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BT - 8/01/2013 3:02 AM 
I posted on Monday, looking for a dive buddy for Central Ohio for this Saturday and came up with one post who would like to go, but there was a fundraising dive in the northern part of the state. Needless to say, I cut my losses on a local dive and decided to travel up to the event with my dive shop. I like to operate with private messages and email as well. I do like to read all the "buddies wanted" posts, even if they are out of my area, so I suppose I inadvertently add to the views.
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Greg - 8/01/2013 5:00 AM
I can tell you from website stats that most people will look at the buddy wanted forum topic, then send a response via private message.
Also, the topics with good titles are viewed more. Don’t just put "Buddy wanted" as the title. That is the category name, we know you want a buddy. Instead, use a title like "Novice diver in Dallas TX looking to dive weekends from Mar - Aug". That title includes a little about you, your location (including state), and when you’re available to dive.
And if you’re just looking to meet new dive buddies in general, sometime a forum topic is NOT the best outlet. Use the Member Search page instead, find divers near you that are like you and visit their profile to send a buddy request or message.
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Greg - 8/01/2013 5:18 AM
And views vs responses is not a good indication of people that want buddies. A lot of the time the title is so generic that other divers aren’t sure of the who, what, where or when. So they click to find out more, only to realize the diver looking for a buddy lives far away. So views will always be much higher than responses.
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Ditto what others said for the most part - I may respond to general "buddy wanted" messages that are more of a group thing in the forum but for the most part take the conversation to private messages or e-mail.
I can personally say I have dove with 4-5 people from dive buddy in the past year at a couple of different dive sites and have had excellent experiences every time.
Also, during the busier portion of the dive season, when many of us already have a booked dive schedule it is easier to ask further in advance. If you post on Wednesday asking for a dive buddy that weekend it may be tough for people to make it. Asking for 2-4 weeks out gives people more flexibility to work their dive schedule to meet you.
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P.S. If someone has their profile private, so I can’t view it, when they are asking for a buddy I can assure you I’m not interested in diving with that person. Why would I want to dive with you when you’re not willing to tell me anything about yourself ahead of time?
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"A lot of the time the title is so generic" A buddy request or equipment for sale needs the location in the title, Bay Area doesn’t cut it. I couldn’t figure out why someone would want to dive in Barnegat Bay until I went to the posters profile to see what bay he lived near.
As to " Just wondering does any body want a dive buddy?" , I’m taking pictures so I’m not a good buddy for a novice and on limited viz dives keeping track of a buddy is more trouble than it’s worth, on one NJ inlet dive my so called buddy got tangled in my float line so now I don’t look for buddies on NJ shore dives. If you are looking to do a NJ shore dive I’ll give you the plan and where to go but don’t expect any hand holding.
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I responded to four and placed my own in the last few weeks and got zero response from anyone. Not a problem for me as I dive alone whenever there is no one else available.
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I try to respond to local divers. I think it’s just timing. In the northeast it’s quarries or the Jersey Shore. Planning here is a little more problematic then say, southern Florida, where you can fall out of bed and dive.
If anyone wants to dive with a couple of old guys at Dutch Springs you’re welcome with us. The Jersey diving is hit and miss, and usually depends on prevailing conditions, fur us anyway.
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From LatitudeAdjustment: If you are looking to do a NJ shore dive I’ll give you the plan and where to go but don’t expect any hand holding.
And I was so looking to be holding hands with you.
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Sadly most "divers" don’t actually dive.
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Greg - 8/02/2013 7:40 PM
Then we should strip the title away from them and kick them off DiveBuddy :) All the ones I’ve met love to dive. Divers are a social bunch, so we probably do more talking than diving. But as long as diving is involved, I’m good.
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I have found many people on here looking for buddies & continue to find new ones. This is a great web site & you get out of it what you put into it. Try doing a search for divers near you contact them & soon you will have a long list of people to dive with it does work!!!!!! Good Luck & Safe Diving
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