It looks like they are taking another huge step towards engaging more with the community. This program and the new community manager position shows they're taking community feedback seriously. I look forward to seeing how things play out.
We've been telling them to expand the beta testing at least. This seems like a good way to expand that, especially with Agents of different levels and experience.
It seems like a large time commitment. Active on the forums, plus on private forums and beta testing (don't forget playing the non-beta version as well)? Seems like too many things wrapped up in one.
If it were just access to the beta testing for the app and a private forum for such feedback, I'd likely apply.
As it's currently listed, it seems like it will be similar to how the vanguard program is setup with just a few agents from each area based on the language questions. Not sure how much of a spread they will get on the different levels of agents. Which means that they likely won't need yet another multi recursed agent who is really only fluent in English.
It's exciting to see Niantic more actively engage with the community, especially reaching out to the forum-goers, whom are generally some of the most passionate and dedicated fans of Ingress (that's why we are here! lol). Will be interesting to see what happens, but good on them for being proactive on such community engagement.
I agree that this is another interesting step in connecting with the community. It will definitely bring better work with feedback from players in the future.
We have VG, TR ... this was a logical and expected step.
"Trusted Reporters are nominated by other Agents for their keen understanding of the gameplay and local knowledge and trusted to escalate critical issues that impact gameplay."
So the Trusted Reporters programm, which was essentially discontinued in the form that agents could reach them through a bot and they could report through fast track, is back? And the totally anonimous Trusted Reporters, will now be nominated by the community?
Last communication Trusted Reporters could still fasttrack, but only on issues they pick up in the community and report. Every agent can fasttrack if certain criteria are met. And with CORE every paying agent can decide to use fast track.
I am confused.
Will the programm continue, will TR's get options different than normal players, and will we nominate them so they are known to the community?
Using the Beta Client does not preclude activity in the live game. The Beta/Dogfood clients run against the production servers. Effort there counts against your normal account.
So the Trusted Reporters programm, which was essentially discontinued in the form that agents could reach them through a bot and they could report through fast track, is back?
This post doesn't indicate any changes to the TR program. It's simply making a distinction between XMA's, VG's and TR's.
And the totally anonimous Trusted Reporters, will now be nominated by the community?
TR's are an opaque program where we don't find out who they are, though I know in previous iterations, suggestions for TRs have been solicited from some Agents. VG's are, and XMA's will be, publicly visible on the Community forums, and application for both is via a form opened when they're asking for new nominations.
Will the programm continue, will TR's get options different than normal players, and will we nominate them so they are known to the community?
The post makes it clear that the XMA program does not affect the Vanguard or Trusted Reporter programs at all. The FAQ merely points out that XMA's will not have the same status in the areas specific to those other programs.
I'm encouraged - hope this will lead to more engagement with the Ingress team, increasing communication and perhaps make the forums more useful without us relying soley on @ofer2 and @NianticBrian who have to do their day jobs a lot of the time.
(Depending on what the XM Ambassadors are allowed to say/not say).
We already have a few Vanguards active on the forum. Some more engagement from others would be nice, but not expected.
@Perringaiden The Trusted program is there is name, but in function it doesn't seem to have any added value to paying or non-paying agents. The XMA program doesn't affect a program and the status that has no added value in current form.
Mentioning nomination suggests there is a process. And until now we only know of the proces there suddenly were TR's. In that sense any process to find someone for a role is a nomination.... So why mention it at all of it isn't affected?
I think it is time for Niantic to clarify on the role of Trusted Reporters or end the program not just in essence (function) but in full. It only causes confusion.
I think a large part of the problem you're looking at is that we can't know which Agents are TR's, or elements of the community would lean on them to misuse the trust placed in them. I know for a previous iteration, the GCM asked some agents directly for suggestions. There wasn't ever a public nomination process, because the system is not public facing due to the above reason.
Regardless, this post is about the XMA's not TRs. The mention of TR's was simply to highlight them as separate them from the XMA's. If you want to discuss the TR program, it's probably better in a thread of it's own.
(Depending on what the XM Ambassadors are allowed to say/not say).
We already have a few Vanguards active on the forum. Some more engagement from others would be nice, but not expected.
This is probably going to be the key part that needs to be handled carefully. Vanguards find out a lot but are covered by an NDA and can't disclose it.
I'd be surprised if the XMAs aren't required to sign something similar, but hopefully they'll be able to discuss what they can and can't disclose, and be allowed a bit more leeway to discuss upcoming features and ideas with the community when they reach a state nearing release.
Given beta access, very likely, but NDA's don't preclude disclosing things they're allowed to talk about. It's not about what they can't talk about, but what Niantic is willing to let them talk about.
It depends on how the NDAs are administered and what they have written in that document. I can easily imagine that they will let the selected agents sign it just to make sure that there are no misunderstandings in the future.
