I’m feeling really discouraged and frustrated with the Wayfarer system lately. I’ve tried to submit several nominations that I truly believe are great places—spots where people actually visit and spend time. However, most of them have been rejected, often due to poor photo quality. I’ll admit I’m not the best at photography, but the locations themselves are meaningful and meet the criteria.
What’s even more upsetting is that today I came across several nominations currently in voting that seem far below acceptable standards. I’ve seen private home tubewells, home tile designs, and even interior wall decorations being reviewed. Some of these are clearly inside someone’s house!
How is this even possible? It feels unfair that solid, eligible nominations are being rejected while things that clearly violate the guidelines are slipping through. Is there something more I can do to improve my submissions, or is the system just being abused?
I really care about contributing positively to the map, but this experience is making it hard to stay motivated. Any advice or thoughts?
It is hard to comment on individual nominations without seeing them. If you would like to share screenshots of some of yours, we can try to advise.
When I see someone talk about rejections for photos, the first thing I think about is the confusion some people have over using photos they found online instead of taking themselves. Submitting a third party photo is considered abuse.
The bad nominations are going to happen. People submit nominations where they want game locations, and often have zero idea about criteria. The ML (machine learning ai) model filters out a lot of those, believe it or not. We just have to reject them.
Thanks for your response. I was going through the guidelines again and realized I made quite a few mistakes in my nominations, especially in the descriptions. I now understand what I need to improve, and I’ll definitely try to fix those issues if I resubmit later on—especially the photos.
As for reviewing others, I did come across things like private home tubewells (which I reported a few hours ago), as well as other questionable nominations like wall and tile designs from inside houses. I reported those too, but unfortunately, I didn’t take any screenshots at the time.
You don’t necessarily have to fill out a report for every bad nomination you come across, but I often will for those exposing personal information about their homes, or if I see a pattern.
Honestly, I was really scared after getting the email and notification. I’ve only been playing Pokémon GO for about a year, but recently I’ve been enjoying it a lot more. So when I got that warning, it really worried me.
When I first started, there were no PokéStops or Gyms at all in my city. But now, there are over 8 PokéStops and 3 Gyms, which is amazing to see.
However, during my reviews, I often come across nominations that clearly shouldn’t be eligible—like home tile designs or wall decorations inside houses. I see a lot of those. I’ve started reporting them, and I’ll try to take screenshots next time as proof.
Dont worry about those ineligible wayspot. Just reject if you happen to see it.
We have AI to filter most of this kind of nomination but some might slip away. Thats reviewer’s job to review them. I would say easy rejection review.