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Google's Niantic Labs Sorry Over Death Camps In Smartphone Game
New submitter LunaticTippy writes: For those unfamiliar with Ingress, the game has GPS coordinate portals that correspond to real world locations, players then use smartphones to battle for control of these portals. Many public locations with historical or artistic interest are submitted by players. It turns out some of the sites were located within concentration camps such as Dachau and Sachsenhausen. NBC reports: "In a statement to The Associated Press, Niantic Labs' founder John Hanke said the company has begun removing the offending sites from the game. He said 'we apologize that this has happened.'"
Give people the ability to create things tied to real world locations without any sort of moderation controls, act surprised when they pick controversial locations. Trolls gonna troll.
#naabhaprzrag, #sverubfr-000, #agi-fcbafberq, negvpyr[pynff*=' negvpyr-ary-'] { qvfcynl: abar !vzcbegnag; }
So is removing them and pretending those places dont exist is a better solution?
Your hair look like poop, Bob! - Wanker.
The "goal" of Ingress is to get people outside and walking around and looking at the real world.
A lot of players use it trolling around in their cars to hit as many points as possible, but a lot of fat nerds like myself have walked around a lot of parks we might not have otherwise gotten off our fat asses for.
I'd have rather seen a historic site -- no matter the subject -- than a few graffiti mural-ed alleys I've wandered down here in Phoenix.
The damage has been dough, you hurt my feels you insensitive bigot! Reparations for me now!!!
well... how about a cookie? :)
Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
Again why are they needing to apologize for approving portal locations for historic areas?
When did learning about history or using historical figures, locations or groups in games or other activities become verboten? If we are to apply this crap objectively and consistently, then we need to make sure we ban everything that anyone anywhere ever could possibly be offended by, just so nobody suffers from undue loss of self-esteem or panic attacks or feel that their positions are not getting equal respect.
Books with any controversial name? BANNED
TV shows that say certain trigger words? BANNED
Cars named after people or places that someone fears? BANNED
Documentaries about terrible events in history? BANNED
Where, pray tell, does it end? When did people lose all ability to process input on a rational and contextual basis? /smh
Just put in confederate flags, and Dixie will come to your aid - all will be forgiven.
The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
So is removing them and pretending those places dont exist is a better solution?
It hurts my head when a geek asks a loaded --- smartass ---- question like this and gets modded up +5, Insightful.
Neither Dachau nor Sachsenhausen were extermination camps.
Ezekiel 23:20
oops typo: First the Googlers refer to black people as gorillas, and now they're making fun of the victims of genocide.
We should not ignore historic events just because they don't paint a rosy picture of humanity: the inquisition, the holocaust, the armenian genocide, etc.
Spain will soon approve a law to grant citizenship to the jews expelled from Spain in 1492, this is the right attitude to correct mistakes, not to ignore them. I wonder if Germany will follow.
The entire point of portals is that they are located at physical locations that have historical or cultural significance. https://support.google.com/ing...
The list of the top ten most historically and culturally significant sites in the whole world would include the concentration camps.
This is political correctness at its worst, where in seeking sensitivity it in fact hides atrocity.
Nostalgia's not what it used to be.
This completely explains how Russian troops with smartphones keep accidentally ending up in the Ukraine. Their smartphone game said go take over a site in the Ukraine.
It's entirely disrespectful to have people going there just to play a game.
How could this be offensive? The whole point is to call out places of cultural or historical significance. The only people that _should_ be offended by this would be holocaust deniers.
well... how about a cookie? :)
Or how about a few quintillion cookies?
Seriously. It is a game, that's all.
Are real people actually getting killed in the game? There are all kinds of games that include violence, murder, theft, assault, robbery, drug dealing, etc.
People who are offended by this should really give their head a shake. There are actually real people in the world who are suffering as a result of real violence and terrorism. I wonder if they speak out about real world problems - or do they just bitch and whine about video games?
Political correctness is really just herd psychology pushed by insecure people who desperately seek social conformity.
Please explain to all of us how the privilege of reading up on the subject is worth $12 for the first article and then $29 per month if we forget to cancel afterward.
They weren't extermination camps, but they weren't "sit around and play card matching game all day" camps either. Perhaps we can split the difference and call them "detainment with criminally inadequate nutrition and enrichment" camps.