Submitter recognizable.
I just keep seeing new wayspots with this issue and it boggles my mind every single time how this is allowed to continue.
There is a person who deliberately includes their easily recognizable, brightly colored car in their submissions. Those submissions get accepted, again and again, over the course of months, showing that it works and there are multiple other abusers who work with this person. Despite reporting this a few times in the past via the Google form, nothing seems to have been done about this.
I've recently made a list of some of those nominations in another thread, so I'll just copy-paste it here, alongside several other examples:
- Meat restaurant
- This ice cream place with over 30 locations across the country
- This diner style place with several locations across the country
- This asian food place with over 30 locations across the country
- Not a business, but a parking lot sign, with the famous car just peeking behind it
- Another non-business location where the car takes the front stage.
- "Hiding" behind a bar sign.
- And right next to another bar.
- Shopping center in the background, car at the front
- Health clinic
- Synagogue
- Sports hall (with the goddamn license plate in plain sight!)
- Pergola
- Another pergola
- These plaques
- This synagogue
- Another synagogue
- 75% Chabad house, 25% green car
- The "goal"
- Welcome sign
I'm stopping at 20 only because I think it's enough to get my point across. There are so many more wayspots like this. Some more subtle, with the car visible in the background. Some very blunt and obvious. At this point, every time I get a review from this city I expect to see it. It's like the world's worst game of Where's Waldo.
Comments
Even if it is incomprehensible that these poi is able to be validated with the car that appears, I see no reason to withdraw these poi finally this is my opinion, even if the player should have a reminder on the proposals.
No, most of them are eligible and don't need to be removed.
The photos themselves are a different story. As well as the person's Wayfarer privileges. This is for Niantic to decide.
I wasn't sure if I should post this in the photos appeal section or this section. This one seemed slightly more fitting.
Does these POIs have more photos apart from this photo with car? It would be easier for Niantic to remove them if there would still be different photo to choose for this POIs when they will be removed.
If they don't have more photos then without someone who would add new photos to this POI to replace main photo visible in game it might be hard to remove them. I think in some photo threads mod mentioned that player must add new photo to existing POI so Ninatic can remove the bad photo that is the only one for these POI.
I have no idea, since I live about 100 kilometers away. I only know those wayspots from getting to review them as nominations, and from finding them on the Intel map.
This difficulty you're describing is news to me. I have seen several wayspots with the default grey photo (before the new wave of Niantic-added Pokestops that have the same photos), and I've always assumed that those wayspots had ineligible photos, and that they were removed by Niantic and replaced with the default option.
Oh, so you can't really check, I understand now.
Yes, it's hard to get the only photo on POI deleted if it's incorrect, there should be another photo in gallery that will take it place.
I read that deleting the only photo will be done only if photo clearly shows privacy of someone (like someone's face, private adress or phone number, or name of specific player, I'm not sure that part or full car would be enough to delete the only photo on POI).
There isn't many threads that ask for deletion the only one photo on POI, so it's hard to found, but I found these two: https://community.wayfarer.nianticlabs.com/discussion/16387/poi-photo-appeals#latest
https://community.wayfarer.nianticlabs.com/discussion/16189/photo-taken-through-car-window#latest
Maybe these POIs you saw without photos had it deleted because of these privacy reasons?
But maybe your POIs have more than one photo and these photos will be removed, I hope it will be the case with them :) Let's wait what Niantic's staff said :)
Thank you for the detailed comment, I appreciate the effort.
I do hope that the ridiculous focus that this car gets in so many of these is enough to show my point about it being used as a deliberately recognizable factor, even without the actual knowledge I have from the local community.
Hoping to see a comment from a Niantic employee soon.
Good luck, i hope these photos will be deleted :)
Thanks for reporting, @SiIverLyra-PGO! We'll have your report looked into and take appropriate actions.
Hey there, @SiIverLyra-PGO! We have reviewed the report and have taken action on the 48 Wayspots and the 7 Wayfinders in accordance with our policies. While we are unable to discuss our actions in detail to protect the submitter’s privacy, they may include, but are not limited to, sending a warning message, placing restrictions on their Wayfarer, Pokémon GO, or Ingress account, putting their account on probation, or placing a temporary or permanent suspension on their Wayfarer, Pokémon GO or Ingress account.
Thanks for helping us maintain the quality of the Wayspots.
The lengths people will go to in order to circumvent Niantic policies is ridiculous. Good for you for reporting these and for Niantic taking action.
I don't know what action they took. If you follow OP's links, the car is still in the game. Maybe they were all just resubmitted after being removed.
They were all resubmitted, yes.
Sorry to hear that. It's such a waste of your effort.