Terrorist threat to all vessels! Al Quieda training divers in underwater terrorism...

Just a guess, but does the user name SSV stand for Sub Sea Ventures? Guess that would make the link in your post a link to your own site and the post basically an advertisement. Not disputing or discounting the threat posed by terrorists, just reads like a news flash rather than an attempt to generate business.

Good luck with subseaventures, I am sure there is a market, and I am all for anything that keeps us safe.

Fish

I have often wondered how long before the spineless slugs start wearing SCUBAs or train dolphins.
In deed, a very conceivable issue in regards to Americans being safe in foreign ports especially, aboard civilian or military craft, large or small.
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Jonathon, I know this is non pertinent to the actual subject of your post, but as a fellow in somewhat of a similar professional discipline, I would like to learn more about the scope of an inspection you are able to achieve. I wonder if it may also serve as an interesting topic for forum members to peruse?
You know, like; Does your process effectively replace hauling for an inspection, or is it more of an intermediate check?
Can you report conclusively enough on the condition of a vessel's hull to issue a pre-purchase Survey?
Can you conduct ultrasound or echo testing of hull skin?
How does your process compare to ROVs employed?

I don't think the forum admins would find it inappropriate to carry on a limited, technical discussion about the logistics of a hull inspection conducted afloat?
I just find it interesting and innovative.

Jonathon,

I wish you the best with this venture. You are addressing a niche in the market that is justifiable, however... using a sensationalized title to attract attention to a post containing a commercial hyperlink is not good forum ettiquette.

I think if you had posted some information relating to Al-Queda training in these "terrorists plots" , along with how your company can help address the issue, I would not be responding in this fashion.

That being said... this is commercial post that takes traffic we generate from extensive advertising, away from our site. More importantly, we have sponsors that pay for banners that contain a hyperlink to their own sites and it's not fair to them.

I'm going to let the members of YachtForums make the call on this. OK guys, speak now or forever hold you peace. Otherwise, the thread goes "poof"!

YachForums

I'm with you on that. Promotion can cost a lot of money. SSV only got two sentences in about his/her business; on the second post. Share some info; it is something that I have not heard of. . .

I'm from Maine, only time we get divers is to remove lobster pot lines from the prop, of replacing zincs.

I'm young to the yachting industry but I want to learn.

He's new here, &

the threads interesting, why not let it stay?.

Look at it this way - if a bit of work goes his way and the venture gets on it's feet as a result - you've done your bit toward supporting homeland security.

In todays day and age of terrorism, I think it would possibly be considered 'unpatriotic' to delete the thread - give the guy a chance - we could all do with a leg up in life on the odd occasion - thats what sets you Yanks apart from us tall poppy pruning Aussies - it's something we admire in your culture, don't go dissapointing us now!

Course being a foreigner I'm probably not qualified to comment on what is or isn't considered 'patriotic' in your nation...but you know my sentiment is in the right place.

Give the guy a break - the other advertisers are big boys, their cheque books can stand the hit and I don't see any of them offering the same services, who knows if he gets his business up and running he might end up one of your long term sponsors in appreciation of the lattitude he recieved at the outset.

I reckon everyone deserves the benefit of the doubt....at least once!

Plus - I'm hoping he will send me a sub so I can be his anitpodean sub commander keeping the US fleet safe when they take shore leave in Fremantle!!!

Sub Commander trouty - has a nice ring to it - no?

Does it come with torpedo tubes?

Cheers!

As this board is designed for large yacht owners, why not let the guy explain what he does, considering his venture is obviously not meant for my 40 footer.
That is, if he comes back and can explain some of the logistics and can show some usefulness of the concept in regards to service other than just detecting attached explosives...

Carl, you put this up for public debate so I will give my advise publicly. You can not just delete posts and threads that do not perfectly fit the criteria or are not exactly lined up with your goals for the board. Notwithstanding my understanding of the challenges faced with an open forum / private ad funding, I must tell you that people will not populate the board if they find anarchy and are not able to be free in regards to post content to some reasonable degree. Your advertisers want traffic and enough traffic can not be realized by sifting through a very tight mesh.
Just my 2 cents...

Plonk....

