The Cave Politics, Rumor Monger and Gossip Guild is alive and well. Let's end it!

[Wookie]

Well, I heard Larry Green is the NACD Training Director.

 

[BigTex1836]

So much just comes off as petty, vindictive, cliquish, etc I just take if with a gain of salt and form my own opinions based on experiences. Being new to cave country diving, I've been making my rounds to the different shops to formulate my own opinions about the shops, the employees, and the patrons. By in large, I've had nothing but good experiences at all.

Btw, I just happened to have the DP/PL sticker I got from Wayne a few weeks ago when in FL, below. The other may have been plagiarized or maybe he added it over time. Dunno. Then again, it is kinda small even on the big sticker so it could be easily overlooked.

 

[The Chairman]

The one I saw was rectangular with only one line. Definitely not that one. At least I don't think it was. They're easy to get printed up. Either way, I think "Dive More, Gossip Less" is way more appropriate. But make no doubt about it, I feel no animosity towards Amigos or Wayne. He might not like ScubaBoard, but the converse is not true.

 

[Brandon]

I've become increasingly fond of a modification I made some time ago to a popular saying...



I like to think of it as a reminder that, every now and then, we all get a little too passionate about the sport of diving, and forget about the sportsmanship that should be associated with it.

My license plate frame also says "Shut Up and Dive".

 

[oya]

Damn...I'd love to let the rumor get started that Pete and Wayne refuse to have anything to do with each other. But sadly I had dinner with them both a couple weeks ago with Pete on one side of me and Wayne one person away from me on the other side.

I was there, too. How can you ignore the fact that they didn't say one word to eachother all night? Obviously there's horribly bad blood there!
(C'mon... let the rumor mill go! No one needs to know that it's just because they were seated a little ways away from eachother?)

But, seriously, I'm kinda proving my own point and the point a bunch of other posters have made.
A) People (divers and/or instructors) love to be in the know, or at least believe they are.
B) Divers look adoringly at their instructors whether they should or not, whether they know they are doing it or not.
C) People believe whatever pablum their instructors feed them.

Throw just a little bit of a game of telephone in there and the next thing you know:
That guy, Tony, who owns Scubaboard threw a plate of scalding hot ziti at Wayne and now he's not allowed to get fills anywhere in Cave Country! That's why I tell all my dive students not to ever go on the internet, so they don't get their dive skills besmirched by that scubaboard poison!

---------- Post added January 13th, 2016 at 09:19 PM ----------

Well, I heard Larry Green is the NACD Training Director.

Well have you evah?
What a swell party this is!

 

[ucfdiver]

Remember when people called Jim out about the Shannon incident directly? Jim posted his side of the story and I never heard another peep about it.

Pete, why not list the names? The number one way to attack gossip is to attack it head on.

 

[The Chairman]

Pete, why not list the names? The number one way to attack gossip is to attack it head on.

He actually changed his tune and was embarrassed about believing his instructor. I don't have a problem with him at this point. I really can't remember who his instructor was. No one I had heard of in any event. If I see him again, I'll be sure to point him to this thread.

 

[Germie]

It is not only in cave country, it is everywhere. And most times told by people you have never dived with, so cannot judge.

 

[lerpy]

Reading this thread I decided to ask a question or two. I am new to cave diving, completed intro last May. Both my cavern and my intro were done in Florida cave country. I have noticed the politics that has been talked about here, although not real mud slinging, but certainly opinions on what shops to use, instructors etc. I come to Florida in the winter to dive, and hope to more often. I have used Amigos, Cave Excursions, and Cave Country and found them all to be friendly and great service. My question though is "breaking" into the cave world. As a non-Floridian and only be able to cave when I am in Florida I have found it hard to find people to dive with. I am facing this next month in that I will be in Florida for 3 weeks and struggling to find people to dive with. It seems as a newer person, and not a local and regular cave diver I am kind of "outcast" if you will. I am not saying this is about the politics discussed here, more likely I am not known and now overly experienced so people understandably may not want to dive with me. But challenge is though I want to gain more experience and proficiency, I want to be critiques in a constructive way about, my gear, set up etc from those that know. So from those of you here on SB that are local and very experienced, what is you advice to meeting cavers to dive with when I am in Fla?

Sorry if this is in a bad place to post, just the topic got me thinking.

I have to say with all honesty, SB has been a great tool for gaining knowledge, information, gear advice etc for diving. It has been great. Of course like anything on the internet mud gets slung, but if I do not know the story I stay out of it, and even if I do know I stay out unless the conversation is thoughtful. The new format is awesome, really like it, thanks.

 

[kensuf]

Reading this thread I decided to ask a question or two. I am new to cave diving, completed intro last May. Both my cavern and my intro were done in Florida cave country. I have noticed the politics that has been talked about here, although not real mud slinging, but certainly opinions on what shops to use, instructors etc. I come to Florida in the winter to dive, and hope to more often. I have used Amigos, Cave Excursions, and Cave Country and found them all to be friendly and great service. My question though is "breaking" into the cave world. As a non-Floridian and only be able to cave when I am in Florida I have found it hard to find people to dive with. I am facing this next month in that I will be in Florida for 3 weeks and struggling to find people to dive with. It seems as a newer person, and not a local and regular cave diver I am kind of "outcast" if you will. I am not saying this is about the politics discussed here, more likely I am not known and now overly experienced so people understandably may not want to dive with me. But challenge is though I want to gain more experience and proficiency, I want to be critiques in a constructive way about, my gear, set up etc from those that know. So from those of you here on SB that are local and very experienced, what is you advice to meeting cavers to dive with when I am in Fla?

Sorry if this is in a bad place to post, just the topic got me thinking.

I have to say with all honesty, SB has been a great tool for gaining knowledge, information, gear advice etc for diving. It has been great. Of course like anything on the internet mud gets slung, but if I do not know the story I stay out of it, and even if I do know I stay out unless the conversation is thoughtful. The new format is awesome, really like it, thanks.

Hi,

Your question doesn't really pertain to the topic of this discussion, but I'll go ahead and offer my opinions for you.

There are a couple of reasons why you may find it challenging to find dive buddies, and here are a couple of reasons:

1. You're an unknown quantity wanting to go into a dangerous environment. A lot of people are wary about going on a cave dive with someone they do not know. And you're an FNG ("friendly new guy"), so the expectation will be that you're without much skill.

2. Some divers just do not like "diving down" to an intro diver level. They always want to do that "big dive."

3. Your schedule doesn't necessarily work well with some of the locals. You're on vacation for 3 weeks, but we're not and we need to work M-F.

I'm not saying I agree with those reasons, I'm just giving you some reasons why you may be finding it difficult. OTOH, many of us came up through the mentorship system and are more than happy to pay it back. I've got a couple of former students that are always looking for dive buddies. Some work weird hours and so they are available during the week, some are intro only, and others don't mind diving to an intro level. I'll also be happy to go do a dive with you when you're down here.

Ken