I can converse with anyone and everyone without being their buddy. I’ve had wonderful conversations with people from this site. Most of those people are not on my buddy list.
On the flip side - You aren’t getting on my buddy list without so much as an email to say hello first. Too many people on this site drop a buddy list request without so much as an email before or after. I don’t want faces, I want real buddies.
Those who know me know that there is nothing about distance in my selection process. Unlike most of you I’m actually homeless. I travel all year long. I work 13 weeks a year in Maryland doing financial consulting. I usually spend 2-4 months a year in the Keys. Last year I spent 3 months on the boat through the Pacific. I don’t care where in the world you are. I have dive gear and will travel. I try to spend 13-26 weeks a year traveling. You live in Kiribati? Been there - which island? You want to dive Electric Beach? I’ll stay near the pipe because the water is warmer. There’s a Spanish Navy submarine at 200FSW off the coast of Spain in the Med? Yeah, don’t forget how cold that water is there. While you’re at it, look up the military history of Spain in the sub era and figure out who sunk it. Who wants to go to Fiji? You know the on DB Member who emailed me back and forth 5 times? Not on my buddy list. If she can make it to Fiji then she’ll make it to my buddy list. If not then maybe we’ll make a dive somewhere else in the world. A dive is a dive when it comes to making my buddy list.