Everything they noted is related to this issue, as Niantic is known for their poor communications, especially with bans. If you don’t like comments about related topics, you may not want to post here, because that’s all anyone ever does.
Does it annoy me? Yes, but people are typically trying to help, and also trying to look at the bigger picture.
Also, none of your tweets posted.
If you think so…
There’s a lot not done in the public and X would be last place I post about being banned from an app (much less, even use it now).
I cannot dismiss the possibility that some of the 15 people I gave as examples are users who have committed other frauds, such as duplicate logins, as you mentioned.
However, that does not justify the suspension of accounts of users who had nothing to do with the other fraud.
The essence of the issue raised in this topic is the fact that there is an ongoing situation where many users have had their accounts suspended for 30 days without experiencing a first strike.
If it were not for social media, those events would not have been shared and brought to light. We should not go back to the Paleolithic era.
A ban from one Niantic service is a ban from all Niantic services, no ifs, and, or buts. To quote the terms:
3.5 Account Suspension or Termination
We may suspend or terminate your access to and use of the Services, at our sole discretion, at any time and without notice to you, including if (a) you fail to comply with these Terms; (b) we suspect fraud, cheating, or misuse by you of Content or Services; or (c) we suspect any other unlawful activity associated with your Account. If your Account is inactive (i.e., not used or logged-into) for a period of time, we will notify you via the Services or in the App prior to termination of your Account.
Again, please read the terms of service, and pass them along to other users. Legally, Niantic is in the right here, as they do have to go through lawyers to make sure they are not violating any laws with their terms, and I guarantee you they are not.
I also wouldn’t trust most of what is posted on Twitter these days.
Hi DTrain2002, thank you for your thoughtful reply. 
I am aware of the terms and conditions. But we will not tell other users.
As I am sure you know, Niantic has been honest and sincere in dealing and communicating with its users. Whether they are good at it or not, they have at least earned the trust of their users, and they have a very large user base.
They are, in our opinion, a very trustworthy company. 
We would suggest that you refrain from using the presentation of your terms and conditions as a shield for suppressing speech, as this is a shameful act that blisters Niantic’s efforts to date.
We must not, under any circumstances, lose sight of our efforts to reach mutual understanding through dialogue. 
Thank you for putting up with my poor writing.
A first time offender can be punished with any of the disciplinary actions listed in the abuse ladder depending on how severe their offense was. So, someone getting a 30 day suspension without a warning is possible.
This is not correct. We hand out suspension after a thorough manual investigation. It has got nothing to do with rejections through ML models or community.
This is not correct either. Our policies do not take into account the source of the submissions, The suspensions completely depend on the type and magnitude of the abuse in question.
I hope this clarifies the confusion.
I honestly haven’t no idea if they have.
I think if you want to group them all together for receiving suspensions/warnings to make a point about something you feel is incorrect then being absolutely sure of the reasons for their suspensions is important.
Hello Aaron-san, I would like to thank you for your kind attention to my question. Thank you very much for your kind response.
Regarding the first point.
Regarding the suspension without warning, I understand that it is possible. Thank you very much.
However, we made the first point of contention because, as far as we have observed, there were almost no warnings. Of course, we don’t know everything, so if you say there is no such thing, we believe you. We understand that this is an issue that needs to be discussed separately, and it may reappear in the future when the parties involved speak out.
Regarding the second point.
We do not believe that a thorough investigation would include a field investigation, but we do believe that this is a force majeure. On that premise, there is in fact a situation where the parties have submitted evidence but have been neglected.
We have seen comments within this topic that their statements on X are unbelievable, which is a very unfortunate attitude. Of course, I believe that Niantic is committed to user interaction, and I believe that there is an allegation process in place for this purpose.
I am sure that the parties will provide a more detailed introduction on this point, and I hope you will listen to it.
Regarding the third point.
We do not know everything about this one either, and it is only what we have found out from the circumstances we have investigated, so we have to accept the clear denial. We understand that the fact that the process does not change from user to user means that the same team is making the decisions regardless of the source.
We accept that perhaps it just happened to be the case in the case we illustrated. Thank you for your clarification, and we withdraw and apologize for the third point.
We are aware that users are still upset about the frequent account suspensions that have occurred over the past two months.
There are many users who are hesitant to apply for location corrections even though they are in the correct location. There are also some users who have declared that they will only submit new Wayspots on Ingres accounts that they no longer play. (They are both Pokémon Go users and Ingles users. ) This one is not a violation, just for the record.
Thank you for your continued support.
Niantic’s proactive behaviors (e.g.: in-game messaging, Criteria and Tool-tip updates, correct use of language in email and on-line) lags far behind their reactive or reactionary behavior.
