I have had a couple of public loo blocks to review.
Great murals. And I would hazard important to community. You gotta go when you gotta go.
Just that there is something off about it.
A great place to socialise/explore or exercise. I say no. And in crowded cities a no but what if rural or campsites… is it a maybe
I mean do I want to encourage people to hang around a toilet block?
Thoughts please
IMO, no, not waypoint material.
Mural might be, though.
I do wish there were a public database of public toilets. Would be extremely useful when out playing.
Edit: Did a search for public loo blocks, and did post some examples of what the OP could be seeing in review, but not 100% sure. Not a term I hear used in the US for public bathroom buildings.
I was reading OP as asking about murals on the outside, not inside.
Do you want to stand next to a public toilet to hang out with friends? Bet it smells bad, like the painted dumpster below, which exists where I live:
Anyone with a sane social conscience can understand that restrooms are not qualified.
Men, women, and children would not want to go near a restroom if there were people who might be perverts roaming around in the real world just because the restroom is an Ingress portal, a Pokemon gym, or a Big Flower.
But when we try to follow social conventions and remove approved public restrooms, the Wayfarer team denies it.
I would like the Wayfarer team that denies this to explain how the restroom meets the eligibility requirements.
I expect a proper explanation. LOL!
When the team denies a removal request, theu never have to justify meeting criteria, their only concern is removal criteria.
I reject outhouses, public toilets, campground toilet/shower blocks using the Sensitive option under the Appropriate check.
Even with a mural, this is not an area I want to encourage a group of people to congregate.
I would personally be really weirded out if I had to use the facilities and there were people just hanging around.
If there’s a mural on the outside, i really don’t see the big deal. I stand outside public bathrooms waiting on friends to finish and never feel like a p3rvert. I refuse to assume that every human i see is the boogeyman.
and ＠Roli112
I find the restrooms to be so sensitive.
It’s about human physiological needs.
And you should take another look at what you are holding in your hand and reevaluate your own social conventions.
The smartphone you are holding is an expensive communication device with a very sophisticated camera that can take pictures.
People with communication devices with sophisticated cameras roaming around and scanning the restrooms with cameras pointed at the mural.
What would a member of the public, unaffiliated with Niantic and Wayfarer, have to say about such behavior to deem it anything other than suspicious?
Think not of the socially accepted norms of gamers (trainers, agents, etc.), but of the uninvolved public.
And we should recognize that ours is a game that cannot be played without the social tolerance of Niantic and the unaffiliated general public.
Roli did not express judgement or say bathrooms are acceptable.
He said Niantic’s “only concern is removal criteria” which is limited and not equal to rejection criteria. Many times, in appeals, the community does weigh in and have sway on the appeals team, but not often.
I struggled finding something on the Wayfarer page, but you can see at Reporting Invalid Portals
We will remove Portals from Ingress for a very specific and limited set of reasons:
There’s no longer safe pedestrian access to the Portal.
The Portal obstructs or interferes with Emergency Services’ ability to perform normal operations. This includes, but isn’t limited to, fire stations, police stations, hospitals, military bases, industrial sites, power plants and air traffic control towers.
The Portal is not a permanent installation. This includes seasonal displays that are only put up during certain times of the year.
They are natural features, including pictures of landscapes as well as submissions where the subject is a lake, river, stream, mountain, volcano, waterfall. Note that photos that include man-made points of interest - plaques, signs, etc. - near natural features are acceptable.
The Portal has been permanently removed or is a duplicate of an existing Portal.
The Portal’s real-world location appears to be within 40 meters of private residential property.
The Portal on the grounds of a primary/secondary school (up to K-12).
If you think that “located at or around water closet facilities” should be explicitly called out and honored, perhaps you can take action and start a focused discussion on that topic.
And i would like for you to read the comments that are written. A mural on the OUTSIDE wall of a public toilet is not the big problem you think it is, at least not in the western world. I hear people using their phones on speakerphone while sitting on the toilet. The other person can hear toilets flushing, I’m sure. Surely, we need to stop that behavior before we worry about someone having a phone in their hand outside in a space that is not private.
Let’s not make statements like we only have game items in mind.
Let’s think about people who have nothing to do with Niantic.
And let’s imagine what those unrelated people would think of those who go out of their way to film the toilet with a camera for a few dozen seconds.
It doesn’t matter if they are from the West or the East.
Then ask the women and children in the community what they think of strangers pointing cameras at them, or people who stay or loiter near restrooms for long periods of time.
Regardless of PGO or Ingress, of course.
Not many people would be comfortable with that.
And some may feel it is dangerous at certain times and places.
That is general social common sense.
Of course, it doesn’t matter if you are in the West or the East.
No one is saying to film the toilet. Again, I’m talking about a work of art on a wall outside. That is not the toilet. Please read the words that i am writing.
Here’s an example. This is meant to be looked at and photographed.
Here’s another example on the front outside. No one would think twice about me taking a photo of this fabulous artwork.
Another
I can keep finding examples. These artists were not paid so that people would avert their eyes and not see the work.
Going to the bathroom is a natural human thing we all do everyday. Nothing to be ashamed of. I really could care less about who is in the stall next to me, and they most likely don’t care either. They need to relieve themselves, I do as well, and once our business is done, we leave.
So no, it isn’t general common sense, it isn’t dangerous at certain times and places, despite what some may say, and it isn’t the same in every part of the world.
Maybe some example of what these bathrooms blocks and their murals could be helpful. I found these stock images of murals on public bathrooms in Australia, for example, when I searched for “public loo blocks.”
I think you need to look into these a little more, just like I did. I had a different opinion at first, but I have seen public restrooms similar to these at parks, zoos, etc, that have murals on the outside. You do not need to even go inside to interact with the mural Wayspot on the outside.
and you need to learn that your restricted opinion is not the law. I’m literally not even talking about playing games. I’m talking about walking around and taking photos of artwork. There’s no social convention about not taking photos of murals on buildings that are out in the open for all the public to see.
Read the last line:
“If you see their work, feel free to snap a pic and tag them on their instagram accounts.”
The city who paid for the murals at public bathrooms is literally encouraging people to take a photo and post it on social media.
Why would anyone be arrested for photographing public art in public?
