Eagle94-A1 Posted July 12, 2016 Share Posted July 12, 2016 My major negative is the amount of data that the app has access to. It has access to EVERYTHING just about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardB Posted July 12, 2016 Share Posted July 12, 2016 Can you collect a Beavah? Seriously, if planning an activity probably needs to have a discussion about risks and leadership needs. Sweet 16 of BSA Safety is a good checklist to walk thru. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qwazse Posted July 12, 2016 Share Posted July 12, 2016 It kind of works like a geocache kind of thing and I could see it working in a way where the Scouts could mark it on a map. However, the game does not allowed other players to interact....yet I thought of one major negative...people leaving trails to chase down Pokémon.... That's not exactly how this works. Unlike geocaches, the locations (a.k.a. "stops") tend not to be isolated. In fact, players can "boost" stops that they like. (One former scout did so with a veteran's memorial that another scout had refurbished for his Eagle project.) Once a player is at a stop, any "chasing" is done by rapidly tapping a control on their screen. The "map" provided by the game is your typical driving gps map. Going off trail seems to get you further away from targets. So, I don't see that happening. At least with this version. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scoutldr Posted July 12, 2016 Share Posted July 12, 2016 Cybersecurity risk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zaphod Posted July 12, 2016 Share Posted July 12, 2016 I think we found a workaround for the security issues.... My son just now downloaded the app onto his Kindle Fire because I didn't want to give him access to my phone. He used a Pokemon Trainer account to set it up (instead of gmail). He does have a gmail account that he uses for nothing important (whereas I use my google account and google drive for everything). Of course he is just catching Pokemons in range of our WiFi (he's got 3 already). But if we go out and about I will let him tether to my phone so he can still access the network. We'll see how that does. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prepared Posted July 12, 2016 Author Share Posted July 12, 2016 My major negative is the amount of data that the app has access to. It has access to EVERYTHING just about. So does all the other apps people put on their phones. That's not exactly how this works. Unlike geocaches, the locations (a.k.a. "stops") tend not to be isolated. In fact, players can "boost" stops that they like. (One former scout did so with a veteran's memorial that another scout had refurbished for his Eagle project.) Once a player is at a stop, any "chasing" is done by rapidly tapping a control on their screen. The "map" provided by the game is your typical driving gps map. Going off trail seems to get you further away from targets. So, I don't see that happening. At least with this version. I say sort of like geocache because there are points on the map that you go to and makes people go to places they normally would not. Our local Botanical Gardens is full of Pokéstops and a ton of Pokémon...this is causing people to go that normally would not. The map may be like GPS maps, but there are things off the path that make people go to them. Plus people will wander around trying to find a certain Pokémon. People already do it at this large park, that is just a giant hill, with a pond and playground areas, so it is not too bad if they go off the path. Cybersecurity risk. AWWWW Yeah, I can see it now...people will lose their information so fast and not care, but lose those Pokémon and they will lose their minds....lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrBob Posted July 12, 2016 Share Posted July 12, 2016 Nyantic is aware of the gross permissions issue with Google account bonding and is in the process of fixing it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fehler Posted July 12, 2016 Share Posted July 12, 2016 People laughed at Geocaching when it came out. Mark Twain called golf "a good walk spoiled". It could be a fad, or a movement. Smart phone requirements are limiting the audience to the younger Gen-X/Millennial crowd (appropriate, since Pokemon is turning 20 this year). My District has an "Urban Exploration" event for Venturers in the fall (various "get around downtown using public transportation and other methods, complete activity/scavenger hunt"), and a smartphone is required. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stosh Posted July 12, 2016 Share Posted July 12, 2016 Urban exploration? What 10 animals and plants does one hope to identify there? Where do people come up with these ideas? A uniform is not required but a smartphone is? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desertrat77 Posted July 12, 2016 Share Posted July 12, 2016 Stumbling around with eyes glued to a smart phone. Looking for cartoon characters. It's 2016. I guess real plants and animals are just too boring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walk in the woods Posted July 12, 2016 Share Posted July 12, 2016 Urban exploration? What 10 animals and plants does one hope to identify there? Where do people come up with these ideas? A uniform is not required but a smartphone is? Well, I'm about to go on my daily urban walk. I expect I'll see oak, maple, spruce and locust trees; multiple prairie plants, maybe some cat tails; robins, starlings, gulls, geese and if I'm lucky parakeets; squirrels and maybe rabbits. Recently lost all the Ash trees to the EAB. Not saying it's perfect but gotta meet people where they are, no? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrBob Posted July 12, 2016 Share Posted July 12, 2016 Urban exploration? What 10 animals and plants does one hope to identify there? Where do people come up with these ideas? A uniform is not required but a smartphone is? Its a proper adaptation of LNT guidelines to an urban environment - you want to blend-in with your surroundings so as not to disrupt the native's enjoyment of their habitat. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stosh Posted July 12, 2016 Share Posted July 12, 2016 Well, I'm about to go on my daily urban walk. I expect I'll see oak, maple, spruce and locust trees; multiple prairie plants, maybe some cat tails; robins, starlings, gulls, geese and if I'm lucky parakeets; squirrels and maybe rabbits. Recently lost all the Ash trees to the EAB. Not saying it's perfect but gotta meet people where they are, no? Okay, boys, we're going to do the 10 animals requirements today. Every one have their money for the zoo? Great. Save a little of that money boys, we're going to do the 10 plants tomorrow at the arboretum. Right, got it covered..... Its a proper adaptation of LNT guidelines to an urban environment - you want to blend-in with your surroundings so as not to disrupt the native's enjoyment of their habitat. So if I wear my most tattered clothes, lie on a park bench covered with newspapers, I can feed the pigeons raw peanuts and fit in with the LNT guidelines? Sounds great, I'll have to try that some day.......... NOT! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fehler Posted July 12, 2016 Share Posted July 12, 2016 So, in your world cities don't exist? We shouldn't be teaching teenagers how to navigate an urban environment using public transportation? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stosh Posted July 12, 2016 Share Posted July 12, 2016 City scouts ride the mass transit like I rode a bike. People adapt to their environment. Scouting is NOT the normal environment of many people, thus the adventure. The YMCA, Boys and Girls Clubs, etc. provide urban and even sometimes natural programming. Church youth groups go to summer camp some place that is "outside the city limits." The whole idea of outing is to get out of one's natural habitat, be it the sofa or city park down the street. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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