Nomination Improvement - Arbor Place Neighborhood
Callmechaotic-PGO
Posts: 11 ✭✭
Hello! I recently became a lvl 38 player (yay), and wanted to get a pokestop at the front of a neighborhood I pass all the time going to/from work, running errands, AND exercising. My nomination was rejected… there is a pokestop and 2 gyms on an adjacent road, but they require driving to them and they are at gas stations… the pokestop I applied for was off a sidewalk / walking path that lots of people utilize to exercise, so I don’t really understand why it was rejected? Any experience or advice is appreciated…
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Can you share a screenshot of your full nomination, and then we can assist.
Hi @Callmechaotic-PGO The nomination "Arbor Place Neighborhood" was rejected due to less voting and it meets Wayspot rejection criteria (https://niantic.helpshift.com/hc/en/21-wayfarer/faq/2774-rejection-criteria/). The location is unsafe, without pedestrian access in the middle of the driveway.
That was fast Atlas! 👏
If you mean a neighborhood or subdivision name sign, even with safe pedestrian access most are not eligible unless they are especially artistic.
What did you mean by "less voting"? Did each Wayspots have different threshold depending to its location to reach its decision?
That will be rejected. Please read below. I apologize for my frankness in my reply.
Your photo was taken at night. While that doesn't make it strictly ineligible, it is unnecessary. Your description does not make the place sound interesting and you included the word "Pokemon" which makes the entire submission ineligible based on text. Your supporting information is entirely useless. By not including the sign in the supporting photo it becomes harder for reviewers to verify location and safe access. Your first and last sentence of the supporting text are entirely irrelevant and put people in a negative mood when reviewing. Simply not having anything nearby doesn't make something eligible. Also, just because something is walked by doesn't make it interesting or eligible.
Eligible nominations include places that encourage and facilitate social gatherings, exercise, and exploration. Places like picnic shelters, playgrounds, parks, libraries, or trail markers. A neighborhood sign does none of this and rarely is an eligible candidate.
Your supporting photo misleads reviewers. The sidewalk does not lead up to the sign or the grassy knoll. While sidewalks are not always required, the sign does not appear to be at a place intended for people to be able to stand and congregate safely.
Hi and welcome @Callmechaotic-PGO !
Sorry for the frankness, but as Gendgi said in a more subtle way, it's really a terrible nomination. ^^
But don't worry we have all began at the same point and learned !
Good luck, if you need help this forum is here for that !
Was this resubmitted after a Niantic employee advised it meets Rejection Criteria or are the dates lining up weird on my end?
Aaron confirmed it meets rejection criteria on February 7th and @Callmechaotic-PGO's screenshots show that version of the nomination was submitted on February 8th, so yes, it looks like it was indeed resubmitted after it was confirmed to be ineligible.
@Callmechaotic-PGO I would honestly advise you to withdraw this nomination (especially given what you've typed in the description and supporting info) and try to find something else that does meet the eligibility and acceptance criteria instead.
Thank y’all!!! I’ll just delete my contribution and try to take a picture when the sun is out. Hopefully, I can get something worked out. I truly appreciate all of the feedback, i’m new to all of this!
A neighborhood entry sign meets no acceptance criteria.
In addition, it is probably in the yard of a Single Family Residence - which is a rejection reason.
And it has no pedestrian access - another rejection reason.
Please do not waste your time and ours by resubmitting it.
In addition to your nomination just being coal (a basic sign for a subdivision), your mentioning of catching Pokémon in the description would make it ineligible even if it was an otherwise eligible POI.
Taking a picture with the sun out will not help. You are nominating something that doesn't meet acceptance criteria. The best photo possible won't make it magically eligible. Coal is coal. You should not keep trying to submit a nomination even Niantic told you is ineligible.
The fact that this is in a median between two lanes of traffic makes this a non-starter. It doesn't have pedestrian access and no amount of spin is going to change that. Even if it happens to get approved, it will be removed by Niantic as soon as someone reports it for lacking pedestrian access.
What she said basically covers why this has been rejected.
I would not have accepted it either because of this.
Neighborhood signs are a dime a dozen. They're too common. There is nothing ultimately interesting about them. The only time where I would make exception if it were part of an overall artwork (i.e. more than just fancy lettering).
Also, on a side note: I will be visiting close to your area, sometime this year. Mainly Augusta on the Georgian side of the river but on the SC side as well. Either way, send me a pm if you want.
