VATS.IM URL Shortener

[Damon Hemstrom Burton (1270930)]

Quoting Neil Farringdon at https://forums.vatsim.net/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=76496

Quote

VATS.IM is a URL shortening service for VATSIM and its members, and is now available to the public for general use at https://vats.im/.

The service has been in use by VATSIM UK since 2014, providing shorter URLs that allow easy and memorable access to resources such as documents and charts, and a way of providing pilots with simple links in an Air Traffic Controller's ATIS or controller information block.

Due to the development work required to broaden the service's access, VATS.IM has been restricted to only VATSIM UK for the longest time. However, with the appropriate infrastructure now in place, the service is ready for all regions, divisions, ARTCCs, vACCs, controllers, and pilots to make use of what it has to offer.

Official VATSIM entities (regions, divisions etc.) may apply for a prefix for their organization, which will also allow them to generate unique URLs for their organization, and provide more meaning to the URL.

However, the service is available for anyone to use. If you have a URL you need to put in your controller information or pilot remarks that would normally be too long or unnecessary, simply log in via VATSIM SSO at https://vats.im/ and create a shorter, custom URL.

Full source code and change log available at https://github.com/NFarrington/vatsim-url-shortener.

Might be worth registering VATSIM Scandinavia as an organisation and getting their own prefix?

With the release of version 1.4, prefixes are now available to official VATSIM entities. A prefix provides organizations with a guaranteed way of using any short URL with their prefix, and to help users identify the locale a link is pointing to. For example, it would make more sense to use https://vats.im/uk/forums to point to the VATSIM UK forums, rather than just https://vats.im/forums, which could belong to any user or organization.

To apply for a prefix, you can visit the organizations page, click 'Edit' next to your organization, and then click 'Apply Here'. In order for your application to be approved, you must be an official VATSIM entity, and the application must be submitted by the head of your entity.

Should you require any further information, please feel free to contact info@vats.im.

Edited June 13, 2018 by Damon Hemstrom Burton