For example: Niantic invites players of Pokemon Go to submit location edits in game. This would be the ideal spot to re-iterate any position Niantic has on validity vs. abuse.
Why do you not prompt the player at the point of action to confirm that their location edit is to a more correct location? Niantic should indicate right then and there that an edit to a less correct location (with a link to a page showing diagrams of sample points, lines and fields) is regarded as abuse, and should disclose how the magnitude and degree of error will relate to any sanction or punishment.
As things stand, you are creating an attractive nuisance with neither signs nor gates to protect your data from us nor to protect us from harm.
Thank you for jumping in here.
There’s been no definitive proof provided that these suspensions/bans are Wayfarer related, other than some tweets from other possible users they’ve been seeing online.
For example, how do we know that those trying to do a location edit were banned because they were using a third-party app to change their location to someplace they actually aren’t? That right there is cheating, even if they know the Wayspot at that location does need an edit. Maybe they also use this to take over gyms not near them, giving them an unfair advantage in PoGo, so the ban actually came from PoGo and not Wayfarer.
Twitter has become highly distrusted by many here in the US, because their policies are lacking these days. They really could care less about whether someone is being truthful or not. Maybe there isn’t the same level of distrust with Twitter in Japan as there is in other parts of the world, but in the US, many have stopped using the site due to the policy changes.
Again, just because someone posts about a suspension or a ban online thinking they got it for a certain thing may not be the truth, and it could have been done for an entirely different reason. So, unless the users that have said they’ve been suspended/banned want to come here and plead their case, I don’t think you’ll get anywhere with this.
Hello, my name is MACY, who was suspended my accounts of PGO and Wayfarer on April 14 because of location edits. I am one of those ‘Mr.takemaro’ introduced.I had been applying and modifying Wayfarer for 5 years.
I tried to edited the Wayspot from false location to true one in the map for three times
At the time, I did not know Emily or the Wayfarer forum because I did not use SNS, such a Twitter, so I sent amendments in Pokemon GO App every time she repudiated it.
If anyone is If anyone is interested, I would be happy to take a look at my X account. interested, I would be happy to take a look at my X account. Here’s one of my articles on X(Twitter).
Thanks to many friends, many Japanese who play the games of
Niantic have seen my article.
On X (Twitter JP), our publicity efforts have resulted in no more Wayfarer-derived ban reports were seen on May. (The April 29 bans of edit location were posted before April 22.)
However, I know that this is not a fundamental solution.
I liked Wayfarer before my account suspension, and so I don’t want to decrease the number of Wayfinders.
We are posting the current situation because we want the current Wayfarer to change.
【Methods】
I investigated 28 cases on X which is related to caution and suspension of Wayfarer from August 2023 to May 2024.
For those with less evidence, such as photos, I communicated directly with them via DM.
Key words: Wayfarer, ban, アカウント、停止、アカウント停止、凍結、垢バン、垢BAN
【Results】
Here’s a summary of the 28 surveys. We have hidden them at one time because the Japanese do not like to have their personal information leaked, but community leaders can make them public if they want. These results are similar to Mr. Takemaro’s survey.
In the survey, two people in the survey said they had rarely seen the Wayfarer Policy.
Many said they would not want to touch Wayfarer for at least a year.
【Discussion】
More I should have read the Niantic ladder policy.
In fact, if I had gone through the Wayfarer forum, the location edits could have been done with a denial. I have been the Wayfinder for many years and did not know there was a change in 2023.
I heard you wanted new comers for Wayfinders, so they withdrew the test for Wayfarer and lowered the level of participation.
At Niantic policy says “while providing multiple opportunities to change their behavior”, but the actual number of strikes 2 is most common, so this will only reduce the number of Wayfinders for fear of risk.
We knew that Niantic policy said, ”At Niantic, we strive to create an equitable, accurate and unbiased map for all players and explorers. “.
Never Niantic must want to reduce Wayfinders. In the future, if this continues the number of people may decrease and the map may approach the monopoly of a few people.
Warnings are necessary to give multiple opportunities to change behavior and to develop quality Wayfinders.
Thank you.
I have reviewed the report and investigation again and we standby our decision. Like explained earlier, the punishments are handed out based on the severity of the offence.
Take away: This post of bans, genuine or false, leads one to the following inaction… “Avoid portals submissions and corrections period.” (The electric fence seems to be killing rather than corralling cattle.)
We take action only if we have conclusive evidence suggesting abuse. If someone is not trying to abuse the system, there is nothing to worry.
Indeed, in my survey, several people had never seen the Niantic Criteria because the test was withdrawn.
I very much agree with LetsRollGirl.
Especially,
• update the reported reasons why something was rejected so people have a better idea how to improve
• update the wording in educational emails from Niantic - they shouldn’t sound like a strike, they should help the nominator or reviewer understand where they went wrong without scaring them
Niantic does not want to reduce the number of Wayfinders, but to make the map fair and equitable, and I think these are great opinions to achieve that.
