Eligibility of Boy Scout Camps
AnnoyingEgg-PGO
Posts: 1 ✭✭
What I've understood from reading the forums is that boy scout camps/reserves are entirely ineligible, yet I've repeatedly seen camps with several POI (specifically the Summit Bechtel Reserve in WV). Is there anything I'm missing in the rules that would make these locations viable?
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if the place is mainly for scouts then it’s ineligible. If these points are in an area exclusive to the scout campsite then they should not be allowed.
I can imagine a scenario where there is a scout campsite (not allowed) and perhaps A visitor centre for the area or information board next to it (but not part of the campsite) which is for general public use which would be allowed
Never judge what is acceptable based on what is already in the database. The criteria have changed over time, and things get approved by reviewers who either don't know or are deliberately ignoring the criteria. Since the removal criteria are different than the acceptance criteria there are many things that don't meet the acceptance criteria (and thus shouldn't be approved) and also don't meet the removal criteria and so won't be removed.
K-12 is one of the removal criteria though, so if you report Wayspots that are on scout property they should be removed.
So there’s a Boy Scout Camp in Texas near me that has 30+ waypoints. Should they be reported individually or as a whole since they are all in a Boy Scout of America Camp?
Personally, I wouldn't even report them. Camps are not officially K-12 schools. And all the posters suggesting that these camps qualify as schools are just putting in their own interpretation rather than anything official.
I find people stretch the K-12 definition a lot, yet the most basic thing approved, probably the single most common thing approved are Play Structures in parks/apartment complexes.
So why is the camp more like a school than a play structure?
Scout only campsite - K-12 - Report the lot in a single post with a list for the Niantic team.
I see I got 4 quick disagrees. Which is fine, but no response. Maybe I have missed a Niantic Clarification that says Boy Scout Camps are ineligible. If so, please point it out to me so I can improve my reviewing :>
Here's a post from Giffard removing 18 wayspots located at a boy scout camp
I will say I don't understand the distinction between Niantic removing those 18 wayspots, but declining to remove any from the Summit Bechtel Reserve. I don't know anything about Boy Scouts or the different types of facilities they have. Hopefully someone who does can explain the difference.
Niantic has actually made several statements lumping scout camps in with K-12. Two of the clarifications from old Ingress AMAs are here:
I believe Casey made another clarification buried deep in a thread a few years ago on this forum, but I'll have to dig it up.
These are old sources, but I haven't seen anything more recent changing this guidance.
The text from the link I included in the previous post:
November 2019
Q56: Can we have a clarification on whether all properties owned by Scouts and Guides should be marked as "K12" please?
A56: I am told that if they’re full-time Cadet or Scout buildings where the primary purpose is gathering of people in the K-12 age range with a membership component, it would be considered similar to a private daycare center and ineligible. However, if it’s a public gathering place that’s occasionally used for Scout or Guide meetings, then yes it would be eligible.
December 11th 2017
Q73: In OPR I see more and more submission of scout camp or scout installations. Personnally I would tend to consider these as school as the scouts are mostly children between 6 and 18 years but I would like to know your and Niantic's point of view
A73: We agree.
This one is really difficult because all the proof that Scout camps are ineligible comes from old AMAs that are not supposed to be used any more.
The whole system is so wonky because we're supposed to only use the eligibility and ineligibility criteria posted on the site yet people keep asking for "rules" and "clarifications" and then adding those to the list on top of what's listed on the main site. It's impossible to keep up with and was the entire reason that they "refreshed" the criteria to begin with - to get rid of all the layers and layers of half-answers and contradictions that had built up over the years in AMAs.
Why isn’t there a wiki to keep track of the updates?
Or is that a non-starter
It would be helpful to keep an index of all of the rulings but that doesn't fix the fact that half of those rulings are vague, open-ended, or contradictory. It would just turn into an edit war between each interpretation of the rules.