I received my first warning the other day, which I strongly believe is incorrect, but it has really scared me away from submitting. For context, I have successfully nominated around 35 or so Wayspots and have over 700 agreements (1000+ reviews), so I like to think that I am well-versed in the criteria.
I submitted a permanent location food truck that just opened a few weeks ago. The business owners have not added it to Google Maps. However, I put in the supporting evidence in both my original submission and the appeal that this was the case (Facebook and Instagram). While I did not link it on the original submission, I linked to direct posts (the city posting about this new opening) and their Facebook page (which lists the location) in my appeal. It was still rejected for “not existing”.
Note: I am assuming that the location not existing is was why I got a warning. The email warning didn’t clarify so I am basing it on the appeal reviewer’s response.
Now, getting this spot approved is not something I particularly care about that much (not really conveniently located to me, but I thought I would help the community), but I am very worried about submitting future POI now… I don’t want to get banned from the game.
When submitting a Wayspot Appeal, make sure to include as much of the following information as possible:
Wayspot Title: Goodwins BBQ
Location: 1455 Trapelo Rd, Waltham, MA 02451, USA (not sure how to pull the coordinates from my submission)
I also submitted a “Suspension Appeal” even though I was only warned, but I didn’t know what the best practices were in regard to potentially incorrectly issued warnings.
If you genuinely think the warning was incorrect, then I think it is worth appealing, because an incorrect warning is still a warning on your account and will (and should) make you more wary of future submissions.
I’m glad you shared this and I hope that you can get a clear answer on this and hopefully the warning can be removed as itseems you gave some good evidence to the appeal reviewer to show this location was newly opened and where it is
This forum post does not show where you pinned the nomination. You may want to share that here as well to erase any doubts about mispinning. Hoping this goes well for you!
Looks to me that it is at 42.4147, -71.2531 or thereabouts.
The word “truck” would imply to me that this is movable, but from the photos it looks like it is not. If I see a submission with wheels on it I would expect to see it in several StreetView captures.
Yeah, not sure why it wasn’t showing up earlier but I tried in a different browser! Just took a quick screenshot now. Upon looking at the pin now, it is very slightly off (on the wrong side of the street). Not sure why it’s sometimes difficult to sometimes get the precise location (or perhaps I just quickly clicked through it which is 100% my fault) but it definitely could have been corrected in the review process, as I have done for many when it’s just a tiny bit away!
Hi @MinimalCheese
Welcome to the forum
I’ve moved your thread to General Discussion because the category Wayspot Appeals is for appealing rejected removal requests or to ask for reinstating removed wayspots.
I personally can tell that the backside of the building is the same from my own photo.
Re:
Yeah, like I mentioned, I totally accept fault. Sometimes you are on auto-pilot, and just click through the screen because you assume it is accurate. As someone who has reviewed other contributions, it is a common mistake and that I often correct without penalizing the submitter since I know this can occur due to human error, due to the map not loading and not being able to wait, etc. If I can figure it out, I personally correct the location assuming it is within a reasonable distance.
As stated in my initial submission and appeal (and shown in my supporting Facebook post link), this truck opened on October 9, 2025. That is 27 days ago.
I will keep your critique in mind and be mindful in the future of double checking my pins! I guess it shows me that I have been far too lenient in assuming human error when I see someone’s pin slightly misplaced.
Fully accept fault for a poorly placed pin! This violation is not going to progress on the abuse ladder whatsoever.
Although, I am curious about how far a pin has to be away for it to be a true violation vs. given grace for human error. I have definitely seen submissions that had the pin WILDLY inaccurate.
I would say it depends a lot on what is nearby and definitely isn’t just about distance. If the erroneous submission location has no other wayspots nearby, it’s likely to be an accident and not intentionally abusive.
If there are other existing wayspots nearby and the incorrect location would put the submission into an empty cell (or make it a powerspot) when the correct location would block the wayspot from being active in Pokemon Go, then that location error is deliberate and abusive. This is the case whether the error is 2m, 5m or 10m.
That’s totally valid! There was a wayspot somewhat close by but far enough away that it it almost guaranteed to be in a different cell. I just took a quick look and I am indeed correct that they would have been on opposite ends of neighboring cells.
I totally agree though. In my reviews, I have noticed people intentionally move it so that it would be further away from other POI. I usually just move it back for them as long as it is still somewhat close by.
Unfortunately, it seems only the business owners can add them? That’s the only reason why I provided links to their Facebook page, etc. Regardless, I’m just going to let this one go since it isn’t an area I’d be in often anyway (:
Everyone has been great help! I can’t believe you even noticed the pavement. It didn’t catch my eye at all, even in my own submission. I am in awe of the attention to detail.
I use street markings as a reference point all the time. Electrical lines, fire hydrants, trees, potholes and anything else that is visible in satellite or street view has potential to anchor your photos.
I can add stuff to Google, I’ll see what I can do.
Edit: added to Google, hopefully it’ll help them thrive long enough to get on a street view
The supporting photo clearly shows the location, if the pin was in the correct place then it’s pretty trivial to confirm it in StreetView even if it isn’t pictured there. The supporting photo also shows that it is permanent (i.e. it doesn’t have wheels). I’m not saying that this would be an automatic accept if everything was correct but if that pin was right I can’t imagine reviewers rejecting it for inaccuracy.
