Why is deeperblue more of a community than other dive forums?

[Tony Babowicz]

Here, anybody know who this Jimdoe2you bloke is? Seems a bit dodgy to me I reckon we ought to keep an eye on him…!roflroflrofl

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOsD72YCPEI]YouTube - cdavis and jimdoe2you 5/31/08 - Part 1[/ame]
I met this guy once in Ft. Lauderdale. He is a character...

 

[jimdoe2you]

Ohhhhhhhhhhhh Nooooooooooo!!!!!!!

I can explain! I was drunk! I lost a bet! I needed the money! I did it for the church! Somebody help me I am running out of viable excuses!!!

:t

 

[flyflicker]

Yup; login to Deeper Blue and it always brings a smile to my face, but in Jim's case it's a cringe!!

 

[Bill McIntyre]

Left aside any subjective judgement (what a wonderful bunch of nice guys and girls we are!), I think there is a fundamental feature: This is an international community. Not american, not english, not european, not local but global.
People choose this forum because they're open to broader perspectives, curious to learn more about different cultures. And, of course, people who are open to learn from different cultures are less likely to indulge to the troll and flame "mine is bigger than yours" bullshite.
Of course, being an international forum, and not a local one, has its downsides. Compared to national forums (american, spanish, australian et cetera) here on DB it is sometimes harder to find much of info on spcific local issues (where to dive near Sarasota, the best set up to shoot tarpon, good dive shops in sothwestern Turkey...).
There's good and bad on DB and in all the other forums, IMHO. But then of course DB is still my favourite cause we're a wonderful bunch of truly nice guys and girls!

Since you laid out all the pros and cons so well, I'm going to take a chance and say that I feel like I'm much more a part of a community on the California forum of Spearboard.

I dive with people from that forum. I meet many new dive buddies because of my participation in that forum. I get lots of tips on local conditions on that forum. I feel like there is a group of people who share my successes and failures.

That forum is where the fight to keep conservationists from using the Marine Life Protection Act to close most of our prime spearfishing areas is being organized and coordinated. Because of the efforts of people on that forum, I have attended three meetings, up to 110 miles from my home, and spoken out during the public comment periods. Activities like that do a lot to cement relationships and promote a sense of community. I've met many divers at those meetings, people that I had previously known only through their posts. If my only source of information was DB, I would never have heard of the MLPA, and if it were not for the efforts of people in the California forum of SB, we would be getting steamrolled by the conservationists who want every thing closed. Of course I could have brought up the subject here, but there is no one to organize, so it wouldn't have helped.

I do like the more international perspective of DB, but my diving isn't much like that of people from Romania, the UK, Ireland, Spain, etc. And while I've hosted divers from other parts of the USA that I've met on Spearboard, I've yet to meet or dive with a single person as a result of meeting through DB.

Yes, Spearboard tolerates a lot more flaming and nastiness, but the two California moderators do a pretty good job of controlling that stuff in their specific forum.

DB feels pretty much Europe and Mid-East centered, with most US participation coming from the East Coast. Its nice for me as sort of an abstract thing, but I find my community on the CA forum of SB.

I don't mean this as a criticism, but just to show that DB may not meet the needs of everyone.

Now, after writing the above, it occurs to me that friends have taken personal best white sea bass, 65 and 52 pounds, each of the last two days diving from my boat, and while I posted on Spearboard and got a lot of comment, it never even occurred to me to post on DB. The guys who got the fish are not members here, so no one would know who I was talking about, and the stories wouldn't mean much to anyone here. Maybe I should post them anyway, just to fill the vacuum in our CA-West Coast forum, but the fact that I didn't even consider it before illustrates that my strongest community ties are elsewhere.

Edit- just to illustrate the sense of community I get on SB, here are the threads for those last two days. I'm not trying to poach from DB membership or get converts to SB, and it won't happen because very few Californians will read this anyway. I'm just showing how a post there gets replies from my community, people I actually know and dive with in many cases, while someone from the UK or Abu Dhabi would not have a hell of a lot of interest in these stories.

