I agree with what you said about the rules at VATSIM, but remember that VATSIM strives to make the simulation experience as real as possible, and that means using real-world procedures, although adapted, in the online flight environment.
It is a big learning curve, but one that is definitely worth it in the long run

I started flying on VATSIM when I was 11 years old; now I'm 18 yrs old, a Student Pilot in real life with about 70 hours flying experience.
At the end of the day you will only get out what you put in

VATNZ are the New Zealand division of VATSIM, their website is
here.
They have regular newbie events, including some VFR tours around New Zealand. The pilots and controllers strive to be welcoming to everyone, and are more than happy to provide plenty of advice to newbie's

Their forum is
hereWhenever an event is on its always posted in the
VATNZ Events forum, and here on NZFF in the
Multiplayer forumCheck out those links, and as I said, don't be afraid to ask for help, we all have to start somewhere
