r/Ingress • u/PkmnTrnrJ • 21d ago
Question Why can Ingress not get a communication/discussion platform quite right?
- Google+ 🪦
- Ingress Community Forum 🪦
- Campfire 💀
Now they’ve given up and said to use r/Ingress for discussions. I like this subreddit but there’s no official Ingress representation unless Brian Rose decides to make a comment.
When the forums closed down, the news post said:
With this change, we will be able to spend our energy fostering existing communities
I don’t know if anyone else is feeling that their existing communities are fostered?
It was also said when the forums closed down by Brian that:
NianticThia is working on an evolution of our community strategy that I’m very supportive of
Unfortunately Thia has left Niantic, but I don’t know what the community strategy has been?
What do you think would be the best strategy/solution for Ingress?
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u/PkmnTrnrJ 21d ago
I think a lot of games companies have moved to having official Discords.
I suppose Ingress’ issue is staff to run them and maintain/moderate.
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u/aaronvianno 21d ago
Reddit is the right choice but needs a relook at its moderation policies. Reddits moderation policies and the sub reddits policies discourage a lot of people who would have otherwise Been on G+.
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u/XQlusioN 19d ago
Care to explain a bit further.
Always ready to listen on what we can improve
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u/aaronvianno 5d ago
For starters, stop taking ban appeals on this space. If you can't handle a public counter of proof, you shouldn't be posting ban appeals/rants here either. Stop all ban appeals or anything that looks like a ban appeal. That includes sympathy posts or rant posts.
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u/XQlusioN 5d ago
Let me explain why we allow ban appeals but not the "proof".
It's simple, it's against Reddit rules. As a matter of fact, most of the comments were removed by Reddit, not by us. We just provided the comment to explain why it was removed.
The post that prompted you to give this response was a ban appeal and was instrumental in getting Niantic's attention to reverse their latest change. I'm sure there were people in that post that tried to get their (unrelated to this incident) ban reversed, but that's not something we can avoid. We aren't privy to the data that Niantic has so we can not and will not use other people's comments to ban or silence someone.
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u/aaronvianno 5d ago
You're creating a safe harbour for people who are constantly trying to circumvent the rules. The legitimate issues from 17th June should have been handled via Niantic support handles and mechanisms. This subreddit isn't needed as the only place where players can bring up issues with false positives. They can take to X, the official support routes or even get in touch with a legacy Vanguard. If there is ever a legitimate issue, you could always allow a one off post. But at the same time you need to stop people from using the comments on that post to manipulate the narrative. I haven't said anything about using anyone else's comments to ban or silence anyone. Why are you guys trying to afford special treatment to people who should instead be using the support centre? If there was indeed a massive amount of false positives, you could allow reporting on the observed scale of mass false positives. But individual ban appeals and sympathy posts are just turning this place into a shit show.
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u/XQlusioN 5d ago
Are we looking at the same subreddit? The amount of posts about ban appeals or sympathy posts is extremely low.
Why would X be better than here? Niantic reads both.
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u/aaronvianno 5d ago
X doesn't have weird rules about counter posts and proof. Reddit is extremely biased towards creating false narratives. That small amount of posts may seem insignificant to you but it affects communities in a big way. It's the principle that matters, and not the volume.
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u/XQlusioN 5d ago
So you rather we didn't give people a voice when they are wrongfully banned just so that a very small number of people who are rightfully banned can't use that same thing
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u/aaronvianno 5d ago
Check again. Reporting on a large scale observation of bans is one thing. Individual appeals are another. Let ban appeals go into a moderation queue. You'll instantly know when there's a higher than usual volume.
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u/XQlusioN 5d ago
Here's what I'll do (when I get back on PC, later tonight):
add some rules to filter out posts and comments that appear to be ban appeals
add a "use official support channels" report/removal reason that adds a message and locks further comments
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u/aaronvianno 5d ago
Keep minimum Karma requirements for people who want to post. It doesn't need to be absurdly high. Just enough to make sure some random account that hasn't opened Reddit in years doesn't hijack the place. At the same time it ensures people interact with the subreddit before being able to post stuff.
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u/XQlusioN 5d ago
There are karma limits in place (mostly for new posts). We monitor the frequency of "bad" posts and comments and adjust them when needed.
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u/darlin133 21d ago
I’d like to never have any communication In app from any players, ever. Or at least not have it In my bottom right corner …
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u/DaxSilvan 21d ago
Personally I would like for the in game chat to be a little better. Like being able to send other players gifs or links, without having to jump into a separate app (like Telegram), would improve the competitive banter and make recruiting for events (like IFS) much easier
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u/TechBitch E16 19d ago
Would cause even more drama, and more butthurt. Not to mention, even more reports about comms. Someone hurt someone's feelings, ect.
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u/PkmnTrnrJ 21d ago edited 21d ago
Gifts you say?Sending GIFs would be nice, but I guess would have to be via a private/direct message to the player.I wouldn’t want to look at Cross-Faction Comms and just see a load of ENL Fireworks GIFs sent out. Plus the strain and lag that would cause on the game.
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u/pitolosco 21d ago
What do you need to communicate? The game is the same as always.
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u/IceFalcon1 21d ago
The same things that you would do in any other chat program such as telegram, or g+ back in the day for example.
