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.

 

[CompuDude]

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 The acronym article is outdated too.

I'm just passing through this thread also, but I'm willing to help any way I can, if it's wanted.

I put together a baby acronym list for another scuba BBS a couple of months ago, with current terms, aimed primarily at newer divers (it thus leaves out a number of higher end terms, PPO2 and other tech/nitrox terms, etc.) due to the target audience. It may be of some assistance, however, if anyone wants to put it somewhere. Or, if a staff member makes the request, I'd be happy to integrate it with the current (yet outdated) acronym list and repost:

AOW- Advanced Open Water

ATA- Atmospheres

BC- Buoyancy Compensator [Device, sometimes "BCD"] - if you don't know what this is, get certified for scuba then come back.

BOW- Basic Open Water

BP/W- Backplate and Wing, a style of buoyancy compensator characterized by a rigid backplate (aluminum, steel or delrin) and a separate wing, and a streamlined front

BT- Bottom Time

C-card: scuba diving certification card

CESA- Controlled Emergency Swimming Ascent

DCI- Decompression Illness; including DCS

DCS- Decompression Sickness; the 'bends'

DIN- Deutsches Institut fuer Normung, an alternate to the yoke-style connector on a scuba tank

DIR- Do(ing) It Right, a style of diving that mixes a specific gear configuration and a style a team diving

DM- Dive Master (usually, the person running the show on a dive boat)

EANx- Enriched Air Nitrox, or simply "Nitrox", meaning, air with a higher-than-normal level of oxygen

FFW- Feet of Fresh Water (ex: I dove to 25 ffw in a local quarry on my trip to Idaho)

FSW- Feet of Sea Water (ex: I only went down to 25 fsw for my first dive in Hawaii)

HID- High Intensity Discharge, a kind of very bright bulb found in some of your better underwater flashlights

HP- High Pressure, usually refers to a scuba tank that can be filled to pressures greater than 3000 psi without exceeding manufacture and DOT allowable limits.

LDS- Local Dive Shop

LP- Low Pressure, usually refers to a scuba tank that can only be filled to pressures lower than 3000 psi without exceeding manufacture and DOT allowable limits.

MOD- Maximum Operating Depth, maximum depth for a specific Nitrox mix

NDL- No Decompression Limit, max time limit at a given depth without having to decompression stops, i.e., normal recreational diving

OOA- Out of Air

PSI- Pounds per Square Inch, a pressure reading used to determine how much gas is in a scuba tank of a known volume

RDP- Recreational Dive Planner, PADI's regular dive tables

SAC- Suface Air Consumption [Rate], a way to calculate how long your air will last at a given depth

SI- Surface Interval, the time spent out of the water between dives, be it 5 minutes, 5 years, or anywhere in between

SPG- Submersible Pressure Guage, that round thing you look at to see how much air your tank has left

STA- Single Tank Adapter, an optional component in a bp/w system

 

[DandyDon]

Well, you folks are ambitous - I'll certainly give you that. A few snags I think you may hit....
> Any statement that includes a person opinion will simply be debated.
> If you don't give accurate descriptions and explanations, there will be debates

"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." I guess this depends on whom you ask, but I think it's a totally incorrect and excessively simplifed statement. I tend to go with the explanations here: http://www.techdiver.ws/deco_cylinder.shtml

"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." Just not true. Many divers will argue that a 3 cf bottle is good for OOA, depends on whom you ask. I think the true answer would be closer to It's a personal judgement.

AOW- Advanced Open Water - actually wrong

ATA- Atmospheres Atmosphere absolute; 1 ata is the atmospheric pressure at sea level; is measured with a barometer.

BC- Buoyancy Compensator [Device, sometimes "BCD"] - if you don't know what this is, get certified for scuba then come back Uh, talk to Walter

BOW- Basic Open Water and this is?

DCI- Decompression Illness; including DCS

DCS- Decompression Sickness; the 'bends' that's a definition?

DIR- Do(ing) It Right, a style of diving that mixes a specific gear configuration and a style a team diving Uh, i dunno

DM- Dive Master (usually, the person running the show on a dive boat) be sure to tell the captain this

EANx- Enriched Air Nitrox, or simply "Nitrox", meaning, air with a higher-than-normal level of oxygen actually not true, missing the mark entirely

HID- High Intensity Discharge, a kind of very bright bulb found in some of your better underwater flashlights better huh?