Even if you didn't mention Pokemon in the description I'd find a reason to reject that nomination purely because of the spiel in your supporting text about Pokestops and "won't somebody think of the children" statement. Thankfully there's plenty of valid reasons to reject the nomination.
Please don't with this candidate. The only time a neighborhood sign meets criteria to be accepted is if it is of particular artistic value or the neighborhood is exceptionally historic. It was already noted by a Niantic employee to not have safe pedestrian access and I explained why. Attempts at resubmitting it could be considered abusive.
Every nomination submitted gets reviewed by fellow Wayfarers. The more candidates submitted, the slower everything moves through the system. Submitting ineligible candidates hurts everyone around - locally and even across regions.
I briefly looked around your area on Satellite. Unfortunately there doesn't look like much, but I gave you some ideas earlier on what you might find. It looks like a very residential neighborhood, though, so be careful not to submit anything on private residential property.
I appreciate everyones feedback and comments. Although a lot were negative, I understand and still appreciate the assistance. I do want to note how someone would state -“I'd find a reason to reject that nomination purely because of the spiel in your supporting text about Pokestops and "won't somebody think of the children" statement. Thankfully there's plenty of valid reasons to reject the nomination.”- That was unnecessary and flat out rude. I thought this forum was to help each other, guess not.
For clarification…
• The sign is NOT on residential property.
• There are sidewalks and places for people to congregate safely.
• I have attempted to withdraw my submission but have received error notifications.
• I have resubmitted this location to be a pokestop with images of the location in the sunlight (during the day), because I do believe this is a legitimate place that can be a pokestop.
• “Think about the children”, I did. I see people, families with small children walk past this location all the time.
• Sidewalks, safe walk ways, designated cross walks… They are there.
• Thank you to the individual that looked up this area to see the pokestops around here are scarce. It’s a struggle.
• I’m not trying to make this “abuse”, but I feel that this location DOES meet the requirements of walkways, sidewalks and the unique location of the wooden walkway over a lake.
I will not be addressing further comments. I understand that people will continue to comment on this forum, but this was more negative than positive and I will no longer be utilizing it. I was only trying to ask for assistance and feedback, but due to the nature of responses and attitudes, not worth my time or energy.
Thank you.
Hi @NianticDanbocat you might be interested on this feedback about the forum.
I will not be addressing further comments. I understand that people will continue to comment on this forum, but this was more negative than positive and I will no longer be utilizing it. I was only trying to ask for assistance and feedback, but due to the nature of responses and attitudes, not worth my time or energy.
Let's hope that the Wayfarer Ambassadors don't drive more people away.
With all due respect, you came here asking why your nomination was rejected, and most of the replies here were constructive and explained that it simply doesn't meet the eligibility criteria (although I do agree the one you quoted was maybe a bit too blunt).
We attempted to help you get a better grasp on the criteria, but you kept saying you'd resubmit it, despite the fact that multiple people (including a Niantic staff member) had already told you that it meets the rejection criteria. That's not negativity from us, that's just us stating facts. If your nomination had potential, then you would've got comments helping you to improve it instead.
I can understand that it must be frustrating to not have many wayspots or good wayspot candidates about, but sadly not everywhere is built equally. That being said, just because you don't have many good candidates about, it doesn't make the ineligible ones any more acceptable.
I went back and reviewed the eligibility criteria and my submission SHOULD BE eligible now. And I know, saying it doesn’t meet the criteria was just stating facts, however, when the criteria does say, landmarks/rivers/signs/walkways/sidewalks etc. are eligible, I just wanted to see if anyone else was having the same issues I was having… I appreciate your reassurance and explanation, but I stand strong about this community and forum. It was extremely negative and uncalled for. You in particular, you were helping, along with maybe 2 others. I’m seriously brand new to this. So when something like this happens, I ask a question and all I get in return is negativity and slander, it makes people NOT want to be apart of it, including myself. Do all new people get treated this way? Did my submission really have “no potential”? That’s not positive, it doesn’t make me want to even continue playing this game… Yes, I did say I’d resubmit it with better images and such, because THAT’S a way to give people a better idea. I’m trying to learn, trying to help, but you can only help IMPROVE people and things by offering ways to make something better, not strike it down entirely.
I’m done. I’m not going back and withdrawing my submissions, i’m just going to delete these websites from my browser and delete the game. If this is the way people act behind the screen of Niantic, i’m not going to associate myself with this kind of audience or continue to entertain it.
This is the type of nomination that should result in the occasional Wayfarer suspensions for submitting ineligible nominations, especially since you chose to submit it yet again after being told by Niantic staff that it is ineligible.
