For all controllers who will be controlling the East Coast

[Stephen Billings 1022660]

Why fly that route if you can't sit there. Might as well fly something closer. Its pointless to takeoff 16X it then land. Do a shorter flight or find something to do while you are in you're cruise. You don't necessarily have to be in the cockpit the whole time. Or you can ALT+Enter it and open the internet, watch some videos on youtube or read the AIM or something.

James, I was thinking the same exact thing, Kevin you can even undock your GPS and your ATC list and search the internet, chat on IM, while flying and you can still be connected. IMO flying at 16x takes the fun out of the game, there nothing realism about that.

[Kevin Tsai 1029796]

If I go on the Internet or on any other application, the flightsim will pause. How do you go on the Internet without pausing the flightsim?

 

Any FYI, I'm going to San Jose, Costa Rica and the ICAO code is MROC, not TJSJ.

[Garry Morris 920567]

Look in the options and uncheck "Pause on Task Switch" (I think that's what it's called).

[Stephen Billings 1022660]

Look in the options and uncheck "Pause on Task Switch" (I think that's what it's called).

 

 

^^^^What he said^^^^

 

by default MSFS, it set for pause when doing something else, but you can easily uncheck that option in the option screen.

[Kevin Tsai 1029796]

OK I'll try to find that. Could some controller man the KEWR clearance delivery, ground, and or tower at 3 P.M. EDT

 

I'm planning to depart the gate at KEWR at around 3:15 EDT and by 3:25 or 3:30 EDT, I plan to depart the runway.

[Ian Elchitz 810151]

Kevin,

 

While your enthusiasm and excitement for the network is abundant and refreshing, your apparent lack of due diligence has negated it.

 

It's obvious that you either have not been made aware of (not sure how), or simply not taken the time to read the information compiled within the Vatsim Pilot Resource Center.

 

This reference library contains dozens of articles to help members of our community whether their experience and knowledge is new, intermediate, or even "old timers" like me.

It is highly recommended that you spend a few HOURS reading the information contained in this library. Over the past few days you've asked questions regarding the following:

 

Listening to ATC

Using ServInfo

FlightSim Pausing on Task Switch

How to read a METAR

What UTC is

Using Time Compression

Simulating a Hijack

Online Weather Generation

Voice Transmit/Receive Requirements

 

Every single one of these is covered in the Pilot Resource Center.

Please do yourself and everyone else a favor and spend some time reading the docomeentation.

I'm confident that the end result will be an increase to your flying enjoyment and continued enjoyment for those in the community that interact with you - both in the skies, and on the forums. My personal opinion based on reading your posts - is that failure to take time in reading the PRC will no doubt result in a potentially horrible Vatsim experience for yourself, controllers, and your fellow pilots - especially if you plan to fly in some of the high traffic skies in the US.

 

The Pilot Resource Center can be found here --> http://www.vatsim.net/prc

 

The intention of this email is to help you Kevin - we all love nothing more than to see enthusiasm channeled into learning. It's good for all of us.

 

Sincerely,

 

Ian Elchitz

Calgary, AB

810151

[James Hudson 951027]

OK I'll try to find that. Could some controller man the KEWR clearance delivery, ground, and or tower at 3 P.M. EDT

 

I'm planning to depart the gate at KEWR at around 3:15 EDT and by 3:25 or 3:30 EDT, I plan to depart the runway.

 

Can't guarentee that becuz U just happening to be flying, a whole set of controllers will come on to control for one guy. If NY_KND_CTR is on or a APP or DEP they MAY be covering you CTR will but app and dep might now.

[David Reimer 913748]

Now this is what happens when a pilot DOES NOT READ the PRC.

 

READ THE PRC

[ARIEL MAISONET 811274]

All people here including those that write with huge capital letters want to have your participation within the system; I’m positive about that!

 

Please, don’t go away, because when they say the true it seems they are kicking your butt out .

 

Though we all take the VATSIMulation very seriously, this is not the real thing and you won’t kill anybody or die because you crash -I don’t mean that you can do that freely; climb to an airplane and start flying like crazy from anywhere, because of course there are other members that deserve respect; but certainly you may come and learn within the system and if you crash nothing will happen.

