Need some help understanding why my submissions keep getting declined.
Both are places to socialize and explore and both got rejected by Niantic’s automated process. I appealed the forest preserve area and the info back was it was “generic”. I don’t know what I am doing wrong.
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I’m in a bad cell area. I’ll upload pictures of my submissions in a few
Looks like you have been getting a lot of nominations denied by the automated check. Usually this is because it is not clear what you are nominating from the picture and there is too much nature. That definitly looks like the case in a few of these. The main picture should be a close up of the actual object and in the case where you are nominating a pond or natural feature then the picture should focus on the man made object that you are using as the placemarker (usually a sign).
The “historic” hydrant just looks old but has no proof and there is a lot of discussion on whether these are even eligible since they could obstruct emergency services.
The native plant area could be eligible but the nomination photo needs to focus on the sign since that proves that this isn’t just any random patch of weeds.
For the nature reserve, focus on the sign as the main photo. It isn’t as interesting, but it does show what this is, while the plants don’t
The bench is not a bench-with-a-view unless you can prove it has a view. It is just a bench and not every bench can become a wayspot. You need a much closer photo to stand a chance and also explain why this bench matters.
I don’t know if you went through all screenshots that OP posted, but this was already denied on appeal by Niantic.
Generic nature preserve signs are generic and therefore not distinct, which makes them ineligible. Especially since this sign especially says to not disturb, it’s probably not the best place to visit.
If there’s info signs about the protected nature nearby, explaining more about the animals or plants, that could be a good wayspot - but generic nature preserve signs just aren’t eligible.
I’m not sure how you get to this. How are you classifying nature preserve signs into generic and non-generic?
The sign is a proxy for the nature reserve and is not eligible in its own right. Sometimes a sign like this will get used as a proxy for an area such as a park, which only has a rules-and-regulations board, which is definitely generic, but it isn’t the sign that is eligible.
You do have a point about the “do not disturb” text, which makes this particular nature reserve ineligible.
I’m sure that in some cases, even such a sign could be eligible but only if there’s something provably notable about it. But if that’s the case, then chances are high that there’s a proper sign nearby explaining the notable thing.
EDIT: what I primarily wanted to say is, that you can’t just submit any nature preserve sign
apologies, if some of this is hard to read or understand, for whatever reason I had bunch of difficulties properly wording this - not a native english speaker
Your writing is perfectly understandable. (If you want, you can also write in German as there is an auto-translate button available below each post.)
I understand what you are saying. A road sign like the one you have shown would be a difficult proxy for a nature reserve, but I still think ones like the op showed are suitable as proxies when a reserve is intended to be visited (but not in this case).
Thank you all so much! I very much appreciate the feedback. It is very helpful
German Naturschutzgebiete are a bit different than nature preserves elsewhere, in that they aren’t really meant to be recreational. Which to be fair, does make it comparable to the situation at hand
