The evolution of the Gamepress board.
I started my gamepress account about a year ago after lurking for a few months. For a long time I checked it every day and read nearly every question. I credit A LOT of my Pokemon knowledge to this site and the dedicated posters. I soloed my first ever tier 3 (Arcanine) thanks to assistance from this board.
I was initially drawn to this board because it was full of hyper dedicated trainers who were big proponents of playing the game "the right way". Spoofing was obviously a no-no. Scanners and multi-accounters were quickly talked down and ridiculed for cheating. However, now things have changed. It seems like many of the more advanced/dedicated/knowledgeable trainers have moved on. They've been replaced. Scanners are accepted as the norm. Multi-accounting is widely seen as acceptable practice, even if it's not for everyone. I even recall a question where someone asked how to spoof and instead of being laughed off the internet, he was given actual answers.
The game has changed, and I have as well. Raids encourage multiple accounts. Finding raids is (was) dependent upon scanners. I don't need as much advice as I did when I first started. I now use the resources on this site to figure out how to answer nearly any question that I have. However I'm not sure if future players will have the same experience as me with the Q&A section.
Well, I'm rambling and I'm not sure what my point is. I guess I'll give a tl;dr: gamepress is full of cheaters and if you need advice, you are probably better off checking The Silph Road.
Answers
I've only been here for about 2 months but the QA here is pretty laid back and I rarely see anyone condone spoofing. TSR can be pretty anal about their precious game sometimes.
Also the GP main site keeps up with guides, changes, updates and events alot better the TSR main site does. Maybe you meant the TSR Reddit? They do good work, dont get me wrong!
I agree, it was a lot more "self-righteous" around here at the start.
I've found I've mellowed myself on "questionable" practices as the game has evolved. I really had no contact with other players until I came across discord last summer, and found that it was probably the only reliable raid to participate in legendary raids for me. All of the local players I met used scanners, and many had multiple accounts. At the same time, they were anti-spoofer and seemed earnest about the game.
So what was I do now? Rail on people here for using secondary accounts when I knew I wouldn't be able to complete raids going forward without the help of players who use multiple accounts to organize and show up at raids?
As long as players don't take it too seriously and aren't exclusionary or malicious, then I guess I'm fine with that.
I think that most people that still play to this day and still remain active here in GP are knowledgeable enough by now about the game and its hidden mechanics that no actual theme has been unanswered to a degree that it demands to be regularly asked in the Q&A. Even in the rare occasion when a new/returning/secluded/casual player comes and asks something, their questions are answered swiftly and in a detailed manner.
So when most of the game has been cracked down to the extent that it has, after a while we are left dealing with the ethical issues that arise from how players feel they need to play the game in order to milk the most enjoyment out from it. Thing is, like in all games, the developers have expectations about how their game should be played that do not always fit what the players want, causing gray moral areas to pop out among community members. That game has changed enough from its inception that some previously-unacceptable behaviors have become mainstream enough among the remaining player base because of the fact that there is still one concept that is still unchanged and keeps being an issue for a significant portion of players: the game is still greatly catered towards city players and the only community feature and way of multiplayer interaction in-game are gym/raid battles. This poses a problem for a game designed towards real-life travel when the tools required by players are not provided by the game itself or are perceived as lackluster when compared to third-party alternatives.
Assuming you live in a place that can even support raids, to legit play you have to drive around and/or call others to drive around. Today I went for a 6 mile jog early afternoon (got no poke distance doing it). 3 miles out I saw a Tier 5 egg, 60 secs later saw another level 40 that I see about every day (she is at 39 mil XP but skittish to try raids without a lot of people).
I checked the moves with a freebie level 34 I had in my camelbak, immediately could tell it had DB/Psychic---we beat it 40, 40, 34. Ran home (getting no poke distance). I just don't see how that episode is any worse than a driving and chatting raid episode.
