It would be proposed to make SB mandatory for any new diver being certified.
emoreira:
I also consider that joining a public board like this could not be mandatory for any diver, however, during the last 2 years that I'm member of this forum I've learned a lot about many things related to the diving activity that cannot be learned from your instructor or your LDS.
When I read your first post I had the impression that this is what you were advocating - we cannot truly make it mandantory, but we can actively encourage new divers to join SB, because there is a wealth of knowledge available. And, I agree with you. I recommend SB to every class of students - OW, AOW, Rescue, etc. - as one readily available, post-course resource (and continue to be impressed that so few have even heard of it). Opinions vary, though. In our shop, there are several instructors - intelligent, thoughtful, capable divers and instructors - who are hostile to SB ('it should be banned' kind of hostile), and that surprises me. Yes, SB posts include divergent views, sometimes emotion gets in the way of logic, and wildly inaccurate posts occasionally appear. But, the value of the nuggets far exceeds the cost of the slag.
Your instructor is in contact with you only during instruction, this is a limited time. Your LDS could know a lot about the local diving place, but not much about other places.
A very interesting point, and a lesson for all of us as instructors. I work to keep in touch with students in the courses I teach, through emails, and through participating in shop activities (club meetings and cook-outs) and dive trips. Not perfect, but a means to facilitate students in following up with questions. And, we encourage staff who dive outside of our local area to share those experiences with other staff, and the shop's Scuba Club members, so that we maintain at least a basal level of knowledge about diving places beyond our local environment. Still, there are so many places that none of our staff have been, and SB can be a great resource for information on those.
emoreira:
Your instructor could know a lot about the scuba activity, but this is only his point of view.
And, sometimes we lose sight of that. What I offer students very often is opinion, based on MY experiences and values, not the ONE AND ONLY truth (except, of course, that everyone should have a BP/W). In fact, in a recent email to a former student, who had asked a question about gear, I started off by saying I would do my best to distinguish between what was fact and what was my opinion. SB has helped me over the years to become more aware of the distinction.
