General Wayfarer AMA Discussion

[8h20m]

This is an external map import of Recon onto Wayfarer. Treat Recon like Overture or Foursquare - third-party data source - and you get the idea.

[cyndiepooh]

ty for explaining the idea. So make a deal between Niantic/Scopley and NianticSpatial as with other purchased data imports.

[8h20m]

Exactly. And to be honest, we don’t know what future partnerships they might have going forward since the maps have split.

I did have many more questions / topics to ask for the AMA like this one:

What can you tell me about Operation: Peekaboo?

Operation: Peekaboo NGL I’m more excited for Recon at the moment but with regards to Wayfarer - is it the same developers working on both? Given how curious the timing of things are - could be pure coincidence. Be interested to know if we are copying any criteria changes or features from them and incorporating it into Wayfarer. Even though they are two separate companies it was based on the same codebase originally, are you following their developments? Have you got any spies over there? Mod.…

But alas, now limited.

[8h20m]

Can’t post any more topics so if it’s okay with you - I’ll post here instead and hopefully someone can move it into the AMA before the voting starts.

Wayfarer Map - What are the Features?

After the Wayfarer Recognition Emails - which sort of felt flat - the expectation going into Wayfarer Map is pretty low I have to say. Some of us have used the Beta Wayfarer App, Geospatial Browser, OSM, Google Maps and other mapping tools so what are we expecting? More of the same or something new & different? With a focus on continuous improvement? What are the features? *Will see stuff like: *- More details like date and nominator *- 3D map *- Integrated in Wayfarer - not a standalone ap…

[8h20m]

Wayfarer Map - Will it have a Search Feature?

Will it have a search Wayspots feature? Think of a combination of Geospatial Browser (different company I know), LFL map, Mission Control and OSM. As well as searching by ID, title, body or map coordinates we can filter the results. Filter: - By type - By category (different from type) - By game - By activity [Search Results]

[crfcurrier]

Would it be possible to be able to view a history of edits/past changes to a waypoint?

Would it be possible to be able to view a history (almost like an event log in windows) of edits/past changes to a waypoint? I think that including historical data about what the stop’s history has had can contribute to avoiding potential wayfarer abuse, and can provide additional contextual info about what is being submitted.

Totally agree with this idea I’d love to see a visible edit or change history for Waypoints. In my area, we’ve had a few that changed over time, like a PokéStop that used to be the “Trinity Stadium Sign” (it was sponsored by Trinity Ambulance), but the company was bought out and the sign is now totally different.

Having a log or history would help reviewers understand context and prevent confusion or abuse, especially when places rebrand, change ownership, or evolve. It’s also just cool from a community standpoint and being able to see how local stops have changed over the years tells a little piece of the area’s story.

[AliceWonder1511]

@8h20m only 4.5h remaining.
Please look up your topics and try to adjust the title.
I’ll open threads for your other questions.

[8h20m]

Thanks for moving the other post as a new question in AMAs! Got a few more if that’s okay.

Wayfarer Map - API Access?

Will the new map allow for data access? If you remember before Scopely acquisition when it was more the other apps and services. Will this be the same with the new Wayfarer Map? Can the community have access to build something for the community to use? Instead of something for commercial partners / clients - think Wayfarer Map with pogotools & local storage all that instead of IITC and you get the idea. Mod. Topic by @8h20m

[8h20m]

Thanks - getting an error when editing the titles: ‘An error occurred: There was an error updating that topic.’

Been like that for a while now. Just now tried another one changed ‘Can you give a definition to the Subject: Recognition?’ to ‘Understand the Wayfarer Recognition Emails: What is it Capturing?’ and getting the same error.

[8h20m]

Another one please, thanks - I’ll stop soon.

Title: Duplicate Details Passed to Email

Body: An old one but a classic one still not implemented. Passing the Wayspot detail, that was marked as a duplicate, back to nominator.

This should appear on the nomination itself as well as come through on email. Emails should be secondary anyway

This would be really useful and a positive improvement not to mention save time for all parties especially if any appeal is lodged. Otherwise you are left guessing until you return to that physical location again which isn’t always the case (if you are on holiday or limited by disability as an example).

