Who is doing the judging? You’re at the quarry or on a boat with an instabuddy. They’re putting their gear together and they put their yoke reg on tank upside down. Doesn’t give you warm fuzzies.
This post reminded me of a lesson I learned long ago about this topic.
I signed up for the dive the evening before, and the owner of the shop handled the transaction. He knew me from previous experiences, and, as usual, I showed an instructor card. When I got on the boat the next day, the DM showed me a spot and asked about a buddy, because buddies were required with that operator. I didn't have one. He turned to the people next to my spot, a father and son team who were starting to set up their gear, and asked if I could join them. "I don't know," groused the father, clearly unhappy. "Does he know what he's doing?"
"I don't know," replied the DM. He turned to me. "Do you know what you're doing?"
His attitude in asking it was so very condescending, especially coupled with the father's arrogance and unfriendliness, that I was totally pissed. I simply said, "I've got a fair idea."
So it was set--we were a team. As I set up my gear, I saw the father and son were having trouble because they had done some of it wrong. I very politely stepped in to show them how to set up their gear. I then sat down and waited for the boat to leave. At that point the owner of the operation got on--he was diving as a passenger that day. Seeing me, he stopped by to chat. He asked me who I was diving with, and when I pointed to my new buddies, his eyes grew wide with horror. He hurried off to a different part of the boat, talked quietly with some people, returned, and scooted me over to my new buddy team. I had a great dive with them. At one point, we saw the father and son team, who were nearly hopeless under water.
So my lesson is that getting pissed at the DM and refusing to tell my true diving level was a serious mistake that would have cost me badly if the owner hadn't been diving that day. Since then, when I am a single diver, I make sure when registering with a new company that they have good idea of my diving experience so that they can help me find a suitable companion. I do not understand the people who intentionally hide their abilities so that the operator will believe they are rank beginners and treat them accordingly.
And the log book has nothing to do with it, since no one sees it.