Jim Burns wrote:
"Looking, no joy" is what I usually say. A long time ago I was chastised by
a controller for just saying "looking", he specifically wanted to know if I
saw the aircraft.
Jim




I say "5-8-Sierra looking" (simply to ack the controller's message), if
I don't already have the traffic. Once I have the traffic, or if I
already had it, I'll announce something like "5-8-Sierra has the Cessna
in sight" If I don't see it in a decent amount of time (relative to the
distance and vector specifics contained in the alert), I'll follow up
with "5-8-Sierra, negative contact".

The FAA controllers I most often fly with (NY & BOS Centers, BDL, PVD, &
Cape app/dep) seem to be fine with it all. They don't seem to like an
instant "negative contact", and they really hate no response or a slow
response. The contract towers in delta space compare to the FAA folks.