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Cops Warn Pokemon Go Players: Please Don't Trespass To Catch 'em All (arstechnica.com)

Posted by msmash on from the common-sense dept.

An anonymous reader shares an Ars Technica report:Law enforcement agencies around the globe are reminding citizens to obey trespassing laws and follow common sense when playing Pokemon Go. The new crazy-popular mobile game has led to some frightening results in recent days, such as the location of a dead body and robberies of players in Missouri. Now, San Francisco Police Department Captain Raj Vaswani warned in one online posting for players to "obey traffic laws, please. Do not run into trees, meters, and things that are attached to the sidewalk; they hurt," he said. "Do not drive or ride your bike / skateboard / hipster techie device while interacting with the app. Know where your kids are going when playing with the app, set limits on where they can go, so they don't keep going trying to get that Pokemon."

13 of 141 comments (clear)

  1. I don't understand these warnings. by LiENUS · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Yeah I'm not getting these warnings. Until the pokemon comes out of hiding you can't tell where they are so trespassing to find them makes no sense. Then once they're out of hiding you tap to bring up the capture screen. There's no need to get closer to capture em. So why would trespassing even come up?

    1. Re:I don't understand these warnings. by Calydor · · Score: 2

      It is 'that one spot' you haven't checked yet, I guess.

      Ever run through any maze game looking for that one last enemy, or chest, or whatever else may be in a limited but known quantity?

      --
      -=This sig has nothing to do with my comment. Move along now=-
    2. Re:I don't understand these warnings. by Quantus347 · · Score: 3, Informative

      There is a "Nearby" readout that tells you what's close, and it operates on a 0-3 footprint scale. It's essentially a hot/cold game, so you can triangulate enough to work out the proper direction and relative distance until it does actually appear. There is also the fact that they appear in close to the same spot for everyone (within a certain time window) so if somebody else spotted one down a given dark alley, odds are you will too.

      --
      Common Sense isn't as Common as people think...
    3. Re:I don't understand these warnings. by Yvan256 · · Score: 2

      They already are chasing nothing!

  2. Stop with the nannystate warnings! by gfxguy · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Let natural selection take it's course. If people want to wander out in traffic to capture a virtual Pokemon, let them.

    --
    Stupid sexy Flanders.
    1. Re:Stop with the nannystate warnings! by HumanWiki · · Score: 2

      There's also places where the driver is ALWAYS at fault for hitting a pedestrian or cyclist. I don't want my life messed up because some moron playing this game lost the last bit of common sense they possessed.

    2. Re:Stop with the nannystate warnings! by ultranova · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Let natural selection take it's course. If people want to wander out in traffic to capture a virtual Pokemon, let them.

      Natural selection is outdated. We switched to cultural evolution 10,000 years ago for all important development, and are on the verge of simply designing and reshaping our biological forms as we see fit. So what purpose does your comment serve, aside from promoting viciousness and devaluing of human life which threaten to kill us all precisely because of the power we now possess, and is thus far worse defect than being easily distracted at young age, as well as making life less pleasant overall?

      --

      Forget magic. Any technology distinguishable from divine power is insufficiently advanced.

    3. Re:Stop with the nannystate warnings! by bmorency · · Score: 2

      That is true but it would still be pretty traumatizing.

  3. Bad movie in 5 ... 4 ... 3 ... by PCM2 · · Score: 2

    I'm already imagining the terrible, direct-to-streaming horror movie based on Pokemon Go.

    Quickly, ScriptBot! Let's have those first few scenes...

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    Breakfast served all day!
  4. Found landmarks in buildings by subanark · · Score: 2

    Found two landmark points (used to get free pokeballs and other items) inside 2 Microsoft buildings (showing off their Halo exhibits). I wonder if anyone is going to try to hang out on the side of the building to pick it up.

    1. Re:Found landmarks in buildings by Quantus347 · · Score: 2

      Found one that was a nice mural...in the drive through lane of a Wine&Spirits convenience store...

      "I'd like a 5th of Jack and three Pokeballs, please"

      --
      Common Sense isn't as Common as people think...
  5. Re:I heard you can Set Lures by LunaticTippy · · Score: 2

    You can only deploy lures at established pokestops which are various landmarks (portals from Ingress)

    Savvy business owners are buying lure modules in game and deploying them, advertising on social media. Players are motivated to hang around within 30 meters to hit the pokestop every 5 minutes and catch the attracted pokemon.

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    Man, you really need that seminar!
  6. Re:A much more serious problem... by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 4, Informative

    Why are grown men afraid of talking with children?

    Because grown men are viewed by society as sexual predators when children are around.