OK, so it’s not a freedom of speech issue. You’re saying that you disagree with their policy on how you can enter peoples names. I get that.
I think it’s fine to disagree and to point out things that you think should be changed. I’m not arguing that with you at all.
Niantic is a private company that has as part of its property, a database, for which they can make any rule they want. We can choose to take part or not, but ultimately this lightship database belongs to them and although we hope they listen to community members concerns, they are under no obligation to do so.
In the end, it seems we actually all agree that @cyndiepooh’s request for clarification on this topic is exactly what everyone wants.
Rights are given when you use a free platform, not negotiated because you disagree with them.
No. It’s that the @[tag] which typically is there as a promotional link to encourage viewers of the art to follow the artist on a social media platform, may not be allowed in the text that appears in game. And that’s always been there.
For sake of anyone following along, this is not a mere “unpublished” clarification, it’s part of the reviewing rules and ignoring rules can result in account discipline.
That rule says no personal names, yet Niantic encourages us to add artists’ names, so one might argue that tags are allowed for artists if that’s how artists choose to sign their work - some sign with their actual name, some sign with their handle. Having clarification from Niantic about how to deal with artists’ handles - leave @ sign (@ArtistHandle), omit it (ArtistHandle), or not use handle at all and only use their actual name if one can be found (no @ArtistHandle, no ArtistHandle, only use ArtistName or nothing) - would be helpful. Same thing goes for # sign. Several painted utility boxes in my area use #ProgramNameThatHelpedPaintBoxes. Is that OK to use like “Painted with support from #ProgramNameThatHelpedPaintBoxes”, or should this be changed to “Painted with support from Program Name That Helped Paint Boxes”?
I would suggest to chill on self-expression and free speech arguments - Niantic is a private company and can set their own rules on how to behave in their games and on their forums. I am saying it as a person whose multiple posts and threads on this forum have been removed, and I am not complaining about censorship.
No, the full text (which is right there in the photo) specifies “unrelated to the wayspot”. I appreciate that it’s a long list of several things that should be not included if they’re unrelated to the wayspot, but that is what that section means. This is explained more clearly on the description guidelines page on the wayfarer website, where it says to “credit artists for artwork such as murals and sculptures whenever possible” but not to “include the names/initials/identifiers of anyone who is not relevant to the nomination”.
First, I don’t know where that screenshot is from, but it says “or text unrelated to…” in the very END. At least when you read it from top to bottom and not the other way around. It doesn’t say “text unrelated to blah-blah, including names and other things”. It says “all these things plus unrelated text”.
Second, over here it says “It is also great if titles and descriptions include the artist’s name (for murals, statues, etc.)”. Then it says we should give thumbs down to “Titles and descriptions with player names or game-specific information (artist names are acceptable)” and also to “HTML tags” and “emojis”. The part about “artist names are OK” contradicts the part on the screenshot about no personal names - so are they not allowed, period, or are they allowed for artists only? And it doesn’t explicitly say anything about handles - @ sign is neither an emoji nor an HTML tag. The only mention, posted by @cyndiepooh from the former forum, is also unclear - it says “tagging other accounts is not allowed”. Tagging other player accounts of Niantic games/websites or tagging any other accounts of any other app/website/anything else on the Internet? I would assume that “other accounts” refers only to Niantic games. Or maybe they don’t want players to confuse @ArtistHandle on Instagram with a similar handle here on the forum, so no handles, period.
So because of the usual contradictions and vagueness it would be great for Niantic to clarify @ and # signs. I usually add at least @ sign for artist handle if the work only has a handle, and so far no one reported me or rejected my nominations/edit for that.
I’m very new to reviewing but so far am mixed on signs. It really has come down to the particular phrasing of the nomination and the location so far. I live in an area where strip malls really are a gathering place for teen because there aren’t any parks, theaters, or anything similar nearby (not even a bike path), so I can understand the value of the submission. I also live next to a major bike route used for interstate races and a more local bike/walking path between neighborhoods that leads to a lake, where the only angoring point for either would be the signs for either neighborhood (which are on public property with a well defined sidewalk next to them). On the otherhand, the descriptions are often lacking, riddled with typos, mention a specific game, or otherwise do nothing to explain why the spot is important to the community. Or the nomination location is directly next to what can easily be identified as a major road with no sidewalks or patch of grass nearby. I’m a little relieved that even experienced reviewers have the same hesitancies about these kinds of nominations.
