Community rejected, appeals approved

[SpacedOut2111]

Real my stuff gets rejected. I appeal. It gets added and approved it makes no sense.

[elijustrying]

Hello @SpacedOut2111
It would be helpful if you could show us the sort of nominations that you are finding get rejected by the community and approved on appeal.

I know where I am some nominations can be hit or miss as to whether they are accepted. The appeal system is there to provide a potential way forward.

Have you done any reviewing?
Not everyone reviews but it offers a real insight into how other people’s submissions look and makes you realise that perhaps some of your own submission practice needs to change - it was certainly a wake up call to me.
I realised that all sorts of things that I thought were obvious were not.

[SpacedOut2111]

Here are the photos
I have reviewed before and I always give an honest opinion.

[DTrain2002]

Neighborhood signs are seen by many as ineligible, unless they have something included that may meet criteria, such as a water fountain or unique art; this one looks pretty standard and indistinct to me. Many do not see how they are great places to be social/exercise/explore. I’d say that you may have gotten lucky with that appeal.

I’m interested in what you may have included in your supporting info/photo, as that may have allowed it to be approved by the appeals team. We only get 2 appeals every 15 days.

The fire pit and picnic area may be eligible, and for it to be rejected by the community is a little harder to understand. However, some do not see these as meeting criteria, even though they can be great places to socialize, and we do have clarification on picnic areas that say they may be eligible. My last appeal was used on a picnic area, and others have had to use appeals on them as well, even though we have the clarification available to reviewers.

Picnic Areas

Picnic areas are great places to be social! Note that a picnic area with a group of tables constitutes one nomination. However, not all picnic areas are eligible across the board. For example, a picnic table on single-family private residential property should not be accepted. [image] Picnic areas and tables that appear to be permanent, even if not bolted to the ground like those above, are great places for socialization.

This info is not just on the forums, as it’s also in the help section on the Wayfarer website, as well as the Wayfarer Help Center website, so even if reviewers aren’t on the forums, there is access to it.

[elijustrying]

Thanks for these examples.

Fire pits are good acceptable places as along with the pavillion at this location it is clearly a communal space for socialising. So if it was presented well, it should have been ok.
How did you describe it in your original submission?

The estate sign is something that is open to interpretation.
I looked at these and first I was not clear if these would be considered Single Family private Residential Property as they were very close to the house with no clear boundary.
But also I was curious as what you had said to demonstrate they meet eligibility criteria?
They are not a place to exercise or to socialise at so you need to show they are worthy of exploration. Perhaps your initial submission did not demonstrate that and reviewers rejected.

[tehstone]

appeal reviewers need better training: exhibit 948473538

the fire pit is fine, the sign not so.

in both cases, your appeal statement needs much more work

[DTrain2002]

I checked the interactive boundary map for Atlanta, and this sign is zoned as being SFPRP.

The appeals team should have rejected this sign for being on SFPRP.

[elijustrying]

Thanks I thought it looked close.

I presume that should apply to the one on the opposite side? - I don’t know which was submitted. And without a map …..sigh.

[SpacedOut2111]

I forgot what I said to present them but the sign was something about a great place of new homes and a green space with pavilion or something. The fire pit was something like It’s a great place to sit by the fire and talk.

[DTrain2002]

These are all SFPRP in this neighborhood, and the other sign is also zoned as being on SFPRP.

[cyndiepooh]

Thank you for yet another example of why there needs to be a clarification about neighborhood signs.

[frealafgb]

So the appeals team accepted something that not only doesn’t meet criteria, but also is in an ineligible location? That’s

[DTrain2002]

Just because there are things in the neighborhood that may be eligible doesn’t make a neighborhood sign eligible. Yes, a green space, a fire pit, and a pavilion may be great places to be social, with the green space maybe also being a great place to exercise, but the sign doesn’t meet criteria. It also appears to be on SFPRP, which is an ineligible location, from the boundary map of the city.

Private Residences, Farmland & K-12

Single-family private residential properties (SFPRP), farms, and K-12 (schools or facilities primarily focused for persons under 18 years of age) are ineligible. This includes the outer facing facade, fence of these locations, and property boundaries. Objects in or upon apartment blocks, gated communities, or their shared spaces may be eligible assuming they otherwise meet criteria and are intended to be accessed by a community, even if not everyone. Communal spaces have the potential to be eli…

[AMG7070]

We all know that the appeal reviewers are also human just like us, so very rarely we might see something like this.

I do agree with everyone, there is evidence that this is ineligible, but let’s not be to harsh against the appeal reviewer, we are all humans.

[DTrain2002]

The appeals team should have been able to research this just like us, so we do have the right to express our disappointment with them approving something that is clearly ineligible.

Staff has asked us to let them know when we feel as if mistakes have been made, and this is one that needs to be pointed out.

[elijustrying]

So for the signs it looks as though the community decision to reject was correct, and it really shouldn’t have got through on appeal..
Depending on how you presented the fire pit at a guess some reviewers may have thought it was a duplicate with the shelter/BBQ next to it which is already on the map. The appeals staff correctly recognised it as distinct.
We are all human and that applies to reviewers and appeals staff too. A lot depends on exactly what each of those was looking at.
When reviewing there will be variability it is normal. When submitting we can only try to anticipate what might trip up a nomination and try to minimise tgat risk.

[AMG7070]

I agree with this.

Just wanted to say that everyone is human.

We have expressed ourself right now, let’s see what the team does with this

[Gendgi]

Y’all missed your chance to vote on this.

Why should we care about Wayfarer & voting?

With messaging changing throughout the years, it has become more obvious when Niantic accepts nominations that should never have met criteria. Specific examples have included the video department of a Wal-Mart, generic gas stations in populous cities, “Pokémon” terminology in the description, and generic post boxes. Similarly, playgrounds, parks, and trail signage meeting specific eligibility are sometimes rejected. Meanwhile, Wayfarer has allowed many imports into games and its own map that det…

It’s Niantic making this difficult for the community - both sides of the community.

[AMG7070]

Actually one of the first topics I voted for.

Really inspired me.

Thx for making that topic, it really expresses some of my feelings with wayfarer.

Anyway back to the topic😅

[DTrain2002]

Well, I asked this one:

Could we get some additional clarification on signs and if individual signs for an eligible POI are also eligible?

This question was inspired by a discussion had here: Many of us will use the signage for an eligi9ble POI in our nominations, as there may not be anything else that is suitable for a main photo, i.e. using a church sign for the church. Many of us then place the location pin on the actual POI and make sure our nominations explain to reviewers as to why the pin was placed where it has been placed. However, because many indistinct signs for elig9ible POIs have been approved and are on the map,…

I think there are some similar questions that were asked, so we could get some answers, even on the questions that didn’t receive that many votes.