This is so frustrating as a rural player. I just want to play the game. I know hiking benches with a view aren’t considered a good Wayspot. BUT THERE IS NOTHING ELSE please just let me play the game like everyone else this is so unfair.
When i get to a city they have like 50 spots in 500m! Lower the criteria for rural areas under 5k habitants and make it fair.
EDIT:
UPDATE!
1 of my 3 benches (the one with the most scenic view) got accepted after i appealed!
Also my other spot got accepted!
Im sorry for sounding rude i was just frustrated
“This submission was declined by Niantic’s automated process for not adhering to Wayfarer criteria”
I’ll try to appeal them to get them reviewed by actual people, but i doubt that they’ll accept it
i also uploaded a small play ground, thats my biggest hope rn
I think ill just periodically play the game for a 45min walk for the 3 poke stops and that one gym that never kicks out my Pokémon
I mean i know theres rules and criteria for that but they have to accommodate for rural areas more.
I’m going to be a bit blunt here: repeatedly saying that they won’t accept it doesn’t give us anything new to work with.
I’ve asked a couple of times for the full nomination and the rejection reason. Without that information, people on the forum can’t really tell you why it was rejected or what could be improved.
If you share the full submission, we can look at how it was presented, whether anything could be changed to improve its chances of passing the AI filter and community review, or whether an appeal might make sense.
A playground could be eligible, but eligibility alone doesn’t mean every submission will be accepted. How it was submitted and presented matters.
Seconding the suggestion to share your nominations in full so people here can take a look and advise. It is not true that all scenic benches are ineligible - please see the corresponding clarification here: Seating Benches . It depends how you define “scenic”, obviously.
Also moved this to Nomination Support since this is what this seems to be about.
With what has been shown I totally understand why these have been rejected, the image is just a bench. You need to make the “view” the focal point of the nomination.
Even if they get to Human Review these can be difficult, every bench as a view. Reviewers have to make a decision what constitutes a view that is worth accepting and everybody is going to have a different opinion of where this is.
Personally I use…
Spectacular View = Accept
Decent View = Skip
Normal View = Reject
but me opinion of where each lands will be different to others.
This has been discussed many times on the forums, Scopely Explore are running trials in some areas but whatever the outcome there will be people who will not be happy.
5000 inhabitants had 3 wayspots and gets artificially increased to 20.
Cities already have plenty.
Locations with 6000 inhabitants now complain due to them only having 4 or 5.
What you are doing is the correct way, try to find nominations that meet criteria. The couple of extra stops could convince new / returning players who then add a couple more. Suddenly you have a Wayspot Oasis
It doesn’t work everywhere but I do suggest creating a post in “Nomination Support” with the general location (DO NOT USE YOUR HOME ADDRESS) and ask for suggestions. People will scour the maps and advise.
I would not accept these benches if I came across them in review. The view is not special, it just of the countryside and the bench has not been put here to admire the view. Each bench is there solely as a resting point, and this doesn’t make it a “bench with a view”.
Not everything can be as dramatic as this, but it gives an idea of what works well when wanting to describe a bench as a place of exploration:
You don’t have benches with classically majestic views, no imposing mountians, beautiful lakes, or giant oceans. What you do have is benches with a view of a quiet field. This will make it harder. To compensate for this you need to have fun titles, descriptions that really talk to people and convince them why they should stop here and take in the scenery, then supporting info that helps people understand why these meet criteria for exploration. Spend a bit sitting on the bench and see what you hear, what you feel, and especially what it is like early morning and late evening. Are there fireflies? Buzzing bees? Interesting birds? Wildlife? Can you watch rural life? Or hear trains?
A good photo helps alot and for scenic benches they do best when the photo is taken from behind the bench looking at the scenery from pretty close up.
