I would like to appeal the 30-day suspension applied to my account following the rejection of my nomination “Angelot fleuri” in Strasbourg.
The rejection reason mentioned “insults/mocking/harassment” and later “malicious image submission.” This is a clear mistake. My nomination was entirely factual and respectful: it described a late 19th-century neo-baroque sculpture by Gustav Hagenbüchle, visible on a public façade in Strasbourg’s UNESCO Neustadt district.
The photo only shows this historic artwork and contains no offensive content. This is cultural heritage, not a malicious submission.
As a Pokémon GO Community Ambassador, this suspension prevents me from supporting my community, using Campfire, and distributing special rewards during official events. It has a direct negative impact not only on me but also on many local players.
I kindly request that this false positive be reviewed and that my suspension be overturned.
An image search revealed that the image matches the one on the following website. “Submitting malicious images” refers to the unauthorized use of third-party images. You should have carefully read the instructions displayed when submitting PokéStop candidates. It states that only images you have taken yourself should be used.
Yes, I understand. The photo I used was from Archi-Wiki, which is public and under Creative Commons, so I thought it was allowed since it’s free to use. I see now that only personal photos are accepted, and I’ll make sure to always take my own in the future. I really didn’t mean any harm, just wanted to highlight the artwork. Thanks for the clarification
But honestly, a 30-day suspension in Pokémon GO feels too harsh for this kind of mistake. Why not limit the penalty to Wayfarer only, instead of blocking access to the whole game? Thank you very much!
you need to be familiar with the policies in this area
It works both ways.
So for example if you have a suspension for going against Terms of service in a game it creates a suspension in Wayfarer. It is a reciprocal arrangement.
This is because if you are maliciously manipulating Wayfarer ( in whatever way ) then you will be gaining an advantage in the games, and tgat is against the ToS.
There are consequences for trying to work the system for any advantage.
Had you recieved any warning prior to this?
The enforcement ladder allows for going to a higher step straightaway if the offence is deemed severe.
In your appeal you need to be honest about what you have done and why. The team will have done a full check prior to deciding on the place on the ladder. Your role as a CA and the impact on the community will not be part of the decisions around the place on the enforcement ladder that will solely be about what you have done with nominations.
If you need further information a member of the team will be happy to assist via DM if you need it.
I think it’s up to the team to decide how to handle game accounts in response to complaints, but why did the team go so far as to suspend his/her campfire privileges? Now he/she can’t even announce the cancellation of the meetup, and he/her has to apologize to the people who gathered, and he/her may even be asked to reimburse them for their transportation expenses.
Thank you all for your guidance and answers on the Wayfarer forum — it really helped me better understand my situation and what went wrong. I appreciate the time you took to clarify things for me
Anyway moving forward, since you ald acknowledge your mistake, you need to appeal. Your suspension will depend on staff. Be honest and explain what happened in your appeal since staff can look into your previous warning.
Hello,
I used a royalty-free/public photo instead of mine because I thought it looked nicer. I didn’t realize it was an issue at the time. After the discussion here and also on the Wayfarer Discord, I now understand it is against the TOS.
Yes, I do have my own pictures taken directly at this location, since it’s on my daily route to work.
I just feel that a 30-day suspension is very harsh for this kind of mistake made in good faith.
Have u appealed. You can explain that to staff. Although the trigger just mention 1 nomination, usually staff will look into your previous record. In addition you should already have your 1 day warning prior to this. Moving forward, please be careful for 1 year because next step in abuse ladder system will be 90days suspension or permanent depending on severity.
Yes, I already submitted an appeal and explained my case, but unfortunately the answers I received were only automated/bot replies without a proper review from staff.
I understand the situation. I really enjoy creating Wayspots because it helps to highlight local cultural and historical places in my town, but of course I don’t want to risk my main account.
So for now I will stop using Wayfarer, even if I loved doing it. I’ll just wait until my suspension period ends and stay away from nominations.
You can read more detail here. As long you dont make any mistake for 1 year, it will return to clean slate
I know its frustrating. Personally i also receive 30days suspension before. I miss black and white kyurem. Until now, i dont know when i am gonna get it. But i move on and return.
Ideally, before you submit a submission. Please read and make sure you understand the rules. Just throw it out there in the community. See what people think before you do it. If you have any questions and you’re not 100% sure, ask the question on here in public. We will respond and try to help you. That’s our goal. Here is to try to help the people as much as possible. I really don’t understand why you would use one from the Internet, if you were in-person though. I would appeal and explain everything that you have explained to us. I would ask them to review your other submissions. So they can see that you are a consistent playe in that area. This is a hard way to learn this lesson. However, these rules are there for a very good reason! I don’t know that the appeal will help you but it’s worth a try.
