It could also be that approval be tied with a physical presence, sort of like a proposed spot should be accessible in game but sort of deactivated (say not yet functioning as a stop or gym) and will only become an active stop when a predetermine number of access is reach like 100 accumulated access or 20 unique player access, then it will become a pokestop. When someone want the spot to be promoted into a gym, another set of access is needed like additional more or additional unique player access.
That way, Niantic could be sure that a set number of actual people are interested on that spot, actively used it and a high probability that it would be of good use from there on.
I also like the sort of remote player submitting or approving spot but of course the local ones are the most familiar of the area.
I guess we all know by now that they are - currently - planning to get them approved through OPRā¦ I fear this will absolutely flood the system, since it already is an issue now (or at least has been).
In order to make this work without annoying Ingress players to death (I donāt know many, but they HATE PoGo players), they could just copy the OPR platform, change it to a PoGo theme and open it to PoGo players (maybe level 35 and up). POI could still be synced back and forth from game to game, but Niantic must stop this forced Ingress dependency, especially with a third game coming that will use this data.
Rewards for checking submissions would be nice, but could also lead to abuse, so Iād rather not see any rewards.
Thereās also a bigger issue and that is the criteria it must meet.
In many new areas there is virtually nothing that is submittable that fits the criteria, nothing historical, nothing with a cool story, no gathering places, no parks, no churches, no art, etc. These new areas however may have a neighbourhood shopping centre with no signage there except the signage promoting each business and the shopping village itself, but these donāt meet the criteria.
In old small towns a similar issue is present, in some small towns, a pub may be the only place people can gather besides their private homes, these places may have no signage around that meets the criteria so they end up with no stops as pubs are rejected.
Ultimately as much as itās nice that submissions are coming to pogo, it means nothing if Niantic does not widen the acceptance criteria to allow a broader range of signage.
People without transport arenāt going to walk 3km to a spot that just has 1 stop afterall.
There should be some sort of a reward. Rewards are given for doing everything in the game so why not for submissions and reviews. And they can be anything Niantic decides. Iād like coins the most because the current system of getting coins is stupid. Coins should be given for doing something else in the game and not just when youāre lucky to have players kick out your Pokemon from the Gym after some time.
In ingress, the reward for an approved submission is 1000 action points and 1 key for that portal. 1000AP can be gathered in normal game play just by throwing 4 resonators on an empty portal (which can take 8), and the key is easy to obtain. So it isnāt really worth much.
Why would you need a reward to approve Pokestops. That concept is just asinine, approving stops would benefit all players (nearby, items, eggs, gifts, XP) so why would anyone need any more reward than that.
Until you have reviewed the asinine, donāt hate on wanting rewards for the free labor. Which is what opr tends to be. I agreeā¦ gungho for weeks but the weeks turn to months of crap and occasional local stuff and the love is lost a good bit. I want my new portals and pokestops but i hate hours and days of grindy work and nothing happening. I see stuff i approved months ago sit in limbo, good portals not entering the system. Not becoming pokestops. Just sittingā¦
