Contributions Approved but have not shown up.

Ryugirl89-PGO

Hello,

So ever since I was granted the ability to nominate possible Pokestops, I have made seven contributions. Six of them were approved. However only half of them have showed up in the game. I am sure that the programmers are doing everything that they can to get those nominations set up in game. But I was wondering what the average wait time is like.

Hikaru588-ING

As noted in the approval email not all approved nominations will show up in any one game. Approved nominations are added as a wayspot to a central database used by all of Niantic's games. It is then up to each individual game what subset of those wayspots to use and how they will treated.

The general wait time for an approved nomination to show up in game if it meets the gameboard rules for said game is up to 48hrs.

HunterNate23-PGO

it doesn’t make sense for a person to nominate a wayspot in one game and have it show up in another…. What is the point of nominating a wayspot if it doesn’t show up in the game a person plays????? This is just not a good business practice, people playing games want to see their nomination appear in the game they play and are more likely to spend hard earned money on that game. So again I ask why would a person nominate something that may or may not appear in their game. Also why would a person review waypoints for a POI that may or may not appear in their game.. Oh one more thing, why are some of the reviewers rejecting waypoints that meet the criteria, are they just upset their waypoints aren’t getting approved or just some power hungry humans. Sorry for the long post/rant the things mentioned above just don’t make any sense.

HunterNate23-PGO

The more I think about it the more I wonder what NiAntic is going to to remedy these issues. My kids love pokeman go and have dragged myself and my wife in as well it is disappointing that these things happen. It would be very easy to not play NiAntic games any longer. I have seen many posts displaying the same concerns, so what will be done……

29andCounting-PGO

I don’t agree with it, but Niantic says they don’t want people to know the cell rules. Even though most people know the cell rules, or they quickly learn them because they are frustrated their nomination didn’t show up in Pokémon. And yes, I think there is a negative feedback loop with reviewers. If someone has their nomination denied, they tend to deny other people’s nominations, and so on. I think everyone needs to take a deep breath and start reviewing more favorably.

Hosette-ING

@HunterNate23-PGO I know it's frustrating, but it's actually a rational decision on Niantic's part. Having stops too close together can make for really frustrating gameplay because you always wind up tapping on the wrong thing.

The best thing Niantic could do would be to clearly set expectations during the submission workflow. They should make it clear to people who are submitting things that the thing they are submitting may not show up in their specific game even if it's approved. Another option, which I proposed elsewhere, would be to re-randomize the gameboard in PoGo every six months or so, so that different wayspots had the chance to become stops/gyms.

PaulingZubat-PGO

What is the point of nominating a wayspot if it doesn’t show up in the game a person plays??

It's like using a fruit basket instead of having a basket for each fruit. They use one database for all their games called Lightship, each games with their own inclusion rules so the gameboard does not get too cluttered. Note that they also use similar rules for spawns and such, having too much game objects is detrimental to an extent (existing design does have its own share of bs). I suggest reading the pinned posts on reddit so you can take S2 cells into account.

 So again I ask why would a person nominate something that may or may not appear in their game. 

I find it a hobby to spot and submit potential wayspots, me and some others enjoy Wayfarer as its own game. Haven't interacted with more than half of my accepted submissions. I'm a bit disappointed that some more interesting wayspots get blocked by having a seniority wayspot in its space.

 why are some of the reviewers rejecting waypoints that meet the criteria

Variety of reasons that could either be abuse, personal bias, or misinformation. Some do mass reject reviews if their own nominations get rejected; other factions also try to remove existing ones under false pretenses to hamper the rival faction (abuse, please do not add to it). Then the other reasons are a mixed bag, the forums and social media groups act as a filter with more comprehensive discussions on criteria. If you could point out specific nominations and add your ideas according to criteria, that would be nice.

wonder what NiAntic is going to to remedy these issues.

Coming soon

I'd take any of their games casually, even Wayfarer has glaring issues.

Yacatect-ING

What is the point of nominating a wayspot if it doesn’t show up in the game a person plays?????

Some people just like exploring. Some people nominate stuff in places they won't ever return to and don't expect to directly benefit from the stuff they nominate.

Also why would a person review waypoints for a POI that may or may not appear in their game

A lot of people review contributions from places they'll never visit. Even if they approve something that gets into the game they play, they will never personally touch that specific portal or pokestop or inn/greenhouse or whatever.

