BEST OF BREED:

AVSIM Online's overriding goal is to be the most informative, comprehensive, and entertaining aviation simulation and aviation site: to be the best of breed in online magazines and resources. We work hard to meet that goal each and every day of the week. From the volunteers who selflessly give their time to the team sites that appear in the AVSIM system, every thing we and our teammates do is focused on this one goal - being the best - providing you a quality publication and web site.

We actively search out and seek partners and teammates that we consider "best of breed" in their offerings to the community and try to bring them into the AVSIM family. In this way, we expand our collective services to you, our user, and provide you only the best in aviation simulation resources. Our teammates benefit from direct exposure to over 200,000 visitors and some 4 million hits per month to the AVSIM Online front page. If you are an aviation simulation enthusiast, a webmaster, or someone who has a better "mouse trap" to offer the simming community, we encourage you to contact us so that we can discuss your idea, site or offering and how you might fit into the AVSIM team.

AVSIM will continue to grow and change in response to its own vision and to the needs of its readership. AVSIM does not, and will not, disparage or try to compete with the many other fine web sites and resources which serve our community. The flight-sim and aviation community is large and ever-increasing. AVSIM believes there is room for all and a need for other voices and services, and actively encourages its readership to use these invaluable resources.

AVSIM USER PRIVACY POLICY:

Many vendors, software houses, and online catalog services request information on our readership. This happens on a more frequent basis than you might guess. Our Policy on Privacy is very simple; we do not provide ANY user information to non-AVSIM Online personnel.

However, there are some readers who do want to be placed in mailing lists that are provided to vendors in order that they receive updated software announcements, incentive programs, discount coupons, and email announcements regarding product updates and so on. In order to accommodate those users who desire this service, we have created a Vendor's Mailing List system that will, if you so desire, place you in an AVSIM database that we will, from time to time, provide to requesting vendors. If you would like to be on this list, you can submit your information by entering here. Please note that this is strictly voluntary and you are not compelled to enter your information in this system. However, in doing so, you will be provided updated news and announcements from vendors in the aviation simulation community. (GENERAL NOTE: Never assume that information you provide to a web site is not provided or sold to third parties. If in doubt, ask to see a copy of the web site's Privacy Policy. If the webmaster can't provide one, or does not honor your request, you can bet that your information is being sold or otherwise distributed to others.)

If you wish to be removed from the database system, please forward your request, providing your full name, to Editorial Staff, AVSIM Online. We will remove your address from the mailing list before we issue it to any other vendors.

AVSIM ONLINE AND ADVERTISING:

Since its inception, AVSIM Online has been an independently-funded (i.e., "everything paid for out of our own pockets") volunteer operation. Though it is not our goal to profit from writing, editing, and publishing AVSIM Online, we do need to defray the cost of web access, purchasing simulation programs for evaluation, improving the hardware used to provide our services, and other related costs. We also hope that in the future, advertising revenue will give AVSIM an ability to modestly compensate contributors who continue to make AVSIM what it is. In sum, to continue to grow and be the best, AVSIM needs to have the financial stability to meet our ongoing expenses, and add more functionality and capacity in the future. Advertising revenue gives us that ability.

AVSIM Online remains committed to providing fair, honest and objective reporting and reviews. We believe that advertising and honest journalism can exist side by side. It does so everyday in the world of journalism, and it can here as well.

AVSIM will be selective in the advertising it accepts and the placement of the advertising on our pages. We will not accept advertising which is not related to aviation simulation. Only software, hardware, add-ons, and aviation simulation-related publications will be considered.

OUR PHILOSOPHIES:

Many readers comment on our approach to bringing you AVSIM Online. We are frequently asked what our underlying philosophies and goals are. In a nutshell, they are:

• We shall be and always remain a free news service to the avsimming community.

• As we state above, it is our goal to be the best of breed in aviation simulation news and resources for the avsimming community and work at that goal every day of the week.

• We shall not allow potential or actual advertising revenue or any other external influence to determine our editorial policy or our unbiased and objective assessment of software or simulation add-ons.

• We will bring to our publication a positive outlook to our hobby, its suppliers and community members - the world is full of negatives, we don't need to add to the negative noise that you can find in abundance elsewhere on the net and in your life. Of course, there will be exceptions to this and we'll slip just a bit; but we will try not to take the "low road" to getting our point across.

• We will intently listen to feedback and reader's comments in our dedication to improving the site and the magazine. We do not have a copyright on talent, nor do we take pride of authorship very seriously. If our user's have a better idea, we are ready to listen and incorporate, if appropriate! We also encourage and publish feedback from readers in the form of Letters to the Editors. As stated on the Letters to the Editor page, we reserve the right to publish, edit (for brevity) or reject submissions in its sole discretion, and submissions shall be subject to AVSIM's Terms and Conditions of Use.