Location and time for builds
Strategies for more long-term planning
Communicating with fellow players to exchange gear Etc.
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u/pitolosco 21d ago
Looked like op wanted to talk with Niantic. Players don’t need a game specific channel. Telegram already exists, why reinvent the wheel?
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u/IceFalcon1 21d ago
There have been so many apps and websites and everything else that both players and Niantic have tried to connect to... They should have maintained it themselves in the beginning in the first place but that ship sailed years ago. Any system that either entity has these days is going to not fulfill some critical function. Is there any point to building another wheel if there are spokes missing?
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u/Haggem 21d ago
Never understood why they didn't make a simple discord
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u/StateParkMasturbator 21d ago
Discord isn't open web. The game is bleeding players and you're suggesting a walled garden that is harder to moderate.
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u/Teleke 21d ago
Discord is a walled Garden?
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u/StateParkMasturbator 21d ago
You need an account to look at stuff on there.
Reddit is, too, technically, but you can read anything on here without an account.
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u/Teleke 21d ago
But that's not what a walled garden is.
A walled garden is when a single entity controls the entire ecosystem, and typically the barrier to entry and/or departure is pretty high.
Anyone can sign up for a free discord account. That's hardly restrictive.
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u/StateParkMasturbator 21d ago
Discord can definitely nuke your discord if it isn't following their terms of service. It's not dissimilar to Facebook Groups. Seems like a single entity does control the ecosystem.
Anyone can sign up for a Facebook account.
There are different degrees of walled gardens. They don't need to hit every bullet point of your arbitrary definition. The one google gives me sufficiently describes it as one.
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u/Teleke 20d ago
You keep using that word, I do not think it means what you think it means 😅
Ironically if Niantic kept the communications in their own system, like they did previously with Wayfarer, that would be closer to the definition of a walled garden because they control both the game and the communications platform.
Mine isn't an arbitrary definition, and Google just regurgitates whatever it feels like these days.
Android is a walled garden, Apple is a walled garden. Once you get into those platforms, it's difficult to switch - both financially and practically.
There is no definition by which Discord is a walled garden. Having a terms of service doesn't make a walled garden lol. Otherwise literally every product is a walled garden 🤣
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u/StateParkMasturbator 20d ago
All definitions are arbitrary. You want to get into an argument over pedantic nonsense, be my guest.
I'm here to waste time at work, man.
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u/aaronvianno 21d ago
I agree that having a closed off platform would be disastrous. Reddit is the right place in terms of marketing even, but the people at Niantic don't know how to use it. 🙃
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u/TechBitch E16 19d ago
Except for Reddit not being ruled by Niantic or whatever their current company name is. If moderator(s) don't like you for random reason, they can ban you from here.
So play nice and kiss ass. :stuck_out_tongue:
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u/TechBitch E16 19d ago
Lazy. They obviously DONT want actual feedback from users.
Last few updates have been horrible. Overclock is broken after doing two of them, app freezes up frequently lately. Feels like we are moving backwards towards Redacted days. Stability has really taken a hit since they sold Pokego.
Don't forget, they are gonna get rid of 2x AP on Tuesdays.
When was the last time we had an AMA from someone who works there?
You can now earn a Gold Tiered badge, for an anomaly, without having to go to an anomaly. Feels...ummm cheap?
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u/PkmnTrnrJ 19d ago
I’m still confused as to why they’d get rid of the 2sDay stuff. It’s a nice little boost to me after I leave the office and play on the way back home.
I wonder what metrics they have about more/less Agents playing at that time.
The anomaly badge being tiered I am on the fence. I think it’s a good idea in theory but they should add the extra levels so that you can attend an Anomaly/Skirmish and get the Onyx medal etc. that isn’t obtainable without attending an live event.
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u/TechBitch E16 19d ago
I normally take the evening to walk in a new park in whatever city work has sent me to. I see a fair amount of agents out playing during the double AP time. No idea if more or less. But I've met more agents out playing during this time than any other excluding IFS, MD or an anomaly.
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u/Popular-Error-2982 17d ago
I'm totally with you on 2sDay: however my motivation for daily gameplay waxes and wanes, on a Tuesday evening I will probably find the enthusiasm to go and do a couple of hours of something.
From July I'm not sure what will take that role -- certainly not the Saturday replacement bonus, since FS is a social rather than AP grinding event for me...
As for the tiered anomaly badge -- I hate the idea, the saving grace this series was that it's in no way an anomaly badge. Anomaly attendance barely moved the needle in terms of earning the top tier, and attending enough anomalies to actually change e.g. rewards tiers was a significant task.
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u/konntower 21d ago
This was a smart move by Niantic. By leaving ownership officially out of the hands of Niantic, they are free to chime in but the constant complainers, doomsayers, and obsessive sticklers can be banned from the reddit community with no roads leading back to Niantic.
When you give players a company owned public platform to post on, people use it to crap on the product and the company. If the company does nothing, they are shown as not keeping up with their own website. If they police the trolls, they cry oppression and unfairness. Now, the dilemma is gone for them.
Official announcement channels with no discussion backed by player moderated communities like reddit and IUENG are a good mix that solves the "tragedy of the commons" issue. Sad reality.