OVERVIEW #
VATSIM and VATCAR have a shared goal of making an online environment
which serves the needs of the flight simulation and virtual air traffic control
community. Whilst maintaining the network, we also provide a place for you
to have a chance to make friends all across the world or unwind with other
people who share the same passion as you.
The rules outlined below offer guidance for using the VATCAR systems.
Members are also subject to all VATSIM policies, including but not limited to:
● VATSIM Code of Conduct
● VATSIM Code of Regulations
● VATSIM User Agreement
● VATSIM Safeguarding Minors Policy
These rules are here as a guide which members of the community should
follow. These rules protect our members but also it guides them in their
behaviour so as to avoid moderation and retain access to our services.
VATCAR reserves the right to carry out any actions deemed necessary to
enforce these Terms & Conditions, the policies of VATCAR, the division or the
VATSIM network as a whole. Examples are (but not limited to) closing and/or
removing any discussion or content that is unacceptable. This can be done
regardless of whether the specific violation is covered in these Terms &
Conditions. Any member that is unsure of whether their actions would breach
the Terms & Conditions, should use caution and consider whether a different
approach would be appropriate.
Whilst the whole staff team do their best to ensure that the public use of our
systems is a fun and safe medium, it is unrealistic to think we are able to vet
100% of all content posted. If you believe anything to be in violation of any of
the Terms & Conditions, please use the appropriate reporting tools to bring it
to our attention. The moderation team can be contacted by email at
vatcar1@vatcar.net. Any appeal relating to a specific moment of moderation
must be communicated within 5 days of the decision.
C1 – REQUIREMENTS #
1.1 All communication which takes place on VATCAR services is governed by
the rules set forth in the VATSIM User Agreement, Articles 3.1 sections A, B
and C which may be viewed at VATSIM.net are relevant for you to be aware of.
1.2 Moderators are those people assigned to enforce the terms outlined here.
Moderators are appointed and removed at the sole discretion of the VATCAR
Sernior Staff and decisions regarding appoints/removals are non-discussable
with members. Administrators and Network Supervisors may also take action
against individuals who are in breach of the Code of Conduct, the Code of
Regulations or the User Agreement. Every member of VATSIM is governed by
the Terms & Conditions, regardless of any position or status they may hold.
1.3 Any verbal or written message via a channel or private message (PM), sent
on any platform that is owned and/or operated by VATCAR, that is believed to
be in breach of the Terms & Conditions, should be brought to the attention of
the Moderation Team. This is done by contacting the moderation team as
detailed above. Some systems that we own and/or operate have built in
reporting systems. Where these exist, they should be used in the first
instance, prior to submitting an email. Members that take matters into their
own hands will be treated accordingly and may themselves be subject to
moderation.
1.4 Some mediums that we own and/or operate can be highly dynamic due to
the pace of discussion. It can be very easy to forget the wider audience which
can follow the conversation. Everyone using these mediums is advised.
1.4a Several thousand people may be able to read what you post or send,
including members of the age of 13. Also, the readers include those members
who come from the minorities of our community and those people who
joined the division today.
1.4b Popular mediums of communication act as a shop window for the
division to show the world which values we hold and how we want our
community to look.
1.4c Where conversation happens at pace, moderation in these mediums may
be swift, decisive and be used to defuse inappropriate content or discussions
from spiralling out of control.
1.5 Members shall not post defamatory comments about specific individuals
on any VATCAR services. There are ways and means of dealing with these
problems and publicly slandering the individuals concerned is not the correct
way. Any member found to be doing this, regardless of the medium, will be
disciplined as outlined in section 5 major offences section of these Terms &
Conditions
1.6 Moderators may remove content in breach of the Terms & Conditions. In
this case, the moderator will make reasonable efforts to inform the member
of the action taken. This may contain either a written reason from the
moderator explaining the removal or the Terms & Conditions clause that has
been broken will be put in its place. This can sometimes be less
straight-forward to achieve, depending on the medium used. Where content
has been removed, without further action , there is no right to appeal,
although it is subject to on-going review by the team.
1.7 Where a member has broken the Terms & Conditions seriously and
intentionally, they may have their access to all VATCAR services removed for a
specific amount of time. In this instance, the member will be notified by email
informing them of the reasons for removal.
If a member feels that disciplinary action brought upon themselves was
unfair or unjust, they must contact the moderation team as detailed above.
A member shall be notified of the outcome of their appeal within 5 days of
the appeal being submitted. Once an outcome has been given and the
member notified, there is no further right to appeal and the decision of the
appeal is final. Public discussion of any appeals is an automatic right for
removal.
1.8 VATCAR reserves the right to modify and change the Terms & Conditions
at any point without prior warning. Members will be notified when a change
to the Terms & Conditions occurs.
C2 – ADVERTISING & SPAMMING #
VATCAR wishes to remain impartial towards other organisations and
companies. Therefore, members are asked to follow the terms outlined below
in regards to advertising and spamming using VATCAR Services.
2.1 Virtual Airlines, Promotion of virtual airlines or similar organisations is
allowed. However, advertising staff positions, or recruiting pilots is NEVER
allowed on any VATCAR service.
