Historic farm market rejected?

Hi all,

I've only ever submitted three nominations, all over the past year; two have been accepted and one was rejected. Not bad, from what I've seen... But I'm honestly curious about the rejected one.

Main/Supporting Images: https://imgur.com/a/LhAuuhZ

Title: Highland Orchards Farm Market

Description: Highland Orchards is a historic, year-round, family-run community fruit/vegetable farm market since 1832. (The original land deed was written on sheepskin!)

Supplemental Info: This nomination is centered on the publicly-accessible sign (via sidewalk) and retail areas/building (further up the driveway). Highland Orchards is a historical (1832) and permanent year-round farmer's market. It's part of the "Delaware Agritourism" initiative, runs a Community Supported Agriculture program, and has lovely publicly-accessible outdoor spaces with animals, plants, and flowers. Note: The Google Maps address is slightly off; it should be 1431 Foulk Road, not 1441 Foulk Road.

-------------------

The rejection reasons were listed as...

* Nomination is fake and does not exist at the submitted location

* Photo is low quality (e.g., pitch black/blurry photos or photos taken from a car)

* Nomination does not meet acceptance criteria


Fake nomination: The farm market is clearly marked and visible on Google Maps (https://www.google.com/maps/place/Highland+Orchards+Farm+Market/@39.8025588,-75.5242376,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x89c6e356657d58b3:0xe52d47ef3f7aef6d!8m2!3d39.8025588!4d-75.5220489) even though, as I'd noted, the submission got the address one number off and I didn't see any way to update it correctly. It has sidewalk and public driveway access.

Photo is low quality: This one I don't understand at all: both photos are clear, of the relevant signage, show the surrounding area, etc. from me standing on the sidewalk. Definitely not from a car, blurry, or too dark.

Acceptance criteria: In my (limited?) opinion this is the only one that remotely might make sense, but I still don't understand why. I read up before submitting and understood that *farms* aren't eligible, but that retail fronts (ie, the farm market and its sign) should've been okay? Add that it established almost 200 years ago and is a popular/well-frequented public gathering place, and I'm having trouble understanding this point.

-------------------

Can anyone help clarify what might've happened here? Was it just lazy reviewers or did I mess up somehow? Thanks ahead of time for anyone who can help clarify.

Comments

  • Melurra-PGOMelurra-PGO Posts: 421 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Hi! I actually reviewed this nomination and gave it good marks. Part of that was benefit of the doubt and general leniency for a rural area, but I think it had solid merit overall.

    For photo, it's generally thought that there are reviewers who don't like photos at an angle and prefer the sign to be photographed straight on. That's not a proper use of the rejection reason, and your photo is fine, but it's generally suggested to take photos straight on to avoid unnecessary scrutiny.

    The automatic Google Street view positioning was fine for this nomination, so I don't think you need to mention about the address in your supplemental. It's normal for the address to be off a little, especially in rural areas. The sign looked different, maybe older, but it was still evident to me that it was the same location. You can make and upload a Photosphere using the Google Street View app, which would provide an up-to-date street view for the sign.

    Some people may think of farmers markets as places where a variety of vendors sell, and it looks like this could be just this farm's own retail area. Some may see that as more of a generic business thing rather than a community melting pot event. If there is some webpage that speaks to the community initiatives you mentioned in your supplemental, that could help solidify your nomination.

    Again, I think this was a great nomination (assuming the text is true, which I had no reason to doubt), so bad luck may just be at play.

  • JillJilyJabadoo-PGOJillJilyJabadoo-PGO Posts: 1,082 ✭✭✭✭✭

    People have posted on here before about farm stands and they were not as popular as I would have thought. The negatives seem to be a mix of "they count as a farm" and "they are generic shops".

    As @Melurra-PGO mentioned, take your photo of the sign square on, or maybe go down the drive for a picture of the market itself. That's probably a better submission than just the sign. You'll probably need to add a photosphere, though. For your supporting photo, if you decide to keep the nomination at the sign, make sure to get the sidewalk (and the sign) in your photo.

    In supporting info, I'd leave off the first and last sentences to just focus on "selling" the nomination, and throw in a link to the market's history. After that, hope for an amenable set of reviewers and don't upgrade because you might get less "it's just a shop" rejections if you keep it local.

  • MargariteDVille-INGMargariteDVille-ING Posts: 2,848 ✭✭✭✭✭

    You go there to buy food and leave, same as a grocery store. If it's more, you have to prove it.

    Description: Being old doesn't make it historic. I like the sheepskin part - who signed it, what year? What has the farm done in the meanwhile? Did it house an invading army or something?

    Supporting: Many reviewers see the first sentence as just groveling about rejection reasons, and don't read further - you'd put the important part first, right? But if I push through that first sentence - there's the proof! Why is it hidden way down there? Definitely move the "Delaware Agritourism" sentence to the description!

  • MysticCapybara-PGOMysticCapybara-PGO Posts: 25 ✭✭

    Ignore this person comment on historic they don’t know what they’re talking about. They have some oddly specific definition of what historic is to them and are often giving bad advice. That being said unfortunately there are others out there with some made up criteria that will be reviewing your submission.

    You could try to stress the community socialization importance a bit more, any place/store that meets this criteria is eligible now.

  • JillJilyJabadoo-PGOJillJilyJabadoo-PGO Posts: 1,082 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Great to hear. I hope you don't mind me hijacking since it seems discussion is finished...

    Didn't Niantic claim that that older appeals are being processed first? (No shade to OP :-) )

  • X0bai-PGOX0bai-PGO Posts: 1,667 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Niantic has no idea what Niantic is doing. Best to not take Niantic’s word for… anything.

  • MysticCapybara-PGOMysticCapybara-PGO Posts: 25 ✭✭

    So glad to hear that it was correctly added to the game and that you choose to ignore all the haters advice.

  • Duiomar-PGODuiomar-PGO Posts: 458 ✭✭✭✭✭

    In cases like this I don't think it's ignorance as much as outright lying. They know perfectly well they aren't being reviewed chronologically, if for no other reason than we've told them repeatedly.

Sign In or Register to comment.