For me, it would have been great to find Scubaboard before I started OW. As it is, I found SB in between my classroom and OW dives because I did my dives as referral. I ended up buying gear before my dives, primarily based on research I did here on SB.
I don't think it should be mandatory reading, though. I am an information sponge, I like having dynamic discussions that weigh the nuances of a particular topic. Some people really don't filter those nuances as well though and get bogged down in the details without really getting anything out of it. Those people should probably never read Scubaboard.
As with any learning endeavor, there is no one magic bullet. Different people learn in different ways. I think letting OW students know about SB is a great thing for any instructor to do. It invites discussion (even if it's a sidebar) that probably wouldn't otherwise come up in the regimented curriculum that an OW course absolutely should be.
I don't think it should be mandatory reading, though. I am an information sponge, I like having dynamic discussions that weigh the nuances of a particular topic. Some people really don't filter those nuances as well though and get bogged down in the details without really getting anything out of it. Those people should probably never read Scubaboard.
As with any learning endeavor, there is no one magic bullet. Different people learn in different ways. I think letting OW students know about SB is a great thing for any instructor to do. It invites discussion (even if it's a sidebar) that probably wouldn't otherwise come up in the regimented curriculum that an OW course absolutely should be.