Opposition to DIR philosophy?

[Sludge]

When I was at Georgia Tech it was a common term. Some guys even got jerseys with the Greek letters Gamma Delta Iota on them!

[crpearson]

Man! Volumes could be written on this subject... When I started tech diving, the controversial fellow Forrest mentioned was going full swing and the guy who taught my advanced trimix course was NOT shy about expressing his disdain for GUE.

For my part, I've always tried to find reasons to get along with people rather than argue with them, so I took that part of the class with a grain of salt. As the years progressed I became good friends with an extremely kind and reasonable DIR diver. As we dove together I actually ended up adopting the Hogarthian config and many of their techniques. By the time I traded in my doubles for a rebreather, the only way to tell my rig from a strict DIR one was the relatively few "H"s it had on it. The key for me was that I saw the ideas, tried them out, and finally decided for myself what worked for me.

There were a lot of people who contributed to the Hogarthian configuration we see today, and I can honestly say that I missed it's elegance when I switched to my Meg. I think it's fair to say that rebreather configs are undergoing some of the same scrutiny that made the the doubles standard so nice. I know a few of the same people who are working on it

These days I think it really all boils down to a balancing act between standards and choice. The divisive personality is now long gone, but some very mean spirited things were said which caused some pretty deep wounds. It's too bad really... We all enjoy the same thing, and it would be nice if we could all find a way to focus on our similarities rather than our differences.

[FW]

....There were a lot of people who contributed to the Hogarthian configuration we see today, ......

This is a very important observation. In reality, on one group can claim responsibility for coming up with the idea.

[Squirrel Girl]

forrest, i thought i was the only person in the world who used the term gdi. thank you for proving that i'm not crazy in this one small way...

Graphical Device Interface?

Google is my friend.

(Just kidding, I think I figured out what everyone was talking about through google, and it wasn't that geeky term)

[DA Aquamaster]

As the years progressed I became good friends with an extremely kind and reasonable DIR diver. As we dove together I actually ended up adopting the Hogarthian config and many of their techniques. By the time I traded in my doubles for a rebreather, the only way to tell my rig from a strict DIR one was the relatively few "H"s it had on it. The key for me was that I saw the ideas, tried them out, and finally decided for myself what worked for me.

I had a similar story with a similar outcome. I regard it as a process of continuous improvement however and recently I also adopted a couple non-DIR ideas from a very anti- GUE/DIR diver who has been doing it for over 30 years. What he suggested make a great deal of sense and do not depart significantly from a minimalist philopsophy by what ever title you hang on it.

This is a very important observation. In reality, no one group can claim responsibility for coming up with the idea.

Absolutely, but it still raises hackles when some of the less well informed try to imply or outright state that "their" agency did exactly that.

[bletso]

Forrest, GDI, uhm, I like it. You and I just fit in.

Dale

[uncle ricky]

[Randy Thornton]

That yellow webbing will never work! Anything other than black is a safety hazard!

[Me]

The divisive personality is now long gone, but some very mean spirited things were said which caused some pretty deep wounds.

Exactly. When I started my cave training, my first instructor was then, a stuffer. I being new and excited made the mistake of posting on a now defunct Internet forum listserv and didn't realize I was being baited by a "zealot". That zealot gained information from me and forwarded on to GI. GI joined the listserv along with a few other of his followers and I was toasted in effigy. The then owner of the shop I dived out of, a former Navy Seal from the Nam era even got into the fray. GI even attacked him. It was mass conflag with language even in print I hadn't heard when I was in the military myself.

And in the early days of GUE, four friends of mine were taking Cave I. Two passed, two did not. The two that did not were offered by an instructor no longer currently affiliated with GUE, but one of their pioneers, and I quote "I can offer you NSS-CDS as a consolation".

So yes, wounds run deep.

I also switched instructors for Appr and Full, to an instructor who just happened to teach Hogarthian. I also have several pieces of Halcyon gear, only because the shop use to carry it and I got a discount. That gear has caused countless zealots to come out of the woodwork at various quarry sites in the midwest and caves in FL. To say the least they are highly disappointed when they find I am a wolf in sheep's clothing.....or would it be a sheep in wolves' clothing?

Now, I will admit I met a DIR diver back in 2001 on an Akumal cave trip that did change my mind that they were not all like GI; but I still to this day tread lightly.

[FW]

OK, remember that we still have a rule #6, no agency bashing. It would be easy to open old wounds, but that won't change the past, and the new GUE doesn't do that kind of stuff anymore.