I have no clue why my pokestop nomination got rejected

As title says, it got rejected, and with the description of “it could be one or more of these reasons, good luck figuring it out for next time!”. :confused: To me it seems fine and I have no clue what is wrong with it without exact reason as to why it got rejected, it seems like a great resting pokestop to me, I have seen bunch of plain or decorated benches as pokestops in gifts before, someone please help how I could make it work :s


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Hello,

Benches by themselves are not eligible, including ones along a walking path; they may have been acceptable in the past, but criteria does change over time.

They are seen as not distinct, unless there is something else included that makes them more distinct, like artwork or are at a scenic lookout. Memorial benches are also ineligible, unless the person it’s dedicated to was important to the community, and supporting info is provided in regards to the importance.

There is criteria clarification in regards to benches that can be found here:

Thanks for the explanation! :slight_smile:
Personally I think benches and similar should be considered as pokestops, it shouldn’t be just vistas, art, boards, and shops, benches provide a more comfortable place of rest, which is also very important while going out. Knowing there is a bench close by through pokestop would help me a lot and I would appreciate. Not to mention it can fill spots where there is just nothing else to make into a pokestop, and if something more interesting gets submitted later in the area it could always be replaced.


Would this truly not make for a nice pokestop anyway? I think it would. :slight_smile:

Unfortunately, in my opinion, it’s just a bench in a park along a walking path, nothing distinct about it. I agree with the rejection decision here.

Benches are very hard to get approved these days, and just to get them past the ML is even harder. You can certainly try to submit it again for a Wayspot, but there is no guarantee that it will be approved based on current criteria.

Keep in mind that you are actually submitting Wayspots to be added to the Lightship map, not stops/gyms. The Lightship map is used by each Niantic game to determin game play locations, and every game has different rules in regards to density of locations. PoGo uses S2 cells, while Ingress uses a 20 meter rule.

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Whilst benches themselves are not eligible most of the time, they can occasionally be used as an anchor for something else that doesn’t have a specific or obvious physical object to nominate - for example, a spectacular view, or a decision point on a trail. So if you could nominate again, how would you demonstrate to the reviewers that it is a GREAT place to either socialise, exercise or explore? If you can do that, you might just get enough votes to have it approved. The onus is on you to sell your argument though so take your time to read through the criteria, and see if you can find one that fits with what you wish to nominate.

This is from the link shared with you by a previous poster:

This wasn’t your original question but let me add that “Wayfarer criteria” seems to be the rejection reason you get when the ML (machine learning ai) model cannot detect anything it “knows” to be eligible. I will guess that your decision came around 22 hours after you submitted it, and that the email says “our team” rather than “the community.”