People like fountains. People like sitting around fountains with other people who like fountains.
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It was Niantic who put âfountains and water featuresâ under âA great place to be social with othersâ (Eligibility Criteria â Wayfarer Help Center). Why? I donât know, but I posted my guesses here. The fountains @26thDoctor showed can be also considered visually unique, thus also falling into another category - âA great place for explorationâ. Maybe itâs fountain uniqueness that causes people to gather around them, and thus uniqueness leads to socializing. So if you are wondering if fountains should be reviewed for uniqueness, which in turn affects socializing, instead of approving every fountain just because itâs a fountain, thatâs a very good point.
I guess you can take âFountains are often places where people can go to meet, socialize and explore if they are visually uniqueâ as âfountains need to be visually unique to qualifyâ. In such case working or not would be irrelevant, and any small store-bought mass-produced fountains would be disqualified.
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Weâve been gathering around water sources since we slunk out of the ocean.
They are great for socialising. The water is more important than the structuređš
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Thatâs a good counter-argument to âuniqueness onlyâ - water is life, and besides beautifying the area, fountains were used as a water source so that people donât have to schlep to the nearest river. People used to socialize by the fountains in the past, and this is why we gather around them now, even if they circulate recycled or reclaimed water not suitable for drinking 
So far I feel like fountains that are both non-functioning AND not visually unique are not something to be approved. Working fountains are another story, but the discussion about them is quite interesting.
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What about these?
This is usually a relatively easy submission. Iâve had a few others accepted
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolitan_Drinking_Fountain_and_Cattle_Trough_Association
This is actually a fountain and in retrospect I probably should have got a picture with the water shooting up into the air 
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@cyndiepooh and I discussed drinking fountains above, and it would be great to get a clarification from Niantic about them, because drinking fountains serve a different purpose and operate differently than decorative fountains.
That first one is obviously historic, decorative. You could drink from it but Iâll go after you if you survive.
The description says âwas intended for useâ, which doesnât necessarily mean âis not used nowadaysâ, especially considering they are working to restore those fountains according to Wiki, and the photo shows doggy bowls next to it, so I assumed itâs working (maybe has water suitable for dogs to drink, if not for humans) and not just a historical thing. If itâs purely historical, then it would fall into a different category and still be eligible.
And actually if itâs a piece of history, Iâd say itâs eligible as " A great place for exploration", whether or not itâs currently working as a drinking fountain.
Intended âforâ use byâŚ
Iâm pretty sure they just collect rainwater now.
Iâm sure they are eligible/acceptable Iâm just interested at which point someone draws the line and declines.
A fountain is a fountain is a fountain unless you turn it into a planter 
I made the correction 
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You can sit down next to me while we wait for Nianticâs clarification
Luckily it rains a lot so the fountain wonât run dry.
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Havenât posted here in awhile, but this popped up as a Featured Wayspot today. I really donât find a garage filled with lawnmowers and other department equipment to meet any criteria, and people still try to push them through. Same with other maintenance garages for other depts, like highway. The signs arenât usually anything to be impressed with either.
Ok, venting over, but just wanted to add for consideration for future clarification.
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I apologize for the sudden interruption, but I would like to confirm whether the Criteria I and you are watching is slightly different.
WayfarerďźCriteriaďźRejection CriteriaďźIneligible location, place, or object
There are 7 parts here. (Niantic Wayfarer)
On the other hand, WayfarerďźHelpďźWayspot CriteriaďźRejection CriteriaďźIneligible location, place, or object
There are only 6 parts here. (Niantic Wayfarer)
The English version of Wayspot Criteria that I know is similar.
The following parts are missing.
âGeneral businesses that are not rooted in the local area, such as chain stores or franchise storesâ
In addition, the Eligibility Criteria shows âHiking trailsâ and âBiking trailsâ without â& markersâ.
When a reviewer performs a âNominationâ or âReviewâ, they may check the Criteria, but unless they have a particular problem, they will not look at the Help page. I think Niantic should fix the above two points, what do you think?
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I agree - it would be great if all the different guidelines posted at different locations had the same information.
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criteria clarification for clocks?
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Could you please expand and say what is it specifically about clocks that is not covered by assessing against criteria.
I was just in a discussion with another user on a different site about the eligibility of food boxes/blessing boxes vs things like little free libraries, but upon looking for the rules about their eligiblity I didnât find anything from an official source- just players discussing why they would not be eligible, without citing an official rule. Other discussions were so old that they no longer existed on the forums due to the switch.
I have no horse in this race, Iâm here trying to avoid hearsay and looking for an official ruling. Iâm not here to argue why they should or shouldnât be eligible, just want to know where in the rules they are, so an official stance can be pointed to with clarity from now on. Thanks.
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Oh that is a good one to add. There was a clarification on the old forum that they are not eligible, but I only have this wayback machine link to it: https://web.archive.org/web/20240328211557/https://community.wayfarer.nianticlabs.com/discussion/10521/so-are-blessing-boxes-given-the-green-light-now
I do think adding a note to the Little Free Library and/or the Cemeteries & Other Sensitve Locations clarifications would be helpful.
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Excellent find! I wonder if it would still be ineligible for the same reasons, different reasons, or if their stance has changed at all like it did with apartment pools and other things. :o a lot can change in 3 years, especially in the landscape of the internet. It would be great to have it clarified all on one updated place, I agree!
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