[Old Man Dave]

The Guernsey thread is one of the most viewed places on DB. Guernsey is a very small island with a handful of spearo’s. There are no huge blue water fish, no crystal clear vis, no tropical sunshine and yet because of DB thousands of people know of it.

Why am I saying this? Well because it is in essence a private thread. Probably 90% of posts are from less than 10 local spearo’s. The other 10% or so are welcome contributions from others around the world.

Seems to me therefore that starting a yearly thread for your area can be effectively a 90% private forum and yet can be enjoyed by the wide world of DB members. Well it’s worked for us anyway.

For this reason if for no other I think strictly private forums access would spoil DB. The whole open access internet world of DB has hugely invigorated spearing and freediving in Guernsey. DB has helped to encourage and support newcomers and even taught us old dogs some new tricks.

It is easy in these type of threads to lose it and express your own opinion by ridiculing others. I don’t think private threads would be a good thing and probably the degree to which they are currently available is sufficient. However I respect others have the right to disagree. This openness and the role of the mentors makes DB the success it is. Long may it be so.

Dave