Split from: How to be a better solo diver thread

[Diver0001]

What is the word I am searching for...not condescending, not patronizing,..not patrician,

PM Sent.

 

[Diver0001]

Personally, I think the closet, secretive part of solo diving is responsible for a lot of the anti-DIR sentiment. There is this feeling that DIR folks must really consider themselves superior to be against it but do it themselves and not talk about it.

How did you make this connection between the topic at hand and solo diving? You're thinking something that I missed.

R..

 

[Diver0001]

Dennis, I think once people opt in, we should not have to worry about whether we are promoting it or not. Even if I say "it is the best part of my diving", I think people once they have opted in can handle that.

An opt-in is no gaurantee of that.

R..

 

[Cacia]

but, Rob, you cannot gaurantee any one else's safety. I understand your position and am willing to not discuss solo around "Basic Scuba" forum people, but why cannot the flip side be that we get to discuss solo openly as we want? It is analogous to not going into underwater hunting and telling them they should not kill this fish or that fish....or coming into DIR and saying, "hey does your mommy know you are in that cave?". I honestly cannot wrap my mind around what you are thinking. But I still like you respect you, etc. Just do not understand your position. and yes, it seems overly patronizing to worry "for" some one else.

How is this any different from flying solo, or anything else? Pilots don't sit around and say SHHHHH, don't talk about flying your plane alone....somebody might do it and have a heart attack. What is special about SCUBA?

 

[Diver0001]

I honestly cannot wrap my mind around what you are thinking. But I still like you respect you, etc. Just do not understand your position. and yes, it seems overly patronizing to worry "for" some one else.

OK, I'm going to give this some thought. I think this is where Snowbear didn't follow me too.

R..

 

[Diver Dennis]

Quite the contrary, the solo forum is *exactly* the place for solo divers to philosophize about the wisdom of their choices. By blocking this kind of discussion you're killing any chance that potential solo divers who scan that forum have of hearing practitioners talk openly about their reservations with respect people getting into it. So aside from the useful but constantly rehashed discussion about material and technique (most of which can be summarized in a two page sticky), what's left? The chest thumping from people, some of whom probably don't get further than talking the talk? The lyrically positive (read pushy) posts from people Nemrod who think the whole world should solo dive? The people asking what they need getting the RA-RA, Go-Go, Who-da-Man, Be-da-Man B.S. While any meaningful discussion of risk is systematically purged?

You might see it as cutting off the arm to have the life but what scubaboard is really doing is actively participating in a soft-sell of solo diving to divers who you don't know, many of whom probably shouldn't be doing it.

"Rules" or no "rules" this is wrong. I think people who are interested should have access to both sides of the discussion so they can make informed choices. There is a big difference between people who do not solo bashing solo diving and active practitioners warning people that it isn't just "the next level".

R..

I understand what you are saying and I agree Rob. Apart from an obvious troll coming in and saying you all are going to die, we should be able to discuss pros and cons here whether in regard to equipment or safety. If we can't discuss that here it limits the topics quite severely in my opinion.

 

[Snowbear]

People will dive the way they want and admitting that we solo dive does not mean we are in any way promoting it.

I disagree with this.... for many folks, if someone (in this case a diver who posts on ScubaBoard) they perceive as having experience and knowledge and respect engages in the activity in question, that makes it OK. Even if that "respected diver and ScubaBoard poster" is a "do as I say and not as I do" type, the fact that they solo dive is in effect condoning it... even if they say folks should have XXX # of dives or such and such redundancy or whatever training before they consider it.

 

[Diver Dennis]

I do understand what you mean but that could really apply to wreck diving as well as deep diving and a lot more things discussed on the board. Doesn't the fact that we have a solo forum here validate solo diving? I might be missing something here Snowbear...

 

[Snowbear]

No. I'm waiting for Diver0001's input on clarifying what this forum is for, but having the forum doesn't 'validate' or advocate solo diving any more than having a rebreather forum advocates diving rebreathers or having a DIR forum advocates taking a DIRf class... it's the folks who post the posts that do the advocating, "validating" or "detracting."

Yes, I agree that the same applies to wreck, deep, cave, RB, tech or any other "beyond recreational NDL" diving. But this is the solo forum. Solo diving, like DIR training or underwater hunting, seems to be one of those topics that gets some folks' hackles up. So the forums for these were created as "No troll zones" with "special forum rules" so folks who wanted to discuss them without getting flamed for even asking could get answers from folks who often won't answer in the open forums because they'll get flamed for answering.

Just 'cause ScubaBoard creates a forum for treasure hunting doesn't mean it advocates stripping a wreck of every artifact that sank with the ship....

 

[Diver Dennis]

OK. I didn't know that it was such a flash point. I knew it was not discussed much and I see what you mean but I can see problems with wording already. That must be why so few post here.