Ingress AMA Archive
Found 7 results for wintrading
Q58: For a really long time, lots of Agents from both factions have accused each other of "Win-Trading", a term that was explicitly mentioned in the "Community Guidelines" of Ingress. Even "legitimate" XF efforts like Mission days, IFS and XF-Field-Art have been branded as "Wintrading". A few days ago, however, I noticed that the term is no longer found in either the Terms of Service or the Community Guidelines. Was that an intentional change? (and if yes, why was it changed?) And does this imply that all XF is "fair game" and people can no longer be banned for supporting Agents from the other faction in however they see fit?
A58: Let me be very candid about this, as I’ve said this before, and it clearly needs to be repeated. Official Niantic events such as IFS, NL1331, Mission Days, Glyph Challenges, Anomalies, etc. are not win-trading. You do not have to like that statement. But those are the rules. Things were changed because it felt redundant.
My advice, outside of official events, do not privately collude with one or more people from the other faction to benefit from each other's actions as that is against the spirit of the game and will likely open you up to being reported for cheating. If it is done publicly and without intent to negatively impact the community, such as announcing a cross-faction get together at a bar, that’s not in my opinion cheating because everyone has access to the information about the actions in advance. However, just publicly announcing your actions doesn’t absolve you of cheating. There has to be no negative impact to the community. Announcing you and your xfac friend are going to take down a zero-cell sat phone required Portal that is being currently used as an anchor over a region is likely to get you reported for cheating.
Q19: Is there a thing like an xfac farm where two factions build a farm to hack, or is that wintrading?
A19: Legally, I have no idea whether it is wintrading. Personally I think it's against the spirit of the game. If you're coordinating in advance with the other team, my personal opinion is that it's wintrading. If it's spontaneous it's different, but if it's planned it's wintrading.
Q22: Your general opinion on wintrading?
A22: If you're actively coordinating, that is wintrading. Unsure whether that is what NIA Ops considers wintrading.
Q213: is wintrading against the ToS of the game or not?
A213: I believe it is specifically called out as such.
Q215: Would you call this a wintrading scenario when two accounts 1 from each faction do this. First account captures/ creates fields from a portal, 2nd account breaks the same portal so that first account again captures and creates fields. The first Account is creating fields using the same set of portals. this is done consecutlively 22 times in 2 hrs window. Also this done on multiple days which leads to one player reaching L12 from L10 and other L8 in 2 days
A215: Seems like the classic definition to me.
Q36: Hi Andrew, Your captain from Amsterdam speaking here. ⛵ 😊
Is XF beergress with p8 & frackers wintrading or/and against TOS?
A36: To answer this question we have to define what beergress is. In my area, it is getting a group together (cross-faction or not) to attend a bar/pub/restaurant and to play Ingress as a group either before, during, or after. Nothing is coordinated in terms of game play and there are zero expectations... that's a key point in defining wintrading. If I use a Fracker on a portal that is a P8, an Agent from the opposite team can knock it down. If they choose to not do so, that is their choice. There is no rule mandating the capture of portals. However, if a treaty was all arranged in advance to prohibit people from taking certain actions that are not prohibited by the official rules - yes that would be wintrading.
Bottom line: Just let things happen organically and have fun. Also, don't be upset if someone does something that is within the rules and game mechanics.
Q21: Hello, I shall continue on my #old topics with this question :
Last weekend, like it has been going on for a while now, Ingress First Saturdays have been organized around the globe by players from both factions. Some agents are still uncomfortable with it and refuse to host them as they believe it infringes upon the ToS, specifically by promoting wintrading. What's your opinion on this topic?
A21: Even though these are organized by the player community, they are officially sanctioned events. You don't have to worry about win trading at Ingress First Saturday events. The whole point of them is to come together as a cross-faction group and show new players how to play.