OK iDiveChick you wooed me back [Archive]

Archangel

02-24-2007, 01:14 AM

Hello All:

My name is Tevis and I am a hardcore So Cal Diver here in Los Angeles, CA. I have been woo'd over here from iDiveChick from **********. Before I move all of my furniture in, I would like to know a little more about this forum,

Who runs it. . .really? is iDiveChick a figurehead?
What is the purpose/mission of the board?
What audience are your catering to?
What do you see the future of the board becoming?
Who are the mods, what are the mods modding?

I had a short less than positive relationship with Valley Scuba, and dont want to make the same mistake twice.

I am a DIR diver, and I looked at the DIR forum and wasnt very enthused with what I read. I dont want to waste time defending when we could be educating.

OK you got me back, now lemme see what you can do.

T

Sarah

02-24-2007, 04:47 AM

Tavis,

First of all welcome back! :) I remember seeing your avatar and getting thinking it was clever and wondering where you went, but we had just opened.

I can assure you that contrary to some cynics, I am not a 300 hairy guy with a beer belly, lol. And no, that also means I'm not a 299lb guy with a beer belly.

As to the purpose/mission, it is all about having fun, meeting friends, and not giving short shrift to certain segments of the dive community. More on that in a sec.

As to the mods, they consist of me and the Admin at the moment as we build membership. 330 members in 60 days isn't shabby! (roar of applause ;) As we grow, we will be adding moderators. We have our eyes and ears open here, and we would like to do so within the ranks, but some of our specialized sections will require newer member mod volunteers based upon specialized expertise. Did you say your were a DIR diver? ;)

Our Publisher is not some corporate media entity with a business plan and a mission statement trying to be all things to all while raking in the $ He is an SSI trained technical diver also into HiDef underwater videography and dive travel (who isn't?!, lol) That is why we've not given short shrift to underwater videography like most boards do, nor the technical disciplines, nor the international dive forums. He will be making his prescence known as soon as professional, high quality underwater stills are done and they are given to the graphics house of which amongst other things will be redesigning our logo banner. Considering how some members here have really good avatars, not wanting to be shown up, he wants to Pimp His Avatar ;)

As to DIR, I have been directed in no uncertain terms to keep the DIR forum on an even keel. That means a no troll zone. If someone wants to rant about DIR or anything for that matter, then they can do so in the Rants, Meltdowns and Beefs Forum within the guidelines of being civil, as all good ideas can withstand the test of challenge, just not in the DIR Forum.

Saying DIR/GUE types do not want and should not have to constantly defend their discipline here is preaching to the choir! One member here made an excellent post of what is and isn't DIR to try to dispel some of the misconceptions of those not trained by GUE ranked instructors (gue.com/Training/Instructors/index.html)-the DIR wannabees who are Internet divers who have not spent one minute in a DIR-F class. But in fairness, the origin and continuation of the term DIR was a double edged sword-it was properly controversial which from a marketing standpont is deftly shrewd, but it also invited withering scrutiny and that unfortunately gets dumped on the laps of DIR divers.

As a brand new board open only 2 months, we have the ability to rapidly respond to the wishes of our friends here. They've requested various features, and once we figure out how, we deliver.

We've got a great core of fun dive friends here who contribute their expertise and share, and we're glad to have you!