On the previous message board?
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Thanks and yes, everyone keeps saying that.
My view is that it is a successful company and this has been going on for ages. So, I presume that if they considered that they were not good indicators of wayspots then they would stop showcasing them. They have had ample time to do so if they wanted to.
Also it seems to vary country to country â region to region. In some places they are almost automatic wayspots. I appraise them by the standard and effort put into the design and construction of the sign. Does it make me curious and make me wonder what is there? Is it making me want to explore? Voters can interpret them as a good place to explore, anchoring a good place to explore or something and in some cases they are actually meeting places. Voters are accepting them so they must be seeing something.
Lets look at the one shown by @CanisGideon :
This is a major sign that cannot be missed if you pass by. Here the construction would require (at least) the following:
Soil test report
Water run off report
Wind rating report
Detailed design
Submit application to local Authority.
Earthworks preperation.
Concretors for the pads.
Timber work to be crafted.
Sign to be made.
Installation â possibly involving mobile crane if its all pre fabricated.
Inspection and sign off.
We are talking thousands of dollars. This is not a generic bang it in the ground with a hammer sign. It is big, bold, permanent and distinctive.
This would be accepted in my area nearly all the time.
I would vote to accept on the basis it is a good place to explore. I love looking at new places. Signs of this stature also evoke a perception that this is a safe place. It is not a generic, old, dingy place sign. I always say some places want you to stop and others donât. To me this place wants you to stop.
Good luck with your game !!
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Thereâs your presumption, then theres reality. Niantics las official word on them is that they sre not indicators of criteria, so they shouldnât be taken as such.
Same can be said about just any other generic infrastructure. The development invests money to promote their business/development, not any different than any other generic business sign.
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I just had an apartment building sign that I reviewed. I normally would reject most of these, but this one was shaped like a long surfboard, and had a Hawaiian floral design on it. I found this sign to be unique in the design and the floral painting, so I approved it. The building was called The Oceans, so a painted surfboard as a sign does match with the criteria set for signs in the Unique Art clarification:
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That sounds like the kind of sign Iâd accept too, something clearly different and artistic.
I donât accept the standard corporate looking ones
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Thanks for your interest and comment. There is the reality of âNiantic official wordâ.
Would you perhaps consider that there is the reality of what actually happens?
I think that it is ok for us to have different presumptions. Would you say that yours is based on âofficial wordâ and mine on action / inaction?
Is it a case of say one thing do another?
Please remember that the company is publishing these in a section named âSHOWCASEâ and labelling them as âFeatured Wayspotsâ.
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That statement would be fair for many different topics, but when it comes to eligibility your making assunptions that are not fair on the process. The featured showcase has showed time and time again that things that are clearly not eligible. Using your logic, that would mean that things like stolen 3rd party photos, schools, no safe pedestrian access, non relevant game references are allowed and encouraged⌠which is simply not true.
So to answer this⌠the reality of what actually happens is that bad things sometimes squeeze through and get featured.
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When I come up to my rural hometown, I canât tell you how many memorial benches I see as Featured WayspotsâŚNot something I see anymore in the city I live in.
And yes, I do this almost every time I see ineligible POIs being featured, and my eligible ones that were recently approved not.
One squirrel did explore our utility box, not driving as you said, but on foot. Took them a few hours to get the power back on and it smelled like a hairy bbq for a while.
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I often use the showcase at a checklist of spots to check validity.
I have probably had 20% of the ones Iâve been presented either moved or removed.
Annoyingly I had one that I previously reported via abuse, and thought removed, show up. Turns out it was now shadowed by another wayspot instead of removed from the database.
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Thatâs more of an advertisement than art to be totally honest.
But we get a bunch of theses in new Zealand, at least over 200 of them. Unfortunately we get ones that players cant reach safely as they are right next to railway lines that are highly active. I saw a submission for one the other day, I submitted it as an unsafe location and it was accepted literally the next day, and its not like we are low on those portals in that area there are like another 12 near by.
