Why do nominations only use Google Maps instead of the in-game maps?
Rurrie-PGO
Posts: 35 ✭✭
Sorry if this is an old question, I'm new here!
I live in a rural area with lots of nature trails which I'm trying to add pokestops to. A few have been rejected due to "inaccurate location," which, after having reviewed a bunch of nominations myself, I realize is probably because there is no way to verify the location on the map. There is no street view here -- it's literally in the middle of the woods!
If you could see the in-game map, however, it contains trails that don't appear in Google Maps, which could be used to (at least somewhat) verify that the wayspot is where my GPS says it is (at the junction of 2 trails, for example).
I'm curious why Wayfarer DOESN'T use the map that appears in the actual games during the submission process. Is this something people have asked them to add?
Comments
In game map is made from Open Street Maps... Reviewers can use other maps such as OSM to verify the location on their own.. there are also 3rd party tools available at wayfarer.tools that can provide direct links to various maps that can be used.
@Roli112-PGO ahh, that is so advanced! Thank you!
Hello and Welcome @Rurrie-PGO
Not being able to verify location can be difficult but you can do something about it.
The best thing to do is to contribute to Google by creating photospheres.
Basics:
Have a Google email
download streetview app, and sign in with the Google account.
Bottom right on explore tab is a camera icon> click and select take photsphere.
You are going to create a sphere of where you are standing. Follow the orangedots, round down and up. When complete you will see a green tick. Click on that.
the program will then stitch the photos together. If you click on the private tab you can check that it looks ok.
You can wait until you are home on wifi to upload.
If all is ok once you upload your photosphere will now be what reviewers see. I always mention that a photosphere has been done.
Search the internet for more details.
What I find frustrating is when submissions made in September/October are denied as being seasonal or temporary based on Google Street View images from December 2011... It is not affordable for me go back to every location I submit to validate my submissions, but I am quite sure that most voters can't reliably make accurate conclusions for the same reason. But you miss a lot of chances to motivate traveling Pokémon trainers due to lack of way points.
I give location 5* if I'm sure it's correct, 4* if it's somewhere around where the pin is (usually used for trails under trees). Reviewers shouldn't be giving 1* or 2* if they just don't know where it is.
It astounds me that Niantic is so happily building Google's database (and value) by photospheres. Why don't they see the dollar signs behind incorporating scanning into the nomination process? Even if it's optional. That would be a ton of data Lightship would have that Google does not. Google is a competitor in "mapping the world".
Is that a typo? "Rate 1 star if the nomination cannot be found, 3 stars if likely to exist but is obscured, or 5 stars if found and accurate."
Reviewers should be giving 1* or 2* if they don't know where it is.
Having to do an AR scan to submit a stop is a good idea, though. It would cut out a lot of fakes.
That would be an excellent solution! I'd happily scan my nominations to prove they're real.
IMO 2* means you THINK the location is incorrect, while 1* means you KNOW the location is incorrect. For 1* and 2*, you can't find it to move it to the correct location.
We agree on 3* and 5*. IMO 4* means you THINK it's correct (at least close) while 5* means you KNOW it's correct.
it would cut out about the same proportion of real nominations too
I don't think it would. Fakes are way too easy right now. An AR scan would be far more difficult to fake than misplacing a single photo stolen from the internet or another stop, so fakes would drop significantly. Maybe a handful of people who submit stops for fun would be turned off. I expect most of those people appreciate a quality database that's not spotted with fakes, though. Most submitters are doing it to improve their personal gaming experience and that's plenty of motivation to take a 20 second AR scan. Especially considering that the AR scans are way less of a hassle than photospheres, and plenty of people already make those.
But it's not an opinion issue? This is literally what the instructions right above where you select the stars say. It's not my opinion. There's room for a difference of opinion on 3* since it uses the world "likely", but 1* is clear: "Rate 1* if the nomination cannot be found". It doesn't say anything about knowing it's incorrect or not.
What I find frustrating is when submissions made in September/October are denied as being seasonal or temporary based on Google Street View images from December 2011... It is not affordable for me go back to every location I submit to validate my submissions, but I am quite sure that most voters can't reliably make accurate conclusions for the same reason. But you miss a lot of chances to motivate traveling Pokémon trainers due to lack of way points.
And again a submission not accepted because the friggin system makes it impossible for voters to make an informed decision. Mismatched location is the reason for not accepting, undoubtedly because you can't see street art from 2020 in Google Street View from 2011!!!
Always nice to see honest submissions denied because of outdated sources.
To be fair, some might call that a *feature*
Right now it takes ~7 days for my nominations to be accepted/declined & I've heard plenty of people complaining about the lack of reviewers. If a scanning requirement means people have to take a little more time with their nominations...
Not to mention, scanning might bias things in favor of rural players for once! It's a lot easier to walk a circle around something on a remote hiking trail without looking like a weirdo than it is on a busy city street, and many of the nominations I'm reviewing are people trying to cram MORE wayspots into an already crowded urban area.
...Of course, this hinges on whether the "upload later" feature will actually WORK and not keep giving me a "nomination sumbission failed" error. I already have to limit the size of my photos since the cell signal is so bad
Let me put it this way, if I had to give an AR scan for every nomination, I would be a lot less likely to submit them. I don't think this antipathy towards AR is particularly uncommon too.
It probably wouldn't help, users turned off from nominating probably aren't going to stick around long and review so the wait is just as long, there's just fewer people at both ends.
My latest "NOT ACCEPTED" (October 2022) was motivated as being "Mismatched Location." Why? Most likely because the object I submitted wasn't there yet in December 2011! In fact, the street art here is from 2020! But using street view, I can still verify the location!
But how can I defend myself (because calling one of my submissions a fake is calling me a liar!) if there is totally no option for it in wayfarer!!! The picture below shows that the location is not mismatched, the details confirm it. The voters should have been able to see this! Especially because in the lower right you can read "Image capture: Dec 2011 © 2022 Google"
Now I can't make Google bring street view up to date. And I live in the Netherlands, it's not like I can jump on a plane to Zakynthos... Too many travel expenses.