79 replies to this topic

[bluedolphin]

I too agree with Walter

[Walter]

Walter - you had better mark this down! Everyone is agreeing with you, myself included!

I'm in total shock! I just hope you agree with all my posts today <evil grin>.

[TheSassyRabbit]

Walter - you had better mark this down! Everyone is agreeing with you, myself included!

I'm in total shock! I just hope you agree with all my posts today <evil grin>.

Yikes Walter... you're scaring me I saw your other post. I can only hope that I get that kind of response one day

[Marion1336]

Seems pretty simple to me.

I think we should KISS (keep it simple, sweetie ). I agree with Walter.

[Walter]

Yikes Walter... you're scaring me  I saw your other post. I can only hope that I get that kind of response one day

If that scared you, how would you react to you getting such a response?

BTW, to get such a response, you'd just need to set yourself up like your buddy did earlier.

[steelemagnolia6]

I agree with Walter too... Now I know that I am new to the club so is this a good thing or a bad thing to agree with Walter???

[Walter]

It's a very good thing, darlin'.

[Marvel]

It's a very good thing, darlin'.

Says who?

[Dive_Deeper_Longer]

Let's just dive!!! If someone is lucky enough to "hookup�, great, congratulations! If not, you've hopefully you have some more kick ass dives under your belt. That will never leave you.

[scubafanatic]

Well its bound to happen....you put 20-30 predominately single, fun, dynamic, men and women together doing something they all love to do and occassionally some of them are going to 'hook up'.  Or you've joined the site and you are considering a trip with SD but you are dating someone right now and want to bring them...but you ask yourself how would that work? And what if you sign up for a trip now intending to bring the new special buddy with you but by the time the trip comes around...they are no longer part of your life...or at least not part of the forthcoming dive trip?

And what about prospective members who look at our site but say...hey I'm dating someone so I'm not 'single' or I'm married so this site is not for me...I'm just looking for a dive buddy.

So many questions...so many inputs....or at least I hope I get lots of inputs!  Tell me what you all think?

Do you plan SD trips for those that are not in relationships? If so how do we also have special trips for our buddyless divers?

How about people who 'hook up' on a trip? Do you encourage them to come on the next one only perhaps with new rooming arrangements?

Do you co-mingle newly formed couples with other singles or run special 'couples' trips? Or both???

How about the buddyless diver that wants to bring their non-diving SO? Can we work that out as well?

So many questions....here's to seeing lots of input! Thanks gang...-ww

............cool, looks like WW is ready to step-up to the lext level of logistical
challenge, ( fine tuning trip demographics ) although if there's anyone who's up to it it's certainly WW.....not to mention questioning the very mission-statement of SD.com!

Status Quo solution

Perhaps the simplist solution is 'deregulation', make no attempt to filter the
trip applicants, instead generate an attendance-matrix in an easily legible
table format for each trip........similiar to that found at each trip intro page
where names are followed by the relevant information, iie,

" Kamala aka WW of course! - Dallas, TX - (pd/air/AI/F-F) Survey "

...however, tack-on an additional field ( or perhaps a unique, quick to read
at a glance, 'emoticon' ) indicating each applicants 'relationship status', as
names accumulate, successive prospects can guage how any particular
trip appears to be unfolding, and determine if the unfolding playing-field is
coinciding with one's own 'mission-objectives' towards a trip.

Sample categories:

single diver
buddyless diver ( SO non-diver, and on this trip with me )
buddyless diver ( SO non-diver, and -not- on this trip with me)
buddyless diver ( SO diver too, and on this trip with me )
buddyless diver ( SO diver too, and -not- on this trip with me )

The Quota solution

This involves 'regulation' by narrowing the trip's focus, ie.,

100 % single divers trip
100 % buddyless divers trip
100 % couples trip
a mixture of single, buddyless and 'couples' divers

......all valid options, if not necessarily in the spirit of SINGLE divers.com,
at least having the advantage of honesty-in-advertising so applicants can
self-screen with no illusions, but increasing the risk of a trip not selling out
by reducing the applicant pool through trip overspecialization.

Changes in an applicants relationship status are unpredictable, ie., a
buddyless diver becoming a single diver while awaiting a pending trip,
suffice it to say the more regulated a trip becomes, the less flexible it becomes.

Scubahawk's concerns are well founded, and while I don't have any big issues with some trips mutating away from the 100 % single diver 'model' , narrowly-focused trips need to be clearly advertised as such, and I'd suggest on any 'mixed' trips the smaller the group, the larger the percentage of single divers needs to be....ie., 2 or 3 couples on a 32 person Cozumel trip is one thing, 2 or 3 couples on a 14 person live-aboard is something else entirely, skewing the playing field well away from the SD.com ideal.........and let's face it, my feeling is that the vast majority of people primarily interpret 'single' in the SD.com context as 'single' in the 'relationship' sense, not in the 'solo' diver sense.

Karl

[H20 Bug]

I'm going to jump on the Walter bandwagon, too but agree with Hawk about the numbers think. I serioously doubt that that will ever become an issue, however.

This is my thought as well.

[DiveCandy]

Agree with Walter and Hawk...and will add my own tagline: It's a week, not a lifetime.

I prefer to go on trips primarily with other singles but a few couples in the mix are fun too. I lost being part of a fun group of divers following a breakup. I'd hate to think I'd be banned from this group if I am ever fortunate again to turn sparks into a flame.

Kerry

PS Hawk, if upping your dosage doesn't help, I'll up mine too (huh??) and we'll see what we can work out!!

[drbill]

I'm still waiting for a trip with my desired demographics... me and a dozen or more beautiful Asian woman divers (non-Asians with dark hair would be welcome) who are all brilliant, drop dead gorgeous, witty, fun-loving, slender and most important, independently wealthy so they can take this "starving" marine biologist on dive trips around the world to create new DVD's for my fans.

I guess that's why I'm still single.

Seriously, I prefer singles only but if the trip is to a location I'm really keen on the demographics wouldn't matter because the diving would be the real treat.

Dr. Bill

[Oceanseleven]

I'm gonna disagree with Walter for three specific reasons.

1. First of all ....... I'm just kidding Walter. Everyone else agreed with you so far I was afraid that I would see pigs flying out my window. Just trying to be different. But seriously I agree with you. The more the merrier. I don't think these trips are about "hooking up". If that happens so be it. Great. But I think it is more about meeting great people and forming great new relationships centered around a common joy and passion in our lives that hopefully we can grow and nurture for the rest of our lives. Whether it be opposite sex relationships or same sex. It's all about making new friends and sharing a common passion and lifestyle. I also agree with Karl on the scientific and marketing aspect. If you limit the possilities you filter the chances of meeting great new friends and dive buddies. Alright enough serious talk. Where's triggrfish when you need her?!

[Walter]

People have raised one serious concern - a trip of all couples and 1 single would be no different from trips offered by others (OK, ours would still be more fun) and we don't want that to happen. OTOH, the nature of our site makes such a trip extremely unlikely. So unlikely, I don't believe we need to take precautions against it happening.