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Hello and welcome,
The utility box is not an ad, especially those in the city I live in. The art is designed by local artists, is part of a beautification project with the cities in the metro area and the local art council. They do have sponsors to help pay for the boxes being wrapped, and they are recognized for their support on the boxes they do pay for; thatâs really the only advertising, and itâs not the focal point of the art on the box. Hereâs the front for further clarification; this is the main photo currently for this Wayspot as well:
Iâve submitted several of these in my area, and all have been accepted without issue; all of the ones that have Wayspots where I live are safely accessible for pedestrians, usually right next to a sidewalk where there are traffic lights. They certainly can be ineligible if they are in an area thatâs unsafe for pedestrians, on private property, at a school, etc.
Unfortunately, there are some reviewers that donât always consider the location being ineligible and will approve almost anything. In the US, many submit Little Free Libraries (LFL) on private properties (PRP), because they see ones that are at eligible locations, such as a shopping center, local business, or church, so they think all LFLs are eligible. This, of course, isnât the case if they are on PRP; I have had to request removal of some LFLs on PRP and have had no issues getting them removed.
Wayspot removal is stricter than Waysot acceptance, but unsafe pedestrian access is one of the options. We also have ways to report abuse, as it sounds like it could be some player(s) that may know these are unsafe, but do want more Wayspots. Thereâs a Report button in the review process, as well as a Report Abuse link at the top of the forums here; Iâve used it to report Wayfarers who are abusively submitting ineligible Wayspots, and know that those nominations donât become Wayspots.
With the context you have given for the utility box art, it makes more sense and I retract my statement of it being more like an advertisement than art.
As for the removal process, it was not something I was aware they were more strict on and I may have to do this more often for the locations in my area as there are at least 15 portals sitting on or next to players houses in private properties (behind a locked gate/fence).
Note that the thing that matters is whether itâs a single-family private residential property. If you are speaking about wayspots in gated communities or things that are otherwise accessible to a selected subset of people but NOT on the territory of a single-family house and donât meet any other removal criteria, these are eligible. If itâs the former, then you definitely should do as suggested.
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In addition to above, you want to look at the tooltips (i) of the review page and the rest of Criteria Clarification Collection - Niantic Wayfarer Community for additional context.
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I have had the same issue. The trick to getting these approved is in the wording of the description. You cannot have a community entrance sign be a waypoint, but a good destination can be. I had a test on a sign not far from my house and did entrance sign and got the generic stop. This sign happened to be on a walking path next to the community sign. If you can accurately describe why itâs a good sign ie( its on a walking path and is a marker for pedestrians) and not say it needs one because they donât have one people will sign off on them. These sign regardless have issues and you can appeal. The sign Iâm talking about was denied twice and then Niantic approved it after I appealed it. Best of luck!!
Hello and welcime,
I see others nominate these signs like this all the time, that there are walking paths nearby, which really just are sidewalks, a part of the infrastructure. Sidewalks do not meet criteria for hiking/biking paths, as again, they are infrastructure and usually no trail markers marking it as a hiking/biking path. It still doesnât make them eligible if itâs just a sign for the neighborhood thatâs nothing special.
The appeals staff is known to reject valid POIs and accept invalid ones, just like the reviewers do. So, like others have mentioned, just because others have been accepted and have Wayspots currently doesneât mean theyâre eligible.
This is why we continue to ask for clarification on neighborhood signs, as most would like something. These signs keep gettng debated over and over again.
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Youâve asked people to explain things to you and they have and you seem very combative with some of them here, particularly over the utility boxes that you neglected to originally mention had art on them. Is the art on them all abstract, or do they have connections to the city? Do you know the meaning behind the art on these boxes? Where I live, there are murals (hand painted) on buildings, electric boxes, and even on the protection wall along the river (next to a walking trail). Some are abstract, but, many are connected to the cityâs history, its people, and/or the neighborhoods in which they are painted. My city encouraged artists to come to the community and there is a group focused on adding a new mural or murals to our city every year to add beauty to it. And, yes, my city actually offers visitors a self-guided walking tour that INCLUDES the utility box art. SoâŚYESâŚutility box art CAN be for exploring/encouraging walking and CAN reflect on the history of the city.
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