Northwest Dive Club

^^double thanks

I second the nomination of Jeremy As moderator.
I am not a big poster on this site but check it often to see what others are up to and what's going on. This is a awesome site that has allowed me to meet and dive with some great people.

Triple thanks, Iver!

Well I am a +1 on the keep the site up and running. When I started diving almost 7 years ago this is the place I came to find dive buddies and information on diving. The other thing to keep in mind is that there are a great number of LURKERS who benefit from this site as well, I am sure. I should myself post more dive reports as soon as I get back to diving in the near future. I have met and dived with so many great people and would not have had the opportunity if not for the board. The ONLY time I would suggest you take the board down would be if the only active people left were Moderators. I have also gone a TWO great trips to Bonaire with different groups of people and had an awesome experience. I am always happy to dive with anyone new and share to wonderful underwater world of the Puget Sound. Did I mention NWdiveclub is my HOME page? Who wants to see Yahoo,Google or any other site open with the first browser.

Any of you who wish for the site to be taken down can walk the plank AAAARRRRR

I'm so glad that we are showing the love for this site....
I was hoping that we would get more activity here so it wouldn't be so quiet...and the newer divers would chime in...
I love this place....truly I do...
Thanks Calvin....
Kirsten

I'm pretty sure this thread was prompted by an observation I made and posted about on FB. Before I say anything else I would like to mention how much awesomeness this site has contributed to my life. When I was a brand new diver I didn't know anyone who dove. I became a member of Emerald Sea Dive Club (an actual physical club) but soon realized that while I very much enjoyed the people and the meetings, there wasn't all that much actual diving going on, at least not with the frequency I was looking for. I was trying to find buddies on the Scubaboard PNW section when Lynne pointed me to NWDC. All I can say is I have found more dive buddies than I can shake a stick at, vacation buddies, lifelong friends, some of the best PNW knowledge base and professional dive instruction all through this board. For that I will be forever grateful no matter what.
That said, IMO the site has changed. Internet forums for me are a way of communicating - having an open conversation with a group of people. This doesn't work too well when there aren't enough participants and it isn't intellectually stimulating or all that informative when there are not a multitude of opinions. I don't know why traffic is down, I but know that for me, I lost a lot of enthusiasm when a good friend of mine was banned for what I considered to be having an opinion with which others disagreed (and it wasn't the first such occurrence). It wasn't a conscious choice, it wasn't something I talked about to people, I didn't even realize it at the time, but I started coming less and less and when I stopped in a little while ago I found that many of the "senior members" - people I had had the great fortune of learning a lot from where absent as well. I do not know what their motivations may be although I did receive a number of pms that give me a general idea, but whatever the reason it was and is my observation that participation in this site is much lower than it used to be. The questions to be asked are:

1) Is traffic/participation/discussion actually significantly down? My observation is of course anecdotal.

2) If it is, does it matter?

3) If it does, what can be done to reinvigorate the site?

In closing two things: I have never, nor would I ever see any reason to shut this site down. Even if there were no new posts it would still serve as a valuable library of information.
And Calvin, although I may have at times been critical of some of the policies this board has adopted I certainly respect your right to do as you wish with your property. And that being said, I would like to thank you personally for creating a place that has brought so much joy, so may friendships, and so many great memories into my life. I would quite literally not be the same person without it.

Hi Matt,

Thanks for the nice post to give us who didn't already know where this came from an idea. Maybe separately we can follow up on who you're talking about who was banned, as I don't know. I can't think of a single user we've banned who wasn't offered multiple chances to come back provided that they started respecting rule #1. Anyway, like I said we can follow up separately about this.

As far as traffic, it is about 15% lower in Feb than it had been about a year before, and the site has pretty much hummed along around the same level with cyclical ups and down ranging from about 10-40% on a monthly basis for the past four years. There is a huge spike during the GPO episode, as expected. We don't really have any traffic goals per se, but people making plans to go diving and putting up trip reports after the fact are very important things to us.

PS - I don't ever think of NWDC as "my property". I think of it as something that belongs to our dive community that I have for whatever reason had the joy and responsibility of looking after. Sometimes I get more credit than I deserve and sometimes probably more blame. I literally started this thing because I couldn't find anyone to dive with and showing up at Cove 2 with all my neon tropical dive gear and waiting for a friendly person to take me on a dive was getting old.