2.2 Products for Sale, Members are not permitted to post links to products or
direct advertisements of products for which they are profiting in any way.
2.3 Spamming, Posting spam using any VATCAR services is strictly prohibited.
Spamming is considered the posting of unwanted or unhelpful content on a
continual basis in order to advertise items for sale, link to third parties or
services or forcefully and repeatedly put the same point across. This includes
audio, images, video and animations as well as text.
C3 – COMPUTER MISUSE #
Offences committed as listed below will be subject to immediate removal
with no right to appeal. The member will be reported to their ISP and
prevented from accessing any VATCAR services indefinitely. The matter will
also be escalated to the VATSIM Network Supervisor team and to the VATSIM
Board of Governors.
3.1 Threats and Harassment, All members are entitled to use any VATCAR
service without fear of violence or being the recipient of threats or
harassment. Any member found to be threatening or harassing another
member via any medium, will be subject to disciplinary action as outlined in
this section.
3.2 Hacking, Any member found to be “hacking” or interfering with the
operation of any of the VATCAR services in any way will be subject to removal.
“Hacking” is to be considered as: maliciously attempting to access any
restricted areas and/or activity that interferes with the daily routine running of
the VATCAR services. “Ethical” hacking or the utilisation of loopholes is also
not permitted.
3.3 Illegal Activities, Members are not to discuss any illegal activities using any
VATCAR Services. This includes, but is not limited to, posting cracks / hacks /
serials in order to avoid copyright protection. In addition, no discussion of how
to download torrents and/or pirated software or discussion of how to hack or
any other illegal activity is permitted.
C4 – MINOR OFFENSES #
All offences listed below are generally committed unintentionally. However
continued breaches of any offences in this section may result in a period of
suspension from VATCAR Services.
4.1 Screenshots and Images On Discord, use the appropriate channel for
screenshots. The use of GIFs is broadly discouraged. As a medium, this is
highly likely to result in a difference of understanding between members.
There may be implied (deliberate or accidental) secondary meanings.
4.2 Off-topic discussions, Our services have channels dedicated to several
topics important to the running of the facility. More general channels may
attract topics which are only partly relevant to aviation or the network. Staff
members may advise individuals where topics are irrelevant for discussion in
this medium or where a better channel exists for this topic. Failing to keep
conversation on-topic often will result in action taken under this section.
4.3 Real-time guidance, In some settings any staff member may give advice
to individuals about how to behave in a different way, short of moderation.
Follow this guidance as it is a way of gently avoiding moderation. Continuing
to behave inappropriately will result in action taken under this section.
4.4 Swearing (VERBAL), VATCAR Services are here in order to provide a place
for members of this network to come together and communicate. Members
of VATSIM vary in ages as low as 13 and therefore our community should be
free of profanity and vulgar language. If the offence is a fleeting verbal use of
unacceptable language you may be subject to this term. If you post content
containing unacceptable language (or links containing such content) you will
be subject to sub-section 5.1.
4.5 Screen sharing, Streaming and Use of Video Members who choose to use
streaming or live video functionality are held accountable for all content
broadcast. Members should be aware how these features work and pay
attention to (unintended) background content. We advise members to
terminate this feature once the need for sharing has ended. Use of your
webcam should be considered very carefully and must comply with all parts
of the Terms & Conditions of the division.
C5 – MAJOR OFFENSES #
All users of VATCAR services have the right to be able to participate without
feeling victimised or scrutinised by other members. These offences likely
breach other VATSIM policies.
5.1 Crude, Rude or Socially Unacceptable Language This type of language will
not be tolerated while using the VATCAR Services. VATCAR Services are here
in order to provide a place for members of this network to come together and
communicate. Members of VATSIM vary in ages as low as 13 and therefore our
services should be free of profanity and vulgar language. This includes
posting links to content that contains this type of language. Profanity filters
will attempt to remove these kinds of words on various services; however any
attempt to bypass the filter will be treated as a breach of this term.
5.2 Inflammatory and/or Irrelevant Posts, VATCAR does not wish to discourage
healthy debate and discussion while using VATCAR services, however any
content that is made with the intent of arguing or “debating” in a defamatory,
inflammatory and non-productive manner will not be tolerated.
5.3 Sexually Explicit Material or Language, It is considered unacceptable to
post images/videos or links to websites that contain sexually explicit material
aimed at those 18 and over while using any VATCAR services, including the
use of sexually explicit language (verbal or written). Profanity filters will
attempt to remove these kinds of words on various services; however any
attempt to bypass the filter will be treated as a breach of this term.
5.4 Safeguarding of Minors, Members must report concerns regarding
communication of a sexual nature, exploitation, abuse & harassment,
radicalisation or discrimination towards minors. It is not acceptable to utilise
any part of the division to discuss or imply the sexualisation of anyone below
the age of consent regardless of the age of other involved parties. It is not
permitted to approach or encourage members in this regard using our
services. Any member who is remotely aware of any activity involving abuse of
minors must report it to the Moderation Team and/or to VATSIM as outlined in
VATSIM Safeguarding Minors Policy. Breach of the law can and should be
reported to the police.