The State of Nominations, Part 25

As usual, every two months, I have to update on my progress with nominating new PokéStops in Pokémon Go. Readers might recall that the previous update was made under some highly unusual circumstances, and I'm happy to say that those circumstances don't apply this time. However, there might be certain other unusual things, including of the system (Wayfarer) itself, and those deserve to be explained properly. Right now, updating my personal state becomes the situation at hand.

For that, I have the numbers as usual, which I'm basing on the previous previous update since the previous one was unusual. Of the nominations I have, 117 are Accepted (increased by 10) and 64 are Not Accepted (increased by 8), indicating that some progress was to be had, even in a "downtime". Meanwhile, 11 Duplicate nominations are still as such, I have 4 In Voting and none In Queue, and none are being Appealed (all decided). As for my numbers, they increased in much the same ways, so the Wayfarer numbers pretty much tell the tale.

Then, there's the unusual matter. Recently, Wayfarer got an update to its review process, replacing 5-star evaluations with thumbs-up and thumbs-down (or "I Don't Know") evaluations. Testing is now not absolutely required, and approval criteria are explained graphically. These are big changes - and unusual ones - which might have affected some people's judgments and might have explained the shifts in the numbers above. By my experience, it has done just that for me as well.

While the "downtime" seems to have passed, it seems that it may still be good to not "bend" the criteria a bit much and to stick to nominations that obviously fit within them. The new graphical explanations ought to provide at least a semblance of what should and shouldn't be nominated, so one can definitely play by and into them. Appeals naturally would work the same way as well. Of course, there is still no harm in surveying and finding other locations that are eligible for immediate nomination.

Certainly, because this is the November update, it also means that it's the last update that I can make for this year. And still, the journey continues to seek locations that have not been covered by PokéStops and allow them to be covered by at least one. It has always been a "side quest" from my other "quests" in Pokémon Go, but it's still an important one, given how it could potentially affect the way I (and others) play. With the way that things have changed in this year, that should remain to be affirmed.

One year ago: The State of Nominations, Part 19

Two years ago: Road of 25th Anniversary: Sparkling Steps

Three years ago: The Catch Cup of GBL

Four years ago: Pokémon Go Event Rollup, 11/29/2019

Five years ago: Multiple Pathways to Evolution?

Six years ago: The Words of a Pikachu