(rant) Turns out after 20,000 OPR reviews and 400+ portals accepted...
....that I don't know what a "generic business" is supposed to be. At least according to a lot of reviewers lately.
This is mostly just a rant post, but I'm sure many others are frustrated with voters lately.
In the last month, I've submitted a couple local businesses, of important local value, multiple times. Replete with reasons and justification of their status as local hotspots/important local places/hidden gems, etc. Usually slam dunk candidates.
But alas, rejected because they were "generic businesses". One, a popular donut shop, well known throughout the area, always busy, award winning, etc etc. In business for 50+ years. A seemingly slam dunk candidate if I were reviewing it.
But it's generic.
"Well this place has a lot of unique qualities, and you can see this neat sign outside too. here's a bunch of reasons why this is portal worthy."
"YEAH WELL IT'S THE SAME AS A DUNKIN DONUTS. I AM VERY CORRECT BECAUSE I AM LOUD"
It would be nice to be able to appeal "generic" rejections. I can understand why we can't, but it's getting annoying. Perhaps at least a call to support to encourage a refresher course for some of these voters. Maybe a reminder that a business isn't inherently generic because you pay money for goods and services, and that is a thing at most businesses.
Figure it out.
Anyway, rant over. Sorry.
Comments
Generic business seems to be the default rejection reason for many people. I had a sculpture in a hospital lobby (nowhere near emergency services) rejected as private residence and generic business.
I think all reviewers, no matter how good or bad their rating, should get a refresher test on the rules once a month or so. It could help a lot if it was kept updated with shifts in criteria that are made due to AMA answers and policy changes.
Yeah, I don't get why people have this automatic 1* business mentality. If it is a locally owned business that has a good story, I approve them. Unfortunately, I have seen a LOT of chain stores/restaurants submitted, as well as local businesses with NOTHING in the description. I want to approve these hidden gems, but there has to be an effort selling it (not saying OP hasn't tried).
generic business seems pretty clear to me if not every single donuts shop would be approved, the thing is remember the internet is very subjective too, insteand of giving points of why you think its good, give reasons that its actually good, not in your pov but in general pov, if its a hidden gem, it has a cool unique statue outside or around, is a local hotspot, a place where you would take your visitor, unique looks, made by famous arch, etc everything is pretty clear to me and i have my methods to really think its actually worth or not, these days with all the tools and internet is very easy to atleast make you think its worth, i always try to look for a reason to go in first
in the other hand if you get lazy reviewers which wont take the time to actually check you will see them crying over forums about their accounts having timeouts or 24 hrs bans
unlike some other, the thing that most annoy me are the lazy ones which cant pin point if the location is really there with only satellite view plys supporting photo, if they dont see a photosphere they insta put ''mistmatched location'' those are more annoying
It's the one of the most most frustrating parts of submitting but the problem is that everyone rates based on what they think everyone else will rate so they take the agreement by rejecting.
My friend has submitted our local comic book shop 6+ times and it never passes even with an upgrade.
I wouldn't be averse to a refresher. Despite my history of reviews, sometimes I'm sure I forget some things sometimes. A lot of it is common knowledge after a while, but it's good to keep up. I also think maybe, instead of "generic" restaurant/business, maybe "chain" restaurant/business should be an option.
Appreciate the feedback, but all these were definitely included in my submission (and I'd say 99% of my submissions, especially business ones). It is important to include subjective and objective reasons why something is important. Someone may disagree with you about a restaurant you like, but they can't disagree if such a place won the Podunktown Journal Best Of 2012 award.
I would also say that maybe ~10% of submissions need more than 30 seconds to review. If you've got a good picture, good description/supporting statement, and I can see it from the streetview/photosphere, why do I need to dig more? If it's a business, a quick Google search to ensure it exists, and away we go.
That, or it's an easy 1 star, like the goofball who keeps submitting his town's Starbucks with a bunch of people in the shot.
@xWhoabot yeah i understand what you mean
and for the ones spamming disagree on me, i won guys, i am happy i have fans especially in the other thread i know you mean to click on insightful but your pride dont let you,,.bye
I've tried my local comic book shop and it got rejected. I say local its everyone's local store as it's the only one in about 30 miles and yet it still gets rejected.
I wouldn't agree so much in the reasoning if it's privately owned it should be added. Where I live over the last 5 years small coffee shops have been popping up along with the big chains and I'd never submit an Independent as there are so many in the area (thus not unique).
If it is truly unique like a comic book shop (or any unique business) with no others around then it should be approved. If it's a independent that also has a million other shops doing the same thing dont bother.
There is a shop near to me that's truly unique in the sense you have described it.
I still won't submit it as not every unique business is poi worthy.
What exactly are you trying to say with " instead of giving points of why you think its good, give reasons that its actually good"
That just seems like some kind of distinction without a difference.
All spots are local, and if something is good according to the submitter it is pretty likely to line up with it being actually good. Whatever that means.
