My local Gym has had raids removed at the request of “someone living nearby”. There needs to be a better process put in place to 1) not approve requests based on a single complaint when the complainant is not the property owner (if it’s a safety issue, the gym should be removed; it’s unfair to turn raids off but leave the gym if not), and 2) provide a way for other local residents to appeal. It’s entirely possible the original complainant no longer lives in the area, but there is no way currently being used to determine that and no way to find out who the original complainant was to discuss their request to have it withdrawn.
I agree with you that turning raids off should not be something that can be requested. It would be better for trainers if the only options that could be requested were revert to pokestop - so that a replacement gym will populate - or removing the game locations at the wayspot. A gym without raids can only be used to collect coins by leaving pokemon there and collecting the daily pass. It doesn’t even give research like a pokestop would.
I suspect that if a request could be made to get a gym removed instead of turning off raids, due to someone nearby requesting this even though the wayspot is eligible under the normal criteria, this would get abused to move gyms.
By having the gym partially disabled, this prevents players from heavily abusing this facility.
The flaw that @jadebandit86 has found is that if a local resident makes the request, there is no check made for whether the local resident has moved and the request can be rescinded.
Is it possible for another person living nearby to ask for downgrade to pokestop? I never ask for such request before so i am not sure.
Although what @salixsorbus said got point. We have seen people requesting gym removal to reset new gym creation
But this game is not something you plan to play for short time. Its been running for 10 years. Many thing can happen within 10years period
Our community is in the same boat, we have a meet up location anchored by several gyms in a small radius. From my understanding, a complaint was lodged to turn off the gym raids. As were in a community park, it isnt hard for us to meet somewhere else in the park, but theres no system for downgrading a gym and restoring it elsewhere. As were a small town, this could heavily impact our gameplay.
Just an idea, I understand that hindsight is a wonderful thing.
Maybe “Property Owner / Local Resident” edits should be temporary with details kept on file. After a couple of years then an email is sent asking whether the edit is still required. If no reply then the edit is reversed.
This is not an “expect this to happen”, just a thought that could have solved a few problems (and maybe caused others)…
Exactly. I live directly across from the gym and only moved in a few years ago - in theory, it could very well be the previous owners of my house who made the request, so the complaint would no longer be valid. It would be great if there was a system to put in an appeal - if the appeal is coming from the same address, they would know they could reverse the original request.
Part of the tangle is that this system for homeowner reports was created as the result of a lawsuit. Niantic is obligated to comply and this was thier compromise with hundreds of angry landowners. Pokémon Go’s Virtual Trespass Suit Reaches Settlement Agreement – NYU Journal of Intellectual Property & Entertainment Law
Probably, but the current reporting systems do as well. Hopefully the credential required to process a request as homeowner are difficult to fake.
It is so hard to create a gym, and such a devastating loss when one doesn’t host raids.
We don’t know the credential requirements, but assuming it is possible to fake them (even if a miniscule chance), the result of this would be a gym being disabled but not moved. It would not get reinstated elsewhere. This still gives the opportunity for bad actors to damage the local playing environment, but this is still a much smaller window for abuse than if a gym could get moved this way.
Unless there is a way to move gyms that I have failed to notice.
I think we are using the word “moved” differently. This is getting off topic.