I recently submitted an appeal for a Wayspot nomination, which was unfortunately rejected. However, I strongly believe this decision does not align with Niantic’s criteria, and I would appreciate clarification.
The rejection states that cemeteries are ineligible locations. While I understand that general cemetery grounds are usually not allowed, gravestones of historically significant individuals are explicitly eligible. This nomination meets that exception:
• Historicale & Cultural Relevance – This family gravestone belongs to a renowned local entrepreneur, whose legacy is honored with street names and a Stadtplatz.
• Official Educational Context – The cemetery itself promotes historical learning, inviting visitors to explore significant graves. This particular site is part of the “Pfad der Erinnerung” (Path of Remembrance), an official guided tour highlighting important historical figures.
• Public Accessibility & Information – The gravesite features an information stand with a QR code, providing visitors with historical context about the individual and their contributions.
The cemetery encourages public visits for educational purposes, making this site more akin to a memorial or museum exhibit than an ordinary gravesite. The nomination is intended to preserve and share local history, aligning with the spirit of Niantic’s exploration and discovery goals.
Could you please review this case and clarify why it was rejected despite meeting the eligibility criteria?
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Best regards
Petr
Title: Grave of the Moll Family “Mölle”
Description:
The Moll family, one of the oldest and most respected families in Lennep, played a significant role in the history of the town. They were involved in the founding of cloth production and produced numerous important figures such as mayors and city judges. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the family owned several cloth factories in Lennep and returned to Belgium after emigrating to continue the business. Today, the “Mollplatz” in Lennep commemorates this influential family.
Supporting Information:
Das Grab einer der einflussreichsten Familien Lenneps. Am Grab befindet sich eine Bank sowie eine Informationstafel mit einer kurzen historischen Erklärung.
I think the appeal decision is questionable, yes, as Niantic has already stated in their criteria clarification that cemeteries can have wayspots for chapels, monuments or graves like the one you described. ( Cemeteries & Other Sensitive Locations )
Really, i don’t agree with the appeals decision, as the informational sign on it can be seen on the supporting photo and makes it very clear, that this place is open for public exploration.
In germany, cemeteries can be accessed publicly. There are rules for this, so you need to be respectful and calm at those places (normally those rules are stated at the cemetery entrance on a green sign), but walking on cemetry ground for other reasons than mourning is generally allowed.
I would resubmit the nomination with the informational sign as the main picture (reviewers LOVE informational signs) and, if you want the pretty statue as main photo, add that picture once the wayspot is accepted and give that picture a positive rating in you game app once approved.
This isn’t quite correct. Other things within a cemetery, such as chapels, may be eligible, but they are not guaranteed to be accepted. It does note that they may be eligible for consideration, but that doesn’t mean they will be approved, as nothing is guaranteed to be approved.
@Petr000rteP You did provide a good deal of info about the family and their significance. I would wait on resubmitting, as staff does want us to let them know of appeals decisions we don’t agree with, and they may look at the appeal again. It’s possible, not guaranteed though, that the appeal decision could be reversed, so I would just wait for a bit. Keep an eye on Contribution Management, as sometimes if the appeal decision is reversed, there might not be a staff post, but the status of the nomination will change there.
Well, no wayspot is guaranteed to be accepted, this is a given.
In this particular case, the informational sign (as well as german regulations on cemeteries in general) speak for this wayspots to be approved. An Informational Sign is clear hint that the cemetary does allow visitors to visit this grave and get information about the family, wiches resting place this is/was.
Also, staff can still look at this appeal decision and revert it, while an improved nomination of the same wayspot is in the queue, it will just get decided to be a duplicate then.
It’s best not to have a duplicate in queue, as it could be looked at as abuse; there have been past warnings/bans for submitting Wayspots/edits more than once, and there are even guidelines in regards to how many edits can be submitted for the same Wayspot at one time.
If the rejected appeal gets approved and the dupe is in queue, gets marked as a dupe and has the same main photo, it would add a copy of that photo to the database. There’s no need for more than one of a photo in the database.
And no info sign guarantees any Wayspot approval, nor do any specific country rules, as Wayfarer is global. There are plenty of cemeteries where I live in the US open to the public, like one that actually encourages the public to come see the wildlife that live there. Most though do not have any Wayspots, and this is typically out of respect for those buried there.
A resubmit with improvements, wich should also inculde new photos, wich I suggested, should certainly not be aproblem under those circumstances. A different Picture would be added to the existing wayspot, wich is, if anything, an improvement of the wayspot, IF, and only IF, a team member shows up here to appeal the appeal decision. Wich is not even very likely to happen.
A Post in this Forum is not seen as a contribution, as far as I know. So there should not be any risk.
How things are decided varies from country to country. In the US, cemeteries might not be places where wayspots get approved, but you will rarely find a cemetery chapel or world war memorial on any cemetery in germany that is not a wayspot already. Countries have different cultures regarding this. and germany has different standards than the US.
I don’t think you understand. Staff has told us to post about appeals decisions that we disagree with, and, at times, some of these appeals decisions get reversed. It was in an AMA that they advised us to do this:
What you are saying is that the nomination isn’t good, but I see no issues with it, nor do I see any issues with the info provided for the appeal. There’s no need to resubmit at this time, as there is a chance that the appeals decision may be reversed. I also mentioned that resubmitting while waiting to see if staff do reverse the decision may be seen as abusive, as a possible spam nomination, and I don’t think anyone wants to get any kind of warning/ban, even if they feel they are acting in good faith.
How things are decided are based on the criteria, which are applied globally. There are no criteria that is specific to one country, and that’s because Wayfarer is a global mapping service. There are certain POIs that may be accepted in different countries than others, but in the end, all Wayspots must meet criteria of being a great place to be social/exercise/explore.
Hi all
As long as there’s no official process to appeal an appeal @DTrain2002 and @OoLeguanoO provided the two possible directions, incl. pros and cons - thank you both
Summarized:
you try to improve your nomination and submit again
you wait a bit (maybe 1-2 weeks) and observe your contribution page if there’s any change
