Hey Danny,
How are you doing? I’ve been on both sides of this dilema. When I started to accumlate a lot of buddies, and it felt a little out of control, I thought I would only accept buddy requests from local divers who I had a real shot of diving with. So I turned dow a couple requests. I got one "no problem" reply, and one "did I say something wrong" reply. I felt genuinely bad. Then I got kicked off a girl’s buddy list who lives in AZ (I’m in CA). No clue why. I guessed it was the distance thing. I only became her buddy because she said she was applying for a job in CA and we almost met for a mid-week dive in San Diego. Again, I felt a little bad, this time for the reverse descrimination. So I then decided to always accept a buddy request. And I am glad I have. I have made a few recent friends with people in other countries. One buddy in India is a hoot to converse with. He has a fresh perspective on the sport that is fun. We’re even buddies now on Facebook. A couple days ago I met a buddy from Germany, who I can hopefully dive with if they ever visit the US or I Germany in the future. Who knows.....
Not sure if this helps at all. But I’ll send you a buddy request, and I hope you accept. Maybe you’ll be in So.Cal some day and need a buddy.... Stay wet!
Rich