“I made that!”
/Opens gift
I made that
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Niantic isn’t great at writing and while we have multiple ambassadors saying that “Community pools” includes one at an apartment complex, we do not have Niantic saying it.
Put “Community pools” into Google, I just did. Do you know maps didn’t come up with a single complex pool nor did search. I got results from miles arounds… all city sponsered pools came up and not one of the subdivisions/apartments that have a pool did. Not 1.
Now I don’t mean to be contrary, but frankly, submitting pools without a definitive statement from Niantic, in that clarification, is going to be a crapshoot.
Honestly, I don’t mean this to start an arguement on what is a community pool, argue with Google. Or better yet, if apartment complex pools are meant to be eligible now, have niantic edit the clarification and say so. They chose a poor word
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I think they chose a great word! There’s a community of people who are currently staying at a hotel! There’s a community of people who live in a subdivision! There’s a community of people who attend a church! So many communities out there who might have pools they share, however briefly!
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Communities can vary in size, and there can be smaller communities within larger communities, like apartment complexes and subdivisions, even neighborhoods. Therefore, using community is actually a good word, as it doesn’t restrict public places in smaller communities from being nominated and accepted.
Besides, go look up community in the many dictionaries out there. One of the definitions from the Cambridge Dictionary is simply “the people living in a particular area.”
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Official pools should have a blue check mark.
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Shrug, then they could have said that too. Or given that as an example.
The point of Nomination Clarifications is too clarify. If your clarification is at odds with google… its not very clarifying. Like it or not, no one in any business would use a word and want that word to mean something different than what a google search says. Not in 2024.
I’m a very big tent reviewer… so I want it to be more inclusive and include those pools. However, I haven’t seen anything official that makes me sure that is what Niantic meant.
AFAIK: Ambassador’s words aren’t official clarifications. Which if they are, okay thats enough.
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The ambos actually helped Niantic come up with the criteria clarification section, and there will be more added in the future.
There’s a whole thread on what the future of the section will be, and it’s the ambos that are collecting this info for NIantic.
Also, whoever said Google is right, and when has any business needed to follow any of their definitions from their search engine? That logic make no sense whatsoever. I don’t see Google forcing Microsoft or Apple to use their Gemini AI, or Microsoft forcing Google and Apple to use their Co-Pilot AI.
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For what its worth, since starting this post ive submitted 8 pools in apartments complexes in my city. 4 were rejected by the community for being in private residential property and unsafe. I appealed all 4 and all 4 were approved by niantic. yes it would be good if niantic straight up said pools in apartment complexes are eligible instead of using the term community pool as a catch all, but niantic is approving pools in apartment complexes even if the community is still confused in the matter.
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I’ve personally accepted them all and even nominated a few. Great play for exercise, and meeting and hanging out with people in the community, some even have grills and such to make it even more of a hang out area
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Hello! Pools clarifications was one of the things I was able to help with. We discussed a lot about how would be nice to word it. We needed to make sure to do it in a easy and simple way, making it easy to read. This was discussed also with Niantic. We decided to use “community pools” as there are similar things around all the planet and it was impossible to include all (some of them doesn’t even have a translation to English). As I’m saying EVERY pool is valid as they are great places to socialize and exercise. The ones that needs to be rejected are the ones at single familiar private properties or at K-12 schools.
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I think we are arguing about something silly.
I do not doubt the ambassadors worked with them, but no where does it say ambassdor words are binding on community.
As a person who works in a large organization, middle management, just because management gets together and decides something doesn’t always mean all human middle management understand what the top management thinks/did. Ever play the phone game???
Based on other posts of people saying they are being accepted, as well as what ambassador said, I no longer doubt the clarification was meant to include apartment complex type pools as community pools. It sure appears it was.
However, what the ambassadors and Niantic, missed is what a community pool means in very commonly used setting… google. And while google is NOT the be all and end of all information, it is not something that any organization should overlook.
