about civility in conversation; and unfortunately some of the SB staff are the basis for those posts.



This is interesting and I really do appreciate the education on the SB staff structure but, 1. these levels of staff are not readily apparent in posts and 2. I'm not sure that it matters all that much. The thing that stands out in posts is the big blue banner that says Staff Member. If you are Staff for any organization or company there is an expectation that you will conduct yourself in a way the represents the values of the company or organization.

I have posted in other forums that I have asked several dive professionals and friends if they participate in SB, they all give me the same answer, No, because the forum is just too toxic and they would rather their diving interactions be positive and enjoyable.

I jumped on this thread not because I agree with or am defending the OP, but because it seemed like a fair opportunity to advance the idea that Staff Members should hold themselves to a higher standard of civility and tone in their posts. I imagine that this thread is causing a fair amount of internal discussion and debate among the staff and it is my hope that it causes a change in tone overall or leads to a change in the rules that he SB Staff use to identify themselves.

Fair enough.

I joined ScubaBoard back in 2001 when we lost a diver. I would say misplaced, but we never found him. The story is long and involved and his life insurance paid his wife, but suffice it to say that I was being raked over the coals on the message boards and wanted to defend myself to all of the Internet warriors and tell my side.

What a mistake that was. So my point is that the keyboard commandos will have their way with you regardless of the truth. The OPs complaint about me is a long run of “I’ve made my mind up, and I’m comfortable with my conclusions”. Again, fair enough, my world does not revolve around some stranger in San Fran liking me. The folks who actually hire me for my expertise understand and have qualified/certified me as an expert.

As far as ScubaBoard goes, I volunteer my time as an expert. I mostly hang out in the unmoderated forums because they aren’t quite as tender back there. I tend to be a little gruff. I have a short fuse for those who, some 200 pages into a thread, chirp up and ask if the stove was propane, that must be how the fire spread so quickly.

I’ve been moderated a number of times for my gruffness, or short fuse, or response to stupid questions. Because as the old saw goes, there are no stupid questions, only stupid people asking them. As the Refreshments would say, everybody knows that the world is full of stupid people, so I tend to fight about politics instead of diving. It’s a different kind of stupid.

The owner runs the board to his satisfaction. If he finds it in his best interests to give us badges that reflect our true value to him, I’m sure he will issue said badges. As was indicated by Steve above, I am an advisor. That means the board owner finds me to be an expert at certain subjects, and unlike the OP, has been on my boat and understood our business if not the nuances. So as long as I continue to impress the board owner, I guess I get to continue to be staff. Like with anything, when he finds that I am more of a pain in the ass than the value I bring to the board, he doesn’t even have to ask me to leave, as his admin powers are awesome and manifest.

And that’s the free word, @JohnnyC

 

[Wookie]

I think a little more focus on the usage of emergency chainsaws would up your game a bit.

LiON or LiPO battery powered?

Hahahahahahahahaha

We can leave them on the charger until needed.

 

[The Chairman]

It's really never the members who contribute intelligently that get all twisted off about the mods.

Ain't that the truth. However, you're upsetting people who have their knickers in a twist by pointing this out. Kinda funny. Well, there's a cave with my name on it, so I'm going diving in a few.

 

[lexvil]

LiON or LiPO battery powered?

Hahahahahahahahaha

We can leave them on the charger until needed.

I think a chain of explosive bolts along the keel would work faster with a big red “easy” button in every bunk.

 

[Louisville Diver]

I think a chain of explosive bolts along the keel would work faster with a big red “easy” button in every bunk.

Mid-bunk, low, generally at elbow level. The slightest touch triggers the bolts....

 

[The Chairman]

Something that should be pointed out, if it hasn't been already. Mods who post in a thread, normally will not moderate in that thread. Those who moderate a thread, will normally not participate in that thread. Mods are users first, but if you see the "modpost" being used, then they've stopped being a mere user and are now wearing their mod hat.

On the previously mentioned law suit. Yes, I was sued by a Dive Op in the Maldives for $10.000.000.00. A Russian died on her boat, which really wasn't her boat, but she acted like it was, but he died from breathing a toxic mix of fumes from a compressor that the manufacturer had condemned until certain repairs were made. Most everyone breathing off that compressor got sick and one died. They changed the name of the dive op and users were not fooled, pointing out here on SB that they were the same op. She sued to make me reveal the names of her critics and I said, "hell no". It's my opinion that she was trying to ruin me financially and without the help of the community, would have been successful. Due to the final agreement, I am not to mention her or her company. I'm OK with that. I made a commitment to never, ever sell user information and I'll keep that promise, whatever it takes.

 

[Louisville Diver]

Something that should be pointed out, if it hasn't been already. Mods who post in a thread, normally will not moderate in that thread. Those who moderate a thread, will normally not participate in that thread. Mods are users first, but if you see the "modpost" being used, then they've stopped being a mere user and are now wearing their mod hat.

On the previously mentioned law suit. Yes, I was sued by a Dive Op in the Maldives for $10.000.000.00. A Russian died on her boat, which really wasn't her boat, but she acted like it was, but he died from breathing a toxic mix of fumes from a compressor that the manufacturer had condemned until certain repairs were made. Most everyone breathing off that compressor got sick and one died. They changed the name of the dive op and users were not fooled, pointing out here on SB that they were the same op. She sued to make me reveal the names of her critics and I said, "hell no". It's my opinion that she was trying to ruin me financially and without the help of the community, would have been successful. Due to the final agreement, I am not to mention her or her company. I'm OK with that. I made a commitment to never, ever sell user information and I'll keep that promise, whatever it takes.

Now I’ve got to go find this.

 

[The Chairman]

Now I’ve got to go find this.

Good luck. I remember the call from my attorney when they wanted to settle. I was going to be an engineer (volunteer) on a boat headed to the DR and he called me hours before we left port. He told me that they would accept something like $30,000.00 and becoming mods on SB. I told my attorney to tell them " F-U and the horse you rode in on". I counter offered that we would put them on auto censor and I would not mention her or her company. I got the call back from my attorney less than ten minutes later that they agreed to my conditions. It was a happy voyage even though I was working for free. Mind you, she was being beaten up just about everywhere for her suit. She was then referred to as "She who shall not be named" here on SB. Stressful times. I've always tried to run SB with integrity and honor. Some people have tried to take advantage of that. We're a bunch of divers having fun and are run by divers having fun. We're not perfect. We don't pretend to be. We're not for everyone and if Facebook had their way, we'd be gone. Love us, hate us, read us, ignore us. I'll never get rich doing this, but I certainly have had more than my share of fun. There's always Facebook or rec.scuba. 'Nuff said.