118 replies to this topic

[Tolly]

In truth, I find Walter's (and Marvel's) posts to be succinct, factual and usually correct. By all accounts, I hear both of them are genuinely warm, congenial and knowledgable, very pleasant people to converse with. Having had no direct conversations either verbally or electronically, I can't confirm that first hand, but many others in SD have and I think we can safely rely on our fellow SD'ers good judgement.

My feeling with internet communication is the absence of tone, inflection, intonation, facial expressions and body language leaves the recipient missing vital cues to decipher what the poster meant. It is easy to figure out what someone wrote, but much harder to determine what they truly meant or HOW they meant it. Given the amount of modding they need to do, I am sure both Walter and Marvel tend towards brevity in order to allow themselves more time to be a part of conversations in the forums and have some semblence of a personal life.

my 2 psi anyways......

[Bubble2Bubble]

scuba1231 I respect you for posting your opion here and encourage you to keep on doing so. its not easy seeing eye to eye on everyones opions and thoughts on SD.com. I like seeing others posting veiwpoints and questions here, thats what makes us differant than other boards. so scuba1231 carry on and keep posting and if you dont like what someone say's just move on to the next poster. I hope you are enjoying your stay here and having Fun and Learning something also.

as you can see Walter has alot of followers here and Im his Biggest Fan!


B2B

[Dejah]

I have to agree with what a lot of others have said.. Walter is truly a great guy here and if you really think about it, he's not got one of the easiest jobs here.. but in turn I think he's done an excellant job in helping to keep this place going..

Dejah

[Travelnsj]

Ok, I am trying to be nice here, but often in threads, I find that walter has this never ending need to nit pick every little error in a post even though most people get the general gist of the discussion.  It reeks of arrogance and is not the least bit impressive.

You have got to be KIDDING........enough said......maybe not.......

I have dove from the Red Sea to Australia and a few places in between. I consider myself a little bit of an accomplished diver. I have learned a few things from WALTER whether it be through posts or PM's in the short time i have been on this board........ Thank You Walter!

If you do not care for a thread.......click off of it!

[drbill]

Personally I don't see this as a reality. Walter is full of great information on diving and a whole lot more. Having met and dived with him, I found him to be intelligent, humorous and a fine person. I've been "moderated" by him in the past, and it was always with good reason. Of course I'm much mellower now!

It is also possible that, since the tone of Walter's (and all) posts is not evidenced in the written word, there is a failure to recognize the intelligent humor he brings to his responses. I know some have had trouble with my "equally" (IMHO!) intelligent sense of humor at times.

Dr. Bill

Edited by drbill, 31 May 2005 - 10:53 AM.

[Marvel]

****Please note: This post is my PERSONAL opinion only. This is NOT posted in any official capacity*****


Walter has a unique way of cutting right to the heart of a matter & providing specific & exact answers to questions. If something that he posts is not clear, all you have to do is ask- he will be happy to provide more details & discuss anything with you about a topic (that falls within the guidelines) until all questions are answered & all points of views are expressed. As an Admin, he does have a responsibility of monitoring all the threads & posts. He does a MUCH better job of participating that I do & can offer a wealth of knowledge on not only diving, but just about anything else that might be brought up for discussion. He is a jewel, an asset to the board, an asset in my life & my best dive buddy. He's got a fantastic sense of humor & is a lot of fun to be around. He is kind, thougthful, patient, compassionate, & the most fair minded individual that I have ever met. When I say that I love Walter, I mean it. I consider him one of my very best friends ever & I would be lost without him in my life as my friend, dive buddy, & co-laborer on sd.com.

I find it interesting that you would start this thread, scuba1231. I have noticed that you are often at the heart of controversial discussion on sd.com & I attribute much of it to the fact that you do not come across the way that you would like to on line as well. Since you feel that you are so often misunderstood, perhaps you might want to take a look at extending the same courtesy to Walter & to other members. Read the posts a couple of times, ask questions of the poster without attacking, state your position & opinion without personal attack, PM the member for clarification, read your posts over before hitting the reply button. Perhaps if we all would practice those few things, we'd have an even better on line community & gain a lot more insight, respect, & liking for all of our members.

