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Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:
In August, Milwaukee's Lake Park saw swarms of Pokémon Go players, some of whom trampled and trashed the area, making a general nuisance of themselves. Not everyone behaved badly, as John Dargle, Jr, director of the Milwaukee County Department of Parks, Recreation & Culture, acknowledged in a letter [PDF] at the time. But a subset of thoughtless gamers created enough of a burden that Milwaukee County Supervisor Sheldon Wasserman proposed an ordinance [PDF] to require augmented reality game makers to obtain a permit to use county parks in their apps.
The ordinance was approved and took effect in January. It has become a solution waiting for a problem – according to a spokesperson for Milwaukee County, no game maker has bothered to apply for a permit since then.
[...] Nonetheless, in April, Candy Lab, a maker of augmented reality games based in Nevada, filed a lawsuit "out of genuine fear and apprehension that this ordinance, conceptually and as written, poses a mortal threat not only to Candy Lab AR's new location-based augmented reality game, but also to its entire business model, and, indeed, to the emerging medium of augmented reality as a whole."
-- submitted from IRC
(Score: 2) by AthanasiusKircher on Saturday June 10 2017, @10:22PM (2 children)
Irrelevant. As I already said above, a non-profit corporation holding an event that drew a crowd to a public park may still be required to obtain permits.
I never said it had "total control." But my understanding is that the location of important elements (Pokestops, gyms, spawns, etc.) was at least partly determined by the company, no? If they want to avoid crowds congregating in spaces the city demands permits for, then don't have objectives or major game elements there that will draw crowds. The company has responded to requests to disallow such things in various locations around the world (Auschwitz, Holocaust museums, national cemeteries, etc.). If they don't want to pay for a permit to locate game features within the park, then just disable it.
You're acting like this company has to actually fork over all the money to pay for the stuff listed in the permit list. They DON'T. They can just choose not to use public parks for their game in this city.
Again, while we could argue the commercial interest, even if there isn't any, there's still statutes about creating a public nuisance, etc. Like it or not, cities do have jurisdiction over city parks and what happens there. If some company is encouraging behavior in the park that the city feels is creating problems, it is well within their rights to address it. I'm NOT saying they're necessarily entitled to a share of revenue or whatever it is you think I'm arguing for. But they do have a right to set conditions for the use of the parks, and if a company doesn't agree to said conditions, the city has a right to say that they can't USE the park resources (which they ARE doing) for the company's endeavor.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by frojack on Sunday June 11 2017, @12:54AM
There is no event.
There is no schedule.
Its nothing more than a notation on an electronic map.
People choose when to go to that notation.
They do it in their free time.
The city can choose when to close the park gates.
It doesn't matter how many bone headed arguments you dream up there is no possible way that any mention of the existence of a park needs a permit from the city with fees paid. There is no possible way that could be enforced, there is no possible way anyone could ever fulfill such a requirement to register and pay fees for every frickin park in the world.
You are lobbying (with unfathomable pinheadery) for a police state of ridiculous proportions to seize money from any company that so much as mentions a park when the taxpayers who actually own the park, and pay for it's upkeep, actually use the park.
I suppose I'm going to have to have a corporate sponsor to visit a park now? A badge issued by Pepsi, or Ford?
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 11 2017, @03:18AM
You really have no idea about how the game works, or even what the game is about. And the more you post the less you sound like you know what you are saying.