Suggestion FAQ's Project all are invited to participate

[Ber Rabbit]

This thread is for suggesting revisions of information for the proposed sticky threads (mentioned here) as well as submitting links to posts that you feel should be included. This is a "working" thread so chatter (mine included ) will be removed. Please feel free to edit anything you see in this thread. Feel free to PM me with any questions!

Thank you for your cooperation!
Ber :lilbunny:

The recent addition of yet MORE subforms seems to be incredibly unnecessary.
A few of these forums have very minimal posts, or none at all. Do we really need that many subforms for photography? Or an entire forum to "going pro" ? I don't recall seening a need for such a thing. There could easily be a "random" or "general discussion" board about ANYTHING that could encompass all questions not easily catagorized, if they didn't already fit into basic discussion.

There are also barely any stickies. The same questions are literally asked every day, and to the credit of this forum, are answered almost without fail. Wouldn't it make more sense to have a simple FAQ with answers to such threads as paddle v split, backplate v vest, etc. You don't have to be afraid of having some stickies, they do serve the purpose of protecting internet sanity.

 

[SkullDeformity]

I would really like to answer pro and con questions as well as give basic information. It appears to me that people are usually trying to make decisions about going one way or another and are looking for opinions. Perhaps it could be presented in a better way than what I have done.

 

[SkullDeformity]

After reading through some more pony bottle threads, I don't think I did a very good job on answering anything. Technical divers? If you please?

Under BCD FAQs I would also like to tackle different sizes of lift wings. I know there are some intricacies to this, which I do not understand.

 

[lucybuykx]

The same questions are literally asked every day

I am after one sticky, high level that explains all the acronyms used. Whats LDS, BP/W, SS? Some of these I have figured out after seeing mutiple contexts, others like BP/W have had to be explained, I would never have got it otherwise.

Personally I hate acronyms. They are lazy and cliquey because they exclude those who are not in the know. But hate is one of those two edged emotions - I can only hate that which I also see in myself. I use them only too often and dont think twice about it.

So to help everyone out, new and too shy to admit it types, and those who just cant help writing them, an acronym explainer sticky?

 

[DandyDon]

S.C.U.B.A. is an acronym.

We used to have a list of acronyms, but as long as it was - it was impossible to keep current. And there is the 4-letter minimum of V-boards that confuses people who don't know to use *DIR*

Here is one, but it doesn't have LDS: http://www.euc.ca/Documents/Articles/Scuba ACRONYMS.pdf Indeed, there may be some there none of us have ever heard of - these are like slang, always changing.

So is Google. I use that to search Scuba + the word I need defined.

 

[El Orans]

So to help everyone out, new and too shy to admit it types, and those who just cant help writing them, an acronym explainer sticky?

How about this one: http://www.scubaboard.com/cms/article8.html

 

[SkullDeformity]

Okay, now put that in a place that is easily acessible (say, a sticky that will show up on forum searchs?). That entire article system is hidden and unknown. The acronym article is outdated too.

 

[SkullDeformity]

I would also like to put together a FAQ for proper weighting, "nose problems" and equalization.

 

[scubafool]

You should also know your SAC rate in cubic feet to figure out what size pony you need. You could build conservatism into your dive by assuming 1 cubic foot per minute as your consumption, or you could find your exact consumption rate and figure from there.

I highlighted SAC in red in the above quote. What do you think of having that be a link to a thread explaining what "SAC" is, and how you might go about computing what yours is? If I happen across a good one, I will post a link.

This idea could be used to interlink the various FAQ stickies, allowing people to jump back and forth between them as they wished. Kind of like Wikipedia's internal links.

 

[Doubles]

I highlighted SAC in red in the above quote. What do you think of having that be a link to a thread explaining what "SAC" is, and how you might go about computing what yours is? If I happen across a good one, I will post a link.

This idea could be used to interlink the various FAQ stickies, allowing people to jump back and forth between them as they wished. Kind of like Wikipedia's internal links.

Great idea - however according to NOAA and the USN SAC is measured in PSI and RMV is measured in cubic feet. If you always use the same tank (aluminum 80) then all you need to know is the SAC math, if you change tanks then you will need to understand RMV and learn how to convert your tank constants/baselines

Here is a link to Lamont's rock bottom math web page and also a link to the NOAA air management formula's.

http://www.scriptkiddie.org/diving/rockbottom.html

http://www.ndc.noaa.gov/pdfs/AirRqmtFormulas.pdf

I know that many feel that SAC/RMV are the same - and they do both measure breathing rates - but they each use a different measurement - one psi and the other cubic feet

So if we are going to do these faq's we should strive to make them as accurate as possible

Cheers

Steve

 

[do it easy]

Two more writeups for peer review, pony bottles and nitrox.

Pony bottles

Pony bottles are a constant source of discussion. Uses include holding argon for use in drysuit inflation, stage bottles, and emergency air supplies.

Just passing through here, but this might seem ambiguous to a new diver who has only read about oxygen bottles in the newspapers. They might think that all stage bottles and emergency *air* supplies contain argon.

How about:

Pony bottles are a constant source of discussion. Some uses include emergency air supplies, stage bottles for carrying extra breathing gas, or holding argon for use in drysuit inflation.

When selecting a pony bottle, consider what function it will fulfill. For example, pony bottles of 13cu ft and less are considered by many to be too small for use in an OOA. Pony bottles of smaller sizes can be filled with argon and used for drysuit inflation. 19cu ft is the size where pony bottles start being used for emergency air supplies.
<o> </o>

How about a little rearranging:

When selecting a pony bottle, consider what function it will fulfill. For example, pony bottles of 13cu ft and less are considered by many to be too small for use in an OOA. 19cu ft is the size where pony bottles start being used for emergency air supplies. Pony bottles of smaller sizes can be filled with argon and used for drysuit inflation. <o> </o>