I was also just told that my community sign was not “permanent” when it is a brick structure placed at the front of our community entrance. Our homes are real our taxes are real our homes are permanent how is our entrance sign not permanent?
Welcome. The rejection clause which say “The submission is likely not permanent or distinct” , also can refer to not distinct. Neighbourhood sign are not guaranteed acceptance. Usually it need some artistic or historical value in order to have higher chance to get accepted.
Hi @kodebae
I am going to create a separate topic for your specific query so that it gets the attention it deserves.
If you would like to provide further details such as photographs, text and if possible location we can give specific feedback.
From what you have said it sounds like an estate sign - the name of the development at its entrance?
There is a great deal of variety in how these appear and the designed function.
As each estate sign is different, each needs the case made as to how it meets criteria for eligibility and acceptance. As with everything wayfarer an individual object can be considered and each needs a case to be made by the submitter, and it may involve judgement calls by the reviewer.
Some are particularly artistic and as such may be considered notable and worthy of exploration. Considering something as artistic will be a judgement and i would consider that to involve that it should look unique and distinctive like any artistic work.
An estate sign as an object is not a place designed for exercising at. If there is a trail nearby you nominate the trail which can be assessed on its own merits.
It is highly unusual but if the sign incorporates a seating area then the seating area in my view can be assessed as a place to socialise. But a simple sign on its own does not.
Those are some of considerations of criteria that reviewers should consider and that as a submitter you need to demonstrate.
There is a sidewalk nearby by this specific entrance sign and the entire neighborhood was designed to be walked as well as a ramp for wheelchair access to our sidewalks and streetlights along the way. The entrance sign lights up has a lantern attached to it as well as a surrounding garden. It’s made of brick so it’s permanent which was the reason it got rejected originally. I thought it was an architectural piece and fell under the “unique architecture” and “place name sign” category per the criteria. And we have lots of children in this neighborhood with no safe Pokestops for them to get to nearby. The only Pokestop nearby is located on the major highway down the street and I am trying to get the kids to stay away from it by adding these Pokestops to our neighborhood.
The rejection message I think you are getting doesn’t necessarily mean what you think. The rejection reason “not permanent and distinct” comes up in three situations:
* reviewers did not think the object is permanent
* reviewers did not think the object is distinct
* reviewers did not think the object meets any criteria (exercise, explore, social) and wanted to explicitly reject it, so reject for not “permanent and distinct” because that is the advice from Niantic
This is not unique architecture. The list of categories have no value and definitely do not indicate eligible submissions - ignore them completely.
Having pedestrian access is helpful but not sufficient. Exploration, Social and Exercise is the key. Does this specifically encourage exercise (no), socialisation (no), exploration (very doubtful).
There is a lot of misunderstanding around these signs, and I wish Niantic would make a clarification. There is also a lot of misunderstanding about the categories you select in a submission through Pokemon Go. They are just for data purposes, and have nothing to do with eligibility. There is no “category” question in the Web Submit form.
How would you say this sign meets any of the criteria of a great place to exercise, explore, or be social? You said “unique architecture” but is this really something that you would go search out as an architecture buff? Needing Pokestops for the kids is also not criteria, This is criteria: https://niantic.helpshift.com/hc/en/21-wayfarer/section/166-wayspot-criteria/
That said, new neighborhoods tend to be designed with common spaces to make up for houses being packed closer these days. Those areas may have something eligible. If you would like to share the location, some people on here are very good at seeing things to suggest for wayspots. But if you would rather not reveal your location, that’s fine.
I suspect you do indeed have no pokestops near this sign. If you want community assistance with finding potentially eligible POIs, please post the location (coordinates) of this sign. This won’t give away your location beyond it being within some distance of the sign.
I’m feeling a bit worn out from trying to meet criteria for these Pokestops. It seems like some folks on the app are really focused on power and politics when it comes to a child’s game which is strange. Both of my submissions got denied which is weird because the other Pokestop I submitted is already the exact location of a Power Stop in the ap! So how is that not a good enough for a Pokestop? lol 
The problem is, there aren’t many other places for the kids to play in this neighborhood (not that yall care). The HOA has blocked them from getting the park they were promised, so they’re stuck with just sidewalks. There’s no pool here, nothing else that really stands out and meets your high standards. There is no common area we got nothing. So we were hoping this app would be a good thing for us. This is why this game is struggling tbh. The community isn’t very helpful to those living in certain areas, and it’s not ideal for players who don’t have access to trails downtown or parks. Have fun with the app! 
I think I’m done.
This estate sign does not appear to stand out as special. It is a pity in all that planning to make this an interesting place for families to live that more thought didnt go into communal areas for children.
So you need to rethink.
It’s great you do have a community focus perhaps you could identify one or two ideas that could be put into action to bring this little community together and work with the management around the communal spaces.
Could a little free library be installed on a common area. A book exchange can start to develop community. There seems to be small patches of land could a picnic table or two be installed to provide a social space for children and adults. It may take a little time but getting the community behind in proving the estate woukd be good.
The other way to rethink is that you probably have to leave the estate to go to play park etc look at those and see if more can be added so that going there is a great chance to play.
Very few wayfarers are focussed on power and politics. Also, very few people on this forum have any say on what gets accepted in your area. People on this forum can assist, explain and advise, and help find things that are worth submitting.
Unfortunately, you seem to live in an area that is a metaphorical desert in many regards. Pokemon Go cannot counter that, as it relies on their being real things in an area. Your HOA sounds like a definite problem, as providing for families and children in a neighbourhood is crucial to making an area liveable and usable.
Creating real things that assist the community is one way forward, as @elijustrying suggested.
There are no parks within walking distance that is the issue here it’s also not safe to walk outside of the community at all with the major traffic with no sidewalks. We can’t install anything without HOA approval and they won’t allow us to do anything here. They actually sold the land that was supposed to be used for our community park and they installed a mail terminal on our community picnic area location. The only other thing we have is an empty retention pond. 
Still don’t know why my other Pokestop got rejected though since it’s already a Power Stop in the app but anyways…
Powersports were imported from a database and generally are not things that would be eligible as wayspots. They are simply extra things to give additonal gameplay options.
(None of the imported powerspots near me are remotely eligible for wayspot submissions.)
The phrase bait-and-switch comes to mind here.
I don’t care what you think of my submission. It meets the criteria of a name, place sign, and architectural art installation. If power stops aren’t eligible Pokestops and aren’t safe, they shouldn’t be in the app. Enjoy your power trip in this forum.
You don’t. We do not have a swimming pool. We do not have a park. We do not have picnic tables or chairs. We have sidewalks.
You may have missed the posts, but if you post the coordinates of the area (such as that sign), people will be willing to hunt for things that might make pokestops. Lots of eyes nearly always helps 
