Why do Dive Centers and Professionals do it to themselves?

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Until a dive shop has a reputation or branding, it's going to be difficult for its c-card to be accepted elsewhere. I think that's the gist of the desire for affiliation and why new divers choose to train under NAUI, PADI, SSI, CMAS, BSAC, SDI, etc. The affiliation brings with it an understanding of some standards are met for both the dive shop and the diver. If a dive shop comes across a c-card from "Master Divers", what would they know of them?
 
If you Google Learn to Scuba dive or Learn to dive, the result will vary greatly based on the location google thinks you at.
Unless someone has paid to be on top. In addition, any search will be affected by the Google Bias. No, it's not what Google wants you to see (other than paid positioning) but rather what Google thinks you want to see. Visiting a site will bias subsequent searches to see that site. Unscrupulous SEO marketers use this to hoodwink the unsuspecting. People who visit their own site think their site is doing far better than it is, because it comes up all the time when they search one or more of their key words. There is no perfect ranking system out there, but most any of them will give you a good idea of how you're site is doing.
 
The wisest among us don't use google for much of anything if they value their privacy in the least.

There is value in having the agencies set standards for training and produce repeatable results that can be relied upon and insured. It is about the right amount of organization and without it you would have the .gov sticking their noses into diving which wouldn't be good for anyone.

Conversely you would have "Joe's Dive shop" card which they could sell for $25 with no training. This would not lead to positive results.
 
The wisest among us don't use google for much of anything if they value their privacy in the least.
Not the wisest, but the most paranoid. Google is not in control of my privacy and I use it all the time. There are so many common sense things people can do to protect their ID and their privacy that are independent of what search engine they decide to use. Here are half a dozen easy to do steps to help lock down your computer and your privacy.
  • Never, ever allow your user to have admin privileges!
    • Create an admin user first (just don't name it admin or administrator)
    • Sign in as a different user with only "normal" privileges
    • Sign in as the admin when installing software, but sign right out after you're done
  • Install "No Script" on your browser
    • ESPECIALLY CHROME!!!
    • Be prepared to be frustrated at first
    • Approve only the scripts that you really need to allow a website to work
    • Be prepared to say "no" to some sites.
  • Make sure your Firewall is "on" and don't let your PC be discoverable
  • Update all software at least weekly
  • Use Yubico/Last Pass for all sign ons
  • Use a proxy server


    • After all is said and done though, the biggest threat to privacy and security is the nut loose on the keyboard. Facebook is the most dangerous information leak out there and it's because people share too dang much. ScubaBoard has not and will not share or sell any information on our users. Hell, we've been sued for that information and fought the suit rather than give up any data. If you have accidentally put out info like a phone number, simply report the post and helpful mods will sanitize it.
 
Not the wisest, but the most paranoid. Google is not in control of my privacy and I use it all the time. There are so many common sense things people can do to protect their ID and their privacy that are independent of what search engine they decide to use. Here are half a dozen easy to do steps to help lock down your computer and your privacy.
  • Never, ever allow your user to have admin privileges!
    • Create an admin user first (just don't name it admin or administrator)
    • Sign in as a different user with only "normal" privileges
    • Sign in as the admin when installing software, but sign right out after you're done
  • Install "No Script" on your browser
    • ESPECIALLY CHROME!!!
    • Be prepared to be frustrated at first
    • Approve only the scripts that you really need to allow a website to work
    • Be prepared to say "no" to some sites.
  • Make sure your Firewall is "on" and don't let your PC be discoverable
  • Update all software at least weekly
  • Use Yubico/Last Pass for all sign ons
  • Use a proxy server


    • After all is said and done though, the biggest threat to privacy and security is the nut loose on the keyboard. Facebook is the most dangerous information leak out there and it's because people share too dang much. ScubaBoard has not and will not share or sell any information on our users. Hell, we've been sued for that information and fought the suit rather than give up any data. If you have accidentally put out info like a phone number, simply report the post and helpful mods will sanitize it.

I agree with nearly everything you wrote, but you give google too much credit for having principles. There are other examples beyond what I looked quickly for below. The bottom line is that if you aren't paying for the service, you are the service.

Google Chrome has become surveillance software. It’s time to switch.
 
I agree with nearly everything you wrote, but you give google too much credit for having principles. There are other examples beyond what I looked quickly for below. The bottom line is that if you aren't paying for the service, you are the service.

Google Chrome has become surveillance software. It’s time to switch.
I had trouble with some site last month. They told me that Chrome was the browser for which they had optimized and I needed to use Chrome. Told them I don't use Chrome and that they needed to slap their webmaster.

Now that I think about it, it might have been SSI.
 
Interesting perspectives. For whatever little it's worth, for me it was just last summer that I got it into my head that I was finally going to do this thing I'd kind of idly fantasized about for a while, and at the time the only certification I'd heard of was PADI. I think my initial internet search might even have been for something like "PADI certification Los Angeles" as opposed to "learn to scuba dive." The first I heard of any other agency was in my OW course; one of my instructors was originally NAUI certified. They have become, for many people around here who know little about diving, pretty much synonymous with the sport.

I've had some mixed feelings about the OW course I took; I kind of wish it had been more thorough, but I also recognize I wasn't as committed to the idea then. If I'd had a choice between the 2-weekend PADI course and, say, an intensive monthlong program, I probably would've picked PADI. If the monthlong program had been my only option, I might not have bothered at all. Now, though, I've taken multiple courses and I want more; I'm hoping to do LA County's intensive 2-month advanced diver program next summer. PADI made diving seem fun, low-key, and approachable, and it can be, if you're just following a DM around a tropical reef. But it wasn't long before I wanted more than that. So I can see the value in the low entry bar, and I don't really regret starting where I did. But there's so much more out there that other agencies seem like they might be better for, and I'm grateful to this board for educating me about them.
 
Interesting perspectives. For whatever little it's worth, for me it was just last summer that I got it into my head that I was finally going to do this thing I'd kind of idly fantasized about for a while, and at the time the only certification I'd heard of was PADI. I think my initial internet search might even have been for something like "PADI certification Los Angeles" as opposed to "learn to scuba dive." The first I heard of any other agency was in my OW course; one of my instructors was originally NAUI certified. They have become, for many people around here who know little about diving, pretty much synonymous with the sport.

I've had some mixed feelings about the OW course I took; I kind of wish it had been more thorough, but I also recognize I wasn't as committed to the idea then. If I'd had a choice between the 2-weekend PADI course and, say, an intensive monthlong program, I probably would've picked PADI. If the monthlong program had been my only option, I might not have bothered at all. Now, though, I've taken multiple courses and I want more; I'm hoping to do LA County's intensive 2-month advanced diver program next summer. PADI made diving seem fun, low-key, and approachable, and it can be, if you're just following a DM around a tropical reef. But it wasn't long before I wanted more than that. So I can see the value in the low entry bar, and I don't really regret starting where I did. But there's so much more out there that other agencies seem like they might be better for, and I'm grateful to this board for educating me about them.
And they provide a valuable service, as in, they get you diving with a low entry bar. And nothing wrong with that, some folks are happy to follow the DM, as some folks are happy to fly with their CFI and tandem jump.

And now that you are a bit more aware, you can choose a more intensive path.

I caution you against buying a liveaboard. Not that you’ll listen. I sure didn’t.
 

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