A somewhat sad conversation last night

[TSandM]

Our little group of GUE divers has a standing set of dives on Wednesday night. A bunch of us get together, and anybody who wants to join us is invited to do so. We get a fair number of newer divers, who enjoy the opportunity to go out with some experienced and solid folks. One of our recent companions is a young man who moved to Seattle rather recently. He is, as we all understand and empathize with, dive-mad, and has been getting out about every other day to dive somewhere, with someone.

He went to dinner with us last night. And he told me, over dinner, that before he moved to Seattle, he'd had a very negative impression of DIR divers -- which he said he had largely gotten off SCUBABOARD. He also said that, of all the people he's dived with since he's moved up here, our group is the nicest one . . . and the MOST FUN to dive with.

I thought it was incredibly sad that he had gotten such a bad impression of DIR people from this board. And I wanted to offer his impression, now that he's MET us, so that other newer divers who have gotten the same impression might know that at least one person has concluded he was wrong.

[Scott L]

A negative impression is quite a broad stroke. Perhaps, he meant intimidated which is probably common considering the wide gulf in knowledge between DIR trained divers and beginners. Just my 2 psi worth.

[g1138]

Since joining SB, I think the DIR divers have gotten better at being more welcoming and explaining their reasoning better. At least portraying it as an opinion to diving rather than a must.

[Doc]

It's sad that people take what they read (anywhere) as gospel.

For most, it's easier and better to meet in person rather than to try to analyze electronic digitized attempts at expression.

But, allow me to advocate the devil's argument: Once you drink it, you can no longer taste it.

Be sure to steer your friend away from rec.scuba usenet group.

That will make him sad all over again.

[TSandM]

No, he was very clear. He thought we were all jerks and dive Nazis. He was very pleasantly surprised.

[Doc]

We warm-water-pretty-fish types (having sat through a Psych 101 class) might call that "projection" or "self loathing".

(I still have my DSM-IV but my wife uses it as a booster seat in her Porshe)

[kathydee]

Honestly, I was terrified of GUE divers/instructors from impressions gained on scubaboard. GUE seemed some exclusive clique that I could never measure up to, and the training very far out of my league.

I watched GUE videos and certainly wanted the skill and control in the water. Finally, curiosity conquered apprehension. I pushed through all the prejudice of the board and found myself in Fundies and then beyond.

It took many kind, knowledgeable and helpful GUE members and instructors to erase the early negative impressions from Scubaboard.

Sure, people are people and there are a few jerks everywhere - but 95% of the hundreds of DIR members I've met have been incredibly helpful and friendly!

[Crush]

Here is a copy of what I previously posted on Why are we so mean?

[For those who are not used to my style of commenting I have chosen to highlight my ironic comments in red. ]

Initially, based upon what I read on SB, I concluded that most DIR divers were arrogant and egotistical - in a word, assholes. Now, having met a few, I am surprised that I have only happened upon the minority of DIR divers who are very nice. BTW, the posts that most put me off DIR were rants from what appear to me to be the old guard.

[Crewfish13]

I'll pitch in as well. I understand that most DIR and tech divers on the board are simply trying to be helpful, but can definitely come off as know-it-alls or jerks. I've seen plenty of threads started with "I'm looking for a BCD. I'm thinking about xxx and yyy. What are the pros and cons?" and quickly turn into "Get a BP/W. You'll thank me later", which usually isn't helpful, regardless of the poster's intentions. After all, most of us buying our first set of gear certified in jackets, and that's what we're comfortable in. And to newbs, being comfortable in our gear is extremely important so we can focus on our skills. Same can be said for other pieces of equipment.

Granted, DIR divers tend to have a great deal of experience and there's a lot use newbs can learn from them, but sometimes the conversation feels like trying to explain what we're looking for in a minivan, and the response is "Just save up for a Ferrari."

Maybe someday I'll join the ranks of DIR, but these days DIR sometimes feels like an elitist attitude (even when it's not), and in the meantime, I'm happy just being a

[TSandM]

Crewfish, thank you for your comment, because I think it does a great job of illustrating what happens here.

It is not "DIR" or "GUE" to recommend a backplate, although some of the people who do may dive that way. But there are a TON of people here who use and advocate backplates who have nothing to do with DIR diving. But somehow, we get tarred with that brush.

And to address another misconception -- DIR, or GUE diving, isn't elitist! ANYONE is welcome to become a GUE diver, if they want to be. And if I could manage it, virtually anybody can