Hello everyone,
I just wanted to vent a bit of frustration. I was suspended for 30 days — and yes, I admit it was my own fault. I used Google Maps images as supporting photos and pinned the location about 6 meters off. Ironically, I was also the one who submitted the appeal myself. Pretty dumb, I know.
What really frustrates me, though, is that Wayfarer seems to be completely black and white. My intention was completely honest, but in the end that doesn’t matter because I technically broke a rule.
Submitting Wayspots is something I genuinely enjoy. I’ve had quite a lot approved — probably close to 100 — and I’m just about to reach Champion rank. That’s exactly why I find it questionable that active Wayfarers are punished just as harshly as people who intentionally abuse the system.
I understand that strict enforcement is necessary. But right now, it feels like the system punishes the people who are actively contributing and willing to try things. For example, if you go AFK for just a few minutes while reviewing, you can get penalized simply for not closing the review window.
I’ve also noticed that clearly fake AI-generated Wayspots sometimes still get accepted — even after being reported. Often, action is only taken when you escalate it in the forum. With the new map tools, you can now check whether those fake Wayspots are still there — and many of the ones I reported are still in the system. That’s extremely demotivating.
You really try to submit high-quality and interesting Wayspots that add value to the game, and in return you risk getting hit with a harsh penalty (even though, yes, breaking the rules is still wrong). But in my opinion, the severity of punishment doesn’t feel balanced compared to actual abuse cases.
I know some people will say: “Just submit safe stuff like playgrounds.” But honestly, that’s just boring. It removes all variety and makes the map feel repetitive and dull.
And what are you supposed to do in areas where there are barely any free cells left? When you’re stuck with two Wayspots and need a third one to trigger another gym, but a large number of cells are basically unusable, you just can’t progress anymore. That’s very discouraging in the long run.
For me, this now effectively means a forced break of about a year, even though I really enjoy submitting new Wayspots. I don’t blame anyone else — this was my mistake.
My question is: what could I have done better in this situation? If you are missing two Wayspots and 40 out of 64 cells can’t be used, what’s the right approach?
Is there any possibility that Wayfarer still triggers a third gym with only 18 existing stops, or is that simply not a thing?
