Moving the garbage to the bottom

[ektess1]

Have you noticed that most of the post in this forum have nothing to do with diving?
Maybe if we put those topics at the bottom of the list and dive related topics at the top, we could make thiis more of a diving forum.
A social network is great, but that is not what this forun is suppose to be about. IMHO
Use face book for that.
Diveing forums should be about diving. Not who did what to who.

[Diver Kat]

Hmmmm ... wait ... isn't this thread about a non-diving topic??

Personally, I hang out here for lots of reasons - not just diving information. I don't hang out on Face Book or My Space ... I like ST because it's divers socializing with other divers. (Somehow most of us have the same warped sense of humor!) If I can't be diving, at least I can be sharing some laughs with other divers. I really appreciate all the diving info as well, but it's not all that I'm here for.

..

[ektess1]

I generally enjoy the sick tristed humor of others that post here as well.
But isn't a dive forum about helping out the new divers?

[Straegen]

This tends to happen in most forums. Guess it depends on whether you want an informational site or a community. IMO, the later is more useful, more approachable and far friendlier. Most tech forums end up with a small group of people answering questions and getting annoyed at people who don't use the search first.

[underh2o]

why would any one try to run a ST diver off and mention they should go somewhere else just to talk. to go along with what kat said we are all dives here and we all have the same love of a sport. and maybe just talk and find out places to dive, new interest of the sport, or maybe new dive buddy. some people just talk to get used to something before they ask a question to see what some would say or might say by the responses they get.. leave them alone they may be your dive buddy someday that you ran off because all they wanted to do ws talk

[Black-Gorrilla]

Not to start a war... but

There is about 3700 thread in areas that are for any kind of talk (surface, man laws, women stuff etc...) Those places do have threads about diving, but it would take to much time to get a specific number, so i'll leave them as not having anything to do with diving...
There are at least 9700 threads in the Dive specific areas (gear, dive categories and dive spots)

This place is more about diving than anything. (the numbers dont lie, unless im too tired and really messed up)

I just think that people find it easier to head over to the casual talk first, and read jokes, and stories about someone jumping a fence like batman to look for a dog, man caves with purple curtains or someone that tried to pay for a credit card with a picture of a spider trough an e-mail etc...
Check the tragedies area and hope that there is nothing new in there.
Then, you head over towards the gear stuff and read a bit and post a bit to help answer questions about bp/w and regs that make noise at depth etc...
Down the line to get to dive spots... read the one that pertains to your area, and maybe an up coming vacation spot and so on.

Facebook does not have an easy to navigate interface that we can use, and end up talking to mostly divers, since we understand each other on one level or another. (cave divers understand cave divers, and why they go into caves. Tech people get tech people. And there is plenty of other people that identify with a group here better than they can on Facebook)

[bottomdweller]

I don't use Facebook or Myspace, it seems to me that would just be good for people I used to know & have no interest in talking to again would be able to find me.
Here I am safe from all that, & find a lot of interesting people to have all kinds of different conversations with.

[Diver Kat]

Originally Posted by underh2o

... some people just talk to get used to something before they ask a question to see what some would say or might say by the responses they get.. leave

Good point ... many people lurk for a while before posting, and I've seen too many new divers scared off on other Forums because they were made to feel they asked a 'stupid' question. It's kind of nice to develop the 'family' feel ... the you don't feel so stupid asking a stupid question!! (Just kidding - there are no stupid questions, only stupid answers!! )

[BouzoukiJoe A.K.A. wrecker130 AKA Chuck Norris AKA joeforbroke (banned)]

I love the community feel of this board. I believe without all the non-diving discussions going on it would be harder to get diving questions answered.

As for other boards, I hardly ever read scuba board. Only when I'm searching for an answer to a question. I lurk at TDS but don't ever feel I have much to contribute. I spend a lot of time at NCDivers because I know those guys and gals and dive with them. Scubatoys is definitely my favorite in the low season. During the high season I spend more time diving with the guys at NCDivers than reading the boards.

[Skred]

Originally Posted by BouzoukiJoe

I love the community feel of this board. I believe without all the non-diving discussions going on it would be harder to get diving questions answered.

Agreed. The community feel you love is what makes this place unique. It encourages people to get involved. Without it, not only would it be harder to get questions answered, I think many of them would never be asked in the first place.