In what way does that scenario create a risk to VATSIM requiring intervention? Tyranny will drive people away and encourage them to forgo donations. There has not been a single user post in support of these intrusions. Only the sups are in support. How did they become so disconnected from the user base? VATSIM is not an employer/employee relationship, it’s a hobby. It sounds like that is being forgotten.
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These checks are about ensuring two things as far as I have seen:
-Ensuring network ressources are not used by people not actively participating
-Ensuring that if for example an oceanic controler comes online as he sees that a lot of traffic is in the area not two thirds of those pilots wont react to his contactmes
And I fail to see how a quick “hi” within 30 minutes after receiving a message is tyranny. If people dont want to interact with others while not under atc control thats absolutely fine, just disconnect rom the network until there is atc or until you are back at the connection for approach
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I’ll submit that it might not be a Tyranny, but it is most assuredly an Oligarchy. Regardless, these intrusions aren’t very popular. The network is not overloaded if ATC comes online and people don’t respond. Go after THEM—not somebody 400 miles from the North Pole with no ATC. The broad brush approach serves no one. Under the current rubric we are all guilty until proven innocent.
Stubbornly continuing this without targeting the right people just pisses off non-offenders.
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And VATSIM is also a privilege to use by all users. One could always fly offline if the rules that were agreed to don’t fit their way of thinking.
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Sorry but nobody needs to protect the network from max 2500 connections at a time! We dont live in the 90s anymore. Thats nothing! Dont be ridiculous!
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That isn’t your, mine or any member’s call. We have rules and the network administrators have the privilege to check for compliance.
If you are unhappy with these rules, send a well articulated e-mail to the BoG, I suggest not using language like “wtf” in such communication. Show some appreciation that you, me and tens of thousands of others are allowed to use VATSIM completely for free.
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I did see a posting lately asking if VATSIM should be a paid service. I replied that I would gladly accept pay to fly on the network to give all the ATCs and Sups something to do. All this “privilege” and being “allowed” is a very one sided approach. The whole point of VATSIM is for both pilots and ATCs to participate, but somehow only ATCs get to make and enforce the rules. So I will adjust my judgment. It is being operated by something akin to an Oligarchy and a Junta. It’s not a job folks, it’s a hobby.
I hope you dont mind if i decide for myself how i articulate my own messages or posts. And i certainly am not the person who blows smoke up someones butt! I prefer a more direct and genuine approach. So i guess youll have to live with that.
And like i said it was all good for years now. Never had a single one of those silly messages in years…. but now in the past 2-3 months couldnt do a single long haul flight without being bothered by one of them! Its annoying a f! Period! Nobody bothered for the last couple of years if someone was cruising at FL380 without sitting in front of his screen. I couldnt care less if one of those unattended flights crosses my path during cruise in FL360. Nothing at all will happen. More then likely i wouldnt evene notice while watching a movie or something during my flight.
Thats not annoying at all compared to those checks to see if i‘m still awake! Honestly if the supervisors are so bored then find other things to do and stop the annoying check messages again! We dont want it and we dont need it! Dont know a single pilot personally who likes them. Everyone of the pilots i know hate them just as much as i do!
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This thread need to be closed. It’s NOT “stalking” for SUPs to be doing their job. If you don’t like it you are welcome to fly offline.
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Seventy-one messages in, and not a single regular user supports something happening on the network, and you want to censor the content? Maybe that attitude is the root problem? “Wrong-think” will not be tolerated? There are always people like that in any group who believe they are always right and anyone who disagrees must be stifled. Control freaks are often self-selected to positions where they can impose their agendas on others. If you don’t like the considered opinions of others, just scroll on, or stop reading the thread.
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I’m sorry, but thats not true, multiple of the responses have been by regular users, like andreas or mine and multiple others. I just skipped through the whole thread and it has been about 6 people being unhappy about the checks, replies by multiple regular users and repplies by multiple network officials and supervisors.
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"repplies by multiple network officials and supervisors.”
This.
I support the SUPs doing their job.
It’s not censorship.