Nice start. Let's hope that at last Nia will have the opportunity to follow the trends that are going on within the community and not only on the forum. It would not be bad if the agents they recruit would help them in high-quality translation into different languages. + in addition, they gave feedback on all the errors in the scanner that appear in the beta version. They really lack good testers and native speakers of at least basic languages such as English or Chinese or Russian.
I see this as Niantic looking for more/better ways to engage positively with the community. That engagement will almost certainly be a win-win for both the players and the company.
It's a great opportunity for us (the community) to help. There's is many agents here that really help, and are more active than some Vanguards, but they have their own obligations, so the ambassadors will be one extra arm, with his own task, to help Niantic too.
I have one question about the application @NianticOfficial I'm currently RES, but been ENL for two runs, and might change back to ENL, probably at the end of the year. Should I select my current or bet on the future?
On the balance, I think I'd rather have the opportunity to nominate others. Sure, I'd love the opportunity to test betas and provide feedback, but I doubt my presence thus far on the forums is what Niantic is looking for. 😅 I mean, there are voices that I wouldn't mind hearing more from, ones who perhaps are not the most prolific of posters and commenters, but when they do have something to say, I feel like I've learned or gained insight into something.
I doubt even the Vanguards get access to the test/dev shards. From what I've heard, they aren't exactly large, and more about moving around a space, than running around a city.
inb4 the inevitable accusations against the new cabal of XMAs who ban innocent agents, get couch portals removed, and kick the opposing faction's puppies. #Xanon #DeepNiantic
That said, the XMA program seems a good move by Niantic. IMO, this community forum has been a success and XMAs will only improve it. And addition of more players to the Beta testing/feedback program will make that program more effective. Good stuff!
Comments
Does the wayfarer forum count as being active in the forums? I'm much more active there than I am here.
It looks like they are taking another huge step towards engaging more with the community. This program and the new community manager position shows they're taking community feedback seriously. I look forward to seeing how things play out.
We've been telling them to expand the beta testing at least. This seems like a good way to expand that, especially with Agents of different levels and experience.
It seems like a large time commitment. Active on the forums, plus on private forums and beta testing (don't forget playing the non-beta version as well)? Seems like too many things wrapped up in one.
If it were just access to the beta testing for the app and a private forum for such feedback, I'd likely apply.
As it's currently listed, it seems like it will be similar to how the vanguard program is setup with just a few agents from each area based on the language questions. Not sure how much of a spread they will get on the different levels of agents. Which means that they likely won't need yet another multi recursed agent who is really only fluent in English.
It's exciting to see Niantic more actively engage with the community, especially reaching out to the forum-goers, whom are generally some of the most passionate and dedicated fans of Ingress (that's why we are here! lol). Will be interesting to see what happens, but good on them for being proactive on such community engagement.
One giant step and I really hope things turn out well, and that Niantic continues to listen to its community.
I agree that this is another interesting step in connecting with the community. It will definitely bring better work with feedback from players in the future.
We have VG, TR ... this was a logical and expected step.
"Trusted Reporters are nominated by other Agents for their keen understanding of the gameplay and local knowledge and trusted to escalate critical issues that impact gameplay."
So the Trusted Reporters programm, which was essentially discontinued in the form that agents could reach them through a bot and they could report through fast track, is back? And the totally anonimous Trusted Reporters, will now be nominated by the community?
Last communication Trusted Reporters could still fasttrack, but only on issues they pick up in the community and report. Every agent can fasttrack if certain criteria are met. And with CORE every paying agent can decide to use fast track.
I am confused.
Will the programm continue, will TR's get options different than normal players, and will we nominate them so they are known to the community?
Sounds great, but entails responsibility that I current can't provide. But this is a great step by Niantic to extend the testing to active agents.
@EvilSuperHeros
don't forget playing the non-beta version as well
Using the Beta Client does not preclude activity in the live game. The Beta/Dogfood clients run against the production servers. Effort there counts against your normal account.
@ChiisaiKuma
So the Trusted Reporters programm, which was essentially discontinued in the form that agents could reach them through a bot and they could report through fast track, is back?
It never went away: https://community.ingress.com/en/discussion/12852/update-to-the-fast-track-program-for-spoofing-incidents
This post doesn't indicate any changes to the TR program. It's simply making a distinction between XMA's, VG's and TR's.
And the totally anonimous Trusted Reporters, will now be nominated by the community?
TR's are an opaque program where we don't find out who they are, though I know in previous iterations, suggestions for TRs have been solicited from some Agents. VG's are, and XMA's will be, publicly visible on the Community forums, and application for both is via a form opened when they're asking for new nominations.
Will the programm continue, will TR's get options different than normal players, and will we nominate them so they are known to the community?
