Honesty in a dishonest world

[jviehe]

i think that in an overhead environment, having the right training is absolutely critical. Especially with lost buddy drills, lost line drills, etc.

I definitely thing you are correct, you aren't responsible for everyone else.

And thats fine for you, so you can interview your buddies as those requirements. But beyond that, leave others to find their own way.

 

[OneBrightGator]

You seem to be good at calling people out.....and what sucks, is when you've done it to me, I typically wait a few days and agree with you

And there are probably a few people who thought I was a total jerk about it, there certainly was one person who did.

The thing is, standing on the shore of a dive site talking about how stupendous you are is not going to get anybody killed and if that's what it takes for you, then have at it. When you brag about it online for some reason you turn into the expert and anyone can read what you have to say. Now, granted, if they're dumb enough to follow internet advice to their death, well, Darwin exists, but it's not good press either...

 

[Web Monkey]

I am not sure if this is in the right forum and if it is not, I do apologize.

My question is simple, If you find someone misleading themselves about their level of training and certifications (either on the board or elsewhere) how do you handle that?

Don't dive with them under any conditions that you think they aren't qualified.

They might get hurt or killed, and you might too if the brown stuff hits the fan and your buddy vanishes.

This isn't just for people who exaggerate, it's for everybody. I'll almost never do anything with a diver I've just met that I wouldn't do with an OW student. The proof is in the performance. Everything else is pretty much worthless.

If you are the only one who knows, do you post it on the forum and say "hey, this person isn't who they say they are, or aren't trained to the level to which they attest." Do you let them advertise that they want to go diving with someone regardless and hope the person(s) who agree to go diving with them check their certification cards?

In an open water environment such as someone not having a night/limited visibility class this is perhaps not as big a deal as if you go cavern/cave diving with someone (arguably), though both situations pose dangers.

Recreational C-Cards aren't very useful as a skill indicator. Between the lowered agency standards and the ability for unknown instructors to sign off based on their own arbitrary skill assessment, you just can't infer any particular skill level from any particular specialties.

An OW card might mean that the diver got dropped into clear blue 80 degree water in a bathing suit while on vacation, didn't die, and was certified by an instructor who was an OW diver himself a couple of months ago.

Or it might mean that that diver had to deal with 36 degree water and 15' vis and 3' waves, while maintain neutral buoyancy in a drysuit with 30 pounds of lead, and doing the mask clears in water that would freeze solid if you gave it half a chance.

I wouldn't advise making any posts like "So-and-so has an AOW card but doesn't know which end the the tank the air comes from." It can turn ugly and would most likely degenerate into a name-calling contest worthy of a 5-year-old.

Terry

 

[bfw]

I am not sure if this is in the right forum and if it is not, I do apologize.

My question is simple, If you find someone misleading themselves about their level of training and certifications (either on the board or elsewhere) how do you handle that?

I assume by "misleading" you mean misrepresenting. Information is exchanged here regarding potentially life threatening situations. If someone is misrepresenting aspects of who they are, they may be lying in other ways as well. While their identity/credentials are irrelevant to the validity of their statements, their readers are entitled to know the truth and make their own judgments on accurate information. Inaccurate information is worse than incomplete information - posters are free to conceal their personal information, and the reader can take that for what they will, but false information cannot be judged if one doesn't know it's false.

Should you reveal the truth? Do you owe this person some sort of confidence? Are you his attorney, priest, or physician? what makes you think you are obligated to support his lying?

 

[jsquaredFL]

I assume by "misleading" you mean misrepresenting. Information is exchanged here regarding potentially life threatening situations. If someone is misrepresenting aspects of who they are, they may be lying in other ways as well. While their identity/credentials are irrelevant to the validity of their statements, their readers are entitled to know the truth and make their own judgments on accurate information. Inaccurate information is worse than incomplete information - posters are free to conceal their personal information, and the reader can take that for what they will, but false information cannot be judged if one doesn't know it's false.

Should you reveal the truth? Do you owe this person some sort of confidence? Are you his attorney, priest, or physician? what makes you think you are obligated to support his lying?

You are 100% correct, I meant to write misrepresenting, I do apologize, I was very tired when I posted the original post, stupid mistake that shouldn't have happened, I hope it did not create any confusion.

In regards to the rest of the post, I agree I have no religious or legal requirement to keep the information to myself, but it seems that for the most part any mis-representation would only lead to mud slinging and any lack of skill would be immediately evident. I just like to give people the benefit of the doubt sometimes I suppose.