Since I started this thread and it has ended up a pretty long one, I will try to explain my thoughts now that I have read all of the opinions. It is really not far from where I was originally.
My personal issue is with the name. It is simply too close to the DM name and laypeople, including new divers may not understand the difference. There are probably tons of OW divers who have been diving for a long time responsibly and have a ton of dives that are of better skill than a new DM. Like it has been stated before, we all have to start somewhere. I just wish they (the qualifying organizations) would come up with a better name such as AOW1 or AOW2 stricly as an example.
We could debate the quality of a DM and say that it was harder back when........... yada yada yada, but the DM does exist and there are standards for all organization to get to this level AND there are quality control procedures in place to help ensure compliance with the standards. This thread was never meant to debate the quality of the DM, just point out that the MSD name, in my opinion should be changed. Since just about all qualifying organizations use it, I don't think that is going to change anytime soon.
Diving has too many variables based on where you dive, how you dive, what equipment you dive, how often you dive and so on on. These variables must always be taken into consideration for any debate and there will always be debate.
You cannot fault anyone for wanting to advance in their level of training which does give experience and you cannot fault anyone who does not want to advance in levels but continues to dive responsibly within their C card. Since there are levels that you can attain at the recreational and professional levels, many divers will always want to progress. There is a program for these levels, each with established standards. You don't have to agree with the standards but they are there and those that choose to progress in their training for whatever reason should be commended for their pursuit of improvement.
