There is a board game store in my area that has been a waypoint for about three years. About one year ago they changed their name (from Icewolf Games to Moonwake Games.) The store is still in the exact same location, they still sell the exact same items (board games, etc), but they just have a different name now. I am wanting to update the waypoint, but I am unsure which is the best way to do that. Everything is the same other than the name, so the waypoint just needs a new photo and edited title that accurately reflect the new name.
Do I submit a photo edit and a title edit? Or do I fill out a report to have the waypoint retired and then submit a new nomination for an entirely new waypoint with the new name/photo in the same spot?
If I do need to submit a report for removal, how do I get it approved? Every removal report I have ever submitted for other waypoints that don’t even exist anymore or never should have been approved in the first place (like temporary lawn signs, even), the reports have been rejected and the waypoints remain in place even though nothing is actually physically there in real life.
I would love to keep the map accurately reflecting reality, but I don’t know which path to take when submitting edits and reports. I have been reading up on some other threads with similar situations, but it has only led to me feeling more confused. Any insight on the best or “correct” path to take would be much appreciated!
(If needed, I can post photos of the waypoint as it is still with the old name and photos or screenshots of the new name/sign.)
This might help Niantic do the right thing, but who knows , personally, they’ve made the process so convoluted I probably wouldn’t bother.
Most people would look at this and see that one church is now another churchboard games store is now another board games store and would update the wayspot appropriately since it’s materially the same eligible thing in the same place, just with a different name.
The official stance from Niantic, which isn’t properly published anywhere, is that this is perfectly acceptable if one mural has been replaced by another mural, or by a graffiti tag, or by a single color splotch of paint, but that for any non-mural wayspots, it’s abuse to submit edits that improve the existing eligible wayspot with information about the still-eligible thing that is materially similar and currently present.
I didn’t answer originally because I don’t know the correct answer. I am completely confused. I am no longer trying to correct the Wayfarer database after Niantic decided to remove the Wayspot I was trying to correct the name of.
If it is literally the same store and they just changed the name and you want to reflect reality, I would suggest doing both a description edit - making note of the name change in the year it happened - and a title edit to the new name at the same time.
If the old store closed and a new game store opened in its place, you can submit the new store and a report for the old store. If the report is denied, you can appeal in Wayspot Appeals with evidence that should be easy to get from the internet that proves the new store exists there now.
The store is exactly the same, except for a new name and new sign showing that name. Same building/location, same inventory, same staff, same customers, just a new name and sign. As Icewolf it never closed and reopened, they were always open and then just one day put up a new sign and handed out flyers saying they changed the name to Moonwake, but that everything was the same. I was there, lol. I can look up the exact date and submit that in a description edit (and maybe with a screenshot of their Facebook announcement from that time or something if I end up needing to submit an appeal or report or whatever).
I feel like just submitting edits is still being true to the waypoint because it is updating the information to be accurate to the same object that is the point of interest, the store. Repurposing means to change for a different purpose, but the purpose of the poi is exactly the same, and the purpose of the waypoint in games is exactly the same, and editing the name too match reality does not give anybody some sort of game manipulating advantage, it just helps it to accurately reflect what it is.
But the process all just seems to be such a convoluted mess that I don’t know if it’s worth the trouble. Maybe I’ll start with just a description edit, then if that gets approved I’ll submit the title and photo edits (since we can’t just submit them all in one submission, which would be nice if we could. It would also be nice if we could submit supporting info for edits, but oh well.)
, personally, they’ve made the process so convoluted I probably wouldn’t bother.