I don't post much but check in often. I've referred countless people to this site for advice, buddies, gear and so on. Calvin and the Mods have supported my little business, as they've supported others, and I appreciate it very much. Calvin, maybe it's time to try to organize another "Mod Day" on Down Time to (1) show my appreciation and (2) brainstorm on how to keep old divers interested and encourage new divers to participate, and more importantly (3) just have fun and remember why we do this. I know it's hard to get all the Moderators together on one weekend day. If that doesn't work maybe a Moderator could "sponsor" a stand-in, maybe someone that hasn't experienced Hood Canal. Just a thought, and the only way I can think to say Thanks for all the effort you guys put into keeping this thing active and "civilized".
don

That's really generous, Don! We will definitely take you up on that.

Also, I just want to point out that THIS is what NWDC is about.

Well, I am a pretty new guy here and I'm not much into the social media stuff. I don't have Facebook or Twitter, I never had Myspace or any of that stuff. I just got a smartphone last year. But I can say that I really enjoy this forum. I recently started UW video/photography and when I asked for advice on those areas I got lots of great info. I have made some videos and plan on making more (although they are pretty amateurish and I wouldn't want to post them until I make some better ones) . So this is a really great place to get info from more experienced divers. I especially like reading the posts when I have to go a week or so without diving. It's the next best thing. I have also met and talked to some great people here and hope to do some diving with them soon. I get lots of great tips, and just made my deepest dive for my AOW cert (112 feet). Just my 2 cents Be safe.... and let's go divin'!

Another relatively new guy here, but I'll chip into say that I really like this forum. I too wish it had more traffic, but purely because i find it entertaining to read about everyone adventures/disputes/questions, etc. I've only been diving now for about a year and half, but have learned a ton from this forum, plus met a lot of other great people. so thanks to all to work at it!

Tangfish wrote: It's been exactly one year and three months since the huge surge in activity occurred relating to the GPO killing at Cove 2, a timeframe during which the site saw 4 times the amount of traffic as a regular "busy" month for a sustained two months. That was a taxing time on all of us members (Mods especially) but it also ended up bringing together the local dive community in ways that I had never seen before (tip of the hat to Lundy). That there's been a respite following that episode is not a bad thing, imho.

Interesting that this should come up. Speaking strictly for me, it's the reason I so rarely come here anymore. While Lundy was getting all the accolades, I was getting my ass kicked ... in some cases by regulars on this board, and with not a lot of support from the people who seem to appreciate what came out of that incident. It got uncomfortable to be here.

I drop by every once in a while, as I just now did, to see what's going on. Can't say as there's a whole lot of incentive to post most of the time.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Bob, a bunch of us that are firm believers in hunting and fishing still supported you in that. What came out of that seems good to me. Nobody needs to hunt in the local park unless there is a problem with wildlife. Remember that if there is no disagreement, there is no reason for discussion. And I clearly understand the side of those that didn't want a bunch of regulations covering too many areas. I think the reason things are slow here is the lack of controversy. I need to show up with my Spare Air to give you something to expound on.

I am brand new to this site, and I can't tell you how helpful it has been to me. Everyone is willing to provide input and I have been able to weed out my gear and resources to get to the good stuff and save time and money directly through this venue. I have connected with one diver already and we text occassionally, and I can't even dive yet because my class isn't done. I have started to work on getting a schedule together that will allow time, especially during breaks with my daughter's school, to come up during the week and dive with as many divers as possible. Everyone focuses on safety first on the board, at least in my experience, and that's very important coming from a mother about to put her daughter in a potentially unsafe situation for fun. They have helped me understand tides and currents (there is a difference it turns out) ebb and flood and slack. And I have had recommendations on everything from gear to who my advanced instructor should be. I love it here! I feel like this is my dive family and I haven't even met anyone yet. I am also opinionated. You may have noticed and I don't feel that I can't express those thoughts.

I don't know where you would post for upcoming events without this space. I would love to see some visibility reports for sights more often, because I will be driving a bit of a distance to come up and to see those trends would be nice.

I definitely appreciate the site. I feel that sometimes things are said and then someone holds a gudge for the rest of their life. I don't know any of you, so this is NOT in reference to anything specific that I have seen. Feelings get hurt when core values are disagreed with and then one may not get over it.