If someone nominates or reviews something that they never have a chance to touch in-game, they gain as much direct benefit from it as if the object had never appeared in-game at all. Plenty of people continue doing it anyway, because not everyone does it solely for personal benefit.

(Also, having extra wayspots in a cell has the theoretical benefit of providing a buffer in case one of them gets moved or removed, as one of the existing wayspots can replace it as an in-game object.)

why are some of the reviewers rejecting waypoints that meet the criteria

1. Many criteria are extremely vague and open to interpretation, in ways that reasonable people can disagree on. A lot of us hate this too.
2. Niantic is terrible at communicating updates and clarifications to eligibility criteria to reviewers, so a normal person that doesn't lurk on the forums may end up voting based on old and outdated standards. We blame Niantic for this and the rest of us complain about this all the time too.
3. Many submitters don't know what the actual criteria are. There are many submissions from people seeing something in the "What is it" category list and assuming everything in there is automatically eligible, despite the fact that the list includes categories that are explicitly listed as not eligible under the actual criteria. Related to point #2 above, because Niantic is a bit rubbish at communicating eligibility criteria to submitters as well as reviewers.
4. IIRC Niantic has stated before that just because something is "eligible" doesn't necessarily mean that reviewers are obligated to accept it.
5. Even if something is cool and eligible, it's up to the submitter to provide the information and proof needed for reviewers to approve it. Also, just because a submitter makes a claim, reviewers aren't obligated to automatically believe it without evidence. There are plenty of liars out there. For example, I've personally seen someone try to pass off a generic utilities pole as an important WW2 historical object, when I know for a fact that the entire neighbourhood was built in the 90's (which is slightly after WW2).
6. Some reviewers are just people whose intelligence and judgment cannot be described in polite terms, though this really goes both ways. There are also plenty people with questionable eyesight accepting clearly ineligible items. Sometimes you just need to make multiple attempts and hope you get lucky.

Sorry for the long post/rant

Nah, this ain't long. There are plenty of people on this forum who can write entire dissertations on the (many) things that Niantic does wrong.

The more I think about it the more I wonder what NiAntic is going to to remedy these issues. 

Probably nothing, unfortunately. We've been complaining for ages and the results have been rather limited so far.

Hosette-ING

@HunterNate23-PGO Why would someone review wayspots for a game they don't play? That's easy. I review because it's fun to do, and it's a great way to explore all over the world without leaving home. When I review wayspots I neither know nor care what current or future games they might appear in. It's unlikely that I'll ever have the chance to visit the wayspots I'm reviewing in Indonesia right now, nor the ones I've reviewed in Mongolia, Antarctica, Europe, Canada, Mexico, or even most of the US. I'm fine with that... I neither review nor submit for selfish reasons.

ManOwaR1978CY-PGO

Elijustrying-ING

Hello and Welcome @Ryugirl89-PGO @HunterNate23-PGO@ManOwaR1978CY-PGO

The underlying issue is that Niantic have not explained what happens, communication is not a strong point. The result is like many others you are going to be frustrated by the situation.

Although the impression you are given (illustrated by the screenshot above) when you submit something is that you are submitting to be a pokestop, the reality is that you are submitting something with the potential to be a pokestop.

The negativity that this causes has been fed back many, many times in this wayfarer forum, and will continue to be fed back in the hope that one day people won’t have to post messages like this. It is up to the Pokémon Go developers to make changes, and they are not part of this forum.

This my standard explanation so that you know for the future. If you provide the location of your approved wayspots I (and others) will be happy to give an individual explanation.

Once your nomination is approved, it is accepted into the Lightship database - this holds all approved wayspots and is separate from all Niantic games. That is the end point of wayfarer, and what happens next is not related to wayfarer.

Each game sets its own rules as to what it will take from the database to use in that particular game.

For Pokémon Go the rules revolve around the use of some mapping software commonly referred to as S2 cells it  breaks down the surface into smaller and smaller cells - each size is referred to as level and a number. 

Google: S2 cells and Pokémon Go - Pokémongohub  has a very good explanation.

The key is that in PoGo it only accepts 1 wayspot in each Level 17 cell, so if there is already a pokestop or gym in the game in that cell, yours will not be selected to enter Pokémon Go. That is a decision by Pokémon Go.

It is disappointing and frustrating when this happens.

The best you can do is to read up on these rules, There is a lot to learn,  but don’t be put off. It is very satisfying when you finally get it right.