Foreword

"Well, this is it - the new UKRS web site. We've finally got a "home" in our new ukrecscuba.org.uk domain name so update your bookmarks now - if you reached here via one of the old referring pages then I ask people to spread the word about our new domain and tell the appropriate webmasters to update their links.

What is on here now is very much the start, I've got loads of ideas for our new site, other ideas are more than welcome. I would like to expand the Diver Training, the Trip Reports, add a Diving In the UK section... and a few more. But above all I need content. If you have an article you want to share then send it, if your club/personal site has appropriate content then I would like to link directly to it under the appropriate section.

This is a site for YOU, by YOU. It is a hobby site with no commercial axe to grind and no advertising. Lets try and make it an information resource for all UK divers." - Keith Lawrence 1999 (Group Founder)

What, where and who is UKRS?

What is it? : UKRS is the nickname we give to the uk.rec.scuba Usenet Newsgroup. A Newsgroup is a group of ordinary Internet users having a public discussion about anything they want to, this discussion is held by sending a simple text message (very much like an email) to a public area where anybody can read it and respond if they want to. uk.rec.scuba was created on 30th June 1997, since then it has received thousands of messages from hundreds (at least) of divers, on any one day up to 50 new messages can be posted. We are a friendly and active group of UK divers, uk.rec.scuba - or UKRS as it is known - is one of the premier Internet forums for UK diving.

Where is it? : Our discussions are held on computers called News Servers all over the world. Most Internet Service Providers (ISP's) have a News Server for their customers to use, it's just a matter of setting up your computer to use it. We are available via the WWW (see the Google link below) if you just want to have a look, but the best way of joining in is by using a News Reader program.

Who is UKRS? : We are just a group of friends who share a common interest in diving. We're a very friendly bunch and anybody who shares our interest in diving is very welcome to join in.

How do I Join?

You don't have to 'join' as such, it's just a matter of setting up your computer, reading what we're chatting about and joining in the discussions if you feel like it. If you're a seasoned Usenet user then just find our group on your News Server, if your totally new to Usenet then have a look at some of the links below.

Whether your a seasoned veteran or somebody brand new to the Internet we do ask you to read our Charter (the 'rules' of the Newsgroup) before sending (posting) any messages, we normally only get upset if people ignore those rules.

Who owns UKRS?

Nobody 'owns' a Newsgroup, it is set up for the benefit of all and the only 'owners' as such are the people who use it - they will soon let you know if they don't like the way you are using the Newsgroup.

Newsgroups have to be formally proposed before they are set up, Keith Lawrence was responsible for that, but he does not own the newsgroup. The only thing Keith does own is the ukrecscuba.org.uk domain name which is registered via his company. He has no commercial interest at all in uk.rec.scuba, and it was set up for the benefit of all UK divers, it is a non commercial service that anybody is welcome to join. The bandwidth and site hosting has been donated by Gordon Henderson of SCUBA-UK fame.

Since the site grew beyond the size where it could be maintained by one person its been run by the UKRS web team, they don't own the newsgroup either. More information about the web team can be found below

This Web Site...

As you will see from browsing this site, there are contributions from many people. If you have any articles, comments, trip reports or such that you would be willing to share then please send them to the webmasters. We are always looking for new content and ideas and any contribution would be more than welcome.