Anyway, you have all responded to my questions, other than my PM about GUE in a very timely fashion. And I appreciate everyones candor and input. I think this is a wonderful place for local people to pull together when needed in an effort for conservation, or whatever. SO, thanks.

Bob, I think you had a whole lot more support than you realize from this group of people. I understand what you are saying. Sure you got your ass kicked. You took the beating, and someone else was thrust into the hero spotlight, but look what came from it. You took one for the team, and one for the GPOs. And many people realize this, and supported and appreciated what you went thru. And be sure that even in the closest families, there is controversy and disagreement. In fact, that is healthy overall.
But hey, we miss your input here! I do for sure. I appreciate your input on various topics, and the way you look at things. And when there isnt much to post about, as you pointed out, I miss your dive reports and your photography. So hey, time to put the past where it belongs, in the past, and realize you are a valued and missed contributor to this community.

I have Bob's email, and I have picked his brain already. He is wonderful and very kind hearted, quick to respond, too. I wasn't here for the beating. I'm very sorry you felt that way. I'm sure the octos appreciated the support.

Mattleycrue76 wrote:I don't know why traffic is down, I but know that for me, I lost a lot of enthusiasm when a good friend of mine was banned for what I considered to be having an opinion with which others disagreed (and it wasn't the first such occurrence)

Hi, Matt!

I want to start off by acknowledging that the vast majority of your post is positive, and to thank you for that, but the quoted part above made me want to reply-

I won't get in to why your buddy was banned, other than that we asked him to refrain from inflammatory political type postings on this site many, many, many times….and he crossed the line one final time.

I would further like to point out that the person in question has been happily reinstated here, (A YEAR AND A HALF AGO,) is a member in good standing, AND- I have been to his house, bought a drysuit from him, hung out and spent some time in real life, friended him on Facebook, and while I may not be real, actual friends with him, I certainly feel that we are at least friendly.

I feel the need to point these things out because, even though I did not ban him, (that is never done by one individual, but by a majority vote of all the moderators)- I DID get blamed for doing so.

So, I thought this was all in the past, but I guess it's still a hot button issue? You got a used drysuit I should buy?

Josh,

Are you handing out money to be considered "friendly", because I have some school loans that you could contribute to, and I would friend you on FB, even though I rarely if ever go on that place. And that's saying something because I don't friend you unless you are a friend of mine, but that could be bought.....for a price.

RenaB wrote:Josh,

Are you handing out money to be considered "friendly", because I have some school loans that you could contribute to, and I would friend you on FB, even though I rarely if ever go on that place. And that's saying something because I don't friend you unless you are a friend of mine, but that could be bought.....for a price.

So what are you worth these days? On the friend market that is...

CaptnJack wrote:

RenaB wrote:Josh,

Are you handing out money to be considered "friendly", because I have some school loans that you could contribute to, and I would friend you on FB, even though I rarely if ever go on that place. And that's saying something because I don't friend you unless you are a friend of mine, but that could be bought.....for a price.

So what are you worth these days? On the friend market that is...

..which reminds me.. Richard, you missed last month's payment

kdupreez wrote:

CaptnJack wrote:

RenaB wrote:Josh,

Are you handing out money to be considered "friendly", because I have some school loans that you could contribute to, and I would friend you on FB, even though I rarely if ever go on that place. And that's saying something because I don't friend you unless you are a friend of mine, but that could be bought.....for a price.

So what are you worth these days? On the friend market that is...

..which reminds me.. Richard, you missed last month's payment

About that much....

That's a good question. I haven't really thought about it.

CaptnJack wrote:

RenaB wrote:Josh,

Are you handing out money to be considered "friendly", because I have some school loans that you could contribute to, and I would friend you on FB, even though I rarely if ever go on that place. And that's saying something because I don't friend you unless you are a friend of mine, but that could be bought.....for a price.

So what are you worth these days? On the friend market that is...

kdupreez wrote:

CaptnJack wrote:

RenaB wrote:Josh,

Are you handing out money to be considered "friendly", because I have some school loans that you could contribute to, and I would friend you on FB, even though I rarely if ever go on that place. And that's saying something because I don't friend you unless you are a friend of mine, but that could be bought.....for a price.

So what are you worth these days? On the friend market that is...

..which reminds me.. Richard, you missed last month's payment

Borrowing your cath shoulda been enough for several months