Thank you for replying to me and I¡¯m so sorry for you waiting.
I¡¯ll try to use English hard.
(Image 1~7) and (Table 1) are attached to the email. Verification images and DMs with ambassadors are also recorded. Please take a look at these as well.
¡¾Introduction¡¿
On April 14, I was suspended for editing the location of ¡®×ÔÖÎÒ½¿Æ´óѧ¤Î°¸Äڰ塯.
Please see (Image0 left side). The wayspot is on the Pok¨¦mon GO path (before the previous attempt to correct the location). In (Image0 right side), there is also a wayspot on the path. I just corrected it to be closer to the wall, i.e., to the correct position. However, the position correction was quickly denied. With an email of ¡°Unfortunately ¡.¡±
I had applied for many location edits for 5 years, so I was full of confidence.
I edit it for 3 times from the PGO app to get it in the correct location, like (Image0 right side), but it was immediately rejected.
Then I received that email from Teresa. (Image1.)( Please see attached my Word files.)¡¡
I submitted the suspension appeals to Teresa, PGO help center JP, PGO Niantic support, Wayfarer support (JP) and ¡®Submit a suspension appeal for Wayfarer¡¯.
But the replies were the same. For example,
¡¸We want to remind you to review the Wayspot Criteria.¡¹
¡¸You¡¯re welcome to return Wayfarer once your ban is lifted.¡¹
¡¸Your appeal is closed. Any further inquiries into this case will be ignored.¡¹
And I was concerned because some of the contents were the same as other users. They seem similar to. (Image2.)
I thought about what went wrong in my own way. Also, I asked the PGO community for their opinions.
¡¾hypothesis¡¿
¢Å I continued sending applications about edits which were
appropriate location for a short time, (even though the ML kept denying them.)
¢Æ Because I did not know use Wayfarer Forum and I didn¡¯t use for location edits.
¢Ç I applied for Wayspots for two weeks, for a short time.
¢È I reviewed 600 Wayspots in two short weeks !
¡¾Methods¡¿
I investigated 31 cases on X which is related to caution and suspension of Wayfarer from August 2023 to May 2024.
Some information was provided by Mr. Takemaro and AgentMAenlight.
Key words: Wayfarer, ban, ¥¢¥«¥¦¥ó¥È¡¢Í£Ö¹¡¢¥¢¥«¥¦¥ó¥ÈÍ£Ö¹¡¢ƒö½Y¡¢¹¸¥Ð¥ó¡¢¹¸BAN¡¢#Wayfarer¡¢#Nianticwayfarer
I communicated directly with some people who was suspended via DM.
I also consulted with the Japanese Ambassadors, who name is AgentMAenlight-Ambo. (Image£³)
I sent him the coordinates of¡¯×ÔÖÎÒ½¿Æ´óѧ¤Î°¸Äڰ塯,and he and I verified them with Google Maps.
¡¾Results¡¿
(A) Of the 31 cases, there were 17 warnings and suspensions that were clearly post-ladder policy. (Excluding the 4 Piplup cases in JP).
The 17 cases are summarized in (Table 1). Overall, strike 2 appears to be the most common.
All of the ¡°location edits¡± in bold font were recorrected three or more times from PGO or Ingress.
None of the ¡°location editors¡± used the community forum.
None of those who used the community forums to ¡°edit the location¡± reported being banned. The warning could have been an example of a foreign country.
Most of the Strike 2’s in the ¡°Add Image¡± were those with ¡°¥Ý¥±¤Õ¤¿¡±which is the manhole of Pokemons in them.
(B)There was only one e-mail with coordinates. (Unfortunately¡«, there were three emails beginning with ).
When we checked the coordinates against each other, we found that the application site was out of alignment. There was a pin in the middle of nothing. I am not stupid enough to apply where there is nothing.
However, upon closer inspection, I noticed that the aerial photographs had changed between the time of application and the time of the survey. (image 4)
To begin with, the aerial photos and Google Street View also did not match in some areas. (image 5-6)
The ambassador suggested the possibility that the timing of the aerial photo update might shift the coordinates significantly. He said, ¡°Google’s aerial photos are not available to see the old ones, so to prove innocence, we may have to take a video to focus on the location edit. The time lag between the edit and when it goes to review and the results are available is problematic."
However, he also said, ¡°If the coordinates are shifted for other reasons, for example, If the specified position is wrong or due to a pullback of more than 10 m
, it may be difficult to file a claim¡°.
