Are some signals just plain stupid?

[RJP]

How can this signal be effective if so many are practicing this habit of MOF in a non distress manner?

This distress sign has shown to be confusing and not reliable and it should be substituted by another sign/signal.

This is possibly one of the silliest posts I've read on the MOF topic... and that says a lot.

To repeat for the eleventy-thousandth time:

A mask on a diver's forehead IS NOT A SIGNAL.

The words SIGNAL and SIGN mean two different things. They are not interchangeable.

Panicked divers whose masks end up on their forehead DO NOT put them there as some specifically conscious "signal" of distress.

NO ONE teaches that panicked divers should somehow remember to place their masks on the forehead in order to alert others that they are in distress.

NO ONE says to themselves "OK, I'm in distress... what do I do first? Oh yeah... I need to put my mask on my forehead in order to signal to others that I'm in distress!"

A mask on diver's forehead IS NOT a universal or absolute sign of distress. It is neither necessary nor sufficient to make that determination.

HOWEVER...

Rejecting gear - spitting the reg, ripping the mask off, and YES even shoving it up off the face and onto the forehead - is often an unconscious, involuntary, reflexive reaction to distress. Accordingly, in conjunction with other indicators, a mask on a diver's forehead may be one possible sign of distress.

Suggesting that MOF is "flawed" and should be replaced as a sign of distress is like suggesting that someone who is choking on food in a restaurant should find a better way to communicate that fact than jumping up out of their chair and frantically clutching their throat while making ridiculous facial expressions.

 

[Coop42]

...anyone who grew up on Sea Hunt knows it looks cool...,

Thanks, that made my day.

 

[chrisch]

Thinking back on this thread, has anyone mentioned having the mask turned around, the strap on your forehead and the lenses on back of your head? That is what I do most time.

Isn't that the Internationally recognised sign for wanabee tech diver?

 

[Buoy_A]

To repeat for the eleventy-thousandth time:

Suggesting that MOF is "flawed" and should be replaced as a sign of distress is like suggesting that someone who is choking on food in a restaurant should find a better way to communicate that fact than jumping up out of their chair and frantically clutching their throat while making ridiculous facial expressions.

And the point you seem to be entirely missing is that people, during a normal course of dining, DO NOT JUMP OUT OF THEIR SEAT AND CLUTCH THEIR THROAT. However, divers have always and will always remove their mask and put it on their forehead as a natural habit. What's so hard to understand about this distinction?

 

[uncfnp]

I am going to hate myself for this but...

Lets sum it up and get over this.

The SIGNAL for distress at the surface that I have been taught and is covered during the briefing on my go to dive boat is frantically waving your arm or arms. Not calming placing finger tips together overhead (two hands) or touching head (one hand). If you surface and wave to the dive boat you will be placed on O2 and triaged for injury/DCS

A SIGN of panic, in the correct context, may be a diver rejecting gear.

Are we good?

 

[RJP]

And the point you seem to be entirely missing is that people, during a normal course of dining, DO NOT JUMP OUT OF THEIR SEAT AND CLUTCH THEIR THROAT. However, divers have always and will always remove their mask and put it on their forehead as a natural habit. What's so hard to understand about this distinction?

Don't be ridiculous, I understand that clearly. It was an analogy.

I was simply making the point that a panicked diver shoving their mask up on their forehead is an INVOLUNTARY reflexive reaction... not a signal.

It MAY be a sign of distress... and it may be nothing.

---------- Post added October 9th, 2015 at 09:59 AM ----------

Are we good?

If we were... this wouldn't come up every week or so.

 

[Buoy_A]

Don't be ridiculous, I understand that clearly. It was an analogy.

I was simply making the point that a panicked diver shoving their mask up on their forehead is an INVOLUNTARY reflexive reaction... not a signal.

It MAY be a sign of distress... and it may be nothing.

My wish is that people who see a MOH as a sign of distress should stop telling people not to do it (I understand that you don't do this.)

 

[uncfnp]

 

[packrat12]

Thinking back on this thread, has anyone mentioned having the mask turned around, the strap on your forehead and the lenses on back of your head? That is what I do most time.

The problem I have, is when I stow my mask backwards, I will almost always drop it or clobber the manifold. I also wear a loose mask so it does not stay tight that direction. I normally pull it down but that also can look like a sign of panic. Oh well.

---------- Post added October 9th, 2015 at 10:19 AM ----------

For me, a missing signal, I have not seen in any training manual is one of the most important. My wife uses it on me both above and below water regularly. It means effectively, No Way, No How, Not going to happen. It is comprised of holding the palm towards the sender, clutching the thumb and 3 fingers towards the palm while extending the middle finger. Very effective but for some reason, none of the manuals use it. Wife knows it well though...

 

[The Chairman]

The other day I walked into a restaurant and noticed a clear sign of distress: one of the patrons had their sunglasses on their forehead. Without delay, I whisked into action and performed a Heimlich Maneuver on him. Since nothing came out at first, I tossed him to the ground and jumped on his chest. Finally, he spit his food out all over the place but his sunglasses were still on his forehead indicating distress. At this point he complained about a pain in his chest, so I immediately initiated CPR to the tune of "Staying Alive". Well into the second verse, the victim, er patient, finally removed their sunglasses from their head and sat up! I actually saved his life due to my quick reaction to his sign of distress. It's amazing how emphatic my patient was that he was "OK" after he got those sunglasses off of his forehead. Wow, I really made a difference in his life and I owe it all to observing his sunglasses on his forehead. He's even going to reward me! He was very explicit about making sure his lawyer got me all that was coming to me. I'm so glad I over reacted to this.