I live in a brand new city, built in 2017. There are maybe 8 pokestops in the entire city. I went out and tried to get some pokestops around the neighborhood. McDonalds sign - denied. The guard house and gate houses - denied. The school signs - denied. Literally what am I supposed to do at this point? I feel like everyone on here is just bitter their stops havent gotten approved so they just go and vote no on every stop they come across. Its just getting ridiculous. Yet I see “fire hydrant” “speed limit sign” with no descriptions as spots. I’m just trying to play the game without driving 45 minutes to the closest park with 2 spots.
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Hi @BryanM2210
Welcome to the forum 
It sounds like you’re trying to nominate ineligible items e.g. school sign, MC Donalds signs.
I know if you’re looking around that there’re even worse accepted POIs but you should never take them to compare what’s eligible. You do much better if you’d read through the criteria clarifications on help page or here on the forum in it’s own category.
Something really successfully in general is to share screenshots of nomination candidates and receive feedback from the community.
If you need help finding some eligible items do share your general location (be aware that we’re an open worldwide forum so don’t give the coordinates of your house 
).
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Hello @BryanM2210
It sounds as though you are having a very frustrating time.
We will be happy to try and help you if we can.
Can you tell us a little more about the city, or say where it is? Does it have streetview on google?
As @AliceWonder1511 has said the sort of things you are nominating are not likely to be eligible. So the little you have told us it sounds as though the reviewers were correct. Reviewers are simply following the guidelines and they don’t know who has made the submission. So although it starts to feel personal it isn’t.
So the key things to look for are the places in the City that you meet up with others to socialise
Great places to eat, relax, chat. Religious buildings.
Or places designed for exercise gyms, outdoor exercise areas, formal walking trails.
Unusual places of interest - artwork, educational information
Put those original nominations to one side and let us help find ones that will work , 
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Welcome, and I hope we can help!
@elijustrying already named the top things I would recommend looking for, but here is a whole topic with suggestions the forum has put together for folks without a lot to submit, if you need even more ideas: Tips for Rural Nominators
Remember that the main core criteria that any nomination has to meet is that it be a great place for exercise, exploration, or being social. I say those three words every time I think about whether a point of interest would be worth trying to submit. Here is a great link to bookmark explaining criteria: Wayspot Criteria — Wayfarer Help Center
And since you are already frustrated, let me go ahead and make you aware that not every Wayspot that is accepted will become a Pokestop or gym. This article explains the additional requirement to be used as a game location: https://pokemongohub.net/post/article/comprehensive-guide-s2-cells-pokemon-go/. I would hate for you to be blindsided when you do get something accepted if it doesn’t show up in game.
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It sounds like a challenge, it probably has potential wayspots but you have to find them.
Don’t assume that things that you see as wayspots are a guideline for what is acceptable. A whole load of cruddy wayspots have been accepted in the past, many of which could probably do with removing.
If I’m exploring a completely new and underpopulated area then there are certain things I’ll look for, even if it’s all new. In any modern development I would expect to find playgrounds, a community centre of some sort, community noticeboards, some parks or pocket parks, there are often nature signs or nature preserves and often some walking trails. Of course sometimes it’s just endless featureless suburbs with nothing at all for the community, but in the best case scenario there can be quite a lot if you know what is eligible.
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The problem is this, my parents town, the McDonald’s sign on every McDonald’s is a PokeStop. My submission? Denied. The neighborhood signs across the entire town, Pokestops. My submission? Denied. Police Station? Denied. Fire House? Denied. Shopping Center Sign? Denied. Between me and my wife we’ve submitted over 40 submissions, all point of interest that we have SEEN in the games already and they’re all denied. But then I go driving around and see “Blue Fire Hydrant” as a stop in a town where every fire hydrant is blue, and I’m questioning how that got approved. This process is overwhelmingly stupid.
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McDonald’s has sponsored Pokestops. Those do not go through the regular Wayfarer review process. McDonald’s pays to have their logo on those Pokestops.
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The neighborhood signs I see were mostly accepted in error, but having been accepted, most do not meet removal criteria. I understand that this is very confusing, but a neighborhood sign usually does not meet any of the criteria of a great place for exercise, exploration, or being social.
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First off, I grew up in a small town, and know that there might not be much there, but I had added many Wayspots to my small hometown whenever I’ve visited, and I have some POIs in mind to nominate the next time I’m there.
McD’s has a sponsorship with PoGo to have stops/gyms at their locations in some countries, including the US. Sponsored stops/gyms are paid for by the company, and do not have to adhere to the Wayfarer criteria, but we as Wayfinders do.
Police and fire stations are not eligible locations, as a Wayspot there may obstruct emergency services. Fire hydrants also fall under this rejection reason.
Shopping center signs may be eligible, as long as they can be safely accessed by pedestirans, and meet the criteria below:
If the shopping center itself already has a Wayspot though, the sign may not be eligible, as the center itself would be the eligible POI.
I also agree that neighborhood signs do not meet any of the 3 criteria of being great places to socialize/exercise/explore, however there are some that do. We also haven’t gotten any clarification on whether or not they are eligible, however most may only accept them if they have something that may make them eligible, like a water fountain or unique art.
Cyndie did provide you with links to the criteria, as well as recommendations for low-density areas (yes, it says tips for rural nominations, but it’s also helpful in low-density areas). I would highly recommend reviewing this info, as well as the Criteria Clarification Collection, as it covers some of the most discussed POIs. Reviewing may also help you get an idea of what may or may not be eligible.
