I double-checked the rejection criteria for this one, and I don’t see this photo falling in any of the usual rejection criteria. Except maybe for “copyrighted material or watermarks, including screenshots of someone else’s photo”.
I wouldn’t call this photo copyrighted, since I have it on my personal computer from when it was taken, and it was my friend (the business owner) who took it. But it is technically not my photo, and it does also appear on their social media page.
Am I right in assuming that’s why it was rejected? Could also be the image is in a bad orientation? Here’s how it looks on the submission page:
It is most likely considered as 3rd party photo, even if you had permission to use it. It’s best to use your own photos in these cases. And it will be considered as Copyright violation as the image belongs to someone else.
That looks like a PowerSpot. If you add a photo to a PowerSpot, then the Niantic reviewers can’t tell it from a full-fledged Wayspot. So if someone ever nominates that restaurant, it would be marked duplicate.
@cyndiepooh Please correct me if this isn’t the current understanding. Thanks!
Even if you and your friend, who owns the place, took the photo, if it’s been uploaded to another website, it’s still 3rd party because it’s on another website.
And yes, this does look like a Power Spot or another import. Imports do not have photos. Personally, I have not added any photos to Power Spots and don’t really plan to, unless they are existing Wayspots, not imports.
From the city name it looks like this could be in Brazil, which has had an import of businesses and other non-Wayfarer objects, so it’s likely an imported Pokémon GO-specific Pokéstop or Gym.
“Third party” means it is somebody else’s photo than yours. It doesn’t matter if it’s ethically obtained or the photo owner granted you permission. Because “copyright” gets involved, a lot of people start throwing out legal assumptions that… May or may not matter.
Bottom line is, the photo appears elsewhere. Out of an abundance of caution, Niantic decides that means the photo was sourced and ineligible to be used in their database.
It’s a bit ironic how this photo turned out to be the first photo that comes up on a Google search. I basically just grabbed it from an old folder I have on my PC, and I didn’t even consider the possibility it had already been uploaded to such an extent. From now on, I will just submit brand-new photos that I’ve taken myself.
It was uploaded to Google Maps in Jan 2021, 4 years ago. Google Maps does list when a photo was uploaded to the site. It’s possible the owner uploaded it.
There were some post in Wayspot Appeals that made it seem like the nomination was being compared to a Powerspot import. But it has not been confirmed this is happening.
It certainly will make it harder to use the toggle in the Pokemon Go map screen to tell which is a Wayspot already and which is something that can be submitted for explorers if we can’t tell by the missing photo which are the imports.
So currently it is convenient that Power Spots don’t have photos. But we have no control over what folks may do in the future. Someone sees something in game without a photo and now they have the ability to add one. They think they are making the game board better. And I don’t blame them.
Pokemon Go having the map toggle has always been a perk. Now it’s a watered down perk if nominations cannot tell the difference between wayspots (in Lightship) and those imported from other places purely for the sake of being Power Spots. The confusion complicates being able to tell what could be nominated in the future.
I know you know this already. It is more for others if they are curious.
After some good feedback from this thread, I went ahead and tried again. This time around, the photo is entirely my own. Admittedly, it’s not as good as the last one, but it does capture the POI rather well without exposing anyone dining inside (since it’s a restaurant). I think it even gives a little of that vibe of being something non-professional, captured by another player.
I’m thinking of appealing on this one. I honestly don’t know what could’ve been the issue this time.
Is anything else I’m missing? Wish there were some criteria, at least a superficial feedback hinting at why this was not approved.
I hate for you to have to use an appeal on a photo add to an imported wayspot or powerspot. Maybe try again with a photo that focuses more on the sign rather like this but straighter.
I mirror also taking a close-up of the sign, and also make sure to not take it from an angle. The orientation could also be an issue, but can’t say for sure.
If you want to later take a photo of the full front of the restaurant after getting a photo of the sign approved, you can do that.
My idea behind the appeal is simply to not have a bunch of not approved submissions on my page. I don’t know if that would flag my account due to spam or low-quality submissions or something. Should I be worried about that?
I can definitely try again though, with more focus on the sign. But it’s weird to me that a generic image like that would get rejected. I’d love to know at least the why.
You have 2 appeals. Once used each refreshes after 20 days.
So it is limited.
How much this might be an issue or not depends on your likelihood of needing to appeal.
Oi! Essa nova foto está muito de longe. Eu diria pra você enquadrar melhor o restaurante para aparecer menos árvores e menos céu, e na prática só aparecer o restaurante mesmo. Quanto aos clientes, você pode tentar passar numa hora em que ele esteja fechado para tirar a foto. Veja as seguintes fotos de restaurantes e de uma loja de carros que tirei que foram aprovadas. Não são as melhores do mundo, mas podem te dar uma ideia de como tirar outra:
Você acha que está tão longe assim? Eu com certeza devo ter um certo viés já que moro na região, mas no meu ponto de vista, eu bato o olho e imediatamente já identifico o lugar.
Mas eu entendo também sua crítica. Quando tirei a foto, eu realmente estava tentando deixar a imagem um pouco mais atraente. Até o ângulo das árvores, das rochas gnaissicas no fundo, foi intencional.
Mas é verdade, talvez quem esteja vendo essa imagem sem contexto nenhum pode não ter a mesma impressão de um morador da região e achar que ela não representa o Waypoint de maneira aceitável.
Bom, o lado bom é que é fácil de consertar. Valeu pelo toque!
Está longe sim. Quando vamos tirar fotos para wayspots, temos que lembrar sempre que os jogadores não vão vê-la em toda sua beleza, e sim cortada para caber nos ícones das stops e portais. Portanto, quanto mais enquadrada no objeto de interesse, melhor será para reconhecimento do local pela foto. E infelizmente, nesses casos, plantas e outros objetos acabam atrapalhando. Além disso, tirando uma bem enquadrada, a chance da IA aceitar automaticamente é grande e não vai precisar aguardar por votação da comunidade. Quando tirar uma nova e for aceita, se quiser, mande aqui pra gente ver. Se não for aceite, mande também pra continuarmos te ajudando
PS: Se achar que deve, aproveite essa foto que foi rejeitada e experimente enviar ao dono do restaurante. Imagino que ele vá gostar e talvez use nas redes sociais. Claro, só se você quiser (só não envie a nova que tirar, senão a IA pega)
Just wanted to drop one final update for everyone who contributed to this thread, and to anyone else who might be curious about the final verdict.
Looking back at it now, I do agree with @timepink’s perspective, along with everyone else’s. I could and should have taken a closer photo that captures the POI more exclusively or at least better framed, which would give a much better point of reference for all players, not only the local ones like me. And that’s going to be my approach from now on.
Before that, though, I actually had already submitted an appeal to test the waters, and maybe get some more feedback this way, as back then I hadn’t yet considered any other issues.
Well, to my surprise, it got approved today. Did not see this one coming. Now I feel obligated to take another, close-up photo, and I’ll just let the community decides which one they like best.
Thanks again everyone for dropping by, and I’ll catch you guys on the next thread.
