So I happened upon a new Pokestop today that immediately set off all of my alarm bells.
Whoever submitted this wayspot claims it is a trail marker, but this is an absolute lie. I have seen many submissions like this years ago, during the rampant bot abuse period in the Netherlands. Submissions like this one were responsible for the total trail marker apocalypse that Niantic unleashed on the Netherlands, and seeing this submission somehow make it into the game sent me into a total PTSD flashback. I will not have all of my hard work undone AGAIN because this person somehow got this thing approved (and presumably has more in the pipeline).
So what is this sticker if not a trail marker? I will explain.
This is a sticker that the city uses to mark every street light in the city for maintenance purposes. The sticker has the street name and neighborhood on it, and each sticker on every street has its own number. The sticker in this submission is located on the fifth street light on the Tamboerijnpad street. Should there ever be a problem with a particular street light, you can use the information on this sticker to easily notify the city using the BuitenBeter app (Melding openbare ruimte | Gemeente Eindhoven Melding openbare ruimte | Gemeente Eindhoven ), and they will come fix the street light. So it is ABSOLUTELY NOT a trail marker like this player claims.
On this website (Openbare verlichting in Eindhoven — Eindhoven Open Data Openbare verlichting in Eindhoven — Eindhoven Open Data ), by going to the “Kaart” tab, you will find a map of every single street light within the city limits (all 56.939 of them). This is the database that these stickers draw from. By searching for “Tamboerijnpad”, you will eventually find the location marker for the sticker in this submission.
So this person:
Pokemon Go player {removed}, is going around passing these city utility stickers off as fake trail markers, and I want this nipped in the bud before Niantic goes off on another rampage removing anything that even resembles a trail marker. I would recommend investigating this person’s Wayfarer account for any further submissions of this nature and take action if required. I already submitted a removal request for this Pokestop and I’ll see how that plays out.
***mod edit to remove a players name. The wayfarer team can see this information.