 

So, stay with us, and as suggested, go to PRC and learn .

 

A kindly suggestion is to start your flight on a less busy airport, any ARTCC has many of them and can give you the service (if they are online and you call them) –that way you won’t cause any trouble to others on busiest airports.

 

So go for it, go fly!

[Anthony Atkielski 985811]

Those who don't wish to answer questions need not reply to them. And if people are willing to answer questions, it's faster to ask them here than it is to look things up in the PRC. If you have time to lecture someone about reading the PRC, you have time to answer his questions. If someone else answers his questions, it requires no time at all on your part. If nobody answers his questions, then presumably he'll eventually look at the PRC.

 

The hostility I see towards questions here is not healthy, whether the answers are in the PRC or not. The PRC is pretty badly organized, and I can't blame people for asking questions just to get the information they need a bit more quickly.

[Brad Littlejohn]

Those who don't wish to answer questions need not reply to them. And if people are willing to answer questions, it's faster to ask them here than it is to look things up in the PRC. If you have time to lecture someone about reading the PRC, you have time to answer his questions. If someone else answers his questions, it requires no time at all on your part. If nobody answers his questions, then presumably he'll eventually look at the PRC.

 

The hostility I see towards questions here is not healthy, whether the answers are in the PRC or not. The PRC is pretty badly organized, and I can't blame people for asking questions just to get the information they need a bit more quickly.

 

But you're missing the entire point.

 

Docomeentation such as those IE listed above are in a centralized location, so those same questions don't have to be repeated over and over and over and over and over and over and over again to be answered over and over and over and over and over again. They are FAQs, which are tedious.

 

Having a page that describes all of that not only helps the person answering the question because it has all their answers and then some, but saves all the (wo)man hours that would be spent answering the same questions.

 

Besides, if you think the PRC is badly organized, I don't see you contributing to it, or making the information better.

 

Instead of criticizing it, or heaven forbid, personally attacking it, put the money where the mouth is and contribute somethiing positive to it.

 

I know I have. Can you say the same?

 

BL.

[ARIEL MAISONET 811274]

Those who don't wish to answer questions need not reply to them. And if people are willing to answer questions, it's faster to ask them here than it is to look things up in the PRC. If you have time to lecture someone about reading the PRC, you have time to answer his questions. If someone else answers his questions, it requires no time at all on your part. If nobody answers his questions, then presumably he'll eventually look at the PRC.

 

The hostility I see towards questions here is not healthy, whether the answers are in the PRC or not. The PRC is pretty badly organized, and I can't blame people for asking questions just to get the information they need a bit more quickly.

 

But you're missing the entire point.

 

Docomeentation such as those IE listed above are in a centralized location, so those same questions don't have to be repeated over and over and over and over and over and over and over again to be answered over and over and over and over and over again. They are FAQs, which are tedious.

 

Having a page that describes all of that not only helps the person answering the question because it has all their answers and then some, but saves all the (wo)man hours that would be spent answering the same questions.

 

Besides, if you think the PRC is badly organized, I don't see you contributing to it, or making the information better.

 

Instead of criticizing it, or heaven forbid, personally attacking it, put the money where the mouth is and contribute somethiing positive to it.

 

I know I have. Can you say the same?

 

BL.

 

What is happening here guys?... take it easy! Anthony is right, if we want to answer questions it is up to us; and is also fine to suggest to anybody to go and read and have more information here and there, but please is enough of having constants attacks between members.

 

We are here for the sole purpose of having fun; and make friends and I constantly see people attacking each other, and been rude.

 

Yeah I understand we can be upset sometimes, but always?

 

Thanks!

[Brad Littlejohn]

What is happening here guys?... take it easy! Anthony is right, if we want to answer questions it is up to us; and is also fine to suggest to anybody to go and read and have more information here and there, but please is enough of having constants attacks between members.

 

Not entirely right, Ariel.

 

Yes, if we want to answer questions, it is up to us. But where does that principle lead us?

