I’m relatively new to trying to submit pokestops. I’ve gotten one added and a handful rejected despite, from my perspective, seeing near identical submissions accepted all over the place.
Recently I noticed that someone in my neighborhood entirely fabricated a pokestop. Whoever submitted it claimed there is a playground where one does not exist and has never existed. It is a private residence. I submitted a report saying as much. How long does it take for such reports to get reviewed? Do you get notified if any decision is made?
It was nice to have something close by, so I tried to submit something else and it was very promptly rejected with no indication as to why. At the end of my block there is a nice community rain garden with a whole bunch of native plant species. Behind it is a wildlife recovery area. I mentioned that there are tons of trails and walking paths nearby and that it’s at the end of a public road. What else can I try to add to support the creation here?
While counterintuitive, it is very difficult to take “it’s already in game” as a reference point of what should be accepted. Criteria has changed lot over the years and sometimes nominations are incorrectly accepted.
I would expect you to receive an email notice within a week to a month - I’m not sure the exact current backlog for removal requests but for a while they were even less than 24 hours. These are usually rejected and you may need to appeal with additional evidence. You can choose to follow the appeals process here but if you’re worried about doxing yourself you may be more comfortable using the “Request Gym Modification” form from the Pokémon GO support site.
What you’ve mentioned is a great start. I’m not sure what you’ve attempted, but nature signs are typically individually acceptable along with trail signs or unique features. A good photo will focus on the candidate and a good supporting photo will show it with its surroundings to prove safe access and location if there is poor satellite/street view. Describe what the sign or feature is in the description and support it by helping prove it isn’t a residential location and what criteria it meets (socializing, exercise, exploration).
If you’re comfortable sharing location, the community in here would love to help more! You of course aren’t obligated to share location if you don’t want.
Wow! Thanks to both the quick and super helpful replies. I’m going to take a little bit of time getting pictures and screenshots for my submission, but I want to address the removal stuff first.
That is fair and totally understandable with the changing criteria. But in my area there are these “little libraries” all around different neighborhoods. Once you start looking they are kinda of ubiquitous. I tried to submit one despite literally seeing dozens of others as Pokestops and was rejected, so I was just quite confused and gave up for a long while on submissions after that.
As far as the removal, I have no idea how this one was approved at all. The spot of the stop has always been private property. A new house was recently built so maybe someone took advantage of the construction on the satellite view to claim a playground existed? It seems crazy to me that my report could be rejected given it is entirely fabrication. If it does get rejected I may reach back out here to figure out that appeal process further.
Can’t comment without seeing it but the issue with many little libraries is what you mentioned already, single-family private residential property.
Don’t overthink the in-game report getting rejected, if it does, the overwhelming majority of them do since there is no way to attach any evidence and staff might not know how the area currently looks IRL. The form linked at the top of this forum or an appeal in the Wayspot Appeals category are at your disposal if you need to report private property with evidence.
Your frustration isn’t at all uncommon for new users. I think it’s a great step to try again and reach out this time for some community advice.
Little Free Libraries have a long standing eligibility for socializing/exploration in connecting people and sharing. They are almost “categorically” eligible, meaning they can almost always be accepted, even when really common. However, a frequent disqualifier is location. Candidates on single family private residential property (prp) are strictly ineligible. And here is one of the issues from what you said about seeing them in game - it isn’t uncommon for them to be wrongly accepted in prp and even if they are acceptable locations it isn’t obvious for new submitters.
Hope this isn’t overload a good tl;dr for Little Free Libraries (lfl) is if they’re on single family prp they are not eligible, if they’re on shared or community property they can be acceptable. (School grounds, emergency locations, unsafe access are also disqualifiers.)
Alright, here is a satellite view of the area. The fabricated pokestop is in the location of the residence labeled 9468. The rain garden is at the end of the block between 9448 and 9450. Unfortunately there is no specific signage for the garden, so I just took a picture of some of the plants. It’s been really hot out recently so I only took a quick shot, which admittedly I could have taken more time to frame.
For description I had: “A rain garden with natural species to help with rain water management.”
With support I had this: “This is at the end of a public street with access from many different walking paths and routes. The only other stop nearby is entirely fabricated so I feel something really here should be present to serve the area”
I understand and totally accept that this might just not be up to standards, I’d just like to know why or what I could do to better submit things here. I really appreciate all your time and input!