Can we finally have duplicate information passed through onto email and the nomination itself?

[AliceWonder1511]

That’s no question

[AliceWonder1511]

Recon Map Import

Will there be an external map import of Recon onto Wayfarer? The logistics of duplicate POIs and locations shouldn’t be that hard to manage (two clear ways spring to mind).

"Nothing is certain except deletion and taxes"

Or so the saying goes in my head. So when are we getting a ‘delete’ option? Permanent deletion note not a soft deletion. This will help clean up our accounts as well as remove those accidental embarrassing or sensitive photos - you know the ones I mean. Even if you apply permanent deletion in the workflow to just the ‘withdrawn’ status that alone will be a big win. But shouldn’t we have more control over our submitted content? NOTE: Yes, I’ll update the title shortly so it’s more obvious.

Profile: Show More Activity

Never understood why it only showed things related to what you reviewed (agreements and upgrades). Can we add basic submission, edits & report stats on the profile page? [Profile - Submissions] [Profile - Edits 2] [Profile - Reports] Or just replace it… two words: Wayfarer Dashboard (ahem).

Featured Showcase Improvements - Add Info & Report Button

A lot of people still doesn’t know how the Featured Showcase works and that’s not including new Wayfinders. It’s a bit misleading as it is. Can we add more information about it? Like an in-page infobox? Oddly there is no actual content in the help section - or knowledge base - about it. Can we also add, in the spirit of continuous improvements, a report button feature to start a new workflow? Can’t tell you how many times we have seen fake submissions showcased. Goes without saying gives peopl…

Power Spots: Do not pass [Po]GO, do not collect $200, GO straight to jail

With those Overture imports making their way into Wayfarer - criteria be damned btw - how do they not fall foul to the same complaints, safety issues and problems as the court case of old? Is it because we are out of the 3-year settlement period? Better to be reactive than proactive? This is well before the recent changes to India & Indonesia when you could edit those Power Spots in Wayfarer. It begs a further question about the role and importance of Wayfarer - with some arguing it is the pun…

That are your unformated contributions. Please give me a title for each and I’ll do it for you.

[seaprincesshnb]

Hi @kowloonsgt! Your question is not related to Wayfarer. That looks like a project for Niantic Spatial which is a completely different company now. You’ll need to follow up with them to ask about how to get involved with it. I guess try to find them on Twitter/X. Is there a possibility that explorers from our trainer background could be involved with Kojima Productions' games through Wayfarer/AR scans?

[8h20m]

Title: Enable counters on filters

Body: Show the total number of submissions and edits by default. Then update it when filtering. Sure this was another old AMA question from a couple of years ago but can we have totals enabled? Small change, better usability.

Title: Grid View Layout

Body: Again IIRC from another AMA and a design improvement. Can we toggle to grid view as a standard UX?

Title: Discourse Forums UI Improvements

Body: As well as UI improvements can we customize / enable dark mode theme feature? Helps those with visual impairments.

Title: Not Accepted vs. Rejected

Body: Can we have some consistency and stick with one term please? I’d prefer rejected as accepted can pick up on ‘not accepted’. But I understand for some it’s a softer tone but it’s more definitive.

Title: Content Refresh

Body: Entire content needs looking at on Wayfarer. A copy and paste job - happy to help to point out the issues and rewrite it for new Wayfinders. Even the Review Flow Status is out of date.

Title: Next Wayfarer Challenge?

Body: When is it? How do we ensure lessons learnt from previous Challenges? We keep seeing the same issues nearly every Challenge. When an issue does come up - what is the best platform for real time updates?

Next Wayfarer Challenge?

When is it? How do we ensure lessons learnt from previous Challenges? We keep seeing the same issues nearly every Challenge. When an issue does come up - what is the best platform for real time updates? Mod. Topic by @8h20m

Title: A bot is for life not just Christmas

Body: It’s been 299 days since the update that auto-accepts decision, on new Wayspot submissions, were disabled. It’s been 322 days since it was first noticed. There was a weird non-update in mid June (120 days) which talked about a decision…? But nothing since.

What kind of cake are we having at the 1 year anniversary party?
Can we steal the working code from the Recon team (how are the internal spies doing)?

