1) Log into a server
2) Observe that you cannot immediately take out weapons, open doors, move inventory items, turn on flashlights, etc.
3) Once the lag dissipates, after 10-60 seconds, you will hear the noise of your guns loading and you are now able to interact with the world.
4) If you are hurt or die before things sync up, you don't see this happening and have no control over your character yet.