• We shall timely report happenings in the simulation community and news of interest from the world of aviation which we think will be of interest to our readers. We will also report software and hardware news when we think it would be of interest to the mainstream simming community. AVSIM encourages your submission of news, information, or news articles, but reserves the right to publish, modify, or reject such submissions consistent with our Terms and Conditions of Use and the guidelines contained on our "AVSIM Content" page

• We will regularly publish in-depth articles, reviews, interviews and other features of interest to the aviation simulation community. AVSIM will strive to further develop an "in-house" staff of regular contributors as well as encourage others in the community to contribute articles for publication. We will always attempt to take a balanced view of software, add-ons and other products introduced or supplied to the aviation simulation community and, as necessary, will disclose any information which may impact on the objectivity, accuracy, or bias of the author. AVSIM encourages your submission of articles, but reserves the right to publish, modify, or reject such submissions consistent with our Terms and Conditions of Use and the guidelines contained on our "AVSIM Content" page.

• We will publish editorials, opinion pieces and commentary relevant to the flight-sim and aviation community. Unsigned editorials represent the views of the AVSIM Online and its editorial staff, and may not reflect the ideas or opinions of AVSIM's Partners or other persons who may contribute to AVSIM Online. Signed editorials, opinion pieces and commentary solely represent the views of their authors. AVSIM encourages your submission of opinion pieces or commentary, but reserves the right to publish, modify, or reject such submissions consistent with our Terms and Conditions of Use and the guidelines contained on our "AVSIM Content" page.

• We will assist and nurture those contributors to the community who, we believe, foster the growth of our hobby. To that end, we have established a Partnership program designed to provide visibility for those people and entities meeting this criterion and wishing to participate. AVSIM Partner sites remain wholly independent of AVSIM Online, and are free to agree or disagree with the editorial positions or the content of AVSIM Online. AVSIM Partners may, but are not required to display the "Proud to be an AVSIM Partner" image. Our policies for Partnership are stated on our AVSIM Partners page.

• We are cognizant of copyright issues in the community. In presenting material our pages, AVSIM shall respect the copyrights of others. However, we will not arbitrate, police or enforce other people's copyright infringement disputes. If an author believes his work has been infringed upon, it is incumbent upon the author to contact the issuer of the infringing material - not us. We may, at our sole discretion, report news of an alleged copyright infringement when and only when, incontrovertible evidence is provided which, in our judgment, proves beyond doubt that the work has been infringed upon. We will not report an alleged infringement just because someone says they have been wronged.

• We will host discussion forums to promote the exchange of useful and constructive flight-sim and aviation-related information. AVSIM has learned from experience that its forums are most effective when they are focused on a particular flight sim, or on a specialized technical or language area. AVSIM will continue to experiment with additional forums as the need and interest dictates. However, the criteria for opening future forums will usually include (1) having a moderator/manager in place before the forum is opened, and (2) having a theme, purpose, and/or mission statement specific to flight simming of some kind.

• We will support and host reference material, information, and databases for the benefit the simming community.

REVIEWS AND TEST SETUPS:

We review software, aircraft, panels, and scenery (as well as other odds and ends) on an on-going basis. We will sometimes reach back into the download archive and evaluate software that is older or not as current as some would like. Why? Because we think there are some real jewels out there that are historic, and deserve the review.

We do our reviews on a variety of computer test platforms which are identified as appropriate as a part of our published reviews. We attempt to use test platforms that are fairly representative of those that are currently being used by the majority of users around the world.

Our rating system is dynamic -- it continues to evolve and change to meet the needs of our readers. Our reviews identify the rating system employed for that review. You will find that most of our reviews use a basic "good," "better" or "excellent" rating system. We have one higher category, STAFF'S PICK, which we reserve for the truly BEST OF BREED. Not many of those are handed out, so when you see one, we highly encourage you to download the a/c, scenery, panel or utility that received it.

Questions which we have received regarding our ratings:

• Q. If an add-on is not reviewed, does this mean it is not worth downloading?
• A. Not at all. All it may mean is that we haven't gotten to it -- yet.
• Q. Most of your reviews tend to be very positive, why?
• A. Given our present staffing level, AVSIM must be selective about the reviews we publish. Unless we find an add-on or program that is downright dangerous or could nuke your system, we typically won't review really bad designs. Further, we won't make public those bad designs simply because we want to focus on the best of breed. If we dramatically increase our staff in the future, we may do full reviews of all uploads. However, with an average of over 400 new files per month to consider, don't hold your breath waiting for this to happen.