Scanning gets Wayspots removed? 🤔
Gendgi-PGO
Posts: 3,277 Ambassador
I'm not a Redditter, but this made its way on my news feed and in a few Discord groups I'm in.
https://www.reddit.com/r/pokemongo/comments/kf2epj/psa_stop_scanning_stops_for_your_field_research
The posts read like a bunch of malarkey and I see no conclusive evidence, other than a lot of people seem to have no clue what they're talking about and love fear mongering and spreading misinformation.
Anyways, apparently it's "#1 on r/pokemongo," so might be worth some WayClarifications.
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If there is any truth to it, it is likely because those stops/gyms shouldn't have existed in the first place according to Pokemon GO's spacing algorithm. Those stops only existed because players engage in Wayfarer location edit abuse in the first place by purposely mislocating a Wayspot, either at creation or with a location edit, then later moved the Wayspot into a L17 cell that is already occupied by another Wayspot.
Did this related to some reports that Wayspots disappeared in Pokemon GO but not in Ingress?
lol There's no evidence that this is true.
I've scanned over 4,000 unique portals and never saw any changes. I've reported a number of Wayspots that are no longer there or are over 50m location edits, but nothing happens. Even the ones I have scanned and reported come back rejected by Niantic.
There are a lot of people in Ingress doing scans all around the world, I highly doubt Niantic are bored enough to watch every single scan and study its location (though I do secretly hope Brian is forced to watch them all as payback for introducing such a terrible function). It's more likely that those Wayspots were either reported by someone or PoGo's algorithim was adjusted, so those wayspots had coincidentally been removed or whatever.
I think this is just pure coincidence and has nothing to do with correlation.
Considering that I've scanned about 800+ different wayspots, I still have keys and numerous photos of the ones that I do scan, and I haven't seen any changes. Of course, trying to scan something that really doesn't exist or is incredibly misplaced is self-defeating so they're going to be reported or requested for a move anyway. Particularly annoying when you do want to scan something and it's much more than your interaction radius like 60m away, so you have to walk in range of the portal, and then walk back to its actual location.
Sick of being @'d in numerous Pokemon Go channels with every single admin telling EVERYONE not to do scans.
If there really is conclusive evidence that AR scanning tasks do remove stops/portals, then why don't we ask the cities that participated in the AR Mapping competition during the Pokemon Go City Spotlight? That is, Auckland, New Zealand; Busan, South Korea; and Tainan, Taiwan. And maybe people do need to realise that there are so many misplaced and fake stops littered all around that should not stay.
Clearly if your forum has to censor the word "m.a.t.e", then that is absolutely bad. Also, if people don't want to scan a particular stop, then just delete the task and move on instead of hating Niantic on having to scan a playground with children around it.
Yeah, this forum is a shining example of how blacklisting words in order to avoid profanity is a complete waste of everyone's time.
I've scanned 2 portals in Ingress, decided it was a m.a.t.eing waste of time and stopped. At least the research task in PoGo doesn't occupy a spot that could otherwise contain a task I'm actually interested in doing so I just leave it there. Took me about 2 days to simply stop noticing that it's there.
Shhhh, don't tell Niantic we've discovered the workaround!
I have a simple workaround for this - my phone is unable to scan Portals or Waypoints.
I thought that everyone scanned the ground 😁. Recently I got a 100% dratinni by scanning the surface of my desk (turn it on, wait 30 seconds and stop)
Personally i keep one scan task forever so i stop getting them. The rewards are trash for the time it takes to do it. Also there isnt a person out there thats going to stand in -20 weather to scan a stop in Anywhere cold 😂
If you scan portals like squares and if it exists, then it is processed by Niantic and if there is no problem, it will go to creating the map for the POI.
It will only remove if:
- If the POI does not exist
- If the POI does not meet the eligibility criteria
- If the POI location is not accurate (for now, we don't know if it fixes or removes it)
- If it is in Emergency Places such as Military Bases, Police Stations, Hospitals and all means of emergency (other than Generic Business), it will be removed.
If the POI is correct, there is no need to update it, it already maps to the AR world soon ... (For now ... we will only find out soon)
For now she is asking for verification of the existence of a POI if she remains in the Portal Network, in the world of Pokémon Go, in the magic of Harry Potter.
I see no benefit to scanning Wayspots and, as such, I have never done so. The rewards are not worth it to me. If Niantic wants them scanned, they can either pay me or do it themselves. They should stop being so stingy.
Secondly, I saw the reports of removed Wayspots and was going to mention it. If Niantic improve their communication, we wouldn't have people posting what may in the end be shown to be a conspiracy theory. Players everywhere are fed up of the lack of clarity and openness from Niantic.
If it is proven that scanning Wayspots can result in their removal, then I will be activley discouraging people from doing AR scanning. Not that anybody I know from my area is doing AR scans anyway. People I've spoken to say things like "it's too complicated to understand" or "it's not worth the time", etc.
One of four things is happening:
In summary, if the Wayspot is valid and exploits have not been used so that it will appear in a specific game, then you have nohting to worry about with the scans. But if you are afraid that you will lose your stop or gym because it is either invalid or was cheated in, then you need to consider where you stand as far as fair play is concerned.