My question is… what’s the latest update? Where are we? Is eMiLy no longer a priority? If the acquisition was March and we completed at end of May and in BAU since then that means… what exactly? Not on the Roadmap.

Title: Can we have draft status on PoGO?

Body: Practically it would be better to have a default draft status on submission - like any content management system. But for those nominators who have everything in place ready to go - you could have two options - save as draft (gets submitted but not in queue) and ready for review (publish). Assuming Way(site) Wayspot Submissions and Edits will have this feature but PoGO could do with it now - especially if that submission feature is staying

Can we have draft status on PoGO?

Practically it would be better to have a default draft status on submission - like any content management system. But for those nominators who have everything in place ready to go - you could have two options - save as draft (gets submitted but not in queue) and ready for review (publish). Assuming Way(site) Wayspot Submissions and Edits will have this feature but PoGO could do with it now - especially if that submission feature is staying. Mod. Topic by @8h20m

[AliceWonder1511]

So I’ve linked the new topics in your post.
The following are no questions, please give me titles:

Title: Duplicate Details Passed to Email

General Wayfarer AMA Discussion

That are your unformated contributions. Please give me a title for each and I’ll do it for you.

Title: Enable counters on filters*
Title: Grid View Layout
Title: Discourse Forums UI Improvements
Title: Not Accepted vs. Rejected
Title: Content Refresh
Title: A bot is for life not just Christmas

if you want them in.

• we’ve a similar question to the begin of our AMA. Please look at it and decide if you still need your own topic.

[8h20m]

@AliceWonder1511

Title: Enable counters on filters*
Title: Grid View Layout
Title: Discourse Forums UI Improvements
Title: Not Accepted vs. Rejected
Title: Content Refresh
Title: A bot is for life not just Christmas

Thanks for the others.

As for titles… Hmm… try the following out:

Title: Enable counters on filter When can we see totals and counters in Wayfarer?
Title: Grid View Layout Can we have a grid view?
Title: Discourse Forums UI Improvements Are there any plans to customize the Community Forums? To improve the UI? To make it more accessible (inclusive design)?
Title: Not Accepted vs. Rejected Why is both ‘Not Accepted’ and ‘Rejected’ terms used on Wayfarer?
Title: Content Refresh Does Scopely employ a content professional? Or when was the content last updated? Or when is the next content refresh? Probably the last one makes more sense.
Title: A bot is for life not just Christmas What’s happening with eMiLy auto-accepts on new Wayspot submissions?

Thought most was self-explanatory even without the creative writing, especially in the body section but I get it.

[8h20m]

Title: Ambassadors: Where are they now?

Body: What happened to the previous ambassadors?

Did their passion die? Were they broken by all the exceptions? Did their joy turn into sadness that turned into anger that led to hate? Were they banned? Or did life just get in the way?

Title: Ambassadors: Why have previous Cohorts returned?

Body: Why have previous cohorts returned? Was there a shortage of new applicants? Thinking of the optics here.

Title: Ambassadors: Can the community vote for their nomination?

Body: What are your thoughts about the community voting for their ambassador? Or at least have some involvement. Narrow to a shortlist or from a shortlist.

Title: Which Ambassador actually represents the Rural Explorer?

Body: Curious to know if that demographic is represented.

Title: How much training, if any, do Ambassadors get?

Body: The perception is they are the subject matter experts however at times that has not been the case so wondering what training is offered to Ambassadors? Or any additional tests?

Title: Is there a head Ambassador in each Cohorts?

Body: Or do they all just report to the Community Manager? Wondering how they decide / vote on things. Different personalities, different experiences - can see some possible conflict / clashes so how is that managed?

Title: New Role: Do we need a Map Overseer / Editor?

Body: Someone to clean up the grandfathered stuff, tag things correctly, ensure map integrity & inclusion rules (that drinking bird toy is available) and so on.

[8h20m]

Yikes, my other questions haven’t appeared yet and voting has started.

Is it too late to ask for help?

[NianticTintino]

Hello Wayfinders,

The Wayfarer AMA - 2025 is now open for VOTING!

[BlameJamal]

I thought I was on Reddit when I saw your comments. Welcome to the forum.