ve noticed a growing concern regarding the frequency and nature of Grade 3 violations issued by some newly recruited IFATC members. It appears that simple mistakes, such as minor deviations from the correct taxi route or slight infringements on separation distances, are being met with immediate threats of reporting rather than constructive guidance such as please follow instructions which in itself doesn’t tell a player what they did wrong or please check the user guide again doesn’t give enough information.
While I appreciate the efforts of our IFATC to maintain order and realism on the expert server, I’m worried that this strict approach, especially from newer members, is discouraging many players from participating. The fear of being reported for minor infractions is turning away users who might otherwise enjoy and contribute to the expert server experience.
Can we discuss potential solutions or guidelines that could be provided to new IFATC recruits to emphasize education (please don’t mention go on the TS) and correction over immediate reporting? Ensuring that the expert server remains both professional and welcoming is crucial for the growth and enjoyment of our community.
This is a concern, but once those newer members get more used to being IFATC, they’ll learn to be less harsh. I for example, start with a PFI, then repeat what they were supposed to do, then if they still don’t listen, a Please Follow Instructions or You Will Be Reported. After that last attempt to give them a chance to correct their mistake, I give them a violation.
If a receive a CUG, PFI, or PFIR and aren’t sure why, you should DM the controller for clarification. Remember as IFATC we deal with dozens or sometimes hundreds of aircraft each session, it’s not practical for us to reach out to every single person that makes a mistake. Remember that the in-game ATC message system is all preset and predefined. So more often than that, one of those 3 (CUG, PFI, PFIR) is all that’s feasible.
A controller may sometimes jump straight to a PFIR if the threat is more immediate, such as not complying with a vector and thus causing a separation bust. We’re supposed to give 1 or more warnings, and time for the pilot to comply, before issuing a violation (unless of course if it’s something more immediate, like entering an active runway without permission and causing a GA).
If you believe a violation was issued to you unfairly, we have a wonderful appeals team who handles that… As controllers, we try to be as consistent as possible, even though there will always exist a spectrum of leniency vs strictness across the controller team.
This isn’t about me lol, I’m always on the expert server and get along well. Just those who are new to the expert server and get a violation for a minor violation (in my view anyway). In my experience it’s nearly always a please follow instructions or you will be reported, it’s never a case of last resort it’s always a first call of action. I completely agree with regarding entering an active runway or cutting across traffic or not following vectors, those reports are warranted. But the other day in Dubai someone was following me and he went kinda left to his assigned taxi route and bam please follow instructions and or you will be reported. So pm the controller a very kind and considerate person i have to say and he said it’s totally up to the controller if they issue a violation or not. I just think It’s a bit far to be honest. The other player did eventually go back to his original taxi route. This minor inconvenience will turn people away and force them to play on the TS where the majority of ATC are trolls (sorry it has to said) they have no plan to progress or to learn or to develop. It’s a free for all, and there’s absolutely no deterrent for bad behaviour as TS you can’t report them.
Only looking out for less experienced players than me.
All IFATC controllers are constantly monitored, including controller, behaviour, and everything else. Obviously, they are also monitored regarding violations. If a controller is suspected on a wrongful violation, usually the appeals team ask for their replay and get a verdict from there. The appeal procedures started by the pilots plays a huge part of it as well.
The leadership team always monitors the newbies, as they still need to understand everyting, but what is assured is, once they learn everything, they do become great controllers.
As always, if you think you’ve got a wrongful violation, you can always appeal. It also helps the leadership to monitor controllers too, and teach them how to be better :)
I appreciate that. Lucky i haven’t had any major violations in a good while. I always tell players esp in my Facebook group which i admin for if you any issues with controllers, how they think their conduct was etc, contact them on the form, but obviously calm down before they do so, because i know some take violations personal, go though the replay, even give one of the mods or higher ups in the admins in the Facebook group a chance to review it because we cant spot our own mistakes and it takes a fresh pair of eyes see where they went wrong. Usually we spot the mistake straight away and tell them to just learn from it, other times we say its 50/50 and the give the IFATC appeals team a link to their replay and they will either agree or disagree with the controller
By “you” in that last paragraph I was addressing anybody in general who thinks they got an unfair violation… I could’ve worded that better. Overall I think your stance is reasonable though, and JetSuperior summed it up nicely.
That’s right. I asked to approach an airport where there was a lot of traffic. The ATC Center replied that the airport was not able to accept arrivals, inviting me to diverge to another airport. There is no reply, so I started looking for another airport. Since there were no suitable airports nearby, it took me a few seconds to choose it and then I started to modify the flight plan. While I was doing this, I received a warning to follow the instructions or I would be reported. Once again, there was no reply. I tried to speed up the flight plan modification but 38 seconds after the warning I received a Level 3 violation. I had a Grade 5 because I respect the rules. Now I can’t access the expert server. I have already cancelled my subscription because I spend some time here trying to stay a bit calm but I see that it is not possible. I appealed only to be able to use the last days of the subscription already paid. The result, on me, is exactly what you reported. I wish you find the right balance.