The post makes it clear that the XMA program does not affect the Vanguard or Trusted Reporter programs at all. The FAQ merely points out that XMA's will not have the same status in the areas specific to those other programs.
I'm encouraged - hope this will lead to more engagement with the Ingress team, increasing communication and perhaps make the forums more useful without us relying soley on @ofer2 and @NianticBrian who have to do their day jobs a lot of the time.
(Depending on what the XM Ambassadors are allowed to say/not say).
We already have a few Vanguards active on the forum. Some more engagement from others would be nice, but not expected.
@Perringaiden The Trusted program is there is name, but in function it doesn't seem to have any added value to paying or non-paying agents. The XMA program doesn't affect a program and the status that has no added value in current form.
Mentioning nomination suggests there is a process. And until now we only know of the proces there suddenly were TR's. In that sense any process to find someone for a role is a nomination.... So why mention it at all of it isn't affected?
I think it is time for Niantic to clarify on the role of Trusted Reporters or end the program not just in essence (function) but in full. It only causes confusion.
Unsure who you would nominate a TR to? There is no process for this?
I think a large part of the problem you're looking at is that we can't know which Agents are TR's, or elements of the community would lean on them to misuse the trust placed in them. I know for a previous iteration, the GCM asked some agents directly for suggestions. There wasn't ever a public nomination process, because the system is not public facing due to the above reason.
Regardless, this post is about the XMA's not TRs. The mention of TR's was simply to highlight them as separate them from the XMA's. If you want to discuss the TR program, it's probably better in a thread of it's own.
@SSSputnik
(Depending on what the XM Ambassadors are allowed to say/not say).
We already have a few Vanguards active on the forum. Some more engagement from others would be nice, but not expected.
This is probably going to be the key part that needs to be handled carefully. Vanguards find out a lot but are covered by an NDA and can't disclose it.
I'd be surprised if the XMAs aren't required to sign something similar, but hopefully they'll be able to discuss what they can and can't disclose, and be allowed a bit more leeway to discuss upcoming features and ideas with the community when they reach a state nearing release.
I'm pretty sure they'll have to sign the NDA too.
Given beta access, very likely, but NDA's don't preclude disclosing things they're allowed to talk about. It's not about what they can't talk about, but what Niantic is willing to let them talk about.
It depends on how the NDAs are administered and what they have written in that document. I can easily imagine that they will let the selected agents sign it just to make sure that there are no misunderstandings in the future.
Seems like they start to take community feedbacks seriously! looks like a great opportuinty to bring in some new ideas!
Nice start. Let's hope that at last Nia will have the opportunity to follow the trends that are going on within the community and not only on the forum. It would not be bad if the agents they recruit would help them in high-quality translation into different languages. + in addition, they gave feedback on all the errors in the scanner that appear in the beta version. They really lack good testers and native speakers of at least basic languages such as English or Chinese or Russian.
I see this as Niantic looking for more/better ways to engage positively with the community. That engagement will almost certainly be a win-win for both the players and the company.
Nice start and a great idea to get feedback and get a better game releases. Im gonna apply for it!!
this is the right way to improve the gameplay for both faction. looking forward for what is coming next!
It's a great opportunity for us (the community) to help. There's is many agents here that really help, and are more active than some Vanguards, but they have their own obligations, so the ambassadors will be one extra arm, with his own task, to help Niantic too.
I have one question about the application @NianticOfficial I'm currently RES, but been ENL for two runs, and might change back to ENL, probably at the end of the year. Should I select my current or bet on the future?
On the balance, I think I'd rather have the opportunity to nominate others. Sure, I'd love the opportunity to test betas and provide feedback, but I doubt my presence thus far on the forums is what Niantic is looking for. 😅 I mean, there are voices that I wouldn't mind hearing more from, ones who perhaps are not the most prolific of posters and commenters, but when they do have something to say, I feel like I've learned or gained insight into something.
Oh yeah I forget, Niantic doesn't have a TEST/DEV/PREPROD Environment(s) to test off of.
I guess I was thinking with my work brain there. Go figure.
It's always good to have more people test in real world uses and be able to give feedback.
So I applaud Niantic for taking a step in this direction without being overwhelmed if they just opened the beta to everyone.
I doubt even the Vanguards get access to the test/dev shards. From what I've heard, they aren't exactly large, and more about moving around a space, than running around a city.
inb4 the inevitable accusations against the new cabal of XMAs who ban innocent agents, get couch portals removed, and kick the opposing faction's puppies. #Xanon #DeepNiantic
That said, the XMA program seems a good move by Niantic. IMO, this community forum has been a success and XMAs will only improve it. And addition of more players to the Beta testing/feedback program will make that program more effective. Good stuff!