DIR Quest

Who are subscribers and do you think its worth it? Is it just how to be DIR, or does it cover other aspects of diving?

I have found alot of good info in the archives. The discussions are pretty much straight forward and pertain to the DIR style of diving and all that encompasses. I would say there are not alot of things on there that you would call entertainment;( i.e. "Hottest Quest list member"). However, I do find some of the discussions to have entertainment value.

cadet diver once bubbled...
Who are subscribers and do you think its worth it? Is it just how to be DIR, or does it cover other aspects of diving?

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I lurked for while. and read through a lot of the techdiver archives, which you can view here if you're interested.

Some of it is informatoin that only applies to technical divers. Some of it is interesting stuff that you might not hear elsewhere
Some of it is the usual macho blah blah that you get in a performance sport. The DIR hardcore (extreme cavers) are actually pretty competitive and you'd be amazed the amount of time and effort that goes into describing just how low their male member swings. The bickering and posturing drives you crazy and the worst of the whole lot is the Grand Poo-Bah himself.
And some of it is the usual arrogant moaning about how terrible everyone else is.

If you're planning on swallowing the entire DIR pill then you might get something out of it because you can ask "how do I do this" and someone will tell you. But if you ask "why is it done like this and not like that" a lot of people will probably jump on you for asking stupid questions and if you're foolish enough to have your own opinion they'll tear you apart. It's definitely not a discussion forum in the sense that there is any room for debate. You listen while the grown-ups tell you how it is....and don't get it in your head to take part in the discussions until you've "earned" your stripes, which, it would appear, comes only at extreme risk to life and limb.

Needless to say I've had it with all the overblown personalities, the arrogance the cynicism the arrogance the ridiculous claims about how dangerous everything non-DIR is, the arrogance, the extreme perfectionism, the negative vibe and... oh yeah... the arrogance. Personally, I am *way* too relaxed about diving to get into that mindset. To me diving is and always will be a nice relaxing hobby. I'm happy being a stroke I'm happy puddlestomping and I hope for the life of me that I never become more worried about how I look while diving than how I feel.

That's not to shoot down DIR or GUE. In fact DIR has some very strong starting points (none of which have anything to do with equipment if you ask me--the equipment choice is the end of the logic chain, not the beginning) and GUE is a well respected organisation that arguably produces some the worlds most skilful divers. It's just that the real DIR message got lost on a lot of people who didn't quite get it (seems to me) and it's mutated, especially on the internet, into something grotesque that is to be avoided.

Man!, who am I to talk about cynical......

Anyway, that's the world according to Rob. But don't stop here. Please seek the opinions of others who are more positive about it so you can form a balanced opinion.

R..

how do you really feel??? Don't go holding any punches!!! :tease:

It was once said (on this board and not by me), that the DIR advocates were the worst single aspect of their movement. I can feel the love man, I can feel the love!!!

Are you asking about the list or the magazine?

Roak

Either

Techdiver used to be. Now Techdiver is about dead and it seems the good, the bad and the ugly moved to the Quest list. A lot of good info is put out on the list, mostly by George. In order to get the info it is necessary to sift through numerous posts that have no social redeeming value. That being said, you won't find the info anywhere else as these folks are cutting edge.

The magazine is written quite well and has some excellent articles in it and well worth the $30 yearly for the electronic version. I personally find that the paper version is vastly overpriced at $100 a year. I had it for 2 years when you could get it for $50.

Dave D