H2Andy:
maybe your threshold level is too low?
...
it's a balancing act
i say it's doing really well
IMO, it's a balancing act between quality people who have tremendous amounts of knowledge and experience staying or going.
This phenomenon is in no way unique to SB. I've seen it elsewhere and in other arenas I've been the knowledgeable person who's left some of those arenas. The reason? Because you get tired of all the crap. Pure and simple.
Putting up with the arrogance, the repeated attacks, the resistance to listen ... why bother?
So I say keep this place for people who are really interested in DIR. Moderate it to the rules layed out. Don't allow people to abuse this forum. And make it opt in.
This is not unique on SB. The Solo forum is like it. Surface interval etc etc etc.
People have mentioned that if the forum turns to opt in then it will keep people who would otherwise learn about DIR away. I doubt it. With the number of posts about long hoses and BP/W and team approaches I see in the general forum and elsewhere, if someone is interested they will find this forum very easily.
I'm personally very new to the DIR philosophy, having taken Fundamentals only this spring. I'm adapting my diving as I go along. Keeping most things, but not necessarily all. I am very interested in DIR, but I am not "one of the collective". I like the idea of a thinking diver and am evaluating things as I go to ensure that it suits my environment, my buddies (not all DIR after all), and my budget. Perhaps that means I'll never be DIR, but somehow I doubt it. I've dove with some of the divers from this forum, they are fine divers. But I also dive with other, non-DIR divers, who are also fine divers and don't see that stopping.
I truly hope to have a place where I can come when I do have questions to get the "DIR" answer and to discuss items around the approach. However, having seen many of the types of things posted here, unless there are changes, I doubt that this will be the place given the types of responses I can expect.
And that's too bad IMO. Much of the research I've done, much of what I've learned and some of the direction I've taken has come from here.
Specifically, some of Uncle Pug's posts have really made me think and had me evaluate early on the types of profiles I was diving, trying to get to "checkpoint" profiles and getting to understand why "time above 2 ata's should balance time below 3". Or why I might not need a computer. Well, he's not around much anymore. I think that is a shame. And hey, maybe it has nothing to do with the form that this forum took. I don't know what happened "behind the scenes" so to speak at SB. Though I know that I would have preferred to see some of his answers...
I guess I'm rambling and that was definitely more than 2 cents, but I thought maybe some background might just help explain where my answers come from.
Bjorn
