When submitting a Wayspot Appeal, make sure to include as much of the following information as possible:
Wayspot Title: Butterfly Blooms and Bicycles Garden
Location (lat/lon): 49.223926 , -123.152725 (*1)
City: Vancouver
Country: Canada
Screenshot of the Rejection Email (do not include your personal information):
Additional Information (if any):
(1) These are the coordinates currently encoded in the entry in my Wayfarer history. They aren’t quite correct, and may have changed during the appeal process. I went back today to confirm the original coordinates, and the following are closer: 49.224135,-123.152942
This nomination was auto-rejected, and then duplicated on appeal. I’ve looked at the nearby POI and can’t find the photo in Pokemon Go, nor can I see a nearby POI on the deconfliction undermap that could be a duplicate. Unfortunately, I used up my appeal getting past the AI so I can’t re-appeal except here.
The greenway has numerous registered allotment plots along its 8.5km length. Most are natural as can be, but this one has extra interest with several sets of painted bicycle wheels set up as scarecrows. There’s also a wicker-work sculpture on the other side of the garden, but the wheels are more permanent. Google has traversed the greenway, so the location is visible on streetview.
OK, history lesson! Originally this greenway was a railroad right-of-way, and because it wasn’t used very much some nearby residents set up gardens on it despite it being private property. The POI you’re looking at is one of those, and I suppose it was notable simply for being a rarity. Since then, Vancouver has purchased the greenway, and community gardens abound. Some of these have more than just “natural features”, ie, elaborate sculptures, artwork, etc. The Bicycle Garden, I hope, is one of those. The E Boulevard Community Garden, a block south, is a separate thing if it’s still a thing at all. Also, the photo doesn’t appear to have duplicated there. (Or the database is taking more than usually long to refresh.)
There are many dozens of gardens allotted along the greenway. Most grow plants, but a few also grow folk art.
In a desert, the first community garden is a valid POI due to its rarity. Along a greenway, the same garden does not qualify.
The totality of my nomination is the public garden in a city-owned space, the representative photo and verifiable location, and the unique piece of folk art. It’s there in the title - pollinator gardens don’t normally grow bicycles. In my opinion this qualifies.
However, even if others disagree about this specific POI, the photo has been erroneously duplicated somewhere or other and should be deleted. It plainly doesn’t belong to a POI that’s a block or more away.
Hi,
The appeals area is for specific types of appeal.
I am going to move this to the nomination support area as that seems more relevant.
Can I clarify the status of this submission.
It was submitted
Auto rejected
Appealed
Rejected and the notification gave reason as a duplicate.
I think in these circumstances it doesn’t get added to a different POI as it might when marked as duplicate by the community and photo added, which would explain why you can’t find the photo.
If this is all the correct understanding ( and apologies if I have missed something) then your best option is reflect on the submission , improve and make a fresh one.
I will attempt to predict the wishes of the AI, but I’m not sure “improve” is the correct word to use here. From what I observe in recent years, splattering the wayfarer system with low-effort nominations is more reliable (and presumably less exhausting) than trying to discover and promote high-merit nominations. This is a dangerous feedback loop if it persists.
I know “improve” can feel incorrect but I think it is the best word available.
I too get submissions rejected by Emily and it is frustrating. These too can then fail on appeal which is doubling that frustration. I submit things that I feel do meet criteria so these rejections don’t feel good.
All I can do is reflect and try to consider changes to the photo and text, and sometimes grudgingly resubmit. So I do empathise.
A repeated observation made since Emily checked submissions has been around the amount of greenery in the photo. This might be a completely false positive observation but I feel this may be happening with your submission as the bicycles are not visually dominant.
It is not going to be easy at this time of year but try to not have the flowers in the picture.
The bicycles after all are point of the wayspot. It’s not as pretty overall but if it gets approved you can add another photo.
It is difficult to see this as a good art piece at the moment. Perhaps a better photo will do it justice?
Thank you for your words, but I think I’ll read “improve” as “fine-tune”!
That is an interesting observation. I have a couple hundred approvals to date, and it’s usually been my style to crop in tight. So much so that I’ve sometimes felt I ended up confounding the human reviewers and getting rejects, even if the nominations that got through made superior in-game images. Hopefully my efforts to pass the first bar won’t increase the risk of fouling out on the second. I will attempt to thread the needle!
Yes fine tune will do nicely.
It is a tiresome aspect of trying to get the balance right.
Hopefully the supplementary picture will show the context.
Good luck.
