I think this thread is interesting.
@tursiops,
@boulderjohn,
@The Chairman, I think you've all internalized the instructor mindset, perhaps to a degree where it's difficult to see the world through the eyes of a new or prospective diver regarding this particular subject. You're right, of course, on the nuts and bolts of this matter. The mess isn't PADI's fault. They deserve some credit for sending a letter at all rather than sweeping the whole thing under the rug. Their letter is a reasonable articulation of the facts. It is safety oriented. It is balanced, insofar as it does not appear to make the matter out to be worse than it is. It suggests remedies that are, from an instructor's standpoint and PADI's standpoint, quite reasonable. We agree on all that.
I'll take off my diver "hat" and my pedagogy "hat" for a moment now and invite you to do the same. We now enter the world of marketing, brand management, and brand messaging, where perceptions, connotations, and image carry the day.
PADI is more than the professional association that its name implies. It is an international marketer of diving instruction. It tells the world
why to choose PADI. Quoting from that page, "All PADI programs, from entry-level through scuba instructor training, fall under strict educational standards monitored for worldwide consistency and quality. PADI takes a proactive approach to quality management and randomly surveys PADI Divers to confirm their courses meet PADI’s high standards as well as the divers’ expectations. No other diver training organization works to maintain this level of professional reliability and integrity."
And so I'm with
@Wookie on this. In bizspeak, marketing-speak, one might hope that PADI would "walk the talk." That they would be the "diver training organization" that in fact sees to it that all courses "meet PADI's high standards" and then would fix it on their own nickel when rare cases come to light where they did not.