In the hope that everybody using FG is able to be tolerant and accept that there are always more than one opinion about one thing, I will try to explain why I have problems with this:
First of all I have strong feelings about using third party tools in general. I have been in IT "business" for more than 30 years now and the amount of fraud I saw is incredible and increasing. So up front I felt a strong aversion against VATSIM.
Still I tried to register and -as ever so often these days- this did NOT go well. Even though I switched off my noscript script-blocker in my web browser (which I REALLY hate to do!!), the VATSIM-page complains about JavaScript being turned off. This is usually a sign that the web page checks for advertisement blockers. Now, why would a soooo nice and harmless web page check for ad-blockers? Beats me, but I am out!
Reading the help pages on how to get on VATSIM going on FG did not help reducing my doubts! Being forced to run two .exe on my computer frightens me and my first question would be: Are both of them free and open source? Well I don't know, but if yes, that's good but still the "installation" of the connection aid to VATSIM seems too complicated to me and also too intrusive to my FG installation (replacing config-files and so). If the two .exe are not free and open source: Totally not acceptable to me. Already I am a Linux user and I am quite upset about any SW that does not come with Linux support and has to run on wine.
Now, the semi-pro pilots here might think: Hey what's this hans05 talking about?!? VATSIM is so great that you REALLY should not complain about the little pitfalls on the way to getting it.
Well, I started FG only last year's June, I have no clue why VATSIM would be so great.
If the only reason for using VATSIM is, that one wants to fly with others who do not use FG, again: I am out. No interest.
So maybe somebody could explain to the pilots on the beginner side, why VATSIM is the must have?!
So all of this is just my personal opinion and I totally understand you guys who might have dear friends using other sims than FG and really want to fly with them anyways and you have Google, Facebook, Whatsup and all other accounts and do not mind or even see any of the problems related with that and find VATSIM the most harmless amongst all of them. I bet you will have a lot of fun and I am truly happy for you.
I write this anyway, because I want to give you a hint that there are people like me, and I assume amongst people that use a free and open simulator like FG there are more people like me than amongst people that use closed source sims.
In my opinion it would be good to improve FG and advertise it in a way that all those friends who escaped to other sims come back to use what I find the over all best flight simulator out there (taking privacy protection, type of people using it and many other things into account).
Now, ranting off: I do wish you lots of fun in Gibraltar, go land your planes and feed some monkeys