I had this nomination rejected about a month ago. It got pulled into internal review and got rejected, but didn’t give me any reason at the time. I thought that it was because they reviewed it as a bench, and not as a viewpoint, so for the first line of my appeal statement I put something along the lines of “Whoever rejected this probably reviewed it as a bench. I am not nominating the bench, I am only using it as an anchor for the viewpoint. Please rereview it as if you were reviewing the viewpoint…” guess what I get back! Rejected for being a regular bench.
Can anyone give me some tips? Am I doing something wrong? Or is this just not eligible enough / worth it?
(Edit - just wanted to say that I appealed this and got it back on April 8)
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Its generally hard to get these accepted but they can be… you need kind reviewers who actually read things and know the criteria does allow for this kind of situation, since this is a lovely place to explore!
I was able to get something way less good accepted, but it helped that the bench was somewhat customised to the nature reserve
I’ve had the same struggle - a scenic viewpoint we visited (and planned to visit) on vacation, well marked on google maps, had no bench or even sign. Great views, though, of an old wrecked ship and the Caribbean beyond! Unfortunately, this was denied by reviewers and on appeal where they suggested that a sign might help. Unfortunately, as it was a vacation submission, I’m not able to re-submit. 
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Yeah I remember in the old forum, people tended to struggle with these if there wasn’t a sign or something else that looked interesting enough to Niantic for them to accept it, regardless of what the criteria said…
I guess that’s just the niantic way
I think there was a time when all the Niantic guidelines squared with the idea that scenic viewpoints required a sign or plaque that could be marked as the Point of Interest.
At some point, Tintino tried to broaden some of the rules, suggesting that a decent presentation of a view ought to be sufficient for eligibility, but that the overall submission had to be strong enough to persuade voters to accept. Tintino made a big deal about the distinction between Eligibility vs. Acceptability, that seemed to increase turmoil by inviting submitters to add more nominations while encouraging reviewers to reject them.
To this day, the Rejection Criteria page includes a scenic vista as rejection-worthy, despite nothing in the accompanying text to justify this.
Presently, Emily and some in-house reviewers seem to disregard Niantic’s position regarding objects as proxies for sign-less areas. “This is a normal bench, and therefore ineligible”. We can only suffer and wait and wish for Niantic to sort things out.
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This was an “our team” accept by the ML model
I have no idea what it is looking for, but it doesn’t always reject.
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That place looks beautiful! Definitely a good place to explore!
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Not by me but it looks great with the english (midlands) countryside. Maybe you can edit your photo and brighten it up a bit
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I would submit that in a heartbeat
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I have similar experiences. Very difficult to get these through. The other one I tried to appeal but as it got rejected by Niantic I decided I don’t use my appeals to these until there is a clear change and chance that these would become eligible.
I had this rejected as well.
It was in Niantic Voting. Clearly they did not think this scenic view and picnic table at this man-made lake that is used for fishing and swimming was significant. It is a gorgeous area.
I considered appealing it, but I have a backlog of non-niantic voting things to appeal. Plus I feel it may be wasted since Niantic already said no.
On a sidenote, while I was visiting in Alberta, Canada there were trails that had just a small bench over a scenic area near a river and they were there. I think it was nice to have a place to rest as you walked the trails.
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@openPoll
I would leave bench out of the title and use point instead.
Now the weather is improving 
maybe get a brighter picture.
Is there a way to get some more height on the picture there is a lot of low shrubbery getting on the way. Perhaps a selfie stick?
Or is there a good view along the bench?
I can’t help thinking good though it is, the picture needs to be better as that is what this is all about.
I could definitely go again soon and get a better picture. I had a lot of fun going up there last time.
The best that I could do is stand on my tippy toes, hold my phone up high and take a picture like that. Sadly I don’t have a selfie stick or anything else like that.
Take a tall friend and sit on their shoulders?
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Borrow a milk crate, bring it along, then return it later?
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Rent a giraffe for the day?
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One of the key skills for being a wayfinder is to think outside the box with tricky wayspots.
Giraffe is certainly outside the box. 
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Sorry, I’ll get back in my box.
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No I like people popping out of the box …I thought it was funny.
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I am short and some photos would be much better from atop a giraffe. Even standing on tiptoes and holding my phone up doesn’t get the angle I would want. Although bringing around a milk crate might be a more financially sound idea 
Would be easier than hauling tall people around with you everywhere.
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