[ame="http://www.spearboard.com/showthread.php?t=83500"]50/65.7/8 @ three arch..... - Spearboard Spearfishing Community[/ame]

[ame="http://www.spearboard.com/showthread.php?t=83556"]Sometimes you just get lucky! - Spearboard Spearfishing Community[/ame]

Well hell, not that I read them again, it was my dive buddies who started those threads anyway. Its just that it was me and my boat that were part of the stories, and I could well have started similar threads here if I felt like anyone would have been interested.

 

[Erik]

It is a different kind of community in that most of us don't have 3D contact, and I think that changes the way we interact and the resons for being part of it. I am also on local forums for other interests, and that changes the dynamic of the conversations, ie: more ribbing/cajoling and personal comments that wouldn't happen on an international forum to such a degree. Also some things would not get discussed in a more local forum- the more active the personal contacts can mean less discussion on the net.
Warmly,
Erik

 

[cdavis]

Fun to contemplate why one of my favorite places is what it is. Why?? The immediate obvious is our universal antipathy for flaming, and most any other antagonistic behavior. Since that kind of comment gets jumped on so fast, you don't see much of it and the positive atmosphere attracts a great group of people.

Now, just why that is, I can't say. It was like that when I got here, that's why I stayed. Probably a combination of a good leader, good staff, starting out the right way, good luck and some more stuff I can't conceive of.

I know this. There isn't ANYWHERE else I could "meet" someone, invite him to come diving with me without knowing much else about him and immediately know I can trust my life and my families lives in his(her) presence.

Ain't it great!!

Connor

 

[Lazuli]

Deeperblue is like a tall glass of Pimms on a summer's day...

The deeper you look into it, the fruitier it gets! For all the right reasons.

 

[Kars]

I think DB is such great place because most participants are aware, support and defend the civil culture here on Deeper Blue.

I also think it's because of the unique qualities of our passion, freediving.
Freedivers are people exploring, seeking understanding in order to go to ever deepening depths. The personal experience exceeds that of winning over someone else, it's conquering one's own perceived or real limitations. A very special Helix sport that gives such a rich experience it changes lives, deepens the senses, and shows reality in a new much richer level of detail than perceived possible before.

But the main thing is that here we got a group of adult individuals, who have life experience, patience, understanding and a deep love for life, who understand and guard the good DB Culture!

Love, Courage and Water,

Kars

 

[Bill McIntyre]

I also think it's because of the unique qualities of our passion, freediving.

You may not have noticed, but there are three scuba forums on DB.

And if you mean freediving in its purist sense, I don't do that. I'm a spearfisherman who freedives. I think perhaps you pure freedivers do have a real community here, but it doesn't include some of us.

 

[Kars]

Well I don't like to be divisive, but in my limited experience I found the average mindset between the different branches of sports and also in the branches of diving.
Simply because, on average, some activities attract certain types more than others. Groups are to be different and I welcome that very much!

From the posts above I got the impression Spearfishers have more venue's weighing in. With Freediving, I think Deeperblue is basically 'the' place to go to for the most people in the world.

Deeperblue is I think a pretty unique place, hosting a very broad range of underwater sports, hence people come across and read different articles that may stir their interest in another way of enjoying the underwater world.

And let's not forget the numerous compliments Deeperblue gets' for the deep and huge amount of information it has. When not covered there are usually quick and thorough replies by experienced members on the forum flooding the asker with knowledge!

A real community? How would you define that?

Thanks to Deeper Blue I met some wonderful people here and abroad. And when I get the change to go abroad some place else I sure would 'consult' DB. I always like to meet more DB members in real life, and the ones I did turned out even nicer than their avatars sometimes would have you expect they are

Here's to the healthy emphatic DB culture, :friday
May is spread like wildfire, I'm sure many fora and peoples could use a good dose of the DB culture! :inlove

Love, Courage and Water,

Kars

ps. I'm not that of a purist, mainly do freediving, did years of scuba (has become impractical because I don't have a car), and I want to get into spearfishing. But let's not have a 'competition' in this, it's so divisive. Every group has many nice cool people I like to hang out with.

 

[Tony Babowicz]

You may not have noticed, but there are three scuba forums on DB.

And if you mean freediving in its purist sense, I don't do that. I'm a spearfisherman who freedives. I think perhaps you pure freedivers do have a real community here, but it doesn't include some of us.

