How do you rate "the only"...?
I'm curious with all the generic business debates lately, what things do you pretty easily pass vs others?
For instance, if something is the only <__________> in town, is it arbitrarily significant? Things like the only coffee shop, movie theater, bowling alley, donut shop, café, arcade, etc that are generally pretty important to the community (i.e. the only place to go for ____).
So I'd love to hear your opinions. Pass 'em or reject 'em?
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I normally google it first to see whether or not they're lying.
And then?
If "the only ____ in town" is the only thing they say to justify the submission then I would reject it.
Interesting. What is missing then? People seem to hate hearing the hotspot/hangout lingo. What should they add? Not every area has some sort of award system to be noteworthy by that regard. So what then?
If they do events, have significant community outreach, etc. Every business doesn't need to be a waypoint. You should be proving why it's deserving of it.
I don't nominate very many businesses, mostly because I know they generally aren't portal-worthy, and because nothing moves here without upgrades. With upgrades, you deal with America's Wayfarers who are REALLY in love with "generic business" rejections.
I know of a few places locally that don't have much of an online presence because they're old-school owners didn't keep with the times. One in particular I wanted to nominate is on multiple websites with a "best of" list for the entire state, the most mentioned on Yelp and other unofficial reviews, family owned and operated for decades, and even outperformed national franchises trying to grab the market. You can only put so much in support statements though.
Split it up, put the most impressive in the description and the rest in supporting
I do this too. If it's a lie, well, I leave that to whatever god you believe in to dole out judgment on them as a person; that's not for me to decide. I am here to dole out judgment on waypoints
If it is true, then okay cool, that's worth a star. But then I need to know what about it is special. "It's our only coffee shop" okay wah wah so sad, but "It's our only coffee shop, and they serve that coffee that you pick the beans out of cat poop" now we're talking.
I've said it many times - businesses are tough, so you have to sell it. Being the only one isn't an automatic accept for me. I gotta know why it's cool. Give me at least one thing they do well or out of the ordinary.
Depends on what the business is. The only independent coffee shop is a bit different from the only McDonald's.
I meant specific to locally owned businesses. Big chains don't qualify regardless
In general a business is a 1* generic business
I dont care if its a "local favourite" coffee shop open for 10 years or a BBQ rib place that opened last year to rave reviews etc
By that logic EVERY single business is a "gathering point" (how many people walk through Walmart on a daily basis)
The only time I approve (or submit) is if I can genuinely say something important about it
EG we have a local business named Troys Diner. Woop-dee-do. If I just put it in like that I would hope noone votes for it.
But then I can show inside Wayne Gretzky or Tiger Jeet Singhs private tables. I can show his HUGE collection of Coca Cola memorabilia (prob largest in the country). I can state the fact that Troy is a huge person of interest in the community who holds multiple annual events that shut down the streets for blocks, everything from Wrestlefests to Christmas Toy drives.
At least I can make it sound a bit better than "a place the locals like to eat"
@cmonineedaname big chains can certainly qualify, again, IF something special about it. The local Tim Hortons out in Hamilton has a nice set of plaques showcasing it was the very first Tim Hortons in the world and the history of the chain. I submitted that one as well.
My point was that I'm clearly not talking about nominating something like McDonald's, Starbucks, etc because there's only one in a small town. Pointing out rare exceptions is really splitting hairs.
Gotta admit I disagree with your all business is generic business mentality. I'm not arguing that places without a strong local impact should qualify either. Your example is a bit over the top if that's what you consider as setting the bar, though.
Business is business really that bar should be set very high otherwise basically every main street in town has hundreds of portals
Its the only laundromat in town, its the only pizza in town, its the main bar / mall / coffee shop / gaming shop etc etc
Minimum criteria imo is it has to be old (anything opened in 90s or later is auto 1* unless they really prove to me otherwise). Most of the newer business you can go back to report as invalid in a year since so many change names / owners or go out of business.
It has to be visually appealing (I hate even voting on **** mall churches since so boring looking)
Its same concept as office buildings/hotels, I tell most people don't give me a random pic of an office/hotel, show something interesting whether art or a water feature or a greenspace or something educational etc
I am torn on the McD playlands lucky I have only seen one so far (and was easy 1* vote for terrible picture so no need to make a judgement lol)
ELIGIBLE
A popular local spot that you would take a friend visiting your community for the first time.
ELIGIBLE
A popular spot where locals gather, but may be lesser-known outside the community.
- Clearly Niantic is less strict than how you are rating things. A popular spot to hang out or bring visitors doesn't have to be gimmicky with celebrity memorabilia or thrown rolls. I know of many major hangouts here that are really nondescript visually, but offer service so good (usually food) that they're always packed and full of people.
I suppose if those of us locally know these places are worthy we should recruit PoGoers rather than rely on upgrades going through outsiders.
I don't treat it different. Just because it's "the only" doesn't mean it's special.
You either make a place interesting to me or you don't.
These are some very specific rulesets you have. While I don't agree or disagree with all of them, none of them are from Niantic.
Food for thought.
We know Niantic is super easy on ratings and that is why we have so many junk portals (eg Memorial Benches which are a dime a dozen; I can set a plaque for as low as $25 plus I get a tax receipt for it)
Now they also allowed all bridges (again previously I was only looking for ones that had historical value or were very visually unique) but now any bridge on any trail is allowed
And don't even get me started on trail markers
You yourself quoted it above; "a place you would take a friend visiting your community for the first time" in other words a POINT OF INTEREST
Noone travels to a different town to look at a mall or a coffee shop, they have those things back home. But a unique business (whether a chain or not) needs to be justifiable as such.
The end of your post is not good at all, we all know the GO players are submitting and voting every tree rock and bench in site. I am actually quite pleased how many of them have been posting about suspensions means that Niantic is actually trying.
My point was that your expectations for a POI sound ridiculously high. Your disappointment in Niantic's criteria clearly shows your opinions lead your ratings more than what the approval criteria is, weakening any argument you could make.
A POI being a place you would take a visiting friend doesn't inversely mean it should be a tourist trap that would be the reason your friend is visiting. For instance, there's a really cool restaurant near me that I'd take a friend if they've never been. It's good food, good atmosphere and theme, and always full because we locals love it so much. It's an obviously qualified candidate, but certainly not a place somebody is going to travel 100 miles to check out. Get it yet?
@cmonineedaname here from today is a typical 1* rejection from me
Kind of off the topic of the type of locations I would submit. Obviously a **** mall in itself is generic business unless it's somehow sold in the description to have significance as a whole.
That said, just from blurry zooming in, I'd likely approve that McBead Creations if it were nominated. From a quick curious search, it looks like a pretty cool place that has been growing steadily for over 20 years. It's crafting-centered (yay art), and on top of selling supplies, they teach classes AND host parties. Now I wish it was closer because my kids would go nuts over that place.