Ingress AMA Archive
Found 18 results for Military
Q49: There has been a lot of confusion regarding certain types of playgrounds. It seemed like indoor playgrounds, even McDonalds playgrounds, were canonized; then uncanonized in the new wayfarer guide(by requiring historical or cultural significance that no playground I’m aware of has), and then in the last AMA given a status as ok as long as it’s not a part of a business. Can we get clarification/simplification on this such as ‘playgrounds are valid as long as they are not on school property, a military base, or part of a daycare’?
A49: NIA OPS informs me that, “Playgrounds are eligible, as long as they are not located on primary and secondary school grounds, child care centers, day care centers, or private residential property. For these indoor playgrounds, if they’re publicly accessible play areas (like a generic playground in a mall), yes. If it's part of a commercial business (like McDonalds), no.”
Q58: The guidelines still state that military base portals should be rejected if obstructing emergency services. Users are still submitting things in neighborhoods/museums/gathering places on base because there is nothing in the guides saying not to. We know from your August AMA that they should be rejected regardless of other criteria. If that stance has not changed can this be edited into the guidelines with a note that existing base wayspots are ok?
A58: Some of these submissions could be from before the launch of Wayfarer. Please follow the guidelines in the Wayfarer site to review these nominations.
Q68: When voting on military base portals are we supposed to vote 1* on new portals at bases? I was under the impression that grandfathered portals are fine but do not sumbit new ones? This topic has been a highly debated issue in the portal appeals threads lately. Just asking for clarification for the community.
A68: Yes. The current guidance is to one star all new Portals on military bases. This supersedes any sub-category of eligibility like gathering places, exercise equipment, etc.
Q79: Will NIA consider treating all military portals (i.e. including those that are "grandfathered") as invalid?
A79: No.
Q56: Would it be possible for us to get further clarification on the status of portal submissions on military bases?
A56: NIA OPS says that the OPR Guidelines state to one star submissions in Military bases.
Q12: You've mentioned about OPR candidates on military grounds in a previous AMA, what about mine sites?
A12: According to NIA OPS, mine sites are treated the same was a military grounds. Only portals on residential single family property should be denied due to property type. Assuming the portal meets all the other submission criteria which includes not obstructing or interfering with the operations of a industrial site as cited in the OPR help article.
Q14: There's a couple of portals in Central Australia on mining sites only accessible by employees, military bases too?
A14: The rule is that they're disallowed on private residential property, private corporate property is not part of that rule. Only personal property where one family has control.
Q54: What is the best way to report invalid portals that you can't reach by the scanner? I'm thinking of two in particular, one misplaced at the start of the game on a military firing range which nobody can access and another on a 1500 acre private ranch.
A54: Have you tried the G+ Portal Appeals Community?
Q1: Why are portals on private property allowed? Private corporations, military bases, etc. are content that an average agent is completely unable to access that can directly affect their gameplay with control fields covering them or links blocking them. They should not have to play at a disadvantage.
A1: Portals on corporate property are allowed because restricted access is not the same as private residential access. The people that can access portals on corporate grounds are doing so legally as they have access to the location. It would however, be considered trespassing in many areas of the world for anyone other than the property owner to access a Portal on private residential property. What you are referring to as a disadvantage is normalized globally.
Q31: Since the switch to OpenStreetMap data, roads and buildings are not shown on the scanner for regions tagged in OSM as "Military Area" - this has been confirmed with agents in Maryland, Virginia, and Florida. As it can be unsafe to navigate to a portal (on foot or by vehicle) with NO geographical guidance from the scanner, I have reported this as a bug. Do you have any information on whether NIA is planning to reduce or eliminate gameplay on military installations - as indicated by the requirement to 1-star portals on bases - or if this is simply a result of the OSM switch and may be corrected?
A31: I really can't comment on this because I don't know and at the time of writing this I couldn't get an answer. Sorry.
Q82: Hello. Last week we had the precision that portals in military areas should be rejected. But... previously, a lot of us (I'm included) took your "if one can access then it's legit"-statement to assume that portals in military areas were legit, especially some vanguard of my mother tongue ( :-* )
That is a real turnaround.
So, 1. Are portals in military areas before 11-dec-2017 still legit ? 2. If not, will NIA remove all of them, without any exception 3. What about the grey zones, I mean the military areas that open to public access sundays for catholic cult, or every 4-years for nautical events?
A82: The portal candidate criteria is subject to change. This does not mean that past selections are now currently invalid. It means that going forward these are invalid.
Q157: Is a military base and a military residential area the same?
A157: This is a very generalized question that I'm not sure I can answer without more information.
Q160: Please clarify "community gathering area" meaning in terms of OPR.
A160: A place where members of the community can gather outside of their homes. A congregation point with something Portal worthy at the location. I don't understand the over analyzing of this topic besides people being unhappy that an apartment complex has a playground in the middle with a portal they can't access are upset about it. People need to stop over analyzing things and making mountains out of molehills. There is really too much in life to legitimately get worked up about beyond whether or not you can access a playground portal or not. I wish people would devote 1/10th the energy to a charitable act that they do arguing about playgrounds and military bases in Ingress.
Q189: Has Niantic's policy on portals on Military Bases changed? The three mentions in AMA seem to contradict each other:
A189: You have to separate out past, present, and future portals. Yes, the present criteria is different than the past criteria. This means future portals may be accepted or rejected whereas in the past the opposite was true. None of the previous statements contradict each other and are all true statements given the context of past, present, and future.
Q218: Last week, you stated that new portal candidates on military or other secured facilities should be given one star. What is going to be done with existing portals in such facilities? Such portals exist for both factions. Despite requests for removal, generally an appeal by the controlling faction gets the portal reinstated.
A218: Check out the answer to question 188.
Q16: I have two questions regarding portals. While I can see the value of having parks, churches, monuments, etc. as viable portals, I find myself puzzled by the inclusion of playgrounds. The minimum age is 13 and it would seem the majority of the playerbase is well over that. As someone who has been questioned by suspicious mothers at playgrounds (why is that strange lone man hanging around a playground with a camera?) and I would rather be questioned by the cops than have that happen again. Since schools are not allowed as portals (presumably because Niantic does not want strangers hanging around schools), why are playgrounds? Second, why are portals on military bases considered viable? Hospitals, firehouses, and other emergency services are considered off limits, so why should military bases, and other restricted government facilities be considered acceptable?
A16: Playgrounds that are within a park or a community gathering area are acceptable candidates. They fall under the criteria of public spaces that encourage walking and exercise. Currently, our policy is that Portals on Military bases should be given a one-star rating.
Q61: how we can remove portal from middle of Military base?
A61: Is the portal invalid based on portal criteria? Just being on a military base doesn't make it invalid.
Q23: What happens with portals on military zones or on closed residential communities? They are inaccesible, and reporting them haven't worked. Can you help me?
A23: I would need more information to offer an informed opinion. The uninformed and general opinion is that they are legal portals which is why reporting them has not worked.