"The lobby counter is a step in the right direction but it still needs improvements"

#PokemonGO: It's nice that we now have a lobby counter next to the battle text but I still think it doesn't solve the major issues associated with knowing who is waiting at a Raid.The first issue is that the first few people who show up to a Raid will still be hesitant to spend a Raid Pass because they're still unsure if more show up in time before the Raid timer expires. This is the biggest problem in my opinion which will also defeat the purpose of the new lobby counter because people won't join the lobby until they know for sure that they have enough people to start the Raid.The second issue is that we can't see the counter unless we are within the gym's range which in my opinion doesn't make sense because the point of the counter should be that we're able to see the amount of people waiting in the lobby from afar, that way we can head over to the gym knowing that there are people waiting. Possible solutions to these issues:Allow us to join the lobby without charging us the Raid Pass, that way we won't have to worry about losing it if more people don't show up.Add a "ready" button to the lobby and once we click that button we will be charged the Raid Pass. And once the majority of the lobby hits the ready button, the count down timer will begin. I say the majority instead of ALL because this will likely lead to trolling and having the rest of the group wait till everyone hits the ready button.Have the lobby counter appear at the top of the gym as well, that way everyone in the area can also see who is waiting at a gym. I think this is the best way to attract more people towards a gym for a Raid. It's great that Niantic is addressing this problem but I think it's still a work in progress. I hope to see further improvements similar to the suggestions I mentioned above, that way we all have a much better experience raiding especially for those who live in a rural area and also those who don't have local social media groups to join. via /r/pokemongo http://ift.tt/2vB2pd9