This makes a lot of sense. I’m pretty sure I submitted one in a residential neighborhood so that would explain why it was correctly rejected. I just had no idea. I assumed that since those little libraries are intended for public access, that they’d all be good regardless.
I know it’s splitting hairs and probably far outside the scope of what reviewers are expected to know, but I believe quite often in my area when the little library is right up against the street, the parcel line is ended and it’s legally on the public property/street. Again, that’s definitely way too much information
So not overloading at all. I enjoy the weeds once I understand them. This is great information and definitely explains how this all works!
I haven’t looked at your earlier post but wanted to reply to this one. The below links may be helpful in understanding.
My comment above I was careful with wording about community or shared locations. Obviously I don’t know your neighborhood or local land parceling, but a lengthy discussion in the older Wayforum (since abandoned for this platform) resulted in Niantic explaining that if the stretch of land between sidewalk & street is city owned, it may be acceptable or at least is not strictly an ineligible location. Obviously, this is difficult for reviewers across the country or even local to you to know without checking GIS or local assesor pages and this can range even within the same city. I think many reviewers err on the side of rejecting anything associated as it may encourage trespassing or obstructing private homeowners who may be expecting a visitor picking up a book but not a mass of people playing an AR game. I do think that Niantic appeals review staff tends to be more accepting of such locations.
I really think this will be difficult to have approved without signs.
I understand how vital such locations are, however small, in protecting wildlife, insects, native plants, and aiding in collecting runoff. But without a sign, it appears to be just an area with seasonal plant overgrowth.
Is there a local group or neighborhood association you can ask to put up any sort of educational signs? Even something as simple as marking it as a protected nature area or migratory insect waystation may be enough, but an educational signage detailing what I said above can be a win-win for educating the local community and meeting criteria.
Below are some signs a local park installed. I really like them and it’s one of my favorite things about Wayfarer - I learned a little about their importance while submitting and it helps “train” me to slow down and look for cool things that may also be eligible. I can’t tell you how many times I ignored these signs before I started submitting.
Both points are totally valid. It makes sense to have a rule that is easier to understand and doesn’t require pulling up GIS to confirm the precise placement. Like I said earlier, just understanding the rationale behind the decisions here is why I posted and asked about the whys.
As for the suggested pokestop, no signage seems like another one of those good “rules” to go by. The only signs I’ve seen are the ones saying wildlife area, keep out or something similar on the back side of the rain garden, and I don’t think that would help the case, haha. The neighborhood associations in the area are usually fairly small so I doubt signage like you showed will happen any time soon, but it is great to have those in the area. I really do find those super interesting when I see them out and about.
So thank you all again for such great information and replies. I didn’t expect much when I posted, it’s great to know there is such awesome support here!
A sign doesn’t have to be perfect, but “no trespassing” is pretty off-putting for reviewers. There needs to be some sort of “visual anchor” and even a generic sign can help express legitimacy of something. Definitely feel free to report back some of your examples once you find them!
So I finally got back out there and took a closer look at the signs nearby. It actually seems reasonable and fairly inviting. Do you think that would work? Would it be best to change the description that I provided a bit to be more in line with the signage?
I saw your post, got to thinking, but forgot to circle back
It’s conplicated because that’s a generic sign and some people will struggle getting over that. Some people will also think that restoration projects are innately set up for people to stay out so young plants and animals can establish.
I’d play around a bit with photos, too, seeing if you can focus less on the sign so you can see the forest through the trees, as it were. Is there an established entrance to the woods? I’d frame the entrance and sign together, if possible, as in my above post. Definitely look for some articles that talk about the project, especially if it talks about how people can/should visit.
No worries, I realized it wasn’t a direct reply and just thought I messed up and it got lost in the ether.
That is totally fair. The way this is all physically laid is out the rain garden is accessible via the street and the reforestation signs line the back and sides where new trees were planted. So it isn’t a really established entrance. The area I’m was hoping to add is the open space above lots 4 and 5. The depression is the rain garden. Guess at this point it’s time to give up on this unless some new signage goes up that is more clearly marked.
Thanks again for the help. I’ll definitely do some further reading and see if any other spots pop out at me.
a good tl;dr for Little Free Libraries (lfl) is if they’re on single family prp they are not eligible, if they’re on shared or community property they can be acceptable. (School grounds, emergency locations, unsafe access are also disqualifiers.)