When you say "invalid Wayspot", that means something different depending on the context and means different things to different people. As far as I know, Niantic have repeatedly stated "Wayspots that no longer meet the current set of criteria are to remain" (they may have met a previous set of criteria). If Niantic is removing Wayspots that are correctly placed but that don't meet criteria (besides e.g. PRP and K-12) then that would contradict what they've always said.
I don't know why there'd be a sudden spike in reporting invalid Wayspots purely as a result of AR tasks. People have had the ability to report invalid Wayspots long before AR tasks, even in Pokémon GO. If the object the Wayspot represents is where the Wayspot is, then I don't see why it should be removed, regardless of whether or not it was originally in that spot. I don't see why the entire playerbase should be penalised because of the actions of an extreme minority.
While this may be unrelated, "invalid Wayspots" were brought up in the AMA.
What is being done to update the “report an invalid Wayspot” process? As it stands, there’s limited ability to add additional details or photos and it’s a very burdensome and frustrating process to submit reports and to see abusive nominations be added as Wayspots.
Adding support for additional information, including a supporting photo, to your report is something that we’re thinking of adding but it’s a bit off (think second half of 2021). One of the reasons for that is that we are going to do some spring cleaning for accepted Wayspots that very clearly don’t meet the current criteria, specifically regarding inappropriate language and game references in titles/descriptions. That being said, our system will never be 100% perfect to blocking fakes, which is why we look to the community to help augment our efforts in this regard by submitting appeals right here in the forum with the necessary information.
I hope this isn't intended behavior and the removal of certain stops is just a coincidence.
A Wayspot is invalid if it falls under one of the following categories.
When a player reports a Wayspot invalid, they are requried to select the category the Wayspot falls under.
But @AScarletSabre-PGO if you see here the screenshot:
this portal, which has more than 400 Scans and has not yet been removed, that is because it exists, it is on Google Street View because of the 360 ° photo, so it is no wonder that it does not remove the portals well qualified.
Hi folks,
No, this is not the case at all. Wayspots can only be removed if we receive reports from players indicating that a given location no longer exists (i.e. is invalid), or if we receive a request from a property owner. Once we receive these reports, we evaluate the data to ensure a POI removal is warranted, based on our criteria.
If anyone is noticing a POI being removed, it is purely coincidental, and not related to the AR scanning feature.
Thanks for the clarification.
But the most interesting question is "can POIs get moved in any way because of portal scans?"
Another question, did the scan result can affecting any invalid Wayspot reports?
Good to have a comment from Niantic staff. Glad that was cleared up. I was skeptical it was an AR scans myself.
Apart from edits, I think the link to AR tasks is that doing the task standing around with your phone obviously taking pictures is drawing attention to the fact there is something there. Previously it is likely that no one will notice someone walking by playing on their phone. Those that are keen to protect their privacy are likely to ask some one what they are doing, and then ask for it’s for its removal. So these may be perfectly valid portals not on private property but a 360 video may bring their property into view. This is highly likely in a place such as the U.K. where private and public space are very close together.
Perhaps Niantic should reconsider this, as they are turning the unobstrusive play of a game into something very obvious.
AR scan takes 30 seconds. A group of people battling a raid boss is far more obtrusive.
More or less what I suspected. With more people actually paying attention to the objects of the Wayspot due to the scanning tasks, more people are reporting invalid, nonexistent, and removed Wayspots.
However, that still isn't going to stop the Pokemon Go community from hyperventilating over some grand conspiracy theory where somehow Niantic hates them and is enforcing the "rules of fair play" out of spite. It's as if they believe that because they are the largest playerbase and generate the most money (the majority of which probably goes to TPC instead of Niantic), they have a right to cheat, exploit, and generally ignore the rules of fair play.
Given the attitude since the beginning with regards to multiaccounting and other issues in Pokemon Go, you can't expect them to follow any rules now.
Wow, I just posted @NianticCasey-ING's response about AR scanning and Wayspot remove to the Pokemon Go subreddit and they are extremely toxic when the truth is presented to them. They much rather believe their made-up conspiracy theories than accept the truth that people are reporting invalid Wayspots.
you only have 3 gyms to a minimum of 17 stops in a level 14 cell. So raid sites are not as common.
At raids people are looking down at a phone. No one cares
For an AR task you are obviously taking pictures holding up a phone scanning it around.
I have had people look at me as though I’m doing something suspicious when I’m making a photosphere ready for a nomination.
At raids you can have up to 20 people milling about or sitting in cars, I've been to raids where the pub landlord has asked us all to leave becuse we are "blocking his carpark and access". People do object at times, particularly when the behaviour of those raiding is not a good as it could be.
Up to 20 people in a lobby. There can be multiple lobbys, so the disturbance by a gym raid is far greater than those few individuals that take a 30 seconds video.
@Elijustrying-ING
Nowadays everyone has a camera, it's not that unusual to see people taking videos or photos of anything, so as long as you act normally (not trying to hide that you're recording a video) people won't care or might even help you by moving away