 

If we didn't have a place where frequently asked questions weren't answered, and we did not want to answer them here anymore, that makes us out to have bad support, bad service, and a less than stellar reputation among the flightsimming community.

 

All I am stating, is that instead of giving up and having everything handed to us on a silver platter, be proactive and search out the answers to these questions, which we have been generous to post everywhere (main website, forums, VAs) for our perusal. Why re-invent the wheel over and over again?

 

As for attacks, I [Mod - Happy Thoughts]ure you, I am not attacking Anthony. I am pointing out that while it is easy to criticize, it is more advantageous to channel that criticism positively and make a contribution to the place he is criticizing, and make it better. Criticizm, unless constructive, serves no purpose.

 

We are here for the sole purpose of having fun; and make friends and I constantly see people attacking each other, and been rude.

 

Yeah I understand we can be upset sometimes, but always?

 

Thanks!

 

Please see the above.

 

BL.

[ARIEL MAISONET 811274]

Roger... you are right; it's exactly as you say!

[Anthony Atkielski 985811]

Try a little test: Show someone the VATSIM home page, and give him ten seconds to find the right place to click in order to learn how to be a pilot on the network. You'll find that ten seconds isn't enough. Worse yet, when he finally does figure out at least how to join, he'll have a terrible time finding the information he needs to know to use VATSIM effectively. The PRC is in little chunks, well hidden, with many pieces missing. What the network needs is a single, compact guide that tells new pilots everything they need to know (except how to fly, which is too large a subject to cover on VATSIM—just warn them that they already need to know how to fly instead).

 

I was looking at the site today and it was really hard to figure out where to click to find out how to become a pilot, much less where to click to find the PRC (which nobody is going to know about, anyway, upon his first arrival at the site).

[Levi Duroy 981416]

on my first time to VATSIM.NET,I found everything just fine.and it really doesn't take that long to look through the PRC.But also,I suggest if you know from memory the answer,just help someone out.

[ARIEL MAISONET 811274]

Try a little test: Show someone the VATSIM home page, and give him ten seconds to find the right place to click in order to learn how to be a pilot on the network. You'll find that ten seconds isn't enough. Worse yet, when he finally does figure out at least how to join, he'll have a terrible time finding the information he needs to know to use VATSIM effectively. The PRC is in little chunks, well hidden, with many pieces missing. What the network needs is a single, compact guide that tells new pilots everything they need to know (except how to fly, which is too large a subject to cover on VATSIM—just warn them that they already need to know how to fly instead).

 

I was looking at the site today and it was really hard to figure out where to click to find out how to become a pilot, much less where to click to find the PRC (which nobody is going to know about, anyway, upon his first arrival at the site).

 

Agree!

[Scott Johnston 890281]

Try a little test: Show someone the VATSIM home page, and give him ten seconds to find the right place to click in order to learn how to be a pilot on the network. You'll find that ten seconds isn't enough. Worse yet, when he finally does figure out at least how to join, he'll have a terrible time finding the information he needs to know to use VATSIM effectively. The PRC is in little chunks, well hidden, with many pieces missing. What the network needs is a single, compact guide that tells new pilots everything they need to know (except how to fly, which is too large a subject to cover on VATSIM—just warn them that they already need to know how to fly instead).

 

I was looking at the site today and it was really hard to figure out where to click to find out how to become a pilot, much less where to click to find the PRC (which nobody is going to know about, anyway, upon his first arrival at the site).

Ten seconds isn't enough time to do most things. There is a BIG red link on the homepage that says "NEW PILOTS START HERE", that takes you to the PRC that has another big link that says "Click Here to JOIN VATSIM". You can't make it much more obvious.

[Michael Smith]

just looking on the forum you will the link somewhere

[Paul Byrne]

Hi,

 

Sorry Anthony, but I'm not getting you with this one. Are you saying that the big bold red lettering on the left menu that says "New Pilots Start here" isn't good enough?

 

This link takes you to the PRC main menu and then, once again in big bold lettering says "Click here to join VATSIM". Is this also not good enough?

