Hello, I wanted to know what it is with Trail marker Stickers. I have a dozen of them accepted now, but some still get rejected by the community for being “not a permanent object” or in the case what they always mean “not unique”. Is there some split opinion about these stickers? I have attached 2 of my nominations which both have the same description and additional information at a reasonable distance.
This is one of the rejected
This is a couple of the accepted ones
They look exactly the same to me.
Now I have to use an appeal on it to get it accepted, while I need the appeals for other things. 15 days still seems a bit long for me sometimes 
1 Like
I think the problem is that you are focusing on the marker and not the trail. These look like they’re on a named trail which should be highly eligible, so instead give the name of the trail and the location of the wayspot. Here’s a sticker marker I had recently accepted, concentrating on the trail name and location..
If I do it like this the reviewers always say the picture is not good enough, and the usual Not distinct comes up, so I kinda have to do like this to atleast have a chance of getting an accept. I know how to nominate a trail, that’s why I have a dozen accepted in the same way of the examples I gave. I just wanted to know how different people think about this, which is why I put it in the general discussion and not Nomination support.
I find trail markers are much more likely to be accepted when in the countryside surrounded by not-roads, while ones on roads are simply less likely. There’s evidence in the threads on this site that some people just don’t like trail markers.
You’d probably find that the accepted ones are a little above the threshold (for % of reviewers, however it is done) and the rejected ones a little below, without much difference between them. This would explain why some randomly get rejected, which appear to be no different to the accepted ones.
Resubmit
1 Like
Resubmitting it is another option indeed, but that will take another month or so when I get the decision back on it, so I will appeal, to garantee it will get accepted.
I don’t know as to how you could hate trail markers, yeah they are everywhere indeed, but one of the most asked wayspots. As a pretty rural player every wayspot counts, (I can’t complain with what I have for such a rural area because of all my submissions). Thanks for the facts, and that different people do indeed have different opions on these.
Stickers are hard to judge whether or not these are permanently at that location.
So whenever you submit these be sure to provide a good (online) source that this is the correct location.
They are very easy to abuse, so that makes that you really have to prove that they are official trails.
So if you provide all that information, it can be a good nomination, but that also depends on how good you describe it, which I cannot read now.
The material that a trail marker is made from should not be relevant, it is all about the function.
Personally I think flexible adhesive markers ( the term stickers does them a disservice) are a lot more likely to be readable in 20 years than a wooden post that can rapidly age.
The markers should really be at decision points, to enable following the correct path.
A good submission is always important. Appeal should be a good option.
4 Likes
I have always found trail markers to be inconsistent as to whether they are accepted or not, similar to what you’re describing. I can submit several markers for the same trail (usually stickers, but also metal signs or plastic signs) and the acceptance at any one time seems random, including appeals
However, be persistent, and feel confident knowing that these are good PoIs that promote exercise and usually exploring too. When I have resubmitted, eventually all of my trail markers have been accepted, just some took more tries than others 
1 Like
Agreed, material shouldn’t be important as long as it is weather proof.
The trails around here are generally marked by thick high quality stickers, metal signs, or hard plastic signs - we dont get many wooden ones. The stickers are the easiest to read and least degraded.
The metal grows algae and becomes unreadable. If they are damaged, they rust and all the labelling peels off, becoming completely unreadable.
The hard plastic becomes brittle over time, and often shatters, again becoming unreadable. Therefore I really feel strongly that the sticker versions are the most permanent
2 Likes
This is one of the full nominations
Title: Wandelroute Sticker Naar Walvissenstaarten
Translated: Hiking trail Sticker to Whaletails 
I use the same description and supporting info for every trail marker, just little changes on what you can see on this specific part of the route.
That really helps. It’s infortunately just frustrating when I was waiting for this one for over 3 weeks (which is not usual in my area, the average is always a week). Im already submitting other markers as well while waiting for an appeal.
1 Like
Thanks for sharing. I would suggest to not use identical descriptions for each marker, as you want to use it to demonstrate what makes this specific wayspot interesting.
Additionally, there are websites that list the wandelknooppunten network, which you can put in the supporting text, such that reviewers can easily check it.
2 Likes
A longer time in voting could mean that some voted to accept and some to reject, taking longer to reach a consensus? We dont know.
I would recommend trying to get the best, most colourful, nicely framed images you can, and describe either the main attraction of the trail, or the specific interest for this part as best you can. Remember you’re submitting the trail, not just the marker, so focus on what people can enjoy when following it.
Also what helps me is I now just assume itll be rejected, so if it’s accepted its a bonus. It helps me not get as angry or disappointed each time things are rejected. But also keep reminding yourself that it’s not wrong to submit these and you’re the one in the right, not the people rejecting these.
1 Like
Unfortunately photos I can take are very limited, even with art or murals it’s hard for me since my camera is very dark and blurry. I also have a very old model phone, so im trying my hardest.
1 Like
I understand. It can also be things like taking the image first, and checking/cropping it so its nicely centred in the nomination. Taking the picture in good light where possible. Little things that make it look as best it can, despite the camera. People can often make very quick judgements on things and base it on looks, so sometimes I think a ‘prettier’ picture can help push something towards being accepted where it could be marked as indistinct/generic.
For the record your pictures are fine, just helps sometimes to look at every option to make things presented as well as possible. The mural pictures you took look brilliant, much more vivid than the trail markers
1 Like
Here’s an example of how things typically go for me. This is the same nomination 
, pretty much the same text, not even a bad picture, but the 2nd picture I suppose focussed more on the route marker within the sign?
Meanwhile a sticker for the same trail around 1km away was accepted first try and I wonder if it was the vivid colours? But equally I do feel like the battle with these gets easier the more that are accepted within an area. If reviewers can see similar accepted things, I do think this helps sometimes. No idea. Silly how inconsistent things are.
Here’s another I had to try 3 times, again with picture changes being the main thing, although I also tried different titles as well
Hopefully it helps to see youre not the only one 
1 Like
Some things that might possibly help - firstly, make sure your lens is clean before taking a photo. Secondly, if your phone has some ability to edit photos you can take the photo using the camera app and then tweak the brightness/contrast/saturation in the camera or gallery app, for example applying an HDR filter can often brighten up a dim picture. Then you submit the picture you’ve tweaked as an existing photo when you make the submission.
5 Likes
Yes, I believe if it is taking a long time in voting then it is struggling to reach a consensus. In those cases I’ll generally tweak the submission and try again. If it comes back as rejected quickly I am much less likely to bother.
2 Likes
These responses help so much, Thank you.
As for the pictures you attached, I have 1 similiar case, which every time I walk past this marker it just reminds me of it, how difficult it was to get it accepted (It was worth it in the end, it triggered a new gym)
The first try when I was not that experienced yet.
Second try, trying different angle while being more experienced. Got back as being fake, I dropped this marker then for a 4 months
Third try, active wayfarer user now. Got back as having a bad description.
The fourth try on a sunny day it finally happened
1 Like
