What's an Internet Diver?

[luckydays]

I am an internet diver Mid November through late March (unless I can get a vacation somewhere warm in between). Starting April, I am a reality diver.

 

[TSandM]

Wow . . . thanks for reviving this thread! It has the single longest post I think I've ever seen from Jeff G in it. He's definitely gotten terser with age.

 

[JeffG]

Not the longest by far.

 

[Arduous]

Wow I find it incredible that this thread is still going! This started in 2005!

 

[Rhone Man]

Wow I find it incredible that this thread is still going! This started in 2005!

I love it when threads come back from the dead... good topics always come back to life.

I was thinking about this though - a lot of ink has been spilled about how because the internet is anonymous it allows people to be more opinionated and leads to the "internet divers" style argument.

But I think a bigger part is that the internet is much broader geographically. I can honestly say that I had never heard of DIR before the first time I logged onto SB. Now I know. Similarly, in Europe they do a lot of things differently to the North American model, some I knew about, some I didn't. I normally consider myself enriched by learning by how others do it, even if I don't choose to follow. But ever so often absurd arguments seem to burst out broadly along the lines of "different to me = wrong". Internet diver is an easy insult to use against someone online that you don't meet in person; probably if somebody says the same thing on a dive boat the same people just listen politely to a different perspective. There was a really absurd argument in a thread the other day whether it was better to refer to a tank's absolute volume (European) or the volume of gas held at working pressure (North American). Just a different way of doing it; no need for anyone to bunch up their drysuit undergarments.

 

[Rick Inman]

Are you diving?

Nope. He is an internet diver.

Too true... But, just to make it look good, I occasionally update my profile with bogus equipment additions and new certification levels. Now, instead of being a nOOb internet diver, I am an Experienced Internet Diver.

Much safer this way...

Unfortunately, I am not a DIR internet diver.