PSI- Pounds per Square Inch, a pressure reading used to determine how much gas is in a scuba tank of a known volume or unknown volume as well

SAC- Suface Air Consumption [Rate], a way to calculate how long your air will last at a given depth don't joke around here, this is serious

In the end, you're gonna wanta put SB's name on this, and we really do not want the good name of SB to be insulted. You're not teaching a Caribben Resort Course on a cruise boat. This is SB!

 

[CompuDude]

Well, you folks are ambitous - I'll certainly give you that. A few snags I think you may hit....
> Any statement that includes a person opinion will simply be debated.
> If you don't give accurate descriptions and explanations, there will be debates

Just trying to be of service here. I didn't submit this as part of an official FAQ, I submitted it for constructive comment, evaluation, and the possible inclusion should be deemed helpful.
<snip>

AOW- Advanced Open Water - actually wrong

Excuse me? Says you?
http://www.padi.com/padi/en/kd/padicourses.aspx
AOW is the abbreviation I've seen used time and time again here on ScubaBoard to refer to PADI's Advanced Open Water course (and perhaps other agencies as well, when they use the same terminology). I could link to a scan of my old "Advanced Open Water Diver" card, too, if that helps any. Are you using AOW to refer to something different?

ATA- Atmospheres Atmosphere absolute; 1 ata is the atmospheric pressure at sea level; is measured with a barometer.

I included commentary on some items for the sake of the newbies. This list, in my mind, isn't really intended to be the "ultimate encyclopaedic compendium of all acrocyms scuba", but more a basic cheatsheet for those who need it most: NOT the old salts, but rather the newly-certified and the soon-to-be certified. And yes, you're right, this was apparently an editing error in the original.

BC- Buoyancy Compensator [Device, sometimes "BCD"] - if you don't know what this is, get certified for scuba then come back Uh, talk to Walter

I repeat, this commentary was originally written for another board, and I stated as much when I first PASTED it in. I'm not offended if some (or all) items aren't chosen in the end, but I'm not thrilled by your "tone". If I'm reading you wrong, I apologize... and here's your chance to tell my I'm reading you wrong.

Or are you saying Walter doesn't know what this device is, and what BC/BCD stands for? Because I'd bet he does. And I bet if I asked him what BC and BCD stood for, he'd give an answer very much like mine.

BOW- Basic Open Water and this is?

So... on some you want more commentary, and on others, none? We can get bogged down in detail if you want, and then this will never go up and never help anyone. I think it speaks for itself... and again, I refer to you my earlier comment that not all tems have an explanation; some merely list what the acronym stands for.

DCI- Decompression Illness; including DCS

DCS- Decompression Sickness; the 'bends' that's a definition?

No, it is what "DCS" stands for. The bends is another word for the same. Is this an acronym chart or a scuba dictionary? Again, please decide if you want a dictionary, or an acronym listing with occasional comments. Because what I wrote is the latter.

DIR- Do(ing) It Right, a style of diving that mixes a specific gear configuration and a style a team diving Uh, i dunno

I welcome a simple, one-sentence comment on this one that actually conveys what someone needs to know to have a partial clue as to what DIR means. I met a DM last weekend who though DIR was a brand of gear.

DM- Dive Master (usually, the person running the show on a dive boat) be sure to tell the captain this

Feel free to modify it to make it better, but still clear and understandable. Or is pithy commentary all you're contributing?

EANx- Enriched Air Nitrox, or simply "Nitrox", meaning, air with a higher-than-normal level of oxygen actually not true, missing the mark entirely

Have at it. I'm tired of repeating myself. I'll note that the original list of acronyms El Orans listed has the same abbreviation. http://www.scubaboard.com/cms/article8.html

HID- High Intensity Discharge, a kind of very bright bulb found in some of your better underwater flashlights better huh?

Many would say so. Perhaps we should say "more expensive"? "Brighter"? No, I'm sure specific exceptions could be found. I challenge you to find one that doesn't have an exception. Or perhaps we shouldn't bother listing it at all...

PSI- Pounds per Square Inch, a pressure reading used to determine how much gas is in a scuba tank of a known volume or unknown volume as well

Curious: how can a PSI reading be used to determine how much gas is in a cylinder of unknown volume?

