Chronic objectors ... we see it on ScubaBoard regularly. These are the folks who have been trained to dive a certain way, and are convinced that any other way is inherently unsafe, stupid, or someone's just doing it for the "cool factor".
Who really gives a crap? And why should the chronic objector care how someone else is enjoying themselves? I don't care if you're wearing split fins, jacket BCD, long hose, short hose, backplate, sidemount, spare air, pink snorkel, or any other piece of gear ... if it makes you feel safer, more confident, or more joyful underwater it's the right equipment for you.
I recently learned how to sidemount ... and thinking that my local folks might be interested in my efforts to adapt sidemount to local, cold water OW diving, started a thread on my local forum. And straight from the "there's one in every crowd" department, one guy kept couching objections to sidemount diving in the form of "questions" ... so he could hide behind an "I just want to find out more" facade to denigrate what I'm doing. Further, his snarky choice of terms and phrases made it quite clear that he considered his way superior.
Really ... seriously ... to the folks who just have to do this ... whether you're tech divers, 50-dive "experts", dive shop owners who need to promote the gear you sell, old pharts who long for a return to the '70's, or just some newb who can't imagine any other way ... focus on what you're doing, and don't worry about what I'm doing. I'll happily answer questions ... if they're phrased in a way that gives me the impression you're really interested. But I am NOT interested in your objections ... and this is ESPECIALLY true if you haven't even tried the thing that you're objecting to.
I don't need to justify my decisions to you ... PARTICULARLY if you have less experience at it than I do.
... Bob (Grateful Diver)