246. Once I Was Seven Years Old
This week, Chris and Jamal get into seven years of Wayfarer and just how much has changed since the early days. From the old five-star review system and the legendary “four-star gazebo,” to year-long nomination queues, invisible maps, Ingress gatekeepers, wild location edits, Emily, appeals, and today’s much faster submission process, the guys take a trip through Wayfarer history and somehow realize... we actually survived all of this. Jamal remembers becoming an Ingress Agent basically out of spite just so he could submit Wayspots himself, while Chris recalls the days when someone apparently thought the answer to a bad location was moving Christ the Redeemer from Brazil to Oshawa. They also talk about how Pokémon GO players used to nominate completely blind, why Emily may have been put in timeout, the 24-hour submission window, and why using an Upgrade too early is a little like ordering your Uber before you've cleared customs. Plus, there’s a little tinfoil-hat time as Chris wonders whether Niantic spent the last few years cleaning up Wayfarer before the transition to Scopely Explore. The guys look at how dramatically the system has evolved, what was actually better about the old days, what definitely was not, and where Wayfarer might go from here. And because this is Wayspotters, somehow there’s also candy corn, mac-and-cheese soda, Jamal admitting he became an Ingress player out of spite, two Wayspots of the Week, Coal of the Week, and plenty of “back in my day” energy. Seven years later, the tools have changed, the rules have changed, the map has changed... and Chris and Jamal are apparently now the old men of Wayfarer telling everyone how they used to walk uphill both ways to submit a gazebo. Show Credits Hosts: Jamal Harvey & Chris Bell Writer: Chris Bell Producer: Jamal Harvey Executive Producer: Kate Konz Show Historian: Matty G Recorded: 02 October 2026 Published: 04 October 2026 Season 5, Episode 37 Contact Us [email protected] Voicemail / SMS: 704-426-3710 Support the Show Patreon: patreon.com/PokemonProfessor Website: wayspotters.com Follow! Instagram: @wayspotterspodcast Twitter/X: @wayspotters TikTok: @imakewayspots YouTube: @WayspottersPodcast Twitch: twitch.tv/pokemonprofessornetwork Community & Friends Wayfarer Discord: discord.gg/niawayfarer German Wayfarer Discord: discord.gg/ThTZCZH5 Facebook Group: facebook.com/groups/2241761169257836 Solstice: 🎧 Spotify Episode • 📸 Unsplash Agent X on TikTok: @agentx_wayfinder Chris Bell’s Articles: pokemongohub.net/post/author/glawhantojar Niantic Wayfarer: @NianticWayfarer Music CreditsIntro: “Game Over” – Danijel ZamboBreak: Heavy Trap Drum Loops – LoopmastersOutro: “Itty Bitty 8 Bit” – Kevin MacLeodAdditional: Spanish Hard Trap – Steve Oxen Vocal Recordings © Pokémon Professor Network 2025 Pokémon and all respective names © Nintendo 1996–2025. Pokémon GO © Niantic, Inc. Wayspotters & Pokémon Professor Network are not affiliated with Niantic, The Pokémon Company, Game Freak, or Nintendo. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
/https%3A%2F%2Fmegaphone.imgix.net%2Fpodcasts%2F7d6b24ba-778d-11f0-a306-5fc028225ae7%2Fimage%2F943d50c1b7f75fc289b39f9fca2f2aa9.png%3Fixlib%3Drails-4.3.1%26max-w%3D3000%26max-h%3D3000%26fit%3Dcrop%26auto%3Dformat%2Ccompress)
/https%3A%2F%2Fmegaphone.imgix.net%2Fpodcasts%2F7d6b24ba-778d-11f0-a306-5fc028225ae7%2Fimage%2F943d50c1b7f75fc289b39f9fca2f2aa9.png%3Fixlib%3Drails-4.3.1%26max-w%3D3000%26max-h%3D3000%26fit%3Dcrop%26auto%3Dformat%2Ccompress)
/https%3A%2F%2Fmegaphone.imgix.net%2Fpodcasts%2F085c56d0-bf8f-11f1-879d-d739652fcd13%2Fimage%2Fdd41284ee6006b63d2de2723e629bb9a.png%3Fixlib%3Drails-4.3.1%26max-w%3D3000%26max-h%3D3000%26fit%3Dcrop%26auto%3Dformat%2Ccompress)
/https%3A%2F%2Fmegaphone.imgix.net%2Fpodcasts%2F5e6b65e0-b9c0-11f1-af48-c36cafc8f0e1%2Fimage%2F276ba9484deee3b86ef3af2320f9a687.png%3Fixlib%3Drails-4.3.1%26max-w%3D3000%26max-h%3D3000%26fit%3Dcrop%26auto%3Dformat%2Ccompress)
/https%3A%2F%2Fmegaphone.imgix.net%2Fpodcasts%2F63168592-b46c-11f1-a91f-c7ff60555920%2Fimage%2F9968dfab4d7d7bd4614dd608f2129959.png%3Fixlib%3Drails-4.3.1%26max-w%3D3000%26max-h%3D3000%26fit%3Dcrop%26auto%3Dformat%2Ccompress)
/https%3A%2F%2Fmegaphone.imgix.net%2Fpodcasts%2F52545c50-af00-11f1-a309-8f5056ecab1e%2Fimage%2F32c9259fd6325445868beb16da384e82.png%3Fixlib%3Drails-4.3.1%26max-w%3D3000%26max-h%3D3000%26fit%3Dcrop%26auto%3Dformat%2Ccompress)
/https%3A%2F%2Fmegaphone.imgix.net%2Fpodcasts%2Facf5c66a-a9a3-11f1-a03e-c7b867003dfb%2Fimage%2Ff38e9bc131da37236322c0626096a599.png%3Fixlib%3Drails-4.3.1%26max-w%3D3000%26max-h%3D3000%26fit%3Dcrop%26auto%3Dformat%2Ccompress)