On Feb 4, 11:42 am, "Richard Williamson"
<richard.williams...@ntlworld.com> wrote:

Just because it's more active doesn't mean it's more interesting.  I
checked into Scubaboard yesterday, this time going so far as to
actually register.  It's all the same old crap and I got bored real
quick after playing with my profile settings for a bit.  That's the
one thing you can't do here is play with your profile settings, though
now that I post from Google I suppose I really could do that here now
too.  Perhaps a newbie like you might be interested by the SOS, but
there's nothing I learned in a day over there that I didn't already
know from a mere 8 years over here.

To me, the so-called "stupid postings" are more informative than
anything on Scubaboard.  How can you learn useful Chuukese profanities
on a moderated board?  This time, when the Odyssey's deckhands keep
trying to kill me by putting nitrox into my tank for a deep air dive,
I'll have something better to yell at them than "I said air, deck
heads!"  (A "deck head" as everyone knows, is the smelly head located
on the dive deck that somehow gets overused and undercleaned during
the course of the trip; not very nice, to be sure, but a creative
Chuukese insult would be far better)

I feel your pain. :^)

That said, you are really going to be missing something if you don't check
in now and then.

Part of the problem here is that there are regulars and we've been talking
to each other for years.  That being the case, we are about talked out with
regard to scuba, when it comes to speaking to one an another.  However,
newcomers are always welcome especially when they want to ask questions
about scuba.  Many questions have already been covered extensively and can
be found by searching in Google.

But if you have any questions you'd like answered, you'll find a wealth of
knowledge here that may be hard to find at a more "active forum".  It has
been my experience that the more "active forums", while moderated, are also
filled with newer divers.  I'm making an assumption that you are interested
in finding out the most info and from the most experienced and prolific
divers.  Those can be found here.

Go ahead, ask us a question.  I believe you'll be pleasantly surprised (in
between some of the posters name calling).  :^)

Best regards,

chilly

http://grumman581.googlepages.com/welcome-rec-scuba

With regards to the childish name-calling, that's just some WebTV kids
being ... well ... uhhh ... WebTVers... Killfile the entire domain like
most of the rest of us do and you won't even know they're there...

On the other hand, if you want to talk about diving, feel free to start
up a topic... If we like it or think that it might eventually morph into
a guns, politics, or sex topic, we'll join in... <evil-grin>

Bye Bye

uk.rec.scuba is more civil and may be more to your liking.  If you
decide to stay here, just use some filters to take out the loonies.

---
Mike from Ottawa

 Welcome to Rec.scuba, a.shole.

 And don't let the internet slam you on the a.s on the way out.

 I've been here going on ten years and 1100 dives.

 I learned virtually everything I know about the sport here, so many things
they couldn't be listed, and a few choice items that saved my life once or
twice.

 I met several lifelong friends here, among the nearly 100 group members
that I've met in person, and the 11 different states I've been diving in
with them.

 We get together and dive more than any group I'm aware of.

 This group and these people, useless to you, have been an invaluable tool
to me.

 But here's where a buttsurfing rube like you belongs:  www.scubaboard.com

 Trust me, you'll fit -right- in.

 With the rest of the sheep.

                                   Popeye
 "A vacuum is a hell of a lot better than some of the stuff
    that nature replaces it with."  - Tennessee Williams
                     www.finalprotectivefire.com

How many scuba related posts did you contribute?
Did you ask anything at all relating to scuba?
Did you expect we'd read your mind, guessing what it is you'd like to know
and, somehow, automatically providing it?

Stick around and contribute, ask, and see what you get in return.  Some of
the best divers in the world are occasional visitors here and quite a few of
the regulars have been diving longer than many have been alive.

Otherwise, don't let the door hit you in the a.s on your way out.

Lee

So am I Richard. I've been doing it just over 1 1/4 years, and I've been a rec.scuban for
just over 1 year. And trust me when  I tell you, I've learned much more about the realities
of diving (ie. how it's really done) and some of the best practical advice I can get from the
people of this group, even though I haven't met a single one of them in person.

These are folks that take diving seriously, but manage to have a bit of fun with it and with
each other along the way. I've learned a lot about how people really dive on a regular
basis, which is often different than what you learn in training, but a lot more practical in
the real world.

One of the best things I've learned from this group is how to put your training into proper
perspective. Yes, training is important when you starting out. But what's more important is
not the training agency or the training, but the instructor teaching. If the instructor knows
what they're doing and cares enough to make sure you know what you're doing, you'll be
in good hands. You'll also find out that some training agencies are different in their approach.
I'll leave it to you to find out which agencies have earned a greater respect among rec.scubans
but I think you'll find that some agency standards are such that the divers trained with them
are much more confident and prepared for diving whereas some agencies simply want more
people to pass so that they can increase their numbers and their membership, and the money
they make.

As for the off topic/political posts etc., simply ignore them if you wish. I do.  I tend not to
participate in them because: 1) I'd prefer to keep my politics private, especially on the net
(but that's just me), and 2) I don't know the group members well enough to participate so
actively. I'm sure though, once I meet a few of them in person, or it's an ("off") topic that
really interests me,  I'll be into it with them in no time.

Take it from another newcomer. If you want practical experience from the people who've been
there, done that, and know what they're doing/talking about, this is one of the best places to be.
Sure it may cost your eyes/ears a bit of political noise, and other forms of banter, but that's an
easy price to pay given the benefits. I intend to be here for quite a while.

Hope you are as well.

____________________________________________
Regards,

Arnold

Visit my Travel Photo Website:   http://www.mag3.biz/travel_photos/home_page.html

Absolutely 100% SPAM free!!!! HONEST!!! :-)

As an example of the kind of info you can get here, check out the threads
called:

1)  Skin Bends

2)  Back to my possible skin bends

Now ask yourself again, whether or not you can learn something here.  And
that's just one example.

As you may have noted by now, a few of the others have said that they
learned how to dive here (or words to that effect).  I will count myself in
their number.  Many, many of my good diving practices I've learned here.
Other divers I meet, comment on them.  I learned them here!!  I also learned
to be very self-reliant.

I bought my latest BC based on recommendations from a superior diver here,
as well as, diving with the buddy of a denizen.

We've cyber-shared one another's joy and sorrow.  We've seen our numbers
through serious illness, death, fights, laughter and much happiness.  We've
seen friends start in the sport and come to excel.  If you don't want to be
a part of that, there's nothing left except to say "Good day to you, sir!"

Or as Doug would put it "Don't let the 'net hit you in the a.s on the way
out."