9 replies to this topic

[sapphire]

We want to encourage our members to get together for dives and to foster friendships. With this in mind, we have started a new forum to specifically assist our members when they travel to other areas. Our new forum is designed for folks traveling to other areas wanting to dive with local members.

If you are traveling and would like to hook up with local single or buddyless divers, please post an announcement in the new “I’m Heading Your Way� forum.

If you see someone is heading your way and you’d like to dive with them while they’re in town, please send them a PM to make arrangements.

There is no time limit; so you can announce your travel plans at any time. Have fun and dive safely! Don't forget to post a trip report when you return!

Thanks,
-ZD

This question is about the "I am Headed Your Way" forum. I keep asking questions in THAT forum so people can see them, but they keep getting moved here without explanation to me.

My questions are - why are we encouraged to let people know we are coming into their area for diving, but they are not allowed to reply to us in our post? Why do the arrangements have to be handled in a PM? Does this only apply to out of state visits? What does "Other areas" mean? If I want to go to San Diego, or NorCal, the divers there cannot post in a thread to make plans with me?

Am I misunderstanding something??

Jennifer

[chinacat46]

It does seem a bit strange to not allow responses and have to do everything thru PM's or email. This would be okay if there was only one person in the area you are visiting. Trying to coordinate with a few people though would definitely be a pain in the ass though if you have to send out PM's. I suppose you could just keep posting new message but that could get out of hand too. I understand this is a biz and they don't want competition but it's also about hooking up with people to dive with as well. I agree with Jennifer but the powers that be must have their reasons and maybe if we live a good clean life(well there goes my chances) they will fill us in.

[No Pressure]

We already have a forum section "where in the world are you diving" with a North America section in which people have been posting that they are diving in a location on a certain date, and anyone in the area join in. If we have another, different section basically doing the same thing in reverse (i.e. someone coming into an area and inviting locals to dive), won't that disperse the information between the two forum locations and make it harder for people to know who is where/ when in the area? People will have to cross check both forums, and if the responses are only by PM, it will be difficult to get this accomplished.
Won't this defeat the stated purpose of getting people together? Or have I misread it?

[maninthesea]

I think the more places you can announce your intentions the better. That is why companies advertise on radio, tv and print, to get there mesage out. The more discussion that goes on the better becuase others can see something is being sorted out and may want to join in.

So if any of you are coming to a little rock in the pacific called Guam please let me know and I'll show you around.

Jim

[sapphire]

I agree with NoPressure, I don't see a reason to have one forum for people posting that they are diving and all are welcome to join them, and another where people post that they are going somewhere and want to dive with some new SD buddies.

Especially problematic with this is the limitation on replies in the second situation. Without replies, posts get buried and people don't see them... the likelihood that someone in an area would see the post is pretty limited.

One of the technical realities of this site is that it is hard to "view new posts"; if you are interrupted in the middle of seeing the new posts, then they never show as new to you again... thus, they fall between the cracks and you miss things.

Another thing that may not have been considered is how people respond... for instance, if a guy posted he was coming here to SoCal I would be much more likely to volunteer to dive with him if I knew other SoCal people were joining me... that is a safety issue for some. If I can't see that others want to dive (because they had to send everything through a PM) then I am less likely to volunteer to dive with that (probably perfectly nice) person (nice as they may be, we all have to watch our safety).

Just my .02 on top of my original .02

Jennifer

PS - I want to go to Guam

[sapphire]

Just so people don't think I am an idiot and repeat myself unnecessarily, I have edited my posts that got moved here mysteriously. There is supposedly a link to this conversation in the original forum, but it does not work...

Ah well,

Jennifer

[triggerfish]

i agree with jen...it'd be easier if responses were posted rather than pm'd.

i like the idea tho...it'd be nice to hook up for some dives if someone's headed your way and be able to handle it simply, instead of turning it into a big project.

[zendiver]

Jennifer, Mark, chinacat, & TF,

This is an additional outlet for us to use. Let's say, if Walter is diving for one day in Fort Lauderdale, for example, he can post here or in the North America forum with no time limits. If I'm planning a longer trip to California, for example, where we'll be staying over night, I can still post either here or in the North America forum. If I post here, there's no time limit. If I post in the North America forum, I'm limited to posting the trip no more than 4 weeks in advance. This forum allows you to plan longer trips farther in advance. You will make arrangements via PM rather than in a thread. These are, after all, private trips, arrangements should be made in private.

SingleDivers.com's primary focus is to provide group trips and we want to encourage as many members as possible to attend these trips. This allows us to provide better discounts to our members as well as ensure that our primary goal of single and buddyless divers getting together to dive is accomplished. This new forum will allow friends to get together with friends without pulling divers away from our official trips. Keep in mind this new forum has no time limits, so you may post your trips as far in advance as you like. We urge to use this new forum for your personal and private trips.

This is our attempt to get our members together and have fun without jeapordizing our official trips. As we get bigger and our database of members grow, we may make more changes, but at this time, this is what we have come up with as a compromise.

-ZD

[zendiver]

  There is supposedly a link to this conversation in the original forum, but it does not work...

Ah well,

Jennifer

Jennifer,

The link has been fixed.

-ZD

[Walter]

I remember last summer when this site did not exist, Jennifer and I decided to put together a singles trip. As far as I know, it was the first ever singles dive trip organized on the internet on a diving forum. At the time, we were working on a board with much more restrictive rules with regards to organizing trips than have ever been on this board. We put it together via PMs and e-mails. In many ways, it was easier to organize than other trips I've organized using posts. Were there a few things that could have been easier if we'd been able to post details of the trip? Of course. Recruiting comes to mind. OTOH, we filled the boat, had some great dives, met some wonderful people and generally had a grand time. A private little get together will be much easier to do.

if a guy posted he was coming here to SoCal I would be much more likely to volunteer to dive with him if I knew other SoCal people were joining me... that is a safety issue for some.

Excellent point, thanks for bringing it up. Safety should always be our first concern. Contact your local buddies and decide as a group if you'll be diving with the person headed your way.

i like the idea tho...it'd be nice to hook up for some dives if someone's headed your way and be able to handle it simply, instead of turning it into a big project.

Exactly. This type of get together is never meant to be a big project. Threads can turn them into big projects. It happened with the first Athens dive and later with the Blue Hole dive. Imagine if they had been to better dive destinations. This new forum will work very well if we all give it a chance.

BTW Jennifer, anyone who's had any contact with you knows you are a very intelligent person.