AN AIR CARRIER PILOT CLEARED ON THE ATL CADIT 5 RNAV DEPARTURE WAS GIVEN VECTORS AFTER TAKEOFF. THE CREW WAS CONFUSED BY THE HYBRID COMBINATION OF RNAV PROCEDURE; VECTOR; AND DIRECT TO CLEARANCES.

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FLT WAS CLRED OUT OF ATL VIA THE CADIT 5 RNAV DEP. THE CADIT 5 WAS RETRIEVED FROM THE DATABASE; THEN WAS LOADED IN THE FMS FOR AN 8R TKOF. THE CADIT 5 WAS REVIEWED; DISCUSSED AND COMPARED TO THE COMMERCIAL CHART. NO DISCREPANCY WAS NOTED. THE FO AND MYSELF HAD NO QUESTIONS OR DOUBTS AS TO HOW TO FLY THIS DEP. WE ARE NOW BASED IN ZZZ HAD FLOWN RNAV DEPS EXTENSIVELY OUT OF DFW. PRIOR TO TKOF FROM RWY 8R; WE ONCE AGAIN ENSURED THE PROPER PROC WAS LOADED FOR THAT RWY. THE DEP WAS FLOWN WITHOUT PROB. BUT UNLIKE OTHER RNAV DEPS (IE; DFW; LAX; MIA); ATL TWR GAVE US A HDG AFTER TKOF THEN ATL APCH GAVE US DIRECT AN INTXN DOWN THE ROAD WITHOUT ANY ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS. AS WE WERE CLBING THROUGH THE MID-TWENTIES WITH ZTL; THE CTLR GAVE US DIRECT TO GLAZR INTXN. THIS INTXN IS NOT PART OF THE DEP BUT WAS PART OF OUR FILED ROUTING. WE HAD PASSED CADIT INTXN NOT TOO LONG AGO. SHORTLY AFTER; THE SAME CTLR ASKED US TO WHAT WAYPOINT WE HAD BEEN PROCEEDING AFTER CADIT INTXN BEFORE HE GAVE US THE NEW CLRNC. THE FO ANSWERED RESPE INTXN. THE CTLR TOLD US THEN WE HAD BEEN CLRED DIRECT TO GLAZR INTXN AFTER CADIT INTXN AND NOT TO RESPE INTXN AS PUBLISHED ON THE DEP PROC. AFTER A FEW MINS OF DISCUSSION AMONGST OURSELVES WONDERING WHAT WE SHOULD HAVE DONE AND HOW WE SHOULD HAVE KNOWN WHEN TO DO IT; I FINALLY ASKED THE CTLR FOR SOME EXPLANATION; REMINDING HIM WE HAD BEEN CLRED VIA THE CADIT 5 RNAV DEP AND THAT RESPE INTXN WAS PART OF THE PROC. HE SIMPLY RESPONDED WE HAD DONE NOTHING WRONG. I THINK HE USED THE WORDS WE WERE NOT AT FAULT BUT THAT A SUPVR WAS LOOKING INTO IT. IT IS OBVIOUS THE ATL ATC SYSTEM IS NOT USING THE RNAV DEPS AS THEY WERE DESIGNED. THIS HYBRID FORM OF RNAV SID IS NOT CONDUCIVE TO THE SOP'S IN PLACE IN THE REST OF THE COUNTRY AND IS DOWNRIGHT CONFUSING. BY CHANGING SO MANY COMPONENTS AND THE METHOD BY WHICH A FULL RNAV DEP IS TO BE FLOWN CREATES A SAFETY RISK. OTHER ATC SYSTEMS AT ARPTS AROUND THE COUNTRY (IE; DFW; LAX) ARE CLEARING ACFT ON RNAV DEPS WITHOUT MEDDLING INTO THE PROCESS; YET WHEN RADAR VECTORS ARE NEEDED A NEW RNAV DEP CLRNC IS GIVEN LIKE: '...PROCEED DIRECT TO ABCDE INTXN THEN RESUME THE XYZ DEP' AS DEFINED IN THE ADVISORY CIRCULAR AND DESCRIBED IN OUR FLT MANUAL; ATL ATC DOES NOT DO THAT. IN ADDITION TO ADDING MORE CONFUSION TO THE PROCESS THERE IS NO CONTINUITY AND CONSISTENCY FROM ONE FLT TO THE OTHER.