My vote is kill this guy's thread.

My boat is the last place I worry (or want to worry) about terrorist threats - I commute to Manhattan every day and was in the city on 9/11.

If he has a valuable service, it does not need to be wrapped in sensationalism. If his firm is a player in that space it would not be presenting itself this way either.

As for anyone who would seriously be in the market for services like this, they are not going to touch a pitch like this with a ten foot pole. Firms like Kroll don't even advertise, let alone putting some sensationalist post in an internet message forum trolling for business.

I think this is in very poor taste and could/should have simply been an informative post for a service.

I agree with Joe. If you want to run a successful board, you can not censor everything that you do not like! I do not especially agree with how that guy went about that post, he should of posted the info on this site, and maybe a link for other information, but who cares? Yes other people pay to have banners on this site, but it's not like he posted a banner for free. It's a simple link. If he thought it was such a bad thing I am sure he would of posted it as a third party, not like he did.

On that same note, this is a good time for a confession, as i have been censored on here before! I was one of the first people on here and started a very legitimate but controversial thread. This thread (Carl knows!) was by far the most popular thread on the forum. There were some heated debates, but no profanities, and no personal attacks(i.e. name calling, etc.). One day I logged in and a lot of my posts had been removed, and all the other ones left there, making me look like a moron! My posts had very legit content and were pretty humorous on top of that(Carl even admitted that in email!). After that I was pretty pissed and had some not so nice things to say to Carl via email, which I will now publicly apologize for as unlike my posts, the emails were uncalled for. So anyways, I recognized all along that this is a great idea, and despite my anger about being censored, decided to get back on here and make a positive contribution to the forum.

The best run forums that I have seen are the ones that the moderators let flow. Usually on these if a thread goes wwwwaaaayyyyy down hill they will simply close the thread to further posts. By doing this they show that they are not going to stand for hardcore personal attacks, or profanities, but show class by not censoring the thread, but simply letting it die. I won't mention the name, but this is how the most successful boating forum on the net is, and part of the reason it is like that. Also, on that same forum, the moderator does not have to worry about policing advertisements, as if it is to blatant the members police it themselves! Although I have much respect for the people who start these(such as Carl), the bottom line is that once you start getting paid sponsorship, it is the users forum. I say that because if there were no users, there would be no sponsers, and hence no forum. The bottom line is let it ride unless it is VERY OBVIOUS that you need to step in.

John, if this is the case does it not still make for interesting reading? BTW...I have not even checked out his website, but if I wanted to I would want that option. Like I said before, I do not agree with how he went about this, but I don't think it is wrong, and although I am not one of them, i'm sure there are people on here who are interested in reading his information. Is that not what forums are about....sharing information?? Would it not be great to be able to get on here, and be able to find a service that you may be interested in? Sure there are companies paying $$ to advertise on here, but they have BIG BANNERS to show for it.

Counter point

Joe,

I understand where you are coming from. However, I disagree and heartily commend Carl for introducing boundaries to what is acceptable to post.

Given the focus of this forum and the market it is targeted to, I do not see the intended audience being too keen on the typical "it's the internet so anything goes" mentality. My experience has been that moderated forums are far more productive and active than those which are free for all's with no regard to common courtesy. The only problem occurs if the moderator has no flexibilty - and I have seen nothing to indicate that here - quite the opposite.

There have been lots of posts for products and services. I see no issue with this guy putting up a post for his services either.

The issue is: "URGENT NOTICE TO ALL MARINERS! Al Quieda are reported to be training divers in missions to attach explosive mines to hulls of yachts and ships of all types. "

All that was required was - saying security services offered and the nature of those services.

I think it is great to find new services and am happy to look at those - would even be curious as to what this guy is doing. But it is really lame the way he introduced this and if I were in the market for this service would not pursue a company that markets themselves this way. Just my opinion.

I'll make this brief...

I agree with each one of your statements and I'm not being diplomatic on the issue. You've each raised valid points. Although I find myself leaning toward John B's remarks, I originally let the thread stand because it was interesting, however I am unsure how relavent it is to the average boat or yacht owner. On this, I think we can all agree.

