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Answers
Gabriel0332 would have mentioned that as a community notice board instead of calling it a mall directory.
All he mentioned about them being similar to outdoor community notice boards because people gather around them to find shops at the mall.
Didn't mention anything about the maps/directories having community events on them.
If you have a photo of the kind of community events a mall directory with the events mentioned you described, it could be helpful. But the malls I see keep their directories separate from any local events going on in the mall.
Good plan, but I would still recommend grabbing a photo to show what you mean in case Casey strikes down mall directories in general without seeing the kind that you are describing.
i think more should be allowed in malls because a lot of people use malls for daily walks. Not everyone has access to trails and I know in Canada, 4-6 months of the year it can be brutal outside, especially in the midwest, so malls are essential for someone people to get out and getting at least some exercise, especially the older players (yes, we do have some in their 70s+ who play around here). A big mall like Square One in Mississauga, ON, or the Edmonton Mall (just to name a couple) can take hours to walk through.
Directories are similar to trail signs.
There are a few malls near by that have designated walking loops for people trying to exersize. I've been slowly getting the markers approved but it's been a slog. Slow to finish reviewing and get rejected half the time.
Do those have distances on them? Or otherwise offer more than just a directory of businesses? Those sound different than being in line with a generic business or directory of generic businesses I would be more likely to approve.
One of the malls near me has begun marking mileage.
Distance and Walking Loop names.
This post I feel like was worth cross-posting here.
No one is disputing that people need variety, however mall/shopping centre directories just aren't eligible since they're a list/map of what's in that shopping centre/mall.
While I agree they're useful when you're looking for a specific shop or part of the building, they're not really a community meeting spot or local hyperspot, and don't really meet historic/cultural criteria either.
Not really a trail marker if all they do is list where the shops are.
Not really a notice board if again they just list where the shops are.
They are a map though but that's literally it. As @NianticCasey-ING already stated bring in a mall doesn't automatically make them eligible or ineligible. He also quoted @GearGlider-ING on the point of them not being eligible if they're just maps, which means it's up to the submitter to prove that they're more than just a map/list of shops.
Show me a picture of one thats not just generic advertising and a map of generic businesses.
I don't mind a mall directory being a wayspot (they are middling quality to me), but the general consensus and the comment from a Niantic representative makes it pretty clear that the community does not think mall directories are good wayspots. I will be most likely to vote them 2-3 stars whereas before this discussion, I was more likely to give 2-4 stars.
If I directory includes mile markers and routes, it would be more likely to pass. The examples provided by @JSteve0-ING in a separate thread perfectly illustrate why many are ineligible.
Providing another I would likely consider ineligible.
@Dice976jr-ING can you provide some visuals that you would consider eligible, such as the ones used as mile markers?
I'm gonna start including this in my supporting statements for walking loop markers in malls. Luckily they have the names of the walking loops on them, so they get approved about ~50% of the time.
That's a great resource and was an interesting read. It even showed examples where there were named and marked "trail" paths within the mall, some of which could likely have been eligible. As has already been started, a simply mall directory would be ineligible.
Just because something is in a mall doesn't mean that it's automatically eligible or ineligible, it's important to consider the individual Wayspots that are being nominated and the purpose they serve / their uniqueness.
From Casey, earlier, and helps remind that just because something is in the mall doesn't immediately determine its in/eligibility. If I reviewed something like the markers in the link, I would likely consider them eligible candidates, assuming location is proven and other eligibility is met.
Unless the shopping centre or mall is about the size of an entire county, I'm doubtful they would be seen or used as mile markers.
Here's dictionary.com's definition of a mile marker:
noun
a numbered milepost along a highway: used as a way of determining the exact location of a vehicle.
Yeah, if there's isn't a designated walking loop/trail in the mall with a trail name, I would imagine you don't have much to submit. You'd have to show proof that there's a designated walking loop in the mall and then show that the directories have information about the walking loop on it. Unfortunately it wouldn't be enough to just say all mall directories are eligible, you'd have to show they have information about an existent walking loop with a trail name.