Fellow VATUSA Controllers,
There’s a saying that states “do not walk into someone else’s house and...” This is typically followed by an action that is socially unacceptable when in someone else’s home; their “airspace”, if you will.
This post references an issue I have seen several times both as a pilot and a controller inside VATUSA. Some controllers, like myself, love to share their knowledge with other controllers at other ARTCCs, most of the time in an effort to benefit everyone involved. I find this knowledge sharing to be often helpful, with controllers (doubling as pilots at the time) explaining to me a part of my airspace that I am less than familiar with. The same applies to control methods or phraseology mistakes/shortcuts. As a general rule, I have found it is a great idea to either research or discuss their suggestions with your facility staff, in order to maximise controller knowledge and adaptability.
This, by itself, is not the issue. The issue is with the way some people choose to present this knowledge. Some feel it necessary to, on an active voice/text frequency, to correct the controller. They do this in a variety of ways including complaints on frequency or statements such as: “I’m not sure why you’re giving me vectors all the way out here, are you working some large amount of traffic I don’t see or hear?” Nearly every controller on VATSIM has run into a pilot/controller who thinks they should share their knowledge with you in this way. It is not only annoying but quite disrespectful to do this on frequency (to both controllers and to ARTCC staff), in addition to disrupting activities on frequency.
Fortunately, on VATSIM, we possess many tools for communication that are not possessed by FAA air traffic controllers in the real world. These tools include:
- Feedback pages
- Chat boxes
- Websites with direct email links to staff
All three of these tools are easily accessible and can be requested by the pilot to the controller at any time. Many controllers have their ARTCC feedback page in their controller ATIS. A link to a staff page is also sometimes found in the same place. To send a controller a private chat message, .chat CALLSIGN or .msg CALLSIGN MESSAGE are also options. These methods are private ways to communicate correction and/or instruction to controllers, without disruption or disrespect on frequency.
I certainly appreciate those who come onto the network looking to correct me… I am far from an excellent controller, I might go so far as to say that I’m not even a good one yet. I am happy, as I’m sure others are, to accept constructive criticism and instruction from those better informed than I am. It should be at the forefront of everyone in this division’s mind that we are here to serve each other: Anything we say or do should be to benefit those around us. Air traffic controllers are responsible for thousands of lives every day… It obviously takes someone selfless (or crazy) to do the job.
The message here is as follows:
Controller cooperation is always better than controller correction.
As controllers, we should strive to not be the guy that manages to make everyone in a particular ARTCC want to log off when they see you because you have a history of insulting and/or correcting their controllers on frequency.
As staff members, we should strive to explain and reinforce these ideas of cooperation amongst our controllers. Though you may not realise it, you, as an ATM, DATM, or TA, have the power to shape how your controllers think and act while on the network. The goal should never be to be “the best ARTCC”, but rather “the best division”.
But whoever said anything about friendly competition?
I look forward to everyone’s thoughts on this.
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