[Maria]

Walter is just doing his job. I have met Walter in person and he is extremely sweet and full of good advice. Instead of getting upset at him, try to listen and learn from what he has to say.

[HandyGeek]

Ok, I am trying to be nice here, but often in threads, I find that walter has this never ending need to nit pick every little error in a post even though most people get the general gist of the discussion. It reeks of arrogance and is not the least bit impressive.

Sorry, dude, but I have to disagree here. Walter is a great guy. Sure, he's like a forum mom, but every forum needs one of those. As "moms" go, Walter is probably one of the most forgiving I've known. I don't see his comments so much as nit picking as clarifying. I have also had the great pleasure of diving with the man. I can say that his sense of humor is outstanding and he's a genuinely fun guy with a happy demeanor. Certainly Walter can be serious, but that's part of his personality. I would never call him arrogant or the like, though.

[steelemagnolia6]

Gosh this is turning in to a SD walter love fest!!!! We love you Walter!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I don't think that you are in danger of being voted off the island.

I can tell you that I find Walter to be fair, intelligent, knowledgeable, and sexy (did I say that??). I've had quite a few chats with him and always come away with more information than I went in to it with.


He has even put up with me using the snorkel picture for many a laugh at his expense!!! You know that I love you more than my shoes and my non dir split fins!!!



If you don't like what is being said then excerise your right to click the big red X at the top right corner of your screen. I'm sure that you'll be much happier!

The above comments are mine and if you don't like them then BITE ME!!!!

[Neptuner]

scuba1231, I'm curious if you've spent much time on-line yet, because if you have you should know that often people's comments are misinterpreted grossly from what they were intended. This is simply a byproduct of not having anything other than a two-dimensional screen to convey our message, but it's something that anyone planning to spend much time on-line needs to be aware of and accordingly, they should get in the habit of clarifying first, before making the wrong assumption.

That said, I would have to agree with the majority of the board here, I think that Walter's comments are very edifying and in my mind very welcome. Personally, getting the "gist" of some topics is not adequate, particularly when it comes to putting my life on the line... I would MUCH rather have as much clarification as people are willing to add. Though I have not had the opportunity to dive with Walter yet, I can honestly say that I am anxious to do so, as his vast experience is certainly something that I can learn from. In fact, I specifically selected the upcoming 4th of July trip because Walter was going to be on it and it is technical in nature.

So please try to remember, most people don't make comments that are "personal attacks" against other people on-line. They may be misinterpreted that way, but that's not typically the way they are intended. Try to stop and reason out what their motivation would be... in most cases you will find that they are simply trying to share information or in some cases their own opinion, but it's rarely "nit-picking" as you said and they are usually open to discussing the counterpoint as well.

[ShamuLovesMe]

The above comments are mine and if you don't like them then BITE ME!!!!

Spoken like a true "angel"!

[Bubble2Bubble]

I remember one time I posted
Ice Divers

You need to see a mental health doctor


OMG Im still getting Hate Mail! at the time I was pretty new to all this stuff.

We should live, love, learn and forgive and move on!



B2B

[Trimix2dive]

Not wanting to jump on the Walter luv-fest express train or anything, I have found Walter to have a good well rounded sense of humor, as well as being a volume of good information.

To scuba1231 - don't think of him as nitpicking or any backsided retentive. Think of him as a caring gentle guiding hand or maybe light nudge to those who need it, and for others a hardened backhanded b_tch slap across the face as a wake up call.

Just kidding Walter - keep up the good job.

[jextract]

Scuba, I'm sorry to hear that you have formed that opinion of Walter. I hope that you will get the opportunity, as I have, to meet and dive with him in person and I know that you will find that he is truly one of the nicest, most genuine people you would ever meet. Yes, he knows a lot about a lot. And yes, he can be particular about being precise in language and fact. And sometimes he shows a sense of humor that we might describe as "non-standard-issue." But I can say that all of us are better people and better divers for having known him, and there aren't a lot of people in this world you can say this about. As you can tell by the other posts in this thread, we all treasure him. I hope you will come to change your mind.

But we still all hate B2B for that posting.

















KIDDING!

[Blublood]

Who's Walter?