Fishing is a popular hobby and sport in my local area.
I have been able to get signs for fishing clubs accepted. However, I have not been successful at nominating fishing areas which do not have signs.
If I use a fishing platform as my primary photo they get automatically rejected by the AI.
Here are some examples of the photos I’ve been using:
Personally I would consider a fishing area to be eligible under the “exercise” criteria as it encourages people to go outside and be physically active.
Is it possible for me to get a photo which wont get automatically rejected by the AI? Is this something worth using appeals on?
Would I be more successful if I nominated the lakes themselves and used the fishing platforms as an anchor for the lake?
If I was you, I would probably try to center the platforms as much as possible - and try to get as little as possible on the photo that isn’t the platform. That should maximize your chances to get past ML. Here’s a good guide on it: Some Photo Advice or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Square Aspect Ratio
In my personal opinion, such platforms should be valid and to my knowledge, they’ve also seen decent acceptance rates in certain areas.
One thing I would certainly recommend against is nominating the lake, since that’s a natural feature - you probably have better success and could likely achieve a higher spot density with those platforms.
Fishing areas are not ineligible.
Each individual wayspot is considered on its own merits, not as “this is a type of POI that is eligible therefore it gets accepted”.
It is up to the submitter to provide the evidence for a submission, including whether it meets criteria if this is not obvious.
Fishing is not obviously meeting criteria, as it is often a solitary hobby (as is the case for these platforms) and does not involve exercise (it required sitting for long periods of time).
I actually think the photos are fine - sometimes, a little off-centre produces a better photo (see the rule of thirds).
I just don’t think an individual fishing platform is anything more than borderline.
Is it also possible that many other fishing platforms have been nominated making them not distinct?
Hmm… my interpretation of the “exercise” criteria is that consistent vigorous exercise is not a requirement. To quote the wayfarer criteria:
“A place you’d go to get some fresh air, stretch your legs, OR exercise. Places that encourage walking, exercising, and enjoying public spaces. OR something that teaches OR encourages us to be our healthiest selves.”
The "OR"s seem to be important here. Fishing is certainly a sport where you get fresh air, stretch your legs, enjoy public spaces, and are encouraged to be your healthiest self. Depending on the type of fishing and the types of fish you’re catching it can certainly be physically demanding. But maybe I’m not interpreting this correctly?
For what it’s worth, the people who fish around here a very rarely on their own, but I’m not sure how I’d prove that in a nomination without being a nuisance 
There are no wayspots which currently exist on the fishing areas which I am nominating. I’ve not had my nominations rejected due to not being distinct, the AI rejects them before they get put in front of people.
I have gotten several docks approved.
Wow. Those are some beautiful fishing spots and platforms. The spots around here are beautiful too but our platforms are much more plain in comparison
I guess I need to try some different photos. Though I am worried I’ll get into trouble if I keep nominating the same spots over and over again … I just want my nominations to be looked at by people instead of by AI 
You can get into trouble for spamming blatantly ineligible submissions.
This is not an issue for this POI as it is borderline and definitely not junk. You can safely resubmit it, trying different photos to get past the ML filter and get it to human reviewers.
Maybe this is worth clarifying too, but these are not individual fishing platforms. These are large groups of platforms all on one lake.
Would a photo like this be better? I originally used this as a supporting photo.
There is a constant line between something that requires no exercise and something that required consistent vigorous exercise. It’s up to individual wayfarers where they draw the line as it is impossible to provide a fixed division.
A fishing spot does encourage being outdoors. Make sure you sell that to reviewers so that you have a good chance once you get past the ML filter.
This is too far away for a main photo. If you have anywhere where you can get multiple platforms into one close-up photo, which looks possible for the 5(?) in the background, that would help a lot.
It would also help sell this as a communal fishing area. That I would accept (although my acceptance is irrelevant!)
Ok, now i need to ask the question who those docks belong to. A series of docks like that makes me think they belong to individual houses. In my area, a single dock usually means that it has been provided for the use of everyone in the community. But multiple means that everyone wants their own private dock. A private dock is not eligible.
The last photo is a lake within RSPB St Aidans nature reserve (Lowther Lake). The path that the platforms connect to is a public footpath. Only members of the local angling club are allowed to fish here, though from what I understand that wouldnt affect eligibility since limited access to the public wouldnt be grounds for rejection.
Coordinates are 53.7490817, -1.3891972 if you wanna check it out.
Docks like that can easily be public. Those ones look public to me.
Actually this reminds me that at least some of these fishing platforms do have signs on them. I wasnt really sure whether to use these in my nominations since in general I’ve found that including signs such as these often end up with my nominations being rejected as “private property”. From what I understand that’s an incorrect rejection reason in cases like this since it’s not SFPRP
On the other hand I suppose a sign like this might have better luck of getting past the AI, though it wouldnt make for a particularly flattering main photo. The sign may also provide evidence that this area is used as a socialisation spot by a local sports club. The sign says maximum of 4 anglers per platform, I often see between 2-4 anglers using a single platform.
Does this sign help at all?
I would definitely give the sign a go. It does prove that it is what you say it is.
Use the supplemental info to explain “Restricted to Club Members but criteria states that it does not have to be accessible to everyone to be eligible”.
You could always replace the main image once it gets accepted.
Good Luck
I wouldn’t use the sign as the main image, but it should definitely be one of the supplemental images to prove location and situation of the docks.
