Pokémon GO: Trainer proudly reveals his insane plan for new PokéStop

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A trainer in Pokémon GO has a crazy plan for a new PokéStop, which he proudly presents to the community. But contrary to what he expected, he got a lot of resistance from his teammates for the idea. We at MeinMMO show you what happened.

What are PokeStops? Unlike other games, Pokémon GO is specifically designed for players to get outside, meet like-minded people, and explore together. Because of this, in the wilderness you can not only come across the small pocket monsters, but also discover interesting points.

These are identified by so-called PokéStops and arenas in the game and can be discovered from afar. Special spawns and items that can be secured from the respective photo discs are intended to create an incentive for the community to learn more about a certain region and to visit the corresponding places.

With the help of Niantic’s Wayfarer platform, trainers can help create such new PokéStops and submit their suggestions. Reddit user gogogoff0 also wanted to create new stops in his city and pulled out all the stops to achieve his goal. We have summarized below what kind of crazy idea he has and why it is not so well received by other players.

What is this crazy plan?

What happened? As the reddit user gogogoff0 states in his post, he has set himself the goal of building new PokéStops in his city. In July, for example, he began submitting relevant proposals, which were also approved by the Wayfarer community. But they just didn’t show up in the game.

So he investigated and found that the local graveyard, like the PokéStops in it, was geoblocked. This means that this content has been blocked by those responsible on site and can therefore not be displayed in the game.

What happened next? But gogogoff0 didn’t want to give up his goal of the new PokéStops that easily and therefore contacted a person in charge of the city council. He explained that he found “amazing memorials for veterans and famous people, historical plaques and much of the city’s history” in the cemetery, which he would like to make accessible to other young people through Pokémon GO (via reddit.com).

As he goes on to write in his contribution, a meeting is now pending with the mayor and those responsible for parks and leisure activities in his town. At this meeting, they want to talk about Pokémon GO and the blockade in the game to look for solutions together. This is how he writes:

So yeah, tomorrow I’m meeting with my city officials to talk about Pokemon GO… This is pretty much the craziest thing I’ve ever done for this game.
Wish me good luck! I think my best weapon will be the fact that they could request that the cemetery be closed on Saturday mornings (when most funerals are happening). We would be grateful for any suggestions for topics of conversation.

gogogoff0 (via reddit.com) Instead of praise, there are a number of headwinds from the community

Although gogogoff0 probably expected positive reactions, that he works so hard for the local community and pulls out all the stops that the cemetery finally gets PokéStops that tell the story of the city, the trainer has received criticism. Here’s what you can read in the comments:

  • kooboomz: “Does the city own and maintain the cemetery? If not, there is no chance they will be released. In my town’s graveyard, every single PokéStop and Gym was removed because families literally parked on graves and left trash everywhere. It even made the news. If they are added, please be as discreet as possible and encourage your local players to do the same. If there’s a funeral or someone is visiting a grave, just walk away. A raid or a rare spawn isn’t worth that disrespect.”
  • NorthSouthDoll: “Have you ever considered why someone would want to geo-block a graveyard?”
  • gissycat: “I’m not a big fan of the graveyard idea. Especially for the people whose family members are buried there. Outside the cemetery or even at the entrance sign? OK. But inside, when people are grieving and thinking about their loved ones… Catching Pokemon just seems wrong.”
  • SimpleINFP: “Sorry, but I agree with the city on this one. I find it kind of disrespectful to the people there and their families. Also, it goes against Niantic’s values. PokéStops should be a place to meet, talk, explore, and play together, and the graveyard should remain a quiet place. One can enjoy the heritage in X other places.
    In our city there is an arena called “Cross for a Dead Child”. This is a cross that was put there after a child died in a car accident. I find that disrespectful too.”
  • ForeverBackground737: “Playing in a graveyard is pretty disrespectful. It’s not a place for leisurely strolling around and playing Pokemon. The last thing a cemetery needs is a bunch of children disturbing the peace of the mourners.”
  • Why are the coaches criticizing him so heavily for the idea?

    Inappropriate place: Many don’t find a graveyard a good place for PokéStops or Gyms. This was primarily intended to give people the opportunity to commemorate their deceased undisturbed.

    Pokemon GO players could in turn disturb the grieving people. But a large part of the community also sees concerns in the behavior of some trainers. Graves could be stepped on or the resting place devastated and filled with rubbish.

    Therefore, in the eyes of some players, the idea is disrespectful and they think it’s right that the city imposed a ban on this area.

    Specifications from Niantic: Niantic itself is skeptical about PokéStops in cemeteries. In their guidelines for submitting new PokéStops, they describe places of mourning and cemeteries, with the exception of gravestones of significant or historical figures, as not acceptable (via wayfarer.nianticlabs.com).

    In the past there have always been problems with players who did not behave respectfully at such memorials. For this reason, in 2016 the Auschwitz memorial also asked for piety and removal from the game.

    Positive opinions on the cemetery idea

    While the majority of Trainers believe that a graveyard isn’t appropriate for a PokéStop, there are still a few comments that agree. Because there are also players who are convinced that it is important to make monuments or memorial stones accessible to the public and think this is a good option (via reddit.com):

  • KingKurto_: “I’m surprised so many comments are negative. I think it’s a great idea. Mainly because, as you mention, it would attract people to visit the site and engage with your city’s history. After all, monuments are there for people to enjoy. It’s a shame when nobody can enjoy them. Even a little extra visitor traffic would be an asset for everyone. I wish you luck.”
  • blackjackgabbiani: “I wonder why so many people insist this is disrespectful. Surely that depends on the individual desires of the person and since it’s impossible to ask them, it seems strange to decide for them. There was even one family that fought to have their son’s grave designated as a Pokestop because he was a huge Pokemon fan. His tombstone even says Pikachu. They felt it was disrespectful when the stop was removed.”
  • However, it is not yet known what happened to the Pokéstop in the cemetery. However, should the city stand in the way, the reddit user Upstairs_Inspection1 has an alternative idea (via reddit.com): “There is a far better solution than the cemetery. The city is to make a series of murals. It could be any type of mural, like an abstract object or even a historical/pokemon theme. Take a picture of it and make a Pokestop out of it.”

    What is your opinion on gogogoff0’s plan? Do you think it’s disrespectful to request new PokéStops from graveyards? Or don’t you think it’s bad at all if Pokémon could also be caught in such a resting place? Let us know here on MeinMMO in the comments and exchange ideas with other trainers.

    Do you want to become active yourself and bring new stops into play? The YouTuber ChaosLady told us in an interview what you have to consider when applying for new PokéStops.

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