Help With Wayspot Edit/Appeal

Wayspot Appeals
1

Just wanted some feedback from the community on suggestions for next steps on this wayspot.
I enjoy getting out to new areas and exploring and actually looking at the wayspots. So I have taken up the mantle to ensure accuracy when I can. This gives me a purpose for getting out there while playing a game. For the most part things have been going well and I know when something will need an appeal etc.

However, this one wayspot in a local park has been giving me a bit of a headache. It was a memorial picnic table. The location was only a bit off, but the plaque was not accurate at all. I looked around the entire park at the various picnic areas and even memorial benches to find this wayspot. I could not find it.

I submitted a new photo, title, and description edits for it. All came back as not accepted. Which I kinda expected. In the past I just had to do an appeal to update this. So I posted my appeal on the old forum for the title/description. I might have appealed the photo too at that time, but I do not recall. The Niantic response was that they reviewed the information and would not be doing anything with it.

I have an location edit in as well since its maybe about 5m away from the spot. Perhaps that is the issue. So yesterday I submitted a photo appeal via the wayfarer chat. As I found with the wayfarer chat they will not consider my title/description appeals unless the photo is approved first. Often the photo takes 4-6 weeks or longer to be approved or not. So I did a photo appeal yesterday with my geotagged photo and 360degree video of the area as proof. It is literally just the one picnic table in this area.
The picnic areas are labelled alphabetically though.

This was their response:
"Hello Explorer,

Thanks for reaching out with this Wayspot appeal.

Based on our research, we’ve moved the referenced Wayspot to the correct location and hence, it does not require any adjustments at this time.

Regards,"

So they denied the photo appeal.

Technically this wayspot is “no longer there”. It does seem that would be the next step. I did submit a permanently removed from this spot report, but I imagine that would be denied and then I need to appeal it. I planned on submitting the picnic area nearby as it has many tables in that area. The other option would be trying to rename the title to the Alphabetical “Picnic Area” listed on the top instead.

There were major upgrades to this park between 2013-2014 and this park was not updated with location edits etc for a lot of the older wayspots. It is likely this memorial table was from before the upgrades as the location is accurate from an older photo. As there is a history sign showing a before and after photo there.

Photo of the wayspot for reference.

Screenshot_20240305_113213_Ingress
Screenshot_20240305_113213_Ingress1080Ă—2340 205 KB

20240305_121844
20240305_1218441920Ă—2560 678 KB

Thanks for the input!

  • Update - I noticed that they have actually moved this wayspot to the wrong location. So I guess I need to update that. Not sure what happened, but they moved it to here: 48.459683,-123.293762
    When it is now in the area with all the other picnic tables. I believe the cluster in the back was Picnic Area B and the wayspot is Picnic Area C.
1 Like
2

Not sure why this was moved to wayspot appeals since I have already appealed this and they have denied it. I doubt their answer would change and I will appeal the location edit that they accidentally did.
With that said, I am looking for wayfarer community ideas, the boots on the ground people. I posted in general discussion hoping for some feedback on this from other community members.

I did put in a report that the wayspot is no longer there but that has not been processed yet. At that point I will submit a wayspot appeal to remove it and just nominate an actual wayspot that is there.
Thanks. Hoping for some feedback on this and/or why the ambassadors moved it.

3

The only option may be to actually have the Wayspot removed, and then resubmitted, especially if the information (title/description/photo) does not match what was originally listed for the Wayspot (they do note a park renovation done in 2013-14, so the Wayspots there could be from when Ingress was launched in 2012).

Also, pretty much anything that deals with appealing anything for a Wayspot get moved to Wayspot Appeals, even if it’s an appeal that needs to go through Help Chat first.

1 Like
4

OK. I understand that. I wasn’t looking further the discourse with the Niantic team on this topic, but get community advice. Since this was posted in the old forum as an appeal and then followed up via help chat for a photo appeal.

I am waiting on the report back from the permanently removed report I did and the next step would be to remove it. Although I do need to contact help chat regarding the ticket number as they moved it incorrectly. As my evidence of photos at that location are of the original and correct location.

It’s been awhile since I initially posted, so it is likely there is no community advice on this.
Thanks anyways.

5

I see that you tried to replace the title, description and photo of the Wayspot to repurpose it. That is a violation and is considered abuse. If this particular bench does not exist anymore, it should be reported for removal.

2 Likes
6

Ok but that’s been the advice given in the past when a mural is replaced with a new mural. How are community members meant to know when that’s ok and when it isn’t? Is there a help page somewhere we can point them to?

