What does DIR mean?

[Gombessa]

The effect is that only discussion by the inner circle is allowed and that the process is somewhat insulated as no one who is not heavily DIR is allowed to have those discussions and in turn very good ideas that are found or practiced by non DIR divers have to wait until a member of the DIR/GUE inner circle is exposed to them and accepts them. Meanwhile the rank and filel members throw out great ideas because they have bene indoctrinated on the need for standardization at the apparent expense of all else, and/or do not recognize a godo non DIR idea when they see it. That just strikes me as odd in sport where the consequences of failiure are so unforgiving.

I think there are a couple of different ideas being confused here. You can dive however you want, with whatever gear you want. Make sure your buddy knows of any changes and team implications of such changes, and do whatever you want. What you might not be able to do is say that this new way of diving is "DIR," cause that's more or less defined. It's the same way with PADI. Dive without a snorkel, or dive without an octo, whatever floats your boat. You just shouldn't say the way you're diving is PADI-approved.

Speaking of which, if you decide you want to change a PADI training standard (for instance, implement more advanced gas planning and management techniques such as SAC rate, rock bottom, etc.), aren't you also going to run into resistance by many current practitioners, and wouldn't you also need to work your campaign up the heirarchy to the PADI inner circle before such changes are adopted?

I imagine most DIR practitioners dive in a non-DIR way fairly often; they just don't make the argument that doing so should be considered DIR.

 

[Underwater Ogre]

I have only one question...OK...a couple...does the DIR governing body or whoever created the concept/philosophy go over procedures to see if what is being done can be improved upon?
Or is it "cut in stone" so too speak?

With most self regulated organization, be it industry or sport, regular SOP (Standard operating procedures) and rules are assessed periodically to ensure they are still relevant to the circumstances and the equipment available to do the job.

Hopefully the ole' belief "it can always be better" doesn't get lost.

U/O

 

[SparticleBrane]

Hmmm...I have visions of a flashing red light bewteen a set of doubles marked "Scuba Police" next time I go cave diving. It would be hilarious (especially if I decide to check the pressures of stage bottles and write tickets for those I find with less than 2/3rds pressure). The laughter however would probably result in several drownings in the cave. :depressed:

I am considering writing "This stage bottle protected by Glock" on mine...

 

[Teamcasa]

Of course I don't mean a DIR/GUE diver is unsafe on the local reef. I mean that when they consider anyone who, while diving the local reef is automatically unsafe because they are not diving to a DIR/GUE standard.

I'm sorry. That's just silly.

Oh... You mean that you say it is safe for me to use a brass spring clip to hold my video camera when I dive my local reef? I seem to remember you calling them suicide clips.

 

[Gombessa]

I have only one question...OK...a couple...does the DIR governing body or whoever created the concept/philosophy go over procedures to see if what is being done can be improved upon?
Or is it "cut in stone" so too speak?

This whole thread (especially with the GUE tangent) has a few widely-spread misconceptions. There is really no "DIR" inner circle actively promoting what DIR is and is not, and there's no governing body or organization managing it.

GUE has effectively deprecated its use of the term DIR (JJ wrote an interesting article about it--"Toward a New and Unique Future", Quest Summer 2004), and is instead promoting a "GUE standard" independent of DIR. UTD (another agency teaching DIR principles) is more or less avoiding the term as well.

DIR isn't set in stone; it's evolving on its own, and arguably splintering a bit regionally and over new procedures and technology. I think there's a fairly solid core, but it starts getting fuzzy the more closely you look at the details. It's just not as centralized as a lot of people think it is.

 

[JeffG]

the DIR governing body or whoever created the concept/philosophy go over procedures to see if what is being done can be improved upon?

sorry. It would take me to long to answer it correctly.

but the short answer is no such beast really exists. The closest would be GUE, but there are minor difference between all instructors. (most due to local conditions)

The WKPP is a very specific implementation of DIR procedures. Some of their recommendations trickle out.


Now...here's the kicker. Most of the main tenants and procedures of DIR ( Gas Usage, gas switching for example) do not change, but some minor details get debated and or implemented differently in different regions.

 

[JeffG]

Oh... You mean that you say it is safe for me to use a brass spring clip to hold my video camera when I dive my local reef? I seem to remember you calling them suicide clips.

You might lose your camera. (almost happened to me.)

and the "suicide" issue would come into play if they happened to be in an area where they could clip onto something else. (ie not a local reef)

 

[BDSC]

My fault for trying to be clever.

I'll just state it outright: a lack of injury doesn't indicate that a dive was performed safely. If anything, it implies that nothing went wrong.

Every so often a thread pops up with something like "OMG I WAS ON VACATION AND THIS GUY WENT TO 170 FEET ON A SINGLE ALUMINUM 40 AND GOT NARKED OUT OF HIS MIND UNTIL THE DM PULLED HIM UP AND HE HAD TO FINISH HIS SAFETY STOPS ON MY OCTO! But he wasn't hurt."

"he wasn't hurt" is not the equivalent of "he dove safely."



Safety in diving has to do with preparedness for when things DO go wrong. It's measured during a dive, not after.

Take OOG scenarios. Maybe you never run OOG, but what if you you do? Diving with the theory that you'll never run out of gas may lead to a lifetime of injury free dives. But it's unsafe unless you have a way to get to the surface in the unlikely event you DO run out of gas. (I'm not going to suggest one method or another)

OK. Now I see and understand your point.

I don't really know too much about "DIR" but it seems to relate more to the cave/technical diving community than the reef diving community like myself. For me, it matters not if I have:

a. split fins vs paddle fins
b. snorkel vs no snorkel
c. AI console computer vs AI wrist computer vs gauges vs whatever
d. knife vs no knife
e. AIR II vs regular octo
f. pony bottle vs no pony vs having a buddy as my alternate air source

and the list could go on and on.

What really matters to me is that I enjoy the diving that I do no matter what my or someone else's equipment configuration is and that my buddy and I dive safely and live to dive another day. And so if I accomplish those two things, (enjoyment and living to dive again) then I see myself as "Doing it Right".

 

[Gombessa]

Oh... You mean that you say it is safe for me to use a brass spring clip to hold my video camera when I dive my local reef? I seem to remember you calling them suicide clips.

I imagine that would make you a stroke if doing so was endangering you in some way that you ignored or willfully disregarded. But it would NOT be because you refused to dive in a DIR manner. Again, there are plenty of fantastically skilled, safe divers who have never used a paddle fin in their lives.

What really matters to me is that I enjoy the diving that I do no matter what my or someone else's equipment configuration is and that my buddy and I dive safely and live to dive another day. And so if I accomplish those two things, (enjoyment and living to dive again) then I see myself as "Doing it Right".

Well, now it's just semantics; you're co-opting an accepted term of art. If that's what you want to call it for yourself, that's great, but it's not what the philosophy of "DIR" is. I could make an executive decision to have eggs instead of waffles for breakfast, and then call myself President of the United States of America, but that'd also be idiosyncratic, wouldn't it?

 

[mikemill]

I'd vote for you Ken