Within 24 hours of each time, my Wayspot application comes back with a rejection. Is this due to ML?
If the email says “our team” instead of “community” then a 24 hours rejection was most likely ML. Usually the rejection reason on the contributions page is “Wayfarer criteria” for those.
If you would like to share screenshots of a rejected nomination for feedback, we can try to give advice on how you could improve it or if you should give up on that candidate.
1 Like
Thank you!
At the end of the email, it says Wayfarer Team. Is this what you mean?
Could you give me some advice?
Can you tell us how that is a great place to either:
- be social
- exercise
- explore
No, it will be in the body of the email. I don’t have a rejection saved but will be like this:
I am not exactly sure what I am seeing. Can you explain what this is and how you feel it meets any of the criteria as listed by @seaprincesshnb ?
oops replied to myself. see the previous comment
Thank you very much for sending us “Tanabata decorations and clothes divider valve (small)” as a candidate on 2024/12/24. Your help is essential to creating real-world AR maps and shaping your and others’ adventures.
We’re sorry, but as a result of the review, your Wayspot candidate has been rejected.
This is because it was determined that the candidate did not meet the required criteria. It is a comprehensive decision based on the title, description, location, photo, and combination. As a reference for future applications, check out our help article on
The email sent is listed below
Wayspot criteria, which describes what makes a good Wayspot.
Is there anything I can do if I am rejected?
If you believe that your rejection was a mistake, there are two ways to reconsider.
If you’ve reviewed your criteria and want to change your entry, you can resubmit the same location as a new candidate from within the game.
If you believe that your submission meets all of the criteria, you can appeal from the Manage Submissions page so that Niantic can review it again. Please note that only one appeal will be granted, and the decision after the appeal will be final.
Best regards.
Wayfarer Team
You can participate in the communication on the Wayfarer forum.
Thank you for letting me know the wording is different in different translations.
I still do not understand what you nominated and how you think it meets the criteria of a great place to exercise, explore, or be social. So I can’t advise next steps.
Title: Ichinomiya Tanabata Festival and Textiles
Explanation：
A manhole designed to represent Ichinomiya City. Tanabata decorations are depicted in the center, and on the left and right are the clothes of men and women, symbolizing the time when woolen textiles flourished.
Supplementary explanation：
I applied for this wayspot because I thought it was suitable for exploring. Ichinomiya City is a textile production area, and has been worshipped as the god of textiles. In gratitude to this god and wishing for the better development of the textile industry, we hold the Tanabata Festival every year. In the Owari area, Ichinomiya City’s Tanabata Festival is famous, and this wayspot with Tanabata Festival and textile design symbolizes the uniqueness of Ichinomiya City. However, due to the decline of the textile industry, it is not well known that it is a Tanabata festival related to textiles, and since only the Tanabata Festival is known these days, it is an opportunity to learn about the history of Ichinomiya, so it is ideal for exploring. In addition, this road is often traveled by local residents on foot, and the road is wide enough that cars rarely pass through it. This wayspot is located in an area that does not interfere with traffic, so you can access it safely. Thank you for your consideration.
That email is as a result of by ML.
@seaprincesshnb and @cyndiepooh asking the questions they need to advise you on how to be a better Wayfinder in the future. Let us know your thoughts.
1 Like
Title: Street lights glowing in three colors
Explanation： Street lamps with stylish design. Glows in three colors.
Supplementary explanation：
I applied because it is suitable for exploring. It has a different design from the street lamps installed by the city hall and shines in a distinctive color scheme, making it suitable for exploration as a work of art.
Regardless of anything else, this appears to be located in a street and would be ineligible for not having safe pedestrian access.
2 Likes
If it’s wide, it’s on the edge of the road, and it’s usually used by pedestrians, if it’s on the road, is it a criterion for refusal?
I think both are suitable for exploration.
I learned a lot about the history of Ichinomiya City regarding the lid of the dividing valve. Thank you very much. However, those installed on the surface of a public road where vehicles pass are, as per the opinion of @cyndiepooh , ineligible as a place where there is no safe access. ‘Safely accessible’ means that it must be safe to touch and stay in that location as well as being reachable by crossing a safe footpath or pedestrian crossing. It does not apply to places where vehicles pass.
The manhole was also quickly identified as being from the city of Ichinomiya by an image search. It is not special to that location as it is commonly installed in the city. As for the tricolour revolving light, it is also a common sign for barber shops. A similar type was also found in an image search here; even if there were no ML, it would be difficult to get a lot of agreement in the Wayfarer community. And I think the fact that ML detected that this was a pattern that had not been agreed upon before is the reason for this result.
For your information, I would like to talk about what I consider to be the best places for exploration. To fulfil the best places to explore, you need to know if it is a place you want to stop by or go to see even if there are no Wayspots (Pokéstops, portals, etc.) there, and if you can go there and tell a story specific to that place. The best nominations for exploration are often set up and managed by someone because they have something that many people want to see or hear about.
2 Likes
Thank you. It was helpful.
I had seen a gate valve that was not explained before, so I thought it was not something that the user had applied for, but that it had been approved by Niantic.
If the rules change, they should be officially announced. Yesterday, I was also made to evaluate several manholes in other cities.
ML and wayspot as a place to explore new things seems to be a bad combination. If you’re going to disavow something you haven’t nominated before, no matter how good your Wayspot is, you’re going to be rejected.
Can you send me an email with a little more detailed feedback on the Wayfarer criteria? I don’t know what was pointed out at this time. Because they haven’t been able to do that, there are a lot of eye-opening WaySpot applications, which are demotivating the people who are applying and evaluating.
We cannot use existing game objects as what can be currently acceptable. There are other methods of getting game objects (imports, sponsorships, etc.) which may or may not reflect the Wayfarer criteria available to us players.
While some guidelines might have changed, personally I have seen most just being clarified over and over to the point where we currently undestand it now. Although I agree that the guidelines should be more visible at every step of the process, especially for newcomers.
It is not just the manhole cover that we review but the object in context with the location, text, and photos provided. That leaves differences in decisions such as the location being (un)acceptable or poorly drawn text. That being said, the context from locals wrt safe pedestrian access should be asked.
Agreed.
Unfortunately, these emails are not personalized for each rejected nomination. However, spaces such as this forum may help improve and discuss nominations and crireria.