SAC- Suface Air Consumption [Rate], a way to calculate how long your air will last at a given depth don't joke around here, this is serious

Have at, clearly you can do better. This one could probably use help, or perhaps just remove the commentary entirely to avoid the discussion.

In the end, you're gonna wanta put SB's name on this, and we really do not want the good name of SB to be insulted. You're not teaching a Caribben Resort Course on a cruise boat. This is SB! [/COLOR]

*I* am not putting ScubaBoard's name on anything. Just trying to help. Don't worry, I won't interfere in your playground again without an invitation.

 

[DandyDon]

Originally Posted by DandyDon
PSI- Pounds per Square Inch, a pressure reading used to determine how much gas is in a scuba tank of a known volume or unknown volume as well

Yeah I was wrong on that one...

Don't worry, I won't interfere in your playground again without an invitation.

Oh you and I were both invited.

Originally Posted by DandyDon
AOW- Advanced Open Water - actually wrong

How about calling it a continuing education course offered by agencies with an additonal C-card of that name?

It would be good to update the acronyms. Good luck.

 

[Ber Rabbit]

The goal of the project is to bring together the information people search for and put it into easy to find threads. The main audience is most likely going to be newer users of the board and newer divers. Lets face it, the people who have been here a while can usually finagle the search function to find what they want. Unfortunately the search engine does require a little creative use to get the results you're looking for sometimes.

All are invited to participate and there will be no fighting, period. There are plenty of gems hidden in threads on the board, let's use the time for searching instead of arguing.

A chart that lists the acronyms that are commonly used here on the board is valuable to newcomers, I hate to admit how long it took me to figure out "IIRC". For example when people use "AOW" they are referring to the class that follows the first class a diver takes in 90%+ of the posts you see it in. Arguing the definition and the suitability of the name for what you get in the course is pointless for the list, people just want to know what the letters stand for, they will look for other threads if they want a discussion of the definition. Then there are acronyms like "ROTFLMAO" which are not scuba related but seen a lot on the board.
Ber :lilbunny:

 

[Doubles]

"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." Just not true. Many divers will argue that a 3 cf bottle is good for OOA, depends on whom you ask. I think the true answer would be closer to It's a personal judgement.

Well it might be a bit premature to hop in here, but I will anyway.

When it comes to pony bottles (other than argon for drysuits) the size and use for any individual diver should be based upon some very important things rather than some arbitrary size. Facts are going to be safer than personal judgment - or at least with better information at hand - a diver can make a better informed personal decision.

Diver SAC, RMV and Planned Dive Depth (see my post #19 about SAC and RMV)

The diver should give consideration to using a higher SAC when considering the pony bottle size. If you need to use it, chances are good your breathing is going to be a little quicker than normal.

If the pony can't get you to the surface and allow a safety stop from your dive depth - it's kind of like having an escape chute in a submarine at 600 feet - looks good - makes the sailors parents feel better, but is of no real value in saving your butt.

As I said this might be premature and is only intended to promote more brainstorming on the topic - so please read it in that light

Cheers

Steve

 

[CompuDude]

The goal of the project is to bring together the information people search for and put it into easy to find threads. The main audience is most likely going to be newer users of the board and newer divers. Lets face it, the people who have been here a while can usually finagle the search function to find what they want. Unfortunately the search engine does require a little creative use to get the results you're looking for sometimes.

All are invited to participate and there will be no fighting, period. There are plenty of gems hidden in threads on the board, let's use the time for searching instead of arguing.

A chart that lists the acronyms that are commonly used here on the board is valuable to newcomers, I hate to admit how long it took me to figure out "IIRC". For example when people use "AOW" they are referring to the class that follows the first class a diver takes in 90%+ of the posts you see it in. Arguing the definition and the suitability of the name for what you get in the course is pointless for the list, people just want to know what the letters stand for, they will look for other threads if they want a discussion of the definition. Then there are acronyms like "ROTFLMAO" which are not scuba related but seen a lot on the board.
Ber :lilbunny:

I concur (and apologies for getting testy... it was late and had been a long day).