A player must be able to physically reach the object without putting themselves in danger. That means that anything in the road or between two lanes of traffic is not accessible. A sidewalk on the other side of the road is not safe pedestrian access.
I think you're being a little overdramatic. While blunt, I tried explaining the ways it was ineligible but also pointed out things to help you if you decide to nominate in the future - like the nighttime photo, "Pokemon" text, and including the candidate in the supporting photo. Hopefully that advice helps you going forward. My advice for THIS candidate remains not to try it again because it will continue to be rejected and I/we want to help you to understand why.
As I said before:
The only time a neighborhood sign meets criteria to be accepted is if it is of particular artistic value or the neighborhood is exceptionally historic.
I don't believe so in this case, but it is up to you to explain why it really is in your description and supporting text. As you noted, "landmarks/rivers/signs/walkways/sidewalks etc. are eligible" - this is at least partly true. A landmark that is significant itself or that represents something significant would be eligible! I just simply don't think that's the case for this neighborhood sign. To me, I can't see this past rejection reason #1: "Does not meet eligibility criteria: Does not seem to be a great place of exploration, place for exercise, or place to be social. The object is mass-produced, generic, or not visually unique or interesting."
The next concern that's been discussed is "safe pedestrian access." You mentioned "There are sidewalks and places for people to congregate safely" but I don't see them. For a Wayspot (PokéStop) to be eligible, it must have safe pedestrian access. This access must lead up to the object itself. It could be a grassy knoll in a park, just off of a sidewalk, or maybe the edge of a parking lot. Placing a PokéStop at the entrance to a community where children may stand at it, staring at their phones while a driver rushes home/to work while distracted by their phone to spin the Stop puts them at risk.
The sidewalk in the screenshot is too far away to be considered to be providing access to the sign. If there was a partitioned sidewalk leading all the way to the sign, it could be considered safe. Or if the grassy median looked like it was actually intended to be played in, it could be safe. But then again, I don't live there. You know the traffic better than me. If it's a slow area where pedestrians are prevalent and very low speed traffic, then it could also maybe be safe. But from what I've seen, it's a sign in the middle of a road intended for vehicles.
I don't think it's rude to explain to somebody why they shouldn't submit something. I think we're mostly being relatively respectful, and hopefully you can take it that way.
@PkmnTrainerJ-ING wheres that coal submitters photo you shared the other day with SpongeBob & Patrick 🤣
@Callmechaotic-PGO Take everything said here & look at it in a positive way. It is all a learning experience. No one is against you here. We are all working toward a common goal here. If you ever need help with a nomination post it here & share your photo & what you think it should say if deemed acceptable. I am 100% positive everyone here would be willing to help you. It’s why we are here. Don’t take anything to heart. I promise it will ruin the forum for you if you do
Actually, @Callmechaotic-PGO, one more post I'd like you to read:
Turn around (bright eyes)!! What is this??
Directly across the road from the neighborhood sign you've submitted is a golden gem!
This entrance to a walking path through the woods may be difficult but should be eligible - especially if there is a sign designating the area. These are what Niantic likes in terms of things that encourage exploration & exercise. Please take some photos of it and give it a try. Below is a mock up of how I would nominate it.
Title: [Neighborhood] Woods Walking Path
Description: A raised wooden boardwalk leads through the [area] woods. A great way to explore nature and the local ecosystem.
Supporting text: Encourages exploration of local nature and outdoor exercise, this permanent walking path allows people to reconnect with nature through the woods. Entrance into the woods is visible on Satellite and Street View. Supporting photo shows sidewalk along the road leading to the path.
"appreciate everyones feedback and comments. Although a lot were negative, I understand and still appreciate the assistance. I do want to note how someone would state -“I'd find a reason to reject that nomination purely because of the spiel in your supporting text about Pokestops and "won't somebody think of the children" statement. Thankfully there's plenty of valid reasons to reject the nomination.”- That was unnecessary and flat out rude. "
I disagree and think it was perfectly necessary. When you're nominating waypoints you're doing so for all Niantic games not just Pokemon Go, I'm a PoGo player but even I find it extremely rude when nominations mention Pokestops/Gyms in their reasons for nominating. Its disrespectful to the other games and their Player Base, many of which have been playing and nominating long before us Pokemon Go players started. I'm sure it annoys a lot of those players and they'd be less likely to approve a nomination that did that. So by highlighting that here it can give you a tip on future nominations - so long as they're not trash. Likewise the "Nominating it for the children" line is overused, not a valid reason and again annoying to always see.