Split from: Are you AFRAID to Post?

[cdolphin]

They do read this forum (or parts of it) but they have a policy not to get involved in debates on the internet. They have, however, from time to time, contacted people (instructors) behind the scenes about things said here.

R..

So they are taking the high road. The road less travelled.

 

[The Chairman]

I don't think there is really as much as you think.

I'm sorry John. I think we are going to have to agree to agree on this one.

Some people are opposed to change for ANY reason and some of them have become instructors. No, classes aren't taught in the same manner and most of us see that as a GOOD thing. Why work harder when you can learn smarter? But, they can't handle the change, so they denigrate instead. A few people encourage their actions, while a good number of us sit idly by and let them continue to spread their half truths. It's time to take back our Board.

 

[dmoore19]

It is not difficult to know who the anti PADI people are. Even with my limited time on this board. Sometimes I even get a laugh out of some of the scraps people get themselves into. It seems as though if there is even a hint of personal opinion involved a scap will ensue. It is entertaining, at least most of the time.

 

[Diver0001]

So they are taking the high road. The road less travelled.





The road with fewer lawsuits.

If you're cynical you might think that.

You could also think that it's their strength to see the truth, which is, namely, that wrestling with a pig is pointless. It only makes you dirty and the pig loves it.

I can't speak for PADI (or for NAUI, who also don't participate) but I can say if I were in their management team that I would forbid participation too. Anything they try to do about POV warriors online would be like pissing on a forest fire and they know it.

The rest of us, obviously, miss out on the opportunity to ask them legitimate questions so in a sense you can say that the POV warriors ruin it for all of us.

R..

 

[The Chairman]

Anything they try to do about POV warriors online would be like pissing on a forest fire and they know it.

That's simply not true. We have been wonderfully successful in keeping POV Warriors out of the Manufacturer's Private Forums. We can (and will) do the very same for the various agencies and have even done so.

 

[cdolphin]

To be fair... neither NAUI or PADI have chosen to participate. They have both been invited and we will see who is the first of the two to see the opportunities we have for them.

I'm glad this thread spun in this direction and ended up in the "feedback" forum, where I could have this insight. Thank you all for shining your cans on this.

Pete, as you say, this is a huge opportunity-missed for PADI (I don't know much about NAUI, so I'll limit my remarks to PADI.)

I would think a good Public Relations campaign would absolutely have someone on staff to field these types of issues. Especially considering the number of divers on ScubaBoard. They have a deep ocean of prospects on the Internet when it comes to customers, purveyors, new professionals, etc. Not to mention feedback from their customers - valuable in any business.


I was totally bewildered at the spewing of rhetoric regarding PADI when I first came here to SB. After reading a fair amount of posts now, I know the drill. You can get out of diving what you put into it and what you demand from it. I will never be a tech diver. Diving is as individual as we all are.

 

[Diver0001]

That's simply not true. We have been wonderfully successful in keeping POV Warriors out of the Manufacturer's Private Forums. We can (and will) do the very same for the various agencies and have even done so.

LOL.... well.... they'd have to take a different approach than I've tried. One thing I've learned from Scubaboard is that if someone isn't willing to listen you can't make them.

Some people will simply never change their tune no matter what you say to them. I recently participated in a thread where I tried my level best to explain to one of the usual suspects what a PADI instructor was required to do to adjust to local conditions if those conditions were not ideal. Before my intervention he was saying, "PADI instructors cannot account for local conditions" and after the concerted attempts of several people to explain that this is not true, he continued saying the same things after the facts were explained as he was saying before..... Nothing changed in his message but it did result in everyone who knew the facts giving up in frustration and quitting the thread.

Someone who is not willing to listen cannot listen. Listening is a skill that requires practice and some people's skill at listening .... to put it in diving terms .... doesn't conform to minimum standards.

Nobody can do anything about that. Not PADI, not us... nobody. These people just are what they are and all we can do is hope that people see through it.

I for one, (and I know I'm not alone), have pretty much given up trying. The thread I mentioned (I know you know the one) was a break point. It was the one where the coin fell and I realized that making the effort was wasting my time for zero gain.

R..

 

[cdolphin]

If you're cynical you might think that.

You could also think that it's their strength to see the truth, which is, namely, that wrestling with a pig is pointless. It only makes you dirty and the pig loves it.

I can't speak for PADI (or for NAUI, who also don't participate) but I can say if I were in their management team that I would forbid participation too. Anything they try to do about POV warriors online would be like pissing on a forest fire and they know it.

The rest of us, obviously, miss out on the opportunity to ask them legitimate questions so in a sense you can say that the POV warriors ruin it for all of us.

R..

dang, don't you know I have to edit eight times after I post? I chopped that part about lawsuits. It does sound cynical ooooooops. But you captured it faster than I chopped it. :chuckle:

 

[Diver0001]

Don't worry about it. I'm sure you're not the only one who had that thought.

R..

 

[The Chairman]

LOL.... well.... they'd have to take a different approach than I've tried. One thing I've learned from Scubaboard is that if someone isn't willing to listen you can't make them.

It's not up to them, but up to US. Access masks work wonders for those kind of things.