 

I sort of understand your comments about the PRC, some of the formatting and ordering may be a little hard to grasp. But when it comes to a new member coming to the site, all they have to do is read the main page properly and then read the next page after that to become a member. If you're saying that the initial steps to become a member of VATSIM need "dumbing down", then I completely disagree. Why use the benchmark of 10 secs? This may be an important number in online business, but VATSIM isn't a business and in fairness the type of person who would lose interest in the site after 10 secs because they can't find the information they want isn't really going find VATSIM as their cup of tea.

 

As regards answering questions, I think you have to remember that everyone who helps out is volunteering to help out. These people are putting in a lot of work for the sheer p[Mod - Happy Thoughts]ion and love of the hobby and network and when they come across this ever growing and prevelant "self gratifying, I want it now" attitude I hope you could understand why most times they will just post a link to the PRC. This hobby requires the user to actually do some work to learn the craft of participating in the network correctly. You will find that valid questions are always answered to the best of everyones ability. It's the questions that seem to crop up over and over again, that are actually covered in the PRC FAQs are the ones that will get the link thrown at them. The instant gratification method just won't work here and encouraging it is absolute folly.

 

Cheers!

Paul.

[Ross Carlson]

To add to what Brad and Paul have said, another reason to point new users to the PRC is so that they know where they might find the answer to the NEXT question they'll inevitably ask. Isn't it better to teach new users how to teach themselves?

[Brad Littlejohn]

Try a little test: Show someone the VATSIM home page, and give him ten seconds to find the right place to click in order to learn how to be a pilot on the network. You'll find that ten seconds isn't enough. Worse yet, when he finally does figure out at least how to join, he'll have a terrible time finding the information he needs to know to use VATSIM effectively. The PRC is in little chunks, well hidden, with many pieces missing. What the network needs is a single, compact guide that tells new pilots everything they need to know (except how to fly, which is too large a subject to cover on VATSIM—just warn them that they already need to know how to fly instead).

 

I was looking at the site today and it was really hard to figure out where to click to find out how to become a pilot, much less where to click to find the PRC (which nobody is going to know about, anyway, upon his first arrival at the site).

 

Anthony,

 

This goes back to the point I made in my first reply to you. The PRC is all voluntary. As in, people are volunteering to put the information together. If it seems out of whack to you or if you find it hard to navigate through it, volunteer to make it cleaner! The power is within all of us to make it better than what it is (personally, I can find what I need in it.)

 

My whole point is that complaining about it isn't going to make it better, since it is a community effort that puts it together and makes it full of the information it has and needs. If you have any ideas that you think would make it better, contribute to it! Until then, talking about it or complaining about it won't make it better. Only action taken from those complaints or feedback will make it happen. So how about helping us help you by putting in the effort with the rest of us to make the PRC better?

 

BL.

[Anthony Atkielski 985811]

I've considered it, but unfortunately time constraints prevent me from contributing much for now.

 

As for the big red link for new pilots, it really isn't that big. In fact, when I look at the home page, I see no less than six different links that look as thought they might allow me to become a pilot, and the quickest to catch the eye is "Let's Go Fly!" which turns out to have nothing to do with becoming a pilot or training. The page should probably be revamped. I'd suggest two big buttons at the top that say "Become a (virtual) pilot!" and "Become a (virtual) controller!" and lead to a coherent set of pages that give step-by-step instructions for doing exactly those things.

[Ross Carlson]

I've considered it, but unfortunately time constraints prevent me from contributing much for now.

 

Translation: "I'm not willing to sacrifice the time I already spend flying on VATSIM or posting in the forums."

[Paul Byrne]

Hi,

As for the big red link for new pilots, it really isn't that big. In fact, when I look at the home page, I see no less than six different links that look as thought they might allow me to become a pilot, and the quickest to catch the eye is "Let's Go Fly!" which turns out to have nothing to do with becoming a pilot or training.

So, the phrase "New Pilots Start Here" means nothing to you? Seems clear enough to me. All that is required is for a person to properly read the main page, not just quickly glance and try and find the link with the flashing lights and glitter background.

 

By the way, what were the other 4 links that looked as though they might allow you to become a pilot? Just curious to see if there could actually be a chance of misinterpreting something on the site.

 

Cheers!

Paul.