Lots of New Inappropriate locations?
SWKingII-PGO
Posts: 3 ✭✭
In 2021 I attempted to get into the rating and nominating for stops. I achieved the Platinum medal for PoGo but I started getting very frustrated with my nominations. Some rejections I understood, I might even have figured I was borderline on them but others seemed like slam dunks based on already established wayspots that fit the same model and I always tried to find under-served areas so I wouldn't be blocked by other close by wayspots.
I got tired of it and basically I stopped participating in Wayfarer and just focused on playing PoGo. But over the last year or so I've been noticing so many new wayspots that based on my understanding, should not be accepted.
I nominated a restaurant near my job that has been operating in the local community for over a decade and is a popular spot. When I made the nomination, the owners had even recently renovated the building and put up new signage, a new paint job and interior. It looked great and showed a commitment by the owners to stay in the neighborhood. But it was rejected for not being unique or special enough. Meanwhile, last year a taco shop opened up in the area in the location of an abandoned Pizza Hut. Within 6 months of being open, this place was a wayspot. So how is some brand new taco joint more worthy than a fixture in the community?
I've also had a whole list of approved nominations sitting waiting to be activated and others declined as duplicates because there are too many other spots close by and yet I see now so many of these sports parks/playgrounds getting spots on every soccer net, baseball diamond, batting cage, playground equipment, sign for the park, water fountain, etc.. so that there are a dozen spots crammed together.
The icing on the cake was yesterday when I saw a McDonalds sign on a major commercial **** with a wayspot. Nothing special or unique about this location and the picture was from a terrible angle of the sign way up in the air. My understanding is that restaurants are only accepted if they have some very special feature or are unique to the local area. I always rejected fast food places because they're a dime a dozen. If we're opening up this door, then every fast food place is okay?
I've also noticed an increase of spots that are clearly on residential property or only accessible to people who live in a closed community/apartment complex.
I'm not against new ways to play the game but if you have rules, they should be followed.
Comments
So, your nominations didn’t get approved, but others did. And in your opinion they were worse nominations than yours. But ultimately, wasn’t your goal to have more pokestops? And you’ve got them. I don’t see the problem.
The system is imperfect. Good nominations sometimes get rejected, bad nominations sometimes get accepted, the system gets gamed and abused, and Niantic - through a paralyzing combination of mismanagement, employee turnover, misplaced resources, and denial - is years behind in addressing these shortcomings. They have been called many times over to do better, and they are almost entirely unresponsive.
The best you can do is the best you can do. If and when Niantic wants to take the integrity of their database more seriously, maybe we will get the tools necessary to generate the feedback necessary to refine wayfinding, but until then, expect uneven results.
I understand your frustration.
One of the things that isn't talked about much is that just submitting something that is eligible is often not enough. HOW you present it can make a big difference in whether it's accepted or not. This is especially true for something like a local restaurant where just being a restaurant is not sufficient-- there has to be something that makes it interesting or especially valuable to the local community. You can pretty much just say "This is a playground" and provide evidence that it's legit and that's it, but restaurants require more selling.
FYI, things that are eligible but are inside closed communities or apartment complexes are still eligible.
Very well said.
OP I don't think you should let bad POI discourage you from submitting. I would recommend getting feedback from wayfarer communities - maybe local or there are several discords that are super helpful.