Pontoon Pete

On a phone, tap Pete's round badge in the header, next to the search icon. On a computer, click Ask Pontoon Pete in the bottom-right corner. Pete answers from the site's own listings, the official lake gauges and a knowledge base that an administrator has checked: today's lake level and weather, which marinas have fuel, places to eat, pontoon rentals, homes for sale, dock builders, events, Marketplace items, and how to do things on the site. Every answer links to the pages it came from. If he does not have something, he says so instead of guessing.

In Pete's window, the speaker button in the header turns Voice on; he then reads answers aloud with captions, and the microphone next to the text box lets you ask by speaking (your phone or browser will ask for microphone permission once). Voice is off by default and nothing plays on its own. Mute and Stop appear in the header while he is speaking. The voice you hear today is your device's own voice; Pete's own voice is being evaluated.

Pete does not make things up. Business facts come from the listings; lake numbers come from the gauges with their reading time; other facts (fuel docks, rules, emergency numbers) come from a knowledge base where each entry has a source and a check date, and only administrator-approved entries are used. When a fact is old or its source changed, Pete says it may have changed. He does not know prices or availability a business has not published, and he is not an emergency service: for an emergency call 911.

To keep Pete fast for everyone there is a daily limit of questions per visitor, and a higher one for signed-in members. If you reach it, Pete tells you how long until it resets. Nothing you ask is tied to your name; visitor questions are kept briefly, without identity, only to improve answers.