An Attempt at Understanding DIR

[nadwidny]

It seems to me that if an oganization is changing rapidly and the printed material is both outdated, yet seemingly vital to the process of educating people,

The book is not vital.

I ask for my own use, because I try to casually learn about the portions of DIR that are relevant to my diving.

Yes we know. And we can see how well that is working.

I have one more question, I watched for years on the Tech Diver list (Aquanaut or something) the arguments and rantings of certain proponents, and based soley on my internet lurking, it appears to me that the organization has grown much slower than, what many (or most) people witihin the organization had expected. Is that true, or has the growth rate been "fast"?

Since growth for its' own sake has never been on the GUE agenda there has never been any concern about how fast or slow GUE grows.

 

[nadwidny]

If you are harping on training material though, take a look at anything TDI puts out.

Or IANTD. Never, ever hire your spouse to be the editor of your training materials.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

The book is not vital.



Yes we know. And we can see how well that is working.



Since growth for its' own sake has never been on the GUE agenda there has never been any concern about how fast or slow GUE grows.

Crap, I just asked a few questions... I never said DIR would or should or will be large....I also wonder if other training agencies used their expanding technical training programs to attract potential DIR srudents.... Just wonder what the general consensus of the growth rate has been?

 

[dumpsterDiver]

What a riot.

First of all, GUE *does* post electronic updates of their supplements and procedural manuals, not to mention their standards and procedures. It's all on the GUE website.

Second, you seriously expect a re-printing of a book that's probably sold <1000 copies because 1% of it is out of date? All of which would be addressed anyway in an actual class?

Third, yeah, trying to learn all of this stuff on the internet for free can be a bitch. Sucks for you.

You should be a marketing director, I swear you have talent.

I do try to learn for free, sorry.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

It seems to me that if an oganization is changing rapidly and the printed material is both outdated, yet seemingly vital to the process of educating people, that there should be some way to ensure that the "published material", regardless of wether it is printed or of an ELECTRONIC format, be kept reasonably up to date. Are there other more recent publications that are available to the public?

I ask for my own use, because I try to casually learn about the portions of DIR that are relevant to my diving.


I have one more question, I watched for years on the Tech Diver list (Aquanaut or something) the arguments and rantings of certain proponents, and based soley on my internet lurking, it appears to me that the organization has grown much slower than, what many (or most) people witihin the organization had expected. Is that true, or has the growth rate been "fast"?

I found "Dress for Success" by Dan McKay to be a lot more relevent and helpful ... if you can ignore the numerous, but minor, editorial errors.

Both of these are very low-volume publications. I wouldn't expect to see newer editions anytime soon. On the other hand, a reasonably intelligent person can glean lots of good information from them anyway.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

If you are harping on training material though, take a look at anything TDI puts out.

Tom

Hmmm ... I dunno. When I took my original TDI nitrox course, the book I got was rather poorly put together ... but I liked the informal writing style, and it did contain the necessary info.

On the other hand, when I took Advanced Nitrox/Deco, we used TDI materials because my NAUI instructor felt they were more complete than what NAUI Tech was producing. And frankly, I thought so too ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Or IANTD. Never, ever hire your spouse to be the editor of your training materials.

I will give IANTD this much credit ... when I was researching material for a Deep Diver specialty, I found thei IANTD Deep Diver manual (by Gary Taylor) to contain more relevent info than any of the major agencies were offering. The gas management section was a bit convoluted ... but I already had my own gas management material anyway.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I do try to learn for free, sorry.

Internet learning typically employs the "blind squirrel" methodology ...

... Bob (GratefuL Diver)

 

[lamont]

It seems to me that if an oganization is changing rapidly and the printed material is both outdated, yet seemingly vital to the process of educating people, that there should be some way to ensure that the "published material", regardless of wether it is printed or of an ELECTRONIC format, be kept reasonably up to date. Are there other more recent publications that are available to the public?

I ask for my own use, because I try to casually learn about the portions of DIR that are relevant to my diving.

They're focusing on the course material in the classes (which people actually pay for) as opposed to people who announce that they're freeloaders and then demand up-to-date information.

 

[AndyNZ]

There is not a local GUE instructor, and as I've mentioned, I've met the local DIR contingent, and they are the biggest horses rear-ends you can imagine. I didn't find them open minded, nice or any other positive adjective. Which is one of the reasons I'm posting here.

I appreciate the difficulty - when I did my Fundies class, we had to fly the instructor in from another country.

There are probably still less than 35 GUE trained divers in the whole of New Zealand.... but try emailing any instructor on the GUE list, drop them an email and see what responses you get.