The reject guide actually shows a generic local business with a one off snow cone stand. I think niantic isn't just down to approve any local business they want a story and the onus is on the submitter to prove why it is valid. Just like people saying x name pub with a very basic description. Something else find newspaper articles or blog entires giving local reviews to back up your case. I got a 50 something year old hotels neon sign approved as I gave evidence it was in historic guides.
I generally avoid submitting any kind of business as it's often at the mercy of Non-local Reviewers.
If you think that is frustrating try having a public playground in a PROVINCIAL PARK rejected....
If your comic shop hosts Magic The Gathering Friday nights, that's always a bonus.
But my current bugbear is that I'm NOT submitting my one comic shop, I'm submitting a mural inside it. This mural is not a "generic business". This mural does not have "human body parts". This mural is not a "seasonal display". This mural is not a "mass produced corporate artwork".
It's a mural. Like, hand-painted floor-to-ceiling on the wall in all its CMYK-replicated glory.
360 that mural it will get In
It's already quite visible on Google Street View through the window, enough so for proof that it exists.
Probably can't figure out why its not a pokestop when all the other in the area are. I wonder if Starbucks and Niantic will ever get their newer locations added to PoGo.
I submitted my hundred year old local newspaper because what's more cultural than a newspaper? Denied all 4 times
I also cannot tell what a generic business is apparently. 🙄 Rejected but cannot say I am surprised.
Yay for Ingress elitists!
Let the floodgates open with PoGo reviewers. Enough gatekeeping.
"Generic business" is one of the final bosses in Wayfarer. To defeat it, you have to use all your might and intelligence. Remember the reviewer will basically decide within 2 seconds of first impression: How good is you picture - just average? Forget it. Then the text - did you make it special using local knowledge /history only you know? Or do you expect reviewers to google? It's your J.O.B. to make the reviewers think "OMG this is NOT generic"
You only have about to seconds to score a crit - make them count!
Except of course, you have infinite continues - you may have to try again several times. That's the "lotto" part.
Good luck!
To get a local gaming store approved in pittsburgh, it took our local submitters 3 tries.
The first two were rejected.
The third time we pulled out all the stops.
Submitted a new photo sphere right in front of the store on a beautiful, crowded day.
Contacted every local reviewer we knew of in the area and told them to look out for the store and how much it meant to everyone personally (turns out there were a few reviewers who liked the store but didn't review much, so this got them more active)
Had a beautiful description we worked with the store to draft to add as much history as possible.
And after months of waiting for it in Reviewing Queue it was finally approved.
Did you use Redacted with its ability to include a proper description? If so, it would probably be impossible to get something like that through using Prime without the workaround of editing the description in Wayfarer.
What's a newspaper? /s
This was before Prime came out, so yes.
But you can use the Wayfarer edit feature as a workaround, as it does not have a character limit.
what about a local gym? not the ones that are in parks, the ones you pay for use in a building? are no different than a bowling alley yet it has been tagged as generic business
From what i read many people say if its a ''place where people gather'' ''sports feature'' is a must in, that fits for almost every single business out there in some way or other, especially the big chains like mcdonalds or other kind, loca gyms, markets, etc everything
so? a gym can go in? my local coffee shop too? hell even my local supermarket
The problem that most of us are facing is reviewers are not using common sense. And maybe some submitters as well.
A chain restaurant/supermarket/gym is clearly a generic business. That's obvious. Starbucks is generic. Cedar Street Coffee would not be. Planet Fitness or Gold's Gym would be generic. A small, local gym that's been there for years wouldn't be. Don't know if it'd be approved, but for me, it wouldn't be an automatic rejection if the description and supporting info were convincing.
This is where common sense plays in. Like I've said, and like the guide says, if one can explain why something is important or noteworthy, and it's a local spot, then it should be considered. If you're posting a McDonald's and going "uhhhh well people gather here", then you can take your 1 star and go home. There's nothing inherently special about a McDonald's or a Planet Fitness.
"Generic business" is one of the first questions you have to determine in order to continue with the review, imo.
This is good. A reminder to try again, and hope you get better reviewers.
It kinda sucks that it took three times and you had to go that hard though. But still, good for y'all!
Dude, I've had portal that have taken 4-5 times to get approved. Literally had reviewers tell me they would refuse to rate anything above 3 stars because he thought the area had enough portals already.
@xWhoabot i perfectly understand what you mean, and that is what i was thinking so a bowling alley or a gym or a coffee shop as long is not part of a chain or is just well..generic, then it could go in, lets say it has years of existence and the name is unique not to count if it has a cool sculpture outside or statue or that kind of stuff i perfectly understand what a local hotspot is, thank you
and for this gym is not part of a chain and has over 15 years in that place, its name is unique (i mean is not even repeated in the world perhaps) and has murals of animals doing exercise in the entrance, i might try those murals mainly then and give more info about the gym, if it fail again ill just let it is not the end of the world anyway
If it has a mural just submit the mural as itself. That would fit criteria and is less subjective. It's much less likely to be rejected as a generic business. Even better if you can find out the official name of the mural and the artist.
Yes, what Kliff said. Submit the mural!