Promoting the hobby...

["D. Buchner" <Buchner@mega-com.com>]

Jim Woolfrey of
Portland, Oregon said:

>Tell me why I should be concerned about the "long term health and
>popularity" of this hobby?  Why should I care about "the slow acceptance
>of underwater vehicles" as a sport/hobby?  These concerns have little, if
>anything, to do with how well I'll enjoy my time with my new toy when I
>build it.

I couldn't agree more. Actually, maybe I *could* agree more. Beyond just
not caring whether it gets more popular, I might actually *oppose* attempts
to make it so. I get nervous when anybody talks of making anything I like
into something more popular, more mainstreamed, more accepted and normal.
With this comes more regulated, more crowded, more hyped and
commercialized, and often more expensive (licensing, fancy gear,
accessories, fees..).

Now, on the other hand, I'd better say right away that I'm not going to get
in the way of anyone like Ray, who has a Dream - a long-term goal. I'm the
same way with space exploration. And I see your point about some things
getting government-restricted out of existence without a popular following.
But I guess I'm just generally prejudiced about regulation from the start.
Ray, I certainly sympathize with you about firearms. But I don't think we
necessarily escape those kinds of problems by broadening the popularity of
our "hobbies."

I think about things like downhill skiing - a simple, crazy concept which
has become a ritualized, contrived, and totally annoying "sport." And I
think about those "personal watercraft," which I used to think were kind of
a neat idea, and then suddenly became popular, and now some of the most
obnoxious jerks from Fargo are into that, and come to where I live and the
machines have gotten gaudier and uglier and I wouldn't have anything to do
with them. Also, in response, there's been an explosion of new restrictive
laws, at least around here.

Another example. Two of my friends and I rode around on Honda 3-wheelers
when I was around 15, and they were quirky and different and we had lots of
fun and we were the only ones around. Then they got popular. Then lots of
losers killed and/or mutilated themselves with them. Then they were
outlawed. The replacement, "safe" 4-wheelers are insanely complex and
expensive, and the costs also reflect liability insurance of various kinds
and the manufacturers' efforts to cover their butts with safety training
videos. In my state, ATV's now have to be licensed (even if you never leave
your own land!!!), where they didn't have to be before. Every new thing
that comes along is in its own little gap, until it gets popular - then the
masses "demand" laws to control it and the original pioneers are squeezed
out by jocks in purple tights.

I imagine people who got into ultralight airplanes early on might have
similar stories to tell. I could also point to the hype and the "OUTRAGE"
about the internet since it got popularized.

As far as I know, all I'm gonna have to do with my submersible is license
it as a homemade, 6 foot long, motorized boat without a toilet.

Ooops. I got lengthy again.


 - David
<Buchner@mega-com.com>