I wonder if it makes sense to have two different acronym lists, once for general internet abbreviations (such as LMAO etc) and one for scuba-specific abbreviations. At the very least a link to general internet slang abbreviations, as I'm sure someone out there has already done far more than we would want to take on in that regard.

Should I go ahead and blend my list (removing any of the explanatory materials and leaving just the abbreviation's expansion) with the original list, and re-post it? I'll tackle the word processing on that one if no one else is dying to.

One thought: I'll betcha anything the vast majority of these terms have been discussed before. Would links to ScubaBoard threads that discuss the meanings behind the terms be appropriate, or would that smack too much of official endorsement of a viewpoint?

 

[Ber Rabbit]

I concur (and apologies for getting testy... it was late and had been a long day).

:10: We all need to work together to keep the whole thread from turning into an argument. I appreciate everyone's cooperation.

I wonder if it makes sense to have two different acronym lists, once for general internet abbreviations (such as LMAO etc) and one for scuba-specific abbreviations. At the very least a link to general internet slang abbreviations, as I'm sure someone out there has already done far more than we would want to take on in that regard.

That's for y'all to decide, either way works for me. A list simply titled something like "Abbreviations you may see here" would work as well as a scuba one and a general one.

Should I go ahead and blend my list (removing any of the explanatory materials and leaving just the abbreviation's expansion) with the original list, and re-post it? I'll tackle the word processing on that one if no one else is dying to.

Most people are just looking for the expansion of the acronym a'la when we type "LOL" we mean to let you know we are "laughing out loud".

LOL: Laughing out loud
YMMV: Your mileage may vary
BC: Buoyancy compensator

(you get the idea)

No point re-inventing the wheel when we can use what's already available to us.

One thought: I'll betcha anything the vast majority of these terms have been discussed before. Would links to ScubaBoard threads that discuss the meanings behind the terms be appropriate, or would that smack too much of official endorsement of a viewpoint?

I'm a little confused on the "official endorsement" accusation when we are simply taking "chatter posts" out of existing threads and combining the good parts. The information is already on the board and can be found with a search and by reading through some pretty long threads. Many people tell newbies to "do a search" but when they don't quickly find something that contains the info they are looking for they ask one of the "repetitive questions." This project should organize good data into easy to find threads that are probably going to end up being huge but all the posts will be on-topic. There are already a couple of similar threads on the board, the one for new divers comes to mind.
Ber :lilbunny:

 

[Walter]

Interesting and Don's using my name in vain - LOL!

AOW- Advanced Open Water - actually wrong Actually true. The class isn't really "advanced," but AOW does mean Advanced Open Water.

ATA- Atmospheres Atmosphere absolute; 1 ata is the atmospheric pressure at sea level; is measured with a barometer. Atmosphere absolute = 14.7 PSI

BC- Buoyancy Compensator [Device, sometimes "BCD"] - if you don't know what this is, get certified for scuba then come back Uh, talk to Walter
BC is Buoyancy Compensator. PADI usually refers to it as a BCD or Buoyancy Compensating Device. I don't know why they have an agency specific term, but they seem to like it.

BOW- Basic Open Water and this is? This is another term (incorrect usage, but very common) for OW - Open Water the entry level certification level with some agencies. Others have different names for the entry level certification. NAUI's entry level certification is SCUBA Diver. Prior to 1986, there were two common entry level classes. BOW was used at that time to distinguish it from OW.

DCI- Decompression Illness; including DCS DCI is a useless term, IMO, but some folks love to use it. DCI includes AGE and DCS.

DCS- Decompression Sickness; the 'bends' that's a definition? Nope, but these aren't definitions.

DM- Dive Master (usually, the person running the show on a dive boat) be sure to tell the captain this A Dive Master is in charge of diving operations, primarily concerned with safety. The Captain is in charge of the boat.

EANx- Enriched Air Nitrox, or simply "Nitrox", meaning, air with a higher-than-normal level of oxygen actually not true, missing the mark entirely Well, maybe not entirely. EAN is a subset of nitrox. Nitrox is any mixture of nitrogen and oxygen while EAN is air with additional oxygen added.

PSI- Pounds per Square Inch, a pressure reading used to determine how much gas is in a scuba tank of a known volume or unknown volume as well Actually, it's simply a measurement of pressure. It can be used to determine other things, but PSI alone is not enough information.