Pokemon: GO

[Not_Mafia]

3 and 4 are acceptable, the rest no

[Fenchurch]

If the game allows it it should be ok
mark of a poor game if it’s not enjoyable following this general principle

Sure, it'd be great if the game was designed in a way that made these questions unnecessary. But the same kind of questions apply to a mafia game. You could be a total shit to other players. You could lie about your real life circumstances to avoid pressure. And so we have debates over whether these kind of things are okay.

Also, using multiple accounts is explicitly deemed by Niantic to be breaking the rules, but it's very difficult for them to enforce and so they don't. But that's a bit like... joining a pvp game with an account on both sides and then throwing on one so that your other account wins.

[Fenchurch]

3 and 4 are acceptable, the rest no

Thanks for the answer! Can you explain why? A particular dilemma I have is between 1 and 4. These both involve other players helping you in a way that doesn't directly benefit them. Why would one be okay and the other not?

[Not_Mafia]

1. Getting a player on a different team to knock a space in a gym of your own team so that you can add to it
2. Using a second account on a different team to knock a space in a gym of your own team so that you can add to it
3. Using golden berries to defend a gym you are holding, whilst someone is trying to take it down
4. Getting players on your team to help defend a gym before an ex raid, even though they don’t have a pass to that raid
5. Using a second account on your own team to help defend a gym before an ex raid
6. Getting a player on a different team to help you remove a specific player from a gym, without affecting the rest of the players occupying that gym
7. Using a second account to knock your own pokemon out of a gym so that you get coins

1. Not really in the spirit getting your mon into a gym should be, you should be taking down another team's gym if you can't get in one of your own
2. I'm inclined to say no to anything involving a 2nd account, but specifically about this, see above
3. I stopped playing a while ago so don't know exactly what golden berries do, but I don't think it matters whether someone is currently taking a gym or not, you can always defend it/power it up
4. Again don't know the exact mechanics of EX Raids, but I don't see the issue with bolstering your own teams gym, even with no direct immediate benefit, it could easily benefit you in the future
5. I don't understand the benefit of this versus using your main account, so I can't say
6. If this is some personal give and take you have with someone, cool, otherwise you shouldn't be targetting people out of gyms, gyms should be attacked to take it from another team
7. This one isn't actually bad I guess, other than using a second account this is whatever

[Not_Mafia]

3 and 4 are acceptable, the rest no

Thanks for the answer! Can you explain why? A particular dilemma I have is between 1 and 4. These both involve other players helping you in a way that doesn't directly benefit them. Why would one be okay and the other not?

I think 1 is just helping someone sabotage their own team for personal gain, even if it does make the gym stronger
4 is someone aiding people on their team, which could help them in future, e.g. someone who had a pass returns the favour on a day you do and they don't etc.. I can't really think of a circumstance where defending your own gym would be bad

[T-Bone]

No to anything involving multiple accounts or spoofing. Everything else is cool.

[Fenchurch]

No to anything involving multiple accounts or spoofing. Everything else is cool.

Even 6? That one seems pretty malicious to me.

Luckily our community is pretty united on opposing spoofing, so that doesn't make it onto the list.

[T-Bone]

6 is actually a really good tool against rogue players.

[schadd_]

If the game allows it it should be ok
mark of a poor game if it’s not enjoyable following this general principle

i think its poetic that the thing ive disagreed with psyche on the hardest is abt video games

[Aristophanes]

No to anything involving multiple accounts or spoofing. Everything else is cool.

Agreed, tho 6 is a dick move if you're targeting someone specifically. That's called bullying.

[xRECKONERx]

We’ve got some division in our local community around what is and isn’t acceptable play. Curious what the opinions are here are on which of these are okay or not, and why? I know what my gut feelings are, but I find it hard to articulate the reasons.

1. Getting a player on a different team to knock a space in a gym of your own team so that you can add to it
- Shitty, but allowed.
2. Using a second account on a different team to knock a space in a gym of your own team so that you can add to it
- Technically not allowed.
3. Using golden berries to defend a gym you are holding, whilst someone is trying to take it down
- This is fine.
4. Getting players on your team to help defend a gym before an ex raid, even though they don’t have a pass to that raid
- This is fine.
5. Using a second account on your own team to help defend a gym before an ex raid
- Technically not allowed.
6. Getting a player on a different team to help you remove a specific player from a gym, without affecting the rest of the players occupying that gym
- Uhhh I mean seems fine? Part of strategy?
7. Using a second account to knock your own pokemon out of a gym so that you get coins
- Technically not allowed

[Glork]

We’ve got some division in our local community around what is and isn’t acceptable play. Curious what the opinions are here are on which of these are okay or not, and why? I know what my gut feelings are, but I find it hard to articulate the reasons.

1. Getting a player on a different team to knock a space in a gym of your own team so that you can add to it
- Shitty, but allowed.
2. Using a second account on a different team to knock a space in a gym of your own team so that you can add to it
- Technically not allowed.
3. Using golden berries to defend a gym you are holding, whilst someone is trying to take it down
- This is fine.
4. Getting players on your team to help defend a gym before an ex raid, even though they don’t have a pass to that raid
- This is fine.
5. Using a second account on your own team to help defend a gym before an ex raid
- Technically not allowed.
6. Getting a player on a different team to help you remove a specific player from a gym, without affecting the rest of the players occupying that gym
- Uhhh I mean seems fine? Part of strategy?
7. Using a second account to knock your own pokemon out of a gym so that you get coins
- Technically not allowed

I basically 100% agree with this.

