Ok so 1 week of vatsim and it’s been pretty nice
Key take aways:
- Don’t joke around
- DONT make your callsign Dick999
- Have fun
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Correct on all three points.
It’s a great place to be, not a great place to be disorganized / unprepared / joking around.
It’s different if you’re in a quiet area and you’re the only one on with the controller but when it’s busy and the controllers are hopping, patience can run low.
Glad you’re on VATSIM! It really can be a blast in real world procedures whether you want to airlines, GA, IFR or VFR. It’s always a great way to stay sharp on the radio and I have found that VATSIM ATC are actually even more hard-core about proper phraseology than IRL.
In IRL we commonly get instructions to “turn left or right next taxiway contact ground point nine.” But this is actually incorrect according to the book and I’ve gotten reprimanded for trying to give that instruction as a controller.
Events can be a mess, grab some extra coffee or a drink for the long wait, bring extra fuel, and just be patient. Group flights or off-event days where it is busy are really fun. My favorite event is Calscream so far which I have had good success because you have scheduled slot times.
Other than your three key takeaways, I would add:
- No emergencies, otherwise risk a wallop.
- Don’t make your callsign WLP69
- You CAN have a conversation with the controller if it is quiet. Most folks are eager to know what sim you’re on or whether you like that plane or not. And ask questions if you’re unclear.
- There’s a lot of authority issues, but just take it with a grain of salt. Everyone means well, really.
Enjoy VATSIM!
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Yeah,the authority issue is common! WLP69 is whiskey Lima Papa or non phoentic: Wet Long P-nis 69…
The authority problem comes with the MSFS discord having no sense of humor.
The authority also thinks saying “vatsim mid” is mass disrespect… only flaw with vatsim
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Generally the flight sim “community” has a hard time with humour. People feel treaded on their toes immediately, even if it’s a completely neutral joke and even if there’s nothing to complain they WILL find something. Anyway, as @bucsgolf142293 said, take everything with a grain of salt.
I find it particularily funny how over the top people are with correct phraseology in Vatsim, while hardly anyone seriously cares in RW as long as there is no suspiciously bad radio conversation or rushhour ^^ It’s impressive how often I’ve heard “ready for takeoff” in RW radio. But I can’t remember a single case in Vatsim lol. Once I was holding short and said “… tower, [callsign] ready”. The controller came back with “ready for what??” with that “do it again, but correct” voice… Mentally I showed him the digitus infamis and just took off, I didn’t care after that…
But overall Vatsim is absolutely great.
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Depends on where you are flying and who the controller is…. I’ve been flying on Vatsim for over 10 years, and never had any issues. I fly mostly in North America though.
I fly mainly small GA aircraft from mid size airports ( KMDW chicago or KPWK Chicago, or Gary,). would Vatsim be useful for me or is it only for those flying the airlines ?
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Depends,Those are pretty short flights with little to no time for cruising and getting coverage will be hard…might be a mixed bag
Useful for what?
You can be very busy in your mentioned areas in case each atc is presented. Chicago area is full of airspaces and restrictions so somehow i don’t understand your question. Vatsim isn’t only multiplayer but simulation of rules with atc control.
Bad mobile app and system lag, answer is to different user, sry zeanuck.
hmmmmmm,
many emergencies i saw during my flights, no problem. Problem is when atc isn’t online because many non rules experienced pilots can’t fight in these situations correctly and do problems with traffic flow. Then big chaos and angry many pilots. I still see that many people missunderstand Vatsim, they take it as some kind of better multiplayer but forget about rules used as irl.
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HAHAH no worries…. Last night I tried calling a friend on discord, ended up calling the wrong number…. LOL. How does one dial the wrong # on Discord? Yup I did that! So all good. :).
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VATSIM only allows emergencies in controlled airspace for that very reason. 
It’s a mess if you haven’t got a controller.
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This isn’t really a VATSIM thing as much as it is an occurance when intermediately trained and experienced people try to simulate something the real world industry does for a living. Example from my line of work would be volunteers talking on emergency radio. They are really strict on phraseology, while everybody else gives 0 sh***. 
Just wanna point something out here. First, you are allowed to simulate emergencies (in controlled airspace only), but if ATC for whatever reason tells you to stop, you have to comply. Furthermore, a «wallop» can sound harsh, but the wallop function is not a reporting tool; it’s simply a way to let supervisors know that you need assistance. If a supervisor reaches out to you they will do their best to be as accomodating and helpful as time and situation allows for. You can also use the wallop function if you’re wondering if something allowed, or have general, time sensitive questions about the network. 
Supervisors are helpers; not police
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To .Wallop this is a forum in jest. We’re having some fun with our flying on Vatsim. No need for clarification. Experiences are variable based on the ARTCC and individual. Just like IRL.
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Oh no I understand! Just randomly saw the post and thought I’d pitch in. After all, aren’t we all here to have fun? Enjoy the network!
It’s more like
Supervisors care
We absolutely do 
We just want everybody to enjoy the network!
Let me know if you have any more quetions!
Unban me from the vatsim discord
Jello#8503