Loading Profile...
Hello Cheater, paging Miss Cheater.
There is no doubt that I've spotted a cheater. "Irene Chin" checked in at Needle SPA. Needle SPA is the name of my band's studio that I know she's not in. Its a private studio and there's now way she could've been there.
I’m angry
1
person has this problem
I have this problem, too!
Tell me when someone solves it.
The more people who report this problem, the more it gets noticed.
The more people who report this problem, the more it gets noticed.
-
Inappropriate?Um, as far as I can see, if the GPS allows a check in there is no reason a person can't check in. In the early incarnation of Gowalla, we HAD to make our spots outside. Now with elastic GPS, spots that are inside are check in able from outside and vice versa.
I question the idea of 'private' Gowalla spots, as this is meant to be a social net-working game.
I also question the idea of cheating at a game that really does not emphasise a set of rules.
I’m unhappy with name-calling
7 Comments
Add a comment
This solves the problem
-
Think of the studio has a house. Your house. Someone checks in at your house because they walk by.
They weren't actually at your house, were they? She wasn't actually at my studio.
I had imagined the point of Gowalla to be going to actual places, being there, not just strolling by and checking in and spots that pop up. -
It seems that there are different ways of looking at this. I get so excited to see new spots that I will often check in to leave items, especially in newer areas, were the item-giver-outer seems to need a nudge. Additionally, one way to find the best variety of items is to check in at a variety of locations. We have a recording studio in town and I checked in there, even though I was not specifically invited to the recording studio, since there was a possibility of a cool item popping up.
All of that said, for privacy purposes, I now only make spots in public places. -
I can see the incentive and won't deny that I'd be tempted to do so.
I must hold my own "Gowalla ethics" in a different regard as this person, and should've expected this would happen eventually.
And I'll admit to have gotten overly excited about this issue, it is just the internet after all, right?
It's funny though, I quit Dodgeball for a similar cheating issue. -
I am still trying to get my head around why you are calling this cheating, which is, by definition, violating a set of agreed upon rules. (For some reason endless games of Monopoly come to mind:-)
From the Gowalla page: Discover and create locations anywhere in the world with your iPhone...among other similar pieces. I made several spots in the UK this summer, some of which are places where I have spent a good deal of time, such as the Radcliff Camera Library in Oxford. Interestingly you have to be an 'innie' to actually go into the library, but this does not deter tourists who come to look at the cool architecture of the Camera. To me, that is a great Gowalla spot cause it shows up in the passport that a person has made it as far as the entrance and has had a chance to see a legendary building. So, that is the angle I am coming from. -
As I mentioned, I got overly excited. Cheating has been on my mind with my recent Dodgeball departure. I could've used a better descriptor.
-
I haven't liked Dodge Ball since the third grade, when I was hit in the face with a ball :-)
-
LOL. That's pretty much how it feels over there.
And I must correct myself (again) before someone nails me for it, Dodgeball is no longer around, it's been replaced with FourSquare, the same guys that developed Dodgeball before it was bought by Google way back when. -
Inappropriate?Remember, you don't have to be inside a location to check-in, just relatively nearby. People regularly check-in to offices and other locations while walking through a city (our office included) - the range is wide enough to allow that. And many of our most active players will seek out any new spot in the neighborhood just to check-in.
However, if part of the issue is you wish the spot wasn't public, we hear you and are looking at additional privacy options.
Thanks for enjoying Gowalla!1 Comment Add a comment
This solves the problem
-
Its not a privacy issue its the principal. Which I know isn't something Gowalla can regulate.
But I didn't think Gowalla was about walking by places, but actually going to them, being there. -
Inappropriate?My 2 cents...there is "at" and there is "at" ie: "in". One of the reasons I gave up on Foursquare because all you had to do was search for a venue in order to check in, without even being anywhere near the spot. Since scoring is based on the amount of checkins, it is rampant with cheaters...if you care about the Scoreboard. I even had a friend "venue-stalked" that way. I guess everyone has their own rules, but I like that you actually have to be in the vicinity to check in. Personally, as a 'general' rule, if a spot gives me the ok to check in, then I am "at" the Spot. I generally only check into Spots I actually visit, however, I use some Spots, like the TransAmerica building here in SF, as kind of a marker check-in since I pass it everyday but have no reason to enter. It flags to my friends that I am on the way home. Occasionally, if I am waiting long enough near a Spot that has a Gowalla entry, I check in to signify I was there for a "significant" amount of time. While I like the idea of private spots being added, in particular for living spaces, I don't think checking into a spot that you are in the direct vicinity of is "cheating", since they were "at" the location, just not within the building space. There doesn't seem to be a direct competition aspect to Gowalla, so people should be able to set their own play rules for check-ins. That said, if people started randomly checking into my apartment, I might be somewhat annoyed. =)
I’m definitive
1 Comment Add a comment
This solves the problem
-
The "at" vs "in" is a good argument.
