Useless upgrades, cooldowns, and burnout
Optimatum-PGO
Posts: 3 ✭✭
Right now, I have twelve submissions waiting in the queue, most stuck in voting for months. Six months ago I'd buckle down and farm upgrades, but now every time I get one...
Historic painting? Temporary or seasonal. Ten-foot-tall sculpture? Mismatched location. Art workshop? Must be residential property. Upgrades guarantee that all but my most phenomenal submissions get rejected. Not only is there no incentive to put in the time, they're actively harmful. Today one got through my usual tactic of submit garbage, upgrade, withdraw; that's a month in voting wasted and a second visit to an inconvenient location.
Why do any of us still put up with this ****? I used to love reviewing for all the unique locations you could learn about. Now reviewing actively penalizes you, avoiding cooldowns makes it a chore, fake and garbage submissions are everywhere. Even using the forums is pointlessly hard—I've seen so many of these threads but couldn't find a single one via the search. Well, Niantic, the free labor is running out.
Comments
I actually don't have that experience: most of my upgraded reviews are accepted within the day, usually within an hour or two after upgrading. But I get you: it takes so much work to get an upgrade, and decisions after that point are so swift that it makes all that time waiting In Queue seem even more pointless and frustrating. I'm disappointed that Niantic has not responded to the many Reviewer frustrations voiced on this forum recently. I can't recruit reviewers, my own submissions require not only time in travel and wordsmithing but then hours of reviewing to even get seen, and experienced reviewers are getting suspensions and cooldowns and other penalties that only decrease the reviewer pool. It's inconsiderate. Volunteers deserve a modicum of courtesy. Volunteers at my place of business at least get a tribute luncheon: we here are made to keep stirring the soup to be enjoyed by others.
I have had an Upgraded review stuck since last October. In a downtown area with lots of Reviewers. Go figure.
@Optimatum-PGO I understand what you are saying, and share your frustration. It is a terribly flawed system. I find myself taking breaks of a week or two (in addition to the four-day cooldowns, which I’m an expert at earning. . . ), for the reasons you state. Why do we bother?
I think we come back because we want to believe that those who can fix the system, will do so. The Nia reps who view and respond to this board seem like reasonable folks, and we want to be here when our requests rise to the top of the priority pile, and the system is fixed (or at least improved).
Until then, for our own mental health, we continue to take breaks from reviewing. While we are still interested and invested in the game(s), we have hope. I suspect that those who leave permanently came to their breaking point. Does Nia realize how close some of us are to that point? That’s why your post is important—to build that awareness. Thank you.