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>I think it is HYPOCRITICAL of the DIR bigshots to declare that a DIR >person must not dive (rule #1) or listen (Rule #2) to strokes; but it is >perfectly DIR to sell a stroke gear. Funny that this touched off so much debate. In truth I first thought it a troll (not sure I am unconvinced of this impression), then I thought the discussion a bit funny, and now I find it interesting to see these multiple perspectives. I felt that this deserved at least a semi official comment since I was being challenged as hypocritical (caps left out<G>). My initial thoughts that this was a troll were as much for the practical implications of trying to identify a "stroke" prior to gear purchase as for the arguably naive understanding it represents. Financial issues aside, it is imminently difficult and questionable to force this sort of relationship. On a deeper level I personally see it as undesirable to alienate people that are searching, in flux, transitioning, skeptical or just plain resistant. I have seen that quite often the individuals most resistant to these concepts become the most avid and appreciative supporters. In some ways these people are the ones that understand the benefit the most. For example, we have had an array of divers with solid experience (many hundreds of dives) that come into a DIR fundamentals class the die hard skeptic and leave amazed that such a class could improve what they expected were excellent skills. People tend come to an idea or not in their own time and in their own way. Before everyone tries to take this in some non supportive of DIR direction my feelings about people coming into an idea on their own does not mean that I will involve these divers in my own or in group dives but it also does not mean I see any cause to intentionally alienate the possibility that they may wish to adopt the ideas in the future. Of course all of this ignores the financial issues associated with such actions. Most will wrongly say that that is the real issue here. However, it is part of the issue because we built a company to service what we saw as a meaningful and worthwhile niche of divers. People that fully represent and cater directly to that niche are in a great position and hats of to them. I think that is great and in time I am sure they will prosper. DIR is now sufficiently popular to support properly focused individuals and in time this will grow even more substantial and support ever larger infrastructures. I think that where possible full DIR can be extremely supportive and beneficial. I also see the benefit to strong support for DIR and appreciation for where other individuals are at any given moment in time. At the outset my personal motivations were to serve like minded divers and create a positive influence on what I saw as a declining industry. Both GUE and Halcyon lose business because of their philosophical approach. They unintentionally alienate people that would otherwise be customers and intentionally make choices that are not in the interest of profitability. We could easily catapult ourselves into much greater market share and substantially more generous earnings by riding our popularity. There are entire markets that Halcyon could leverage using name recognition to sell people what they think that they want. Yet we work very hard to find a way to promote what we believe while being as inclusive and helpful as possible. Some people imagine DIR to be a fad but I see the excitement as an obvious indication that supporters and skeptics, divers and instructors, shop owners and manufacturers feel the energy of change in this industry. Some are afraid, some are resistant, some ambivalent, and some energized. Yet it is there in almost tangible way. Regardless of what any of us wish to say or do about that reality these ideas will march on and take their own shape. In this future I see Halcyon and GUE's efforts in the context of facilitation and not enforcement. We are excited about making diving more fun and safer but we are not the police or the government and we plan to continue doing our best to make great equipment while remaining true to our principles. Good Diving, JJ Jarrod Jablonski President- Global Underwater Explorers CEO Halcyon Manufacturing/Extreme Exposure GUE (www.gue.com) is a non-profit educational, research, and exploratory organization with hundreds of dedicated members around the world. Halcyon manufacturing (www.halcyon.net) and Extreme Exposure (www.extreme-exposure.com) produce some of the scuba industry's most novel and robust diving equipment designed by many of diving's most active explorers. -- Send mail for the `techdiver' mailing list to `techdiver@aquanaut.com'. Send subscribe/unsubscribe requests to `techdiver-request@aquanaut.com'.
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