Total dive hours

[perpet1]

Uncle Pug once bubbled...
First principle: Test everything... hold on to that which is good.

It would be extremely unwise IMO for folks to just take advice given on any board without due care and caution.

It would also be unwise to reject out of hand any and all advice simply because it was give on an internet forum.

(btw... you shouldn't believe advice given in person without critically thinking it over either.)

So how does one determine the validity of advice given here on Scuba Board?

Well for starters consensus is a good clue. If you find the same advice given by multiple posters then that can help.

Secondly you should try to discern the actual diving experience level of the advice givers.

Thirdly... track record. Read back through the poster's history and see what kind of advice they have given in the past. You will also find clues as to what kind of diver they really are.


Those who are new to the board might claim credentials but until they have a track record it is difficult to know if they are who they say they are.

Again the guiding principle should be "test everything and hold onto that which is good."

A former president said it best "Trust BUT Verify"

But I entirerly agree with your points. More then anything else I use this board to see what the general thaughts are out there regarding diving. I would never make a decision soly based on the feedback on this board or any other Internet forum for that matter.

 

[TCDiver1]

Uncle Pug once bubbled...

Again the guiding principle should be "test everything and hold onto that which is good."

Good advise, not only for this board, but in general.

You would have made a good engineer Pug.

 

[d33ps1x]

Good guidelines U.P.

 

[CBulla]

d33ps1x - right on it with ya bud.. I've got wry sense of humor, not much gets past me.

UP, totally on w/your guidelines. Over the last few months I've tossed out a few thingssort of devils advocate style to see how the response or if it swayed from the original reply/post. Sometimes its already been done and I just read the post. I've taken a few bits to the pool or to a shallow dive with me and tested it out to see how it worked for me, if it did at all. Nothing serious, just little tips and tid-bits Some worked, some didn't.

 

[Doppler]

It's interesting just thinking about ways to evaluate someone's experience -- and the relative value of their advice. Still unsure about the reasons for the poll (I answered of course) but 100 hours is about how long it takes for an average "someone" to get used to being underwater, in my experience with students.

Of course, that has absolutely no relationship to the value of any advice that person may offer... quite often someone who has a bulging log book and years of history, has crazy ideas that are of dubious value at best. In fact I have a good friend who is a well-known UW author and lecturer whose best advice is: "Don't do it the way I do... you'll die."

I've also seen people who have a season or two diving who adopt the role of mentor with great ease.

As an aside it's interesting to read the: 100 hours at 60 feet is worth less, or more, than.... arguments. I spend the majority of my time underwater at 20 feet and above.

 

[fgray1]

Everyone thinking and not arguing.
Now I must say it makes me feel good to know that most of the people on the board are good people and mean well. I have meet so many people that STOPPED TO THINK AND JUST NEVER STARTED AGAIN.

Uncle Pug I see why they selected you for a regulator.
WELL DONE!!!!!!

Keep diving.

 

[Uncle Pug]

Doppler once bubbled...
As an aside it's interesting to read the: 100 hours at 60 feet is worth less, or more, than.... arguments.

Where did you read that Doppler?

 

[Uncle Pug]

fgray1 once bubbled...
Uncle Pug I see why they selected you for a regulator.

... they did that so I would feel obligated to restrain myself. No more blue shirt/green shirt stuff.

 

[CincyBengalsFan]

Who gets to evaluate who?

 

[ElectricZombie]

fgray1 once bubbled...
But what I'm trying to see is what is the make up of the people that use the scuba board.
People with over 101 hours I consider to be experianced divers. It would be nice to know that when some advice is given here it's from people with knowledge. It's not a perfect way to judge it but at least a good guide line to go by.

You can't determine if someone is a good, experienced diver simply based on the number of dives or number of hours they have logged. I have dove with many guys who had 3,000 - 5,000 dives who were horrible divers. I have also dove with people who had 50 dives who were outstanding in the water. You can't equate 3,000 20ft reef dives to doing 50 130ft dives with low vis, stiff current and rough seas.