I guess I'm not a pure freediver. I'm going spearfishing tomorrow. Freediving in the morning. Scuba in the afternoon. Freediving compliments my spearfishing. I went pure freediving yesterday. Just a line in the deep blue. I don't know many purists to tell you the truth. I love the water.I'll go anyway I can. You're included in my community Bill.

 

[vali]

what is the difference between a taxi-driver and a fellow that drive his car 3 or 4 hours a day, even his job is not to drive a car?
i guess the same between a pure freediver and a spearo....

 

[Jonny250]

One of the strong characteristics of DB is the good quality of advice and teaching that is available through the members. I've learned loads (and have loads more to learn) and the advice has been much appreciated. On some forums 'avatars' fall over themselves trying to show how much they know and forget to answer the specific need of a question. I dont see that here, just good advice (well done all )
Also it has been good to personally meet new people thru DB, not just on this little island of guernsey, but also the visitors too.

 

[cdavis]

Bill's comments are well taken. DB is not the best possible place for the serious spearo. If I still was one, for all I hate flaming, etc, I'd probably hang out on SpearBoard and check DB occasionally. The organizational efforts that go on there are a huge benefit to all freedivers. Different strokes for different folks is not a bad thing, just the way it is.

I think there is a difference between the mindsets of the majority of serious spearos and those who love to freedive (and may also love to spear). While there is a continuum, spearos seem to me to be more hunters who freedive rather freedivers who spear. There seems to be more of an aggressive edge to spearos. Maybe that contributes to the aggressive posturing you sometimes see on spearo forums, not sure. I know I started out loving to kill fish. Freediving, scuba, whatever, lets go kill some fish! I never considered just pure freediving. I definitely had an edge, still do, but its different. Maybe just getting older (Be careful Bill, you are older than me. It would be a terrible thing if you gave up shooting whites in favor of line diving.)

Connor

 

[DivingDane]

Bill they are some impressive whites! pretty much identical to the Mulloway which we get here in australia also a prized fish. i'd agree that for me freediving has taken a more important part in my life than when i first started and spearing was my sole reason to live! this forum from a freedivers stand point is unparralleled even for me from australia with very little australian content on here. i think thats what is so unique is that information coming from Italy, Ukraine, UK, USA, france etc is all still useful and people are so open to sharing there experiences and knowledge. for speaerfishing it is always going to be more difficult because location specific hunting limits the usefulness of international information.

DD

 

[spaghetti]

Since you laid out all the pros and cons so well, I'm going to take a chance and say that I feel like I'm much more a part of a community on the California forum of Spearboard.

I dive with people from that forum. I meet many new dive buddies because of my participation in that forum. I get lots of tips on local conditions on that forum..........................................

Those are the advantages of local forums.
All I can say to you Bill, is that I was genuinely happy when Scarlett was born, that I really did spare a thought for you when you were under surgery, that it gave me a smile of joy when you speared your first WSB after the surgery, that it gave me a smile when I saw your wife riding her horse, that I've been thinking a lot of your story of when you lost your buddy on a trip, that I think of you as a friend.
Then if you ask me what's the weather like in Huntington beach, I'm sorry, I have to tell you I have no idea. And there's no need for you to keep a spot for me on your boat for this weekend: I won't be there, unfortunately.
And anyway, maybe it's because there's something wrong in my head, but to me you're more than a typing character in my PC screen. To me (and maybe you can say I'm insane for this) to me you're my friend Bill McIntyre.

 

[Bill McIntyre]

Aw shucks.

 

[Erik]

I started as a freediver and evolved into a spearo- I don't freedive for it's own sake anymore.
I don't have the access to the great hunting that many of you have, but don't think, Bill, that your posts or the conversations of spearos all over the world go unnoticed by me anyway. I don't comment on a lot of great spearo stuff simply because I can only say "wow" so many times lol. If I was on the west coast I'm sure I'd be able to communicate a bit more about the fish, terrain, guns etc.

Maybe someday that job on the coast will pop up.

 

[agbiv]

Like the old adage..."Birds of a feather flock together" regardless of nationality,race, creed, etc. This place just feels like home. And like home sometimes there are squabbles but they are put away very rapidly.

 

[podge]

Erik you might live the odd mile or two away but that make’s you none less of a friend than the guy who’s lives just down the road.
It’s all a Deeper Blue thing baby and long may it last.