There are many Little Free Library pokestops throughout my town, and when I try to nominate one it was denied twice. There is seemingly no indication on why it was rejected. It is in a less residential area than another Little Free Library a few blocks away. Any advice is appreciated, thanks!
Welcome to the forum!
We would be better able to help if we see the following information if you can provide screenshots from your contributions page at https://wayfarer.nianticlabs.com/new/nominations
- A screenshot of your nomination, including rejection reasons if it has already been rejected
- Include the title, description, both photos, and supplemental information
- Copy and paste the title, description and supplemental so others can translate them
- If you feel comfortable please share the location, as it is helpful (i.e. hidden duplicates), but you can mask it if you wish.
The rejection reason was vague:
“Our team found it did not meet the criteria required to be accepted and has been rejected. This decision could be because of the title, description, location, photo, or a combination of criteria.”
Here is my submission that was rejected:
And here is a very similar pokestop just a few blocks away that apparently wasn’t rejected, along with all the other Little Free Libraries in town:
That Union St. Little Free library looks to be on single-family private residential property (SFPRP), and should be removed as ineligible. That serves as a good reminder to never use what’s previously accepted in game as an eligible item in current times! Many times, things are accepted incorrectly, often based on obsolete criteria.
Things can get incorrectly approved by new reviewer. But this wayspot can be reported for removal once people notice it
That isn’t the rejection reason. That’s text from the email. The rejection reasons are actually shown in wayfarer itself by tapping on the nomination in your contributions tab. That being said, the wording “our team” often indicates a Machine Learning rejection.
Can you tell me how to navigate to Wayfarer and where I can find this rejection text?
That’s odd since Little Free Libraries are almost all on residential properties, at least in my town, and there is a specific category for them I was able to select when uploading.
You can find it on your contributions page as I directed you to earlier.
https://wayfarer.nianticlabs.com/new/nominations
The category is meaningless and does not indicate eligibility.
Thankfully, the web submit route has done away with asking for a category. The category list presented in Pokemon Go contains lots of definitely-ineligible things such as Schools.
The LFLs on SFPRP in your area will be because reviewers weren’t paying attention. They are liable to be removed if reported.
Are you talking about the first line? It’s similarly vague:
“This submission was declined by Niantic’s automated process for not adhering to Wayfarer criteria”
Yes. That means that the machine learning model rejected it without humans ever seeing it. We don’t know exactly what it is looking for.
Having blown up the screenshot you shared, my guess would be that it rejected for your reflection in the glass.
If you would like to share screenshots of the contribution, we could better advise whether you should try again with a new submission.
If you still have the email from submitting the contribution, the gps coordinates will be after the photos there.
It could also be the game-specific references in the description, as these should cause a human reviewer to reject.
It could also be on SFPRP, which cannot be confirmed or denied just from that photo.
That definitely looks like SFPRP (Single Family Private Residence Property).
If that is incorrect it is down to the submitter to show evidence.
Good Luck
The supporting photo clearly shows this on the house side of the sidewalk. Unless you have evidence that the property is NOT single family private residential property, I would recommend you give up on this one.
I just assumed since Little Free Library was a category during submission and there are so many pokestops of them around, it was considered public since anyone can walk up and interact with them. Sort of like an extremely small public library. I guess that’s not the case.
I am so glad you found your way here to discuss this! I have even seen nominations where they state (incorrectly) that little free libraries are an exception to the SFPRP rules, so you are not the only one who has misunderstood the rule.
I hate those categories since they are misleading. I believe they are a relic from the time when Niantic used to offer its Lightship database to developers, and I hope Scopely removes them from the nomination flow. The Web Submit form does not have the categories.
Thank you for the clarification! Though this ruling does make me sad. LFLs are great public mini landmarks and make great stops.
The SFPRP rules are as a result of a lawsuit.