6 Likes
7

Wow. I didn’t know that. Funny though that I posted this exact question on the old forum before doing full edits to title/description/photo for wayspots and the community’s response was to do the edit. I asked about doing the edits vs. removing and re-nominating. I wish I could see the post and who responded. Curious if any ambassadors were on there or highly knowledgeable community members with the same input.
I will contact help chat vs their error in the location for this wayspot, which will cause removing this wayspot to be quite difficult.
In this instance I prefer going with the general picnic area that is set up in the park vs a particular bench. Which is actually in a completely different location than this wayspot was…although where help chat accidentally put it.
For the most part I have been removing and resubmitting when the location is off. Such as murals allow an open gallery or a wrapped box that is different and moved due to development.
I have an edit in for another memorial bench that I will submit a permanently gone for. The new memorial plaque is a notable activist. I actually had qualms about that one since the current wayspot has so many photos and upvotes and is a gym in pokemon. But figured removing and resubmitting in the same spot for that would be considered abuse. Thus creating a different gym in the area and perhaps a different pokestop in that cell.
Makes me think the wrapped boxes I edited should be removed and replaced with new wayspots if the wrap changes. Although, that sounds like abuse since someone in say ingress could capture it, interact with it, scan it, then delete it and then submit the new wayspot there and do those actions again. :thinking: In my mind that is considered abuse.

8

You can still access the old forum for read only here: https://wayfarer.vanillacommunities.com/

idk for how long

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9

Oh I have two more questions and hopefully it can be answered. When I come across a wayspot in review that is the exact same location and background details as the current one, but the actual nomination is different do I still mark as duplicate or should I approve it?
For example someone takes a photo of a mural or sculpture piece that is in the exact location of a current one, but different. This has happened with a few sculptures by welcome signs or businesses and murals that I have come across. Same as a decorative bench. It is the same location and the background details are the same perhaps the same garden area with a building or you can see the same windows/vents on a wall. But in this instance the mural or art piece is different than original. Often it can be seen updated in streetview or the supporting photo indicates the current one is gone and this is replacing it. Should it be marked as duplicate as I was doing assuming that the individual should edit it or should we be approving it. It likely won’t show up due to distances etc, but would be in the larger lightship database. I might have been the only one doing it this way and any feedback from ambassadors would help.

The second question is regarding reviewing edits. I really don’t want to hit the abuse button but I do get description, title and edit changes a lot for a full “makeover” of the wayspot. This happens more for restaurants or unique businesses. Should we be hitting the abuse button?! Seems kinda excessive. Especially if this isn’t written somewhere to clarify that this should not be done and we should be removing and re-nominating things.

Sorry for the questions and hopefully they can get answered or considered by the team. I already cause enough mayhem and chaos in the area since I have been updating wayspots, correcting locations and removing those that no longer exist. More people are stuck in their old ways than we think :blush:

10

Oh thanks. I cannot log in there. Maybe because I was forced to switch to my pogo account on this forum. So it makes it finding my old thread difficult. Ah well.

11

If a mural has been replaced by another, they can be edited. For other physical objects, they should be reported for removal.

Regarding businesses, the text should be updated only if the business has changed its name. If there is a new business at the same location, it should be reported for removal.

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12

You don’t need to log in. I believe I found the post: Nominate a new wayspot or edit everything? — Wayfarer

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13

What about cases where cities have rotating sculptures? In this case there are set locations in which you can reasonably expect to find a piece of art any time you visit but it may not be the same art piece as last time you visited? This seems very similar to the mural situation. Which method is preferred here?

14

i was just about to ask a similar question! the next town over has a yearly sculpture walk with mostly rotating sculptures that mostly get submitted and accepted as wayspots every year (i don’t get agreements on those) with no one reporting the old ones for removal. i don’t even know how to go about starting to clean up that mess since i don’t have the wayfarer app to show me what all is live. ideally they should have been submitted as “exhibit platform #1”, etc. but i don’t know what to do now, so i don’t do anything. i don’t think i have interacted with any of the wayspots because i don’t want to start reporting but i see them as gifts from friends.

15

Or a story walk where the story changes?

Is editing abuse or expected?

Or a business where the type of business didn’t change, but the name and ownership did?

Is it different if one gym becomes a different gym vs. if one Thai restaurant becomes a different Thai restaurant? What if it becomes a burger restaurant instead of a Thai restaurant?

16

In this case, I would nominate the location as a whole and not the individual arts that are not permanent.

17

That is great to nominate them that way, but how should i handle where they didn’t do this in the first place?

18

Hmm I don’t think I agree with that. The location of each sculpture is itself a great place to explore as you can always expect to find a unique piece of art there. That location is permanent, but what is there is not.

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19

And get denied because “your nomination is generic and does not have a sign?”

Your advice is accurate but simply not practical for submitters or reviewers.

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20

Funny enough I put in a ticket with help chat to inform them they incorrectly moved this wayspot and low and behold they say it doesn’t warrant any adjustments :laughing:
Oh of course. Once I can finally appeal this wayspot I bet it will denied. Which isn’t surprising given the headache here.

The whole you can update a mural but not an object is confusing. I had a community member complain about a title edit for a wrapped box because it was boring now. Well it was adjusted because in the future if the wrap changes “yet again” it will be easier to change. I will of course now be removing them and re-nominating as advised.