These obstruct emergency services and are not allowed
Show us this nomination and we may be able to workshop it. When the ML (machine learning) model could accept, it was accepting a lot of shopping plazas, but human reviewers tend to reject them. They can represent an eligible location as clarified here:
I bolded the part that says you really have to make a convincing case for them.
Oops. I was trying to answer each point individually so we could continue discussions from there. Dtrain said pretty much the same things all in one post I overlapped.
One of the first things to learn as a Wayfarer is that you can’t just go by what you see in game. Submit things that you can make a case as to how they are great examples of any of the core criteria: a great place for exercise, exploration, or being social.
This should probably be reported for removal.
Hey, and welcome.
The last thing I or anyone else who has posted wants to do is to pile on and make the process feel any more overwhelming or frustrating. But all of us in here are because we enjoy submitting and want to help each other succeed.
If you’re comfortable sharing your area, I am sure folks will be able to help find eligible candidates for you.
You’re right - it is a bit confusing and a lot of what you’re experiencing presents itself as a double standard, but it doesn’t have to end with this.
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The problem here is, the shopping centers are empty. They have signage, and one of them is named, but there are no businesses that have moved in yet, and 2 of them are so new they dont appear on maps. Like I said, brand new town. The McDonald’s opened like 6 months ago, and doesnt have a sponsored stop. My neighborhood is one of 2 neighborhoods. My side of town has 3 gas stations, police and fire station, an almost open auto zone, a CVS, a montessori school, 3 mostly empty shopping centers (minus a dominos, liquor store and a donut shop), and 2 neighborhoods which have 1 elementary school, and 3 neighborhood parks, which are all behind the gated sections of the neighborhoods. One park which is so new, it doesnt show up on maps. The 2 older parks have a couple stops at them each. That’s it. Thats the entire town. Its entirely different than a small town thats been around for decades and has history or something.
My thing is this, I can exercise literally anywhere, I can be social literally anywhere, and as for exploration, I would assume neighborhood signs would be perfect “urban exploration” markers, considering most people dont live where actual exploration can happen, nor would “this random tree 2.5 miles off trail” would be a good spot. Nature trails, sure, but the problem there is the start of a nature trail, where the sign of the trail is, is the least of the exploration. For the wording to be so vague, people sure do take it so extremely literal. Literally anything can be explored, just like you can be social and you can exercise, anywhere. But maybe thats just me…
Hey and hello to the community.
If you did read the Criteria, there is a wording that said.
A GREAT place to Socialize/ Exercise/Explore
Not just a place you can exercise, not just a place you can go though, but it must be a great place, a place is designed / intended to fill one of main three purpose.
For example:
- A neighborhood sign, usually is not a place you would specfic exploring, and not a place designed to be socialize in that location, and not a place designed for people to exercise.
- This random tree 2.5 miles off trail, is not designed for a place to exercise, and unless the tree has some historical(not old), it is not something a normal person would actively seek it.
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The sign still encourages exercise and exploration of the trail though. The sign can be used as the place marker for the trail, as many times, if just the trail is nominated, it might not be seen as one and could be rejected.
Yes, anything could be explored, or a place to b3 social or exercise. However, there is criteria that must be followed with Wayfarer, and there are many good examples of places that are great to be social at, exercise at, and/or explore. Have you looked at the criteria link Cyndie provided yet, or the Criteria Clarification Collection for ideas?
It sounds like you live in a typical development, where those that developed the area didn’t think much about putting in points of interest for the community. It’s sad that there are many places like this these days, as it used to be that communities would have different POIs, not just rows of homes and empty shopping centers. But Wayfarer has no control how areas are developed, just the criteria for what may or may not be eligible.
Another thing of note is that there is a test in a few European countries right now, where Wayspots have been placed at street corners and bus stops in low-density areas. If this test goes well, they may extend it to other areas of the world. More info about this can be found here:
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I can argue if there’s flat ground, or a sidewalk, its a great place to walk, run, or ride your bike. Again, if YOU dont find it great, cool. I do. Thats another reason why this whole process is convoluted. It’s entirely personal, and apparently the people that are on here are so stuck on their own personal opinion of “great” that they’ve changed “great” to “extravagant.” A sidewalk through a neighborhood is a perfectly great place to exercise. A neighborhood sign that doubles as a school bus stop is a great place for those waiting on the bus to socialize.
Do you have a community center? A library? A church? Footbridges?
We could try to make a case for the parks in gated communities. They’re not forbidden. Only SFPRP (single family private residential property) is.
We are simply quoting criteria, which does use the word “great” often, so it’s not our wording, it’s Wayfarer’s. If you look at the Eligibility Criteria help page, you will see that “great” is used often here, and this was complied by the Wayfarer team, not by us users.
A sidewalk is not a great place for exercise as they aren’t unique. Most places around the world have sidewalks, as they are considered a part of infrastructure. They are put in by the government to give people a safe place to walk without having to worry about vehicle traffic. Wayfarer is looking for POIs that are unique and distinct, not POIs that are common and generic.
We understand that this can be quite frustrating when starting, as we have all made mistakes starting out. We can improve on those mistakes by following the criteria that has been set forth by staff, as well as asking for help.
Again, feel free to post screenshots of your nominations from Contribution Management, and we’ll be glad to give feedback on them. You are also welcome to provide us with your general area, and we’ll be glad to take a look around to see if there is anthing that may meet criteria that you might want to consider nominating. We’re not asking that you provide us with your home address, but the name of the city or lat/long coordinates would be a good place to start.