Niantic should post an example, in their clarification, to make it clearer that Niantic’s definition of community pool includes apartment complex even if google’s definition does not. Are you really disagreeing with that?
A clarification for clarity, that doesn’t make it clear in all cases, isn’t a great clarification. Which I’ll stand by. It would take Niantic 2 seconds to edit that post and add a “For example” sentence in that would make this 52 post thread irrelevent
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I couldn’t resist… I swear I wrote my earlier posts this morning…
Get home, have dinner, go on my local newspaper detnews.com and there’s the article " Why fewer Michigan communities have pools to cool off in as temperatures rise" and the entire article is about city/township pools closing, not about any single complex closing a pool. The Story is behind the paywall if you google it.
Anyway, not to beat a dead horse, but I got a highly amused chuckle to see the very same topic come up with this set of ironic timing.
In niantics defense though: It will go to show that language rules and words chosen even when carefully chosen mean different things. So in Michigan USA the phrase community pool isn’t inclusive which appears to be why the phrase was chosen.
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I would have defined “community pools” to mean city or county owned. Same as you and Google.
I’m glad to see MegaTrainerRed’s clarification!
And I also wish Niantic would update their examples to include pools owned by other legal entities (not paid for by taxes) - hotels, apartments, neighborhoods - that have been yanked in and out of eligibility so many times over the years.
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Indeed!
Just a couple of days ago I was reviewing a nomination for a hotel pool and couldn’t figure it out.
I recall the old rule about only pools where Olympians trained or pools for (just an example) swimming laps are eligible.
Now, I believe the reason few if any pools in neighborhoods excluding the above including apartment complexes are eligible is the issue liability. If a pool at an apartment complex never has lifeguards, that makes the liability for anybody that can or cannot swim having issues when near the pool fall upon Niantic. If this is at (Six Flags) Wild West Water Works water park in the Oklahoma City Metro Area or city/town aquatic center have lifeguards. Those are eligible under Niantic’s rules. Other swimming pools that have lifeguards while open and are not at ineligible locations like primary schools or somebody’s backyard are usually okay too. If the pool looks to be next to a primary school and the person cannot decide if that is part of the school grounds, that might be the only reason for a no.
Being at a hotel or motel does usually improves ineligible pools chances of being accepted but does not make the pool eligible.
I have reviewed and rejected enough swimming pools to some actually be accepted. However, about half are rejected. When you start the app, you are told to stay alert of your surrounds. Niantic does not want to be liable for anything if possible.
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Liability does not fall on Niantic. They literally have a warning when you open the games to be careful and not to trespass.
Humans are responsible for their own choices.
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“oh there’s a PokeStop at this apartment’s pool I guess I’ll try and swim there”
I don’t understand how a wayspot could possibly make Niantic liable. all other community amenities at apartments are ok to nominate regardless of liability so why would pools not be? and if liability was the concern, surely they’d be more consistent and clear in saying that such pools are not acceptable? I know this is a common explanation among the community but I just don’t buy it.
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Maybe there was a different reason why they did not include apartment pools long ago. Imagine a hypothetical game mechanic that asks players to scan specific waypoints to execute a strategy or give up and go home. In such a game, picture a neighborhood where cells are filled with pools in apartment building basements – this would be unplayable, and most players would likely be disappointed. Virtually every object with public access, such as a welcome sign, a memorial bench, or a chain donut shop, would offer more gameplay opportunities.
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People always assumed there was something to do with Lifeguards because the logic of a City Pool Acceptable and an Apartment/Condo Pool unacceptable was never explained. The only real difference the community guessed at was lifeguards/liability.
But that assumption reinforces the one thing Niantic is bad at communicating or adjusting their communication. Like I’ll reiterate it appears the word “Community Pool” was meant to be an inclusive phrase, but isnt. But instead of just fixing the post, we have this huge megathread.
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