Maybe the attitude that SUPs doing their job is “stalking” is the problem?
If you don’t like SUPs doing their job, stop flying online.
Res ipsa loquitur
After cogitating about this for a few minutes, I think the easy workaround is to disconnect for a minute every four or five hours and then reconnect. That should take you out of the terrrible, horrible, long time online queue. 
Problem solved. Cheers.
I support this proactive action by the supervisors. Even when there is no ATC or traffic at the moment, things can change in seconds. Why fly online if you aren’t participating? I sometimes encounter pilots with thousands of hours of flight time on VATSIM but don’t have a clue of what they are doing. Some of these pilots will even disconnect immediately after having been sent a contactme to actively evade ATC. Why fly on VATSIM if you don’t even want ATC? VATSIM is not your personal flight tracking software.
When I’m controlling CTR positions in busy European airspace, depending on the time of day, sometimes up to half of the pilots are away and need to be wallopped because they are unresponsive. In the evenings, my workload most of the time doesn’t even allow wallopping them. During the day it can happen that no supervisors are available. I don’t open tickets after my sessions because the whole process is rather bureaucratic and dull. Additionally, I don’t have an easy and quick way to record a list of the pilots’ CIDs.
Another weird thing: After departure and before even reaching their cruising altitude, an increasing number of pilots ask for 20 minutes or more out of cockpit. Well, why not just disconnect then?
Frankly, I don’t understand why not more of you pilots support this. Since lots of new pilots nowadays don’t even use Unicom, you also should have an incentive to weed out those colleagues not participating seriously on the network. We probably need even more checks and enforcement of the rules since the bar to fly on VATSIM is too low.
Yesterday, I was controlling TWR and had two planes with 0.5NM spacing on final coming from Unicom. I asked the first pilot if he announced his intentions on Unicom. He answered with “No”. At least he was honest. The second pilot was then complaining that he was trying to reach the other pilot to coordinate which runways to take. So the first one wasn’t even listening on Unicom.
After handing off pilots to monitor Unicom, I had pilots ask what the frequency of this Unicom is or why there is nobody responding on “Unicom Radar”… Yes, I also saw those memes but this actually happens on the network!
Quite a few of planes nowadays simulate TCAS.
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Actually if this works i‘m happy to try it! I simply do not appreciate some dude at his pc screen checking what i‘m doing at my home as if i was a little child.
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Indeed. They don’t understand, and what’s more, they don’t care. Happy flying. Cheers.
I appreciate that and i have seen all of the mentioned behavior myself and i do agree that many of it is annoying.
But not having someone at FL380 cross your path. As you said there is TCAS and if i happen to just look at my screen and see the TCAS alert i may take evasive action myself or if i dont notice it so then maybe the unattended flight is flying trough me…. So what. Nothing happened and both flights continue as normal. Its a game! No lifes at stake!
Yes i have seen it myself lots and lots of times that people log off just before entering controlled airspace to just log back on when they have passed through and i dont understand that either. I do see that this is a problem but i dont see how it is my problem. You really need to find ways dealing with these people without contacting everyone over and over and over again. Make a list… check me maybe 5 times and if i was always there leave me alone for a couple of months. No need to check every single flight! That is extremely annoying. I‘m not a child and dont need a dude who nightly checks that i‘m not asleep!
I always monitor the live maps on my second screen so i can assure seperation on approach or departure when there is no ATC online. In your example the second pilot who tried to contact the other one on approach simply could have extended his own approach so they arent 0,5NM seperated. Thats what i would have done. I dont have a problem with flying a holding or extending my downwind on a Transition if traffic requires it. Some people are just weird and make a big deal out of it when they land 3 minutes later than planned.
Oh thank you wouldnt have known that i‘m free to fly offline without that useless comment! Highly appreciated.
How about you accept that there are people with other opinions who want change of how things work instead of telling them to fly offline! Pretty sure we are within our right to express our unhappiness of how things are done at the moment!
But to say it in your words….nobody forces you to read our messages. Just leave the conversation if you dont like us to make use of our right to express our concerns.
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