Why the Prejudice about DIR or GUE

[dsteding]

If I understand the DIR setup right, your primary is on the long hose, back up on a short hose, so you really have the option to donate whichever one best fits the situation. Right?

No the backup is on a necklace so that it is below your chin and easily located in an emergency. So, you donate your primary, and it is for reasons well explained by Lamont and others.

 

[TheRedHead]

I bought some that say "Voodoo Gas" and I like those.

 

[H2Andy]

i'm prejudiced against stupid people

does that make me a bigot?

(if someone is dumber than me, they are an idiot. if they are smarter than me, they are arrogant eggheads with no common sense)

 

[lamont]

If I understand the DIR setup right, your primary is on the long hose, back up on a short hose, so you really have the option to donate whichever one best fits the situation. Right?

No, the necklace isn't donatable. You always donate what is in your mouth. You never go to the necklace unless in an OOA situation in which case the necklace goes in your mouth. We're starting to practice with slung deco bottles now and last weekend my buddy flashed me with an OOA while I was on the bottle for the first time, and it was really kind of impressive how I didn't need to think about anything to get him gas. The reg in my mouth goes to him and I go on the necklace reg and it just works without thinking about it -- although it was kind of annoying only having only the short hose off the bottle to his mouth.

 

[Soggy]

So, what causes the bashing? Attitude. Or more specifically, the attitude projected by an apparently small minority of their members.

Aside from Scubaboard (a place to discuss and make diving safer), where have you experienced this attitude that you seem to know so much about?

There are only a handful of DIR/DIRish divers in the Massachusetts area, and I've dived with many of them and not many are pushy about it. While many of us are vocal about our beliefs on a forum designed specifically for learning about the best practices of diving, I think you will find that most DIR divers, especially in person, are not confrontational at all and only want to help. I dive a lot in Massachusetts and I don't think you'll find that anyone that knows me thinks I am pushy about my beliefs and unless you ask me, I'm not going to try to explain why I think the DIR approach is better.

In DIR, fun is the number one goal. Safe diving is fun diving. Safety stems from a team oriented approch with standardized skills, gear, and procedures. Get over the name (do you own any Dive Rite gear? All other gear must be wrong!), and look at the system for what it is, not for the minority of zealots who use words like "stroke".

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

But the point was (again, this was a whine and cheese forum post on *my* idea of an *ideal* OW course) that I hate the stupid bumper sticker standard, and would rather that the entire world revolve around me so that tanks had MOD markings and contents stickers only and everyone in the world analyzed their gas before diving and that all tanks were assumed to contain voodoo gas until otherwise proven to contain air. In an ideal world (according to me), this is the way it would work. And, when given the chance, I will continue to *whine* about this.... I hate the bumper stickers...

Me too ... in fact, there are two local dive shops that I no longer visit because they won't fill my cylinders without them. A pity ... I otherwise liked both of those shops.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[TheRedHead]

i'm prejudiced against stupid people

does that make me a bigot?

It depends on who you associate with:

bigot n.
One who is strongly partial to one's own group, religion, race, or politics and is intolerant of those who differ.

If all your friends are stupid, then I suppose not.

 

[dbulmer]

Jerald,
You'd donate the long hose - the backup is around your neck. The donor focusses on the OOA diver, passes the long hose to the OOA diver and then the donor places the backup hanging around the neck (around the donor's neck) into the mouth. Some people have their backup rigged in such a way that they can simply lower their head to the reg and then breathe.

Some people have their backups secure but loose enough that if the backup is grabbed that it can be used but for DIR folks this would indicate an almost desperate situation as standard procedure is to communicate constantly with your buddy and indicate how much breathing gas you have (I'm shortening this somewhat to keep my answer brief) and signal where/when appropriate.

 

[jeraldjcook]

No the backup is on a necklace so that it is below your chin and easily located in an emergency. So, you donate your primary, and it is for reasons well explained by Lamont and others.

Sorry if that came across wrong. I realize you donate your primary but the argument by non-DIR people that it could allow the OOA person to get out of arms reach could be counter by saying you could donate your back up if the situation warranted. Going back to the more options explanation.

 

[H2Andy]

If all your friends are stupid, then I suppose not.

all my friends ARE idiots!

oh no!!!

(ah.. i don't mean nobody on here, like ... i mean my OTHER friends that i interact with on a daily basis on the internet)