Thank you for your input! -
Inappropriate?I plan on doing the same thing as ole' Elizabeth in the near future. There's a museum near where I work that has a very long private (private as in there isn't roads around it to get near enough to check in at) garden in the back of it. I will make the spot near the end of the garden so people have to actually go inside, poke around a bit to find the garden, dodge various buildings, Mythological statues and scenery to actually get to the spot. :)3 Comments Add a comment
This solves the problem
-
I disagree with this philosophy. I view spots as guides or suggestions. They will help allow someone to be where I think something is interesting or see what I thought was cool, but if they find something else cool, it should not REQUIRE them to see what I saw, etc. I made a spot of an wilderness park. I didn't put it in a neat little back corner so you had to go all over the park to find the Spot, I put it in the center (as best I could tell, as it's shaped strangely) and gave it a generous radius. So if you're just picking up your friend in the parking area, you can check in. If that's what makes your day, awesome. If you, like me, want to wander in the woods, that's awesome, too.
I guess I'm all about letting people find and make their own enjoyment, rather than trying to tell people how to play. -
I agree with Ben completely. I've done a lot of exploring in my city due to Gowalla, walking around in patterns to check into places. But that doesn't mean I went inside every place - I've personally gowalla'd most of the theaters on 42nd Street - created them, founded them, even spent time writing historical descriptions of each one, but I sure as heck haven't attended performances at them, I just got outside within range. Gowalla isn't just about places you visit, it's a form of digital geochaching - as long as I can check in, I can "dig up" an Item, and drop another. Not everyone plays Gowalla as a "look where I've been game", which to me is all Foursquare is. Some of us are enjoying the scavenger hunt aspect.
-
This is not exactly what my comment meant. When in Oxford, unless you are a registered student or reader, you cannot go into the Radcliff Camera or the Bodleian library, or many of the colleges except on tours. So, I made the spots at the entrances of the buildings. Still, people go there to look at the exteriors :-)
As for philosophy of play, I have three: 1) make very cool historical or tourist spots with great descriptions and hopefully trips, 2) make useful spots so others can find them, ie Starbucks because they almost always have electric plugs available to recharge the phone, and 3) 'fauxwalla' like crazy to see how many spots one can check in to around the globe. I do all three with abandon, and will probably think up a forth soon! -
Inappropriate?I also agree with Elizabeth. I think the fun is in getting the chance to examine the area, and possibly potentially return to it when one has more time to investigate further. Particularly with, say, restaurants, one might want to read the menu and decide later to go back and eat there on another evening. But I don't think that not going inside should "disqualify" someone from checking in there.
I have a spot at my home location, and I'd certainly rather random people checked in outside rather than knocking on my door. :) -
Inappropriate?1) Reduce the radius of your spot to the smallest available.
2) Move the spot to the furthest location away from public access (the back of the building, perhaps).
3) Understand that given the current aspects of 1 & 2 (and that the game doesn't have a "Private" handler yet), anyone walking by your studio can check in.
4) Apologize.
It's certainly one thing if you find a legitimate abuse of the application, but to call out someone for cheating when it is exceedingly obvious they played according to the set technical aspects of the game with no abuse whatsoever is absurd and categorically inappropriate. The spot's current setting allowing public check-ins is not Ms. Chin's fault nor dastardly deed as you'd like it to come across.
You don't have to be on the 50 yard line to check-in to football stadiums either, but with your rationale, you'd better well damn be.
-
Inappropriate?Wow, I didn't see this thread til just now. Sorry Oz, but everyone plays Gowalla in different ways. Merely for me it is exploring the cities, because sometimes I might come across something that surprises me. So by happenstance, I came across your spot. No hard feelings.
I’m unconcerned
1 person says
this solves the problem
-
EMPLOYEE
