You are absolutely correct there, Doug. Very few of the Water & Site SIG actually post on the forum at all, which is a sad state of affairs. I would say that there is also a tendency, especially amongst the old-timers, to keep their methods and techniques to themselves for fear of professional competition (correct me if I'm wrong here); and this is not helping to encourage younger folk to get into water dowsing and is resulting in a still-decreasing pool of professional water dowsers in the country and on the BSD register.Doug Bates wrote:I venture to suggest, however, that the water interest group within the BSD is rather small because it is a specialised field in which a relatively small number of dowsers work, for few have the gumption to lay themselves open to the harsh light of necessary proof every time they dowse, and some of the professionals who do, like myself, have perhaps tended to disassociate themselves from the esoteric majority of the Society for the very reasons I have explained in my preceding posts.
I think there is a danger of too much fragmentation here. There are strong advantages in maintaining a large national body as the BSD, which has the administrative capability to support and protect dowsers against legislative challenges, such as many of our members are experiencing at the moment at the hands of the Advertising Standards Authority.Doug Bates wrote:In respect of advancing the cause of dowsing as a serious geophysical exploration technique in the water and minerals sector, and working on the common ground between Dowsing biophysics and scientific geophysics in this demanding arena, it may ultimately be preferable to form a new International Society of Professional Water and Mineral Dowsers as a vehicle to focus the energies and efforts of a professionally qualified and disciplined minority towards greater pioneering achievement and scientific advancement.
No doubt others have suggested this before, but of course we all have busy lives and it takes a considerable effort and time commitment to begin and sustain a professional society. Since I am suggesting it again now, I will consider re-joining the society and putting a proposal together for such an organisation to develop within the BSD.
Yes, absolutely. But I think the research requirements can be well-served within the existing Society structures, particularly with the Water & Site Group and the Dowsing Research Group. But where are the research proposals? Many have argued that the Society should be actively promoting such research, but we can only do that if people submit structured proposals... and there is a challenge that I hope you (or somebody else) will take up.Doug Bates wrote: I feel you and the membership as a whole must concede that to provide constructive criticism in these circumstances is definitely in the interests of the Society in accordance with its Code of Ethics. By the same token, contributions of a high standard of research, investigation, and debate on this subject should be encouraged by all means.
But.... as I said previously, this is a public forum and is most definitely NOT the place to be discussing BSD policy, so regrettably I must end this conversation here.