A player of Niantic’s augmented reality game Ingress is appealing to the game’s moderators to help remove a “portal” he created.
After leaving Google, Niantic suspended the ability of players to suggest new portals – points of interest and locations to battle over – in the game. Before the (temporary) suspension came into force players would often suggest portals near their home or place of work so they could hack for resources throughout the day. This ability is a significant game advantage.
Niantic’s portal guidelines clearly state suggestions for portal locations without safe pedestrian access, on private property, near schools or that could interfere with the operation of fire stations, police stations and hospitals were inappropriate.
The Oxfordshire-based agent went ahead and submitted a portal at a private and secure site to create a work portal anyway. Concerns were raised after other Ingress players arrived at the scene and tried to access the portal. In a Google+ post, Kyyanno Black, notes;
Security concerns have recently been raised by site management due to opposing faction players attempting to access the portal and an internal investigation has been carried out. I am now facing a disciplinary hearing for contravening company rules and codes of conduct by “encouraging persons not authorised for site access to try and enter the site”. The charge is Gross Misconduct, and could cost me my job.
Employment law in the UK is different in the US but a Gross Misconduct charge, if upheld, is sufficient for the gamer to be fired. The portal Turbine Bird Sculpture is at Didcot power station.
Locally players of both factions are supporting calls for the portal’s removal for the game and are urging Niantic’s operation team to complete the process quickly. Other players are less supportive, one writing;
So let me get this straight. This guy submits a portal in a restricted area knowing that is against the rules. And now he job is coming down on him, and we’re all supposed to feel bad for him?
I love how you use a headline to scream its Niantics fault not the guy who submitted it.Niantic does not have people on the ground to go and check the millions of portals in the game it relies on the players themselves to point out bad portals.
At the end of the day this player created a portal where he shouldnt have and took advantage of it for some time. Now its causing him grief he wants it gone. Both factions agree but these things take time and he has only himself to blame. Its not Niantics fault
Rubbish — Niantic is utterly unresponsive to reports of inaccessible portals of precisely this nature. We’ve had issues with RES agents pulling this crap before and it has always been dismissed as a non-issue by Niantic. At least, this was the case before that boorish moron bought the farm, it may have changed since then.
Can’t it be everyone’s fault? If it’s not a nuclear plant, the company is overreacting. The guy was trying to cheat at the game. Niantic is terrible at vetting portal submissions.
Hahaha. Damn this really did make a “media” post
It’s a valid portal as there is some aspect of safe access to it.
Granted, I personally am not a fan of any power plant having any sort of gps based game established on their grounds.
Niantic won’t do anything about it unless the company owners and land management take the proper steps. Sadly the agent who submitted the portal cannot fill out the form that is required by land owners.
They are not unresponsive. It really does take time.
Yup listed in the tos. Ingress terms of service http://www.ingress.com/terms *Conduct, General Prohibitions, and Niantic’s Enforcement Rights* *You agree that you are responsible for your own conduct and User Content while using the Services, and for any consequences thereof*. Please refer to our Community Guidelines for information about the kinds of conduct and User Content that are prohibited while using the Services. By way of example, and not as a limitation, you agree that when using the Services and Content, you will not: defame, abuse, harass, harm, stalk, threaten, or otherwise violate the legal rights (including the rights of privacy and publicity)… Read more »
And to clarify, they do not state “private property” but private residential property.
There are thousands if not hundreds of thousands of Ingress portals behind fences at secure workplaces. Why is this one so different?
Desirsar “nuclear plant” …. “overreacting” ….. I see what you did there! ;-)
mutt7469 It should be “no safe PUBLIC access”, but it’s not. I could submit (and have!) several dozen portals that are used to deny me play because they are used to field over open areas. These portals are completely inaccessible to me because I am not an employee of those companies, or a member of the military, that have a perimeter security fence. It makes it real tough to play when an advantage can be handed to one faction that way.
Having been with the portal appeals community for about 2 years now, there is in some capacity public access. Employees, contractors, etc… all are members of the general public.
Even the googleplex has portals, and this is where this comes into play.
These secure portals have always been a sticky subject. There are many in the Oxfordshire area behind fences. Normally us players work around them or take guided tours etc to take them out legitimately. We shouldn’t be harsh on the player who generated the portal as he was simply following a trend for the area. Players of both factions in the area understand why he did it and there are ways to get on to the site using legit means that the management themselves provide (tours). Other portals in the area like RAF Benson are completely impassable with no legit… Read more »
@AgentSmith187 Headline begins with “Ingress mistake” Isn’t that about right? Doesn’t even mention Niantic.
mutt7469 The form to be filled out by land owners does not appear to exist any more. If you know differently please say where it can be found.
@Bob Agents from both factions have gained access to the portal on RAF Benson (which I’ll point out was originally submitted by a resistance player). All it took was for someone with legitimate access to the portal to sign you on as a visitor.
@JanderPanell they can’t really say public access as all places have some sort of public access. Take me for example, i deliver auto parts, i have via my job, access to 3 “nonpublic” site’s. Which grants myself and other automotive delivery driver’s such as myself valid and legal access.
The updated link is https://support.ingress.com/hc/en-us/requests/new?ticket_form_id=164378
Alternatively https://support.ingress.com top right corner “submit a request” – “report an issue with a mission or portal”
mutt7469 Sorry, that form isn’t usable by land-owners. Apart from the form requiring an agent name (which I doubt the land-owner would have), if you submit it then all you get in response is an automated reply telling you that invalid portals must be reported through the scanner.
The “submit a request” route just takes you to the same form.