Are PoGo players getting different guidelines for supporting photos?

I haven't been reviewing much in the past year or so, but recently started again. I have noticed that many nominations now have odd supporting photos, in that they don't show the wayspot in question and just seem to be random pics of sidewalks/pavements/trails. I'm guessing they are trying to prove pedestrian access, but without the wayspot in the photo, there is no point of reference and the photo is useless.

Has there been a change in the guidelines and we should all be doing this? Is this a difference in the wording of what a supporting photo should be between Ingress and PoGo? Or simply a different interpretation of the same guidelines?

Just curious.

Comments

  • AgentX1976-INGAgentX1976-ING Posts: 598 ✭✭✭✭✭

    No, they do have the same guidelines. It's just something don't read that far and try to understand what the supporting photo is supposed to do

  • ftzzghzuhdidu-INGftzzghzuhdidu-ING Posts: 391 ✭✭✭

    I see this technique often used to push fake poi. But it also might be that someone takes it the wrong way literal and just shows the way to a certain poi.

  • Kirbydeb-PGOKirbydeb-PGO Posts: 37 ✭✭

    Well, I don´t know what the instructions are that Ingress players get. These are the literal instructions on the supporting photo:

    "4. Take another photo for context of the surrounding area

    Next, you’ll need to take an additional photo of the surrounding area around your nomination. These photos will help our community of reviewers determine if the PokéStop location is safe and accessible. This surrounding area photo will not appear on the PokéStop in-game and will only be shared with the community of players that are evaluating your nomination."

    Cited from: https://niantic.helpshift.com/a/pokemon-go/?p=web&s=pokestops&f=submitting-a-pokestop-nomination

    I can kinda understand why some people conclude they need to take a picture of the pavement/sidewalk, etc...

  • AScarletSabre-PGOAScarletSabre-PGO Posts: 754 ✭✭✭✭✭

    To me it seems logical to include the nomination itself in the supporting photograph. It may not seem logical to everyone and guidance given (as provided by @Kiramissa06FR-PGO) doesn't actually explicitly state the nomination itself needs to be in the supporting photograph. Often the nomination will appear on Google Street View at the location anyway so the supporting photograph can be irrelevant (assuming the Google Street View is up to date) but always try and take a good photograph myself as it can prove crucial.

  • SiIverLyra-PGOSiIverLyra-PGO Posts: 952 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Even turning 90 degrees sounds like heaven to me. Here a lot of people just take the exact same photo of the object. (Not like, an identical copy of the same photo - just moving their phone about 2 millimeters and taking another shot).

  • sogNinjaman-INGsogNinjaman-ING Posts: 3,313 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited October 2020
    • A lot of these rubbish supporting photos are because people submitting are misunderstanding the text in the PoGo submission info provided by Niantic. This says "These categories are NOT considered an eligible candidate for a PokéStop: Places without safe pedestrian access.", so a lot of players think they need to show the fooway leading up to the POI for "pedestrian access". Thats why you see "Safe pedestrian access" mentions so often in the supporting info too.


  • Rodensteiner-PGORodensteiner-PGO Posts: 1,705 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited October 2020

    a) i was the same when i started out. i thought "oh i have to show the way that leads up to the POI". so i might turn around and show the way on the 2nd photo.

    the text is NOT the same in english "Als Nächstes musst du ein weiteres Foto von der Umgebung deines Vorschlags machen. Diese Fotos helfen der Community dabei, zu bestimmen, ob der Standort des PokéStops sicher und zugänglich ist. "Next, you’ll need to take an additional photo of the surrounding area around your nomination. These photos will help our community of reviewers determine if the PokéStop location is safe and accessible.

    -> It is missing in German the vital information that "around your nomination"

    • People think they have to make a Photo of the Surroundings of the POI. @NianticCasey-ING

    It took me quite some time to find out, that the POI should be also on the 2nd Photo. NOT just the surrounding Area.

    Maybe Niantic could Change that to make it clear, that the Surrounding Area Photo should have the POI in it?

    b) yes, quite alot of fakes only have 1 photo of the POI, and the other Photo of some bushels or houses that do not include the poi. some people even say it is there, but it isnt.

  • Gendgi-PGOGendgi-PGO Posts: 3,535 Ambassador

    There's no requirement that the supporting photo include the POI being nominated, although it certainly helps.

    There's an odd mix of supporting photos that are simply the same location turned around 180° (I admit most of my early nominations were like this before I started reviewing), photos of the same position and angle facing the candidate but with a "Dutch angle" applied, and some that are just pointing down at the sidewalk. Then there are some truly amazing supporting photos that include the candidate in the background with a street intersection sign or other verifiable location marker in the foreground.

    If location, pedestrian access, and everything else is easily verified by the rest of the submission, the supporting photo shouldn't matter, unless of course it specifically raises other doubts of the candidate.

  • Rodensteiner-PGORodensteiner-PGO Posts: 1,705 ✭✭✭✭✭

    it helps alot. we all can tell by the roofs of those houses that this Stolperstein isnt really there.

  • JohnnyAlphaCZ-INGJohnnyAlphaCZ-ING Posts: 235 ✭✭✭✭

    Good point. I hadn't considered that it might be a translation issue. I do review a lot of German nominations... and in Germany the secondary photo is even more important since there is usually no streetview.

  • PhoenixOmicron-PGOPhoenixOmicron-PGO Posts: 57 ✭✭✭

    I always make a photo sphere of the POI. The act of trying to take a contextual photo is usually redundant because of this. I try to show another waypoint from the perspective of the submitted POI but sometimes I know that can go over the reviewer's head. Regardless, with a photo sphere you don't normally need to worry much about the supporting photo.

  • Hosette-INGHosette-ING Posts: 3,469 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @PhoenixOmicron-PGO I don't think I'm the only reviewer who no longer trusts photospheres. I've run into one or two fake ones, and I've heard countless reports of fake ones from other people here and elsewhere. If I can clearly correlate it with other information from the map it's fine, but if not I just typically ignore it.

    TBH, I wish Niantic would stop using them because they're causing people to populate Google Maps with so many fakes.

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