Are useless description/title edit mentioning location edit abuses?
Almost every location edit I see comes together with a description edit made to be refused saying something like "The position on the left is preferred".
Is this an abuse since it tries influencing reviewers decision?
Best Answer
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FrealafGB-PGO Posts: 354 ✭✭✭✭
It is considered abuse, yes. However I honestly prefer reviewing the edits that have this type of 'abusive' guidance because often when I'm trying to work it out, I'm just guessing because the satellite is too blurry or I can't see the features at all. I'd prefer to have some help rather than make a guess.
I found it so helpful that I used to make edits in the same way... However I did stop once I read up on how much people here disagree with that practice.
There was one waypoint I submitted which got moved to the wrong location when it was put into the games, and unfortunately the only way I got it put on the actual object was to make this sort of edit... I tried to make it a useful and complete description that contained the info, rather than a simple instruction that wouldn't be selected as the eventual description. That waypoint now has my new description and is finally in the correct location but it took 5 or 6 edits to achieve that! So I think there is a place for description edits that contain information to help the reviewer choose the correct information but rather than "please select the location on the left" it should be included as part of the complete description.
Answers
According to Niantic this is abuse.
Before they publicly stated this, I used description edits to help the reviewers find the correct location by giving them orientation on the satellite image. But i do not do it anymore since.
It is considered abuse, yes. However I honestly prefer reviewing the edits that have this type of 'abusive' guidance because often when I'm trying to work it out, I'm just guessing because the satellite is too blurry or I can't see the features at all. I'd prefer to have some help rather than make a guess.
I found it so helpful that I used to make edits in the same way... However I did stop once I read up on how much people here disagree with that practice.
There was one waypoint I submitted which got moved to the wrong location when it was put into the games, and unfortunately the only way I got it put on the actual object was to make this sort of edit... I tried to make it a useful and complete description that contained the info, rather than a simple instruction that wouldn't be selected as the eventual description. That waypoint now has my new description and is finally in the correct location but it took 5 or 6 edits to achieve that! So I think there is a place for description edits that contain information to help the reviewer choose the correct information but rather than "please select the location on the left" it should be included as part of the complete description.
Any “edit” which is not expected to go live on the network is considered “abuse”.
According to the recent July AMA there are a LOT of people looking for ways to provide commentary for their edits, so hopefully the wayfarer team (eventually) prioritizes that as a feature.
Yes, the ability to add supporting information for edits would be so helpful!
I hate reviewing these submissions because they are abuse. Not only are they not intended to be included in the game, but also, there is no proof that they are correct. I have reviewed multiple of these edits to "correct the location," where the edit moved the wayspot off the object onto a different property. For example, there was a wayspot in my hometown that is on a church. It is a gym in Pokemon Go. Within the past month, I reviewed an edit that said, "please move this to location so that I can create another gym in town." The edit wasn't on the church, it was some random place near it. I have also reviewed other edits when the submitter wasn't as explicit about creating a new gym/stop, but it was clear when looking at the streetview, satellite images and existing wayspots, that was the intention.
I found a lot of those edits too. They are abuse for both trying to influence the reviewer and mentioning the game
I'll clarify for those who are disagreeing with me... I don't mean the edits that say 'please choose the location on the right as it will make a new gym' or similar. I mean something like 'the item is located on the right of the park near the trees' or 'the waypoint is the 2nd of the signs, further into the park' or something like that which I find informative rather than annoying. I view these as people trying their best in the absence of any supporting information, rather than intentional abuse.
I agree there is a definite difference between someone trying to help people figure out the correct location and people that try to misplace things to manipulate cells. I've had many location edits where I've had absolutely no idea where the right location is.
For me, it depends on the type of explanation given.
@PoMaQue-PGO I think the issue with this is, while some may (ab)use this to do good, some will use it for useless edits that will put unneccessary strain on the Wayfarer system. The description field can't be used as an extra communication channel to influence reviewers.
Same goes for location edits, even if the location is still valid. Think about it: what if some other player doesn't WANT a gym there? Or that place's movement on the map is putting it -just- out of their reach? That person will edit the location again, and again.. resulting in a wayspot with 20 location options to choose from in the end. I've seen many, many occasions like this while reviewing and it's not worth reviewers' time.
Pokémon Go players who do NOT want an extra Gym? That would be weird 😅
Overall these Description Edits do not bother that much during reviews, as they are easy to vote on.
Niantic is looking into a "Supplemental info" field for Edits and I do think that would be useful. A lot of times I have sent in Edits thinking "I wish I could explain why I'm submitting this."