While the subject certainly strikes a patriotic chord, I think the post attempts to "prey" on this fear. That's why I found it distasteful. Otherwise, I was intrigued by the information too.

I also viewed the thread as an opportunity for members to help shape this ship, or to have a say in the YachtForums voyage. This is your forum too. I'm simply down in the engine room trying to engage the warp drive.

Guys, I'm all about "relavent content". If you find it *relavent*, then I am *content*.

Hey John I agree with what you just said! I do think he went about it wrong, and I stated that in my earlier post. This is a yacht forum not the National Enquirer(spell?). But still, I do not think the post should be censored as it is interesting information be it legit or not.

I just saw John's follow up comments after I posted and have to say... I whole-heartedly agree with his remarks.

So, now that we're all on deck, let's see if we can address some boarding rules...

I've got my hands full trying to keep get this ship out of port. I can't do it alone. I need a good crew. In order to attract passengers, this cruise has to be FUN and INFORMATIVE. If they see a mutinous crew, they'll book another trip. Starting this summer, our passenger list is going to swell like a tsunami.

I'm doing the best I can to bring useful and entertaining information to YachtForums. If newcomers to this voyage see bickering, personal attacks, profanity or testosterone laden comments, they'll go elsewhere.

None of us wants this to happen. All we have to do is...use common sense, courtesy and decency. Essentially, if you don't have something of value to add to the discussion, stay below deck. If someone's comments are truly making yours screws cavitate, then use a little diplomacy in your response. It's a simply formula and it makes the ship sail much smoother.

I sincerely apologise to anyone who I've taken exception with. But I believe I would have contacted you directly on the subject and explained why it is so important that we steer clear of stormy seas.

I pretty much

agree with most of what Carls said, re boarding rules.

That said, consider this.

With the advent of email as well as private messages, lets say a member and I converse by both mediums at length and find we have a lot more in common than we thought.

Lets say we strike up a genuine 'unspoken understanding" with cameraderie and so on - heck we can even take the razz out of each other without getting upset - but treating it in the good natured manner in which it was intended and npo ones feelings are hurt bye it.

How is CARL who's mooderating all this (deliberate misspelling!) to know that we are just shootin th breeze for siome light entertainment.

Theres every chance the thread will get mooderated for proably wellintentioned reasons - but in the priocess take a lot of the daily rough n tumble out of the board which many enjoy.

Don't anyone tell me they dont enjoy a drink or two at their favourite club, bar or whatever after work or of a friday afternoon, - because of the skylarking with their colleagues there - with whom they feel confident and safe to let down their hair a little and just be themselves.

If it's a formal place where I have to maintain some politically correct bullshenhyzer standards with people I already know well - then i'd probably rather find somewhere else!.

So I think from practicle experience mooderating and developing the odd fishing website downunder in years past that - Carls got a tough job in front of him.

I wish him the very best of luck with it.

Cheers!

Guys,

Thank you for all of your responses. I think this thread has been beneficial to all of us, especially me! Just so you know... I'm not a judge. Not a jury. Not a cop. I'm just trying to keep all the code working and make a few decisions that have to do with the quality and content that we are presented with.

I think the majority quorum has spoken and we'll let the thread stand. I never really wanted to delete it. I could have done that when it first popped-up. I just wanted to address the same thing that seemed to irritate all of us... the Thread Title. I don't have problem with products and services being posted, or hyperlinks to the same. There are many of these already on the site and they generally don't conflict with our *current* sponsors.

The first rule on this cruise is... you must have fun! If there we're "stuffy" people onboard and you couldn't loosen your neck-tie... that wouldn't be any fun. On the other hand, if there's a bunch of rowdy characters, nobody will want to board that boat either. I think we can find balance without me being the ballast.

Everyone with me on this?

Carl

Carl
Is this the time where I should post one of my semi obnoxious pictures? lol Only kidding.
Your doing a fantastic job & I think it's great that something that was a little questionable was put up for the members to vote on!! Keep up the good work!

Troutly, all very good points! Good on ya mate! (I'll keep my "other Aussie slang off the board).
John, Bob, Joe. Qocean had a good point which I also agree on but you guys make very valid points. I actually can not take sides on this one.