Detailed listing with meaningful explanations of all criteria

I am relatively new to submitting potential Pokestops and reviewing submitted ones - however I find it very difficult to understand what is meant by some of the criteria I have found - and even harder to find any detail to determine whether a submitted stop will meet the criteria. Where is all this detail so submitters and reviewers don't waste everyone's time?

While on the subject, why is a reviewer not given any feedback as to why others disagreed with a review - the only feedback seems to be a loss of points. This doesn't help anyone improve as the reviewer has no idea where they went wrong. Constructive feedback to allow a learner to improve is a basic tenent of education.

Maybe these questions have been answered previously but I can't find anything much on the Wayfarer site. I may seem criotical but all I am trying to do is gain experience and understanding - I am very close to giving up reviewing - and I think there are many others who may feel the same frustration. If I have missed something obvious, please let me know in a constructive manner.

Answers

  • PkmnTrainerJ-INGPkmnTrainerJ-ING Posts: 5,119 Ambassador

    The criteria is listed on the site.

    https://wayfarer.nianticlabs.com/new/criteria/eligibility & https://wayfarer.nianticlabs.com/new/criteria/acceptance & https://wayfarer.nianticlabs.com/new/criteria/rejection

    Your nomination needs to be a great place to be social/explore/exercise since Niantic simplified the criteria. This however also makes things more vague, and put the onus on the submitter to really “sell” the Wayspot to reviewers.

    Don’t use this as a guide but way back when there was a list about what should and shouldn’t be submitted with star suggestions.


  • MargariteDVille-INGMargariteDVille-ING Posts: 2,846 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Niantic has promised clarifications for a long time. It's just not a strength for them. Here's a brief history of what they've said:

    Dec 13, 2019 Blog https://nianticlabs.com/news/wayfarer-checkin?hl=en

    We know it’s important to equip Wayfinders with real-time clarifications and empower conversations on what is and is not a high-quality Wayspot. We will be focusing on consolidating this information, making it more universally accessible, and easier to digest.

    Nov 2020 AMA: https://wayfarer.nianticlabs.com/new/help/niantic-wayfarer-november-2020-ama

    Q: How are you surfacing the revised criteria for Explorers who aren’t as active in the forum? 

    A: We’re working on a number of initiatives aimed at clarifying the new criteria, including the second part of this AMA, linking the criteria directly in the Wayfarer interface and adding contextual help to make sure information gets to reviewers when and where they need it. The idea of proactively notifying Explorers that the criteria has been relaunched is a good idea as well and is something that we’re working on currently.

    Dec 2021 AMA: https://wayfarer.nianticlabs.com/new/help/niantic-wayfarer-december-2021-ama

    Q2. Centralized Criteria Please - Can we please get a centralized repository of feedback, clarifications, and overall criteria judgements, so that researching eligibility is easier for everyone?

    A2: Thanks for asking this. This topic is one that I hope to tackle in the new year. I myself have been looking and thinking about better ways of communicating this on the Wayfarer website but also in the Wayfarer Community. For the main central repository, that will be in the Wayfarer review portal, under the tab called Criteria. As we add, change, remove, etc it’ll be updated and also communicated in the community. There’s definitely some work to be done to make it all easier for everyone. When it comes to the Wayfarer Community, I’ve thought of ways of reconfiguring the Community Forum so that feedback, clarifications, etc. have a respective place to live but also be visible and easy to find. We will continue to flesh this out and this will be a part of our next year's work.

    Q4: What is being done about existing nominators/reviewers not keeping up with criteria? - How is Niantic trying to find a way for existing nominators and reviewers to actually look at and follow criteria instead of these popular but now ineligible wayspots?

    A4: This is something that we’ve also been thinking about and will continue to work on. I’m excited to put my educator hat on and think critically about better ways of creating opportunities for Explorers (new and experienced) to touch up on their knowledge of the criteria. One way you’ve seen this is with the new onboarding flow, rejection reasons in the emails, etc. 

    April 2022 https://community.wayfarer.nianticlabs.com/categories/april-ama-2022-%28testing-do-not-post%29-

    7. Communication Improvement.

    We feel you on this. We see a great conflation of feedback to Wayfarer between followers of Niantic (as a company), Pokémon GO, Ingress and Wayfarer communities; for example, we receive a lot of feedback and community expects us to respond to questions around gameboard decisions, or game items, or gameplay design but that is not for Wayfarer team to fix or respond to. Please let your fellow community members know that there are actually different teams with specific communication goals across games, Wayfarer, and the Niantic company communication channels. We definitely try to align ourselves across our general outreach strategies where possible, but we (Wayfarer) don’t call the final shots on anything other than our official Wayfarer channels. We've been trying to increase our presence and differentiate our identity as a specific product/program/team, to reduce the conflation and confusion. Our twitter account is a specific response and strategy toward doing so. It’s our way of differentiating ourselves. We also have more IRL engagements lined up that we’re super excited about (announcement coming soon). On cut and paste responses, while we do our best to not do so, the reality is that it’s common practice across all companies that have millions of users across multiple products. You’ll always see some level of similar responses. If we added a personal flare or specific details to each response, you’ll start to see a massively slower response rate. If, however, you feel like our Twitter or Community Forum have too much cut and paste responses please share so we can make improvements. 


  • Thanks for the responses - however none of my issues are/have been or even seems will ever be addressed by Wayfarer. They seem to promise to do lots but have done little or nothing to increase clarity (been planning to do some things since 2021). Not sure I will bother reviewing any more - really only got into it to try for the medal but the vagueness and lack of feedback to help improve makes it not worth the effort. Just means one less reviewer so reviews will take that little bit longer.

  • Elijustrying-INGElijustrying-ING Posts: 5,480 Ambassador

    You have my empathy.

    It is demoralising when so little is invested in delivering promises and improving things.

  • rufoushumming-PGOrufoushumming-PGO Posts: 1,435 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @SaysWhoNotYou-PGO

    Well. It is to a degree a lottery. Primarily as you are not the same mind as your reviewer who may have (will) have a different lens through which they see things. So everything must be taken with an understanding of subjective view points.

    PkmnTrainer gave you the links that will help you. But nothing is a guarantee. They also have criteria challanges where there is helpful feedback.

    Which in some ways without the guidance you are talking about could make it worse. But here is one example

    The reality is. Take your time. Address the criteria well. Ensure your image is good, your supporting photos good and supporting information used.

    But know this. Many a nomination is killed due to reviewers in a race to get as many reviews done to get to the upgrades or to get a badge. And some game the system for their area so certain types of nominations get accepted (people work together)..

    Now why do I suggest this. It is easy to get frustrated however it is not worth worrying about. The system is not ideal at times. Some reviewers are not ideal. But if you have followed the guidelines. Written well then you should be fine. And if not ask for help where to improve using the nomination improvement forums.

    I get many a nomination rejected. I also have a good pass rate. And I have found the forums very useful. Good luck.

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