¡¾Discussions¡¿
At first glance, the punishment for Ingress users seemed lighter than for PGO ; Mr.Takemaro concluded as much. However, upon closer inspection, it seemed that it was not that Ingress users were lighter, but that only one-time location editors were more likely to result in a warning. I would like to correct that there may be no difference between PGO and Ingress as you mentioned.
However, it should be noted that regardless of PGO or Ingress, all those who corrected their location from the application more than 3 times and those who reflected their ¥Ý¥±¤Õ¤¿ were all subject to ban, including me.
As an added bonus, there was no fact from the survey that the ban is more likely to be given due to the number of applications or the number of reviews.
Also, regarding Table1:
As many Wayfinders and you say, these results are only part of the warnings and suspensions that occurred in Japan. You may say some may be lying. But they are the result of dozens of hours of work by all of us working together. We published them because we thought they might be a trend.
Regarding (B) my account suspension, although I have far less information, such as emails,
-Technical issues (ML, pullback, misaligned coordinates due to satellite photo updates)
I re-considered (A) and (B) with the help of many people.
(a) Penalties were imposed for persistently editing locations three times in a short period of time. (Many multiple location editors have actually been punished
, table1)
(b)(This is not my example, but)
all the reflections of the ¥Ý¥±¤Õ¤¿ are equivalent to strike 2. table1
(c)I simply I made a mistake in specifying the coordinates.
(d)Not using the forum to correct the position (Ambassador said that if I had used the forum, I could have gotten away with a warning (image 8))
(e)The coordinates shifted significantly between aerial photo updates, or the original Google map and pokego coordinates shifted significantly.
I would like to know if these hypotheses are correct. Both Teresa and Zachary answer ¡°because you tried to move it from the right position to the wrong position¡±, but I only wanted to (image0).
I hope you understand that I did not act with malicious intent.
There are few ambassadors in Japan, and surprisingly, many people do not know about Niantic Criteria and Wayfarer forums. I was one of them.
I know it is difficult to get information out of Niantic officials now, because they appear to be in a state of confusion.
During the remaining account suspension period, We tell you that we have looked into the account suspension and ¡°. We want to work to help the Policy, ¡°At Niantic, we strive to create an equitable, accurate and unbiased map for all players and explorers.
Also, as LetsRollGirl said, CLEAR communication should be important.
Similarly, participants need to be educated.
Warnings are necessary to give multiple opportunities to change behavior and to develop quality Wayfinders.
Thanks for reading.
(Attachment for Niantic.docx is missing)
Opps, my E-mail for Aaron was a garbled mess.
I have sent you 10 images and will post a simplified version here.
Thanks for the reply. Sorry to keep you waiting.
The contents I sent for Aaron are
(A) a summary of the warning and account suspension in Japan,
(B) appeals to my account suspension.
(A) It turns out that you are right, there was no difference from PGO and Ingress in punishment. I hereby report that all instances of “Add images ofポケふた, which is the manhole of Pokemons to other wayspots” and “Edit location without Wayfarer forum, more than three times” resulted in a 30-day account suspension.
(B) I have described the verification of the coordinates I made with the Japan Ambassador, AgentMAenlight regarding my account suspension and the technical issues that could have occurred and the human error issues.
As one of the technical issues, I would appreciate it if you could consider the possibility that the aerial photograph was replaced during the application process and that the coordinates were shifted accordingly.
Our report here is short, but we would appreciate it if you could reexamine the large number of images as well. Thank you. And a big round of applause for our ambassador.
Interesting report.
NianticAaron states “We hand out suspensions after a thorough manual investigation.” and “we have conclusive evidence suggesting abuse.”
However, it seems to me that if Emily automatically flags a recent banning case at Wayfarer, the Wayfarer team staff just blindly believes and follows through with it.
Otherwise, the Wayfarer team, which indeed understands the criteria, would not send an account ban email to wayfinder even if Emily repeatedly disavows and flags abuse as a result of moving a wayspot with location information on a public road to the true location information location 5 meters away, and would send an email to wayfinder saying “ wayfinder moved wayspot location on the road!” and then silently update Emily’s brain on the edit.
Since I have been waiting for several years for my Niantic ID to not be updated and to be able to integrate my game login account, but since there is no hope of this changing in the future, I have decided to discard my current PGO account and use the same login as Ingress I am thinking of creating one with the same address as Ingress.
I was planning to discard my PGO account after the Sendai GOFEST, so I am going to experiment with the above.
I will try to edit the title, description, and location to be more correct and repeat the process in a short period of time, even if it is rejected.
And if I am banned, as I expect, I will come back here with an example. LOL!
I have had multiple edits rejected by ML, sometimes for the same Wayspot. So, this theory that ML rejections lead to a ban doesn’t seem to hold ground. Not in my case atleast.
That is completely untrue. Like I said earlier, rejections do not have any impact on the suspensions.