Regarding your dilemma for scenarios 1 and 4, Fenchurch:
1 is defintely kind of low, but happens regularly enough that I think people have become largely desensitized to it. As long as you are not targeting a specific palyer all the time (scenario 6), I don't think that having friends from other teams help you out is necessarily the Worst Thing Ever. I personally don't like it/don't do it, but I no longer raise a fuss when other people do. Sadly, it's part of the game.
4 is all about team play. Many people in our community show up to EX raids without having a pass because their family/friends are there, and they want to hang out. And in doing so, they will typically try to hold/defend a gym even if they aren't raiding it. If my fellow Mystics help me defend an EX raid gym so that I get extra balls, I will definitely try to return the favor. "You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours" is a generally accepted concept around here, particularly among the same team.

[T-Bone]

Honestly you shouldn't even have friends on other teams anyway. THEY ARE THE ENEMY AND MUST BE DESTROYED LOOKING AT YOU MYSTIC AND INSTINCT

[xRECKONERx]

lmfao wow a fucking valor scrub

[Aristophanes]

Honestly you shouldn't even have friends on other teams anyway. THEY ARE THE ENEMY AND MUST BE DESTROYED LOOKING AT YOU MYSTIC AND INSTINCT

Fite me mate!

Mystic rules all!

[Cheery Dog]

3 is the entire reason golden razzberries exist.
4 is the same before any raid, EX or otherwise doesn't matter, going to be raiding or not also doesn't matter, it's a gym and should be fought over using all allowed means.

1 depends on me on how long the first person has been in the gym for my mind. I think if you're going to do this, just get the person on the other team to completely clear the gym.

6 is fine if the specific player is yourself and you need coins and the other people don't want coins yet. (Or you have been asked by that player concerned)

I've personally done 7 a few times.
I will never use the second account for 2 though. I'll take the whole gym down and leave the second account in there.

[Errantparabola]

I've been trying to complete the "Get 3 Great throws in a row" for almost a week now. IDK what the reward is (like a rainbow-striped candy?) but is it worth it? I get nervous when I get 2 Greats in a row and choke.

[Aristophanes]

That would be a rare candy. It counts as any type of pokémon's candy!

[schadd_]

I've been trying to complete the "Get 3 Great throws in a row" for almost a week now. IDK what the reward is (like a rainbow-striped candy?) but is it worth it? I get nervous when I get 2 Greats in a row and choke.

its kind of gameable, in that u can seek out pokemon with big hitboxes (evolved forms, low cp rattatas or smth that is close) and use nanab berries/default pokeballs (so they break out) etc.

rainbow-striped candy is

rare candy which u can use as a candy for any pokemon

it takes practice! i believe in u! :^)

[Papa Zito]

I like that you have a community that gets into debates about the finer points of morality in Pokego, Fenchurch.

[Fenchurch]

Well, the truth is I’d rather not have to. But unfortunately I’m an admin of one of our local raid groups, and a pair of players have been taking part in some of the scummier kinds of play in that list (1, 2, 5, 6) as well as some things I didn’t bother putting on there, e.g creating extra alts just to fill gyms and block spaces from the players who they are targeting. And yes, 6 is pretty clearly bullying in my book, since it’s been used multiple times to target individuals who have spoken up against them.

They’ve claimed at various times there’s nothing wrong with what they’re doing, that it’s equivalent to other kinds of competitive play and teamwork (e.g items 3 and 4), or that it’s not been made clear what is and isn’t allowed. I’d love to say, ‘just don’t be an asshole’, but it seems like that’s not enough. So I’ve been trying to set some clear boundaries and wanted to sense check that they’re fair, and I’m not being biased that a certain playstyle is bad just because I associate it with someone who does other nasty things.

I’ve decided that even though 1 might be not be strictly banned by what Niantic has written, it’s shitty enough that I’m not okay with it. And actually, I don’t know of any other players who feel it’s necessary to do this.

Thanks for the help guys, it was really useful hearing outside opinions.

[JurgenVW]

3&4 are obviously fine as behaviours.

6 I can see being okay in some circumstances, but it would be an agreed and reciprocal kind of duel idea in my head? There's some people back in my home region (where I'm no longer based) who do that, but it's all agreed between them, and they're all okay with it.

But if it was just doing it to someone who wasn't in on it, that would not be anywhere near reasonable to be doing.

[Sudo_Nym]

So what exactly is the gameplay reason why raids don't just give you the pokemon? Because I don't have a group, so getting a difficult raid involves getting lucky enough to stumble upon a group already going for it; so when I do manage to take down a legendary and then don't get it because it breaks out of 10 Golden Razz+Curveball throws, it kind feels like I just got dicked over for no reason.

[xRECKONERx]

The same gameplay reason you can't just tap on a Pokemon in the wild and catch it automatically.
Part of the thrill is the chase.

[Papa Zito]

Because I don't have a group, so getting a difficult raid involves getting lucky enough to stumble upon a group already going for it

Is your area not organized on Discord or something similar?