"Ingress portal photo upvotes determine gym creation: Testing the hypothesis using newly created gyms in Aarhus, Denmark"

#PokemonGO: TL;DR: I tried to refute the hypothesis that Ingress photo upvotes determine gym creation in Pokemon Go. I was unable to find evidence against it. This post therefore provides evidence in favour of Ingress photo upvotes determining gym creation.This analysis follows on from /u/karben1's hypothesis that Ingress portal photo upvotes are what determines which Pokestops will become gyms in Pokemon Go.We already know how the number of "spinnable objects" in S2 level 14 cells determines how many gyms a cell will have. We also know the eligibility criteria for EX-gyms. What is not yet known, is why specific Pokestops are chosen to turn into gyms.The research below provides evidence that upvotes on Ingress photos are what determines which Pokestops will become gyms. If true, this would be the last major piece of the puzzle of how gyms are created. It would mean that we can 1) influence which Pokestops become gyms, and 2) specifically influence Pokestops in EX-eligible areas to become EX-gyms.How Ingress Portal Photos WorkPortal photos (which become photo discs in Pokestops) are submitted by Ingress players. Multiple photos can be submitted for a portal. The photo with the most upvotes will be displayed first. In PoGo only this winning photo is displayed. If you have sometimes seen Pokestop photos change, it's because another photo got more upvotes in Ingress than the existing photo. The purpose of upvotes is to choose the photo that best represents the portal.Ingress players sometimes engage in "photo battles", where players in one team upvote their teammates photo, and players on the other team upvote their teammates photo, to try and get their photo to win. This can artificially inflate the total number of upvotes of photos on a portal, which is why some portals below have a considerably higher number of upvotes than others (for seemingly no reason).Ingress portal photos can be upvoted by any player of any level.MethodThree new gyms were recently created in Aarhus, Denmark - Indsigt, Rådhus and Cafe Ziggy. Each gym falls into a different level 14 S2 cell. These three gyms were previously Pokestops and became gyms due to creation of new Pokestops or removal of existing gyms in their respective level 14 cell.I am using newly created gyms because the number of upvotes is unlikely to have changed much since their creation. Number of photo upvotes on old gyms is still interesting, but the number of upvotes on both the gym and the other portals within the cell could have changed since they were created.Gym creation dates: Indsigt became a gym 24th-25th April, Rådhus on 17th May and Cafe Ziggy on 25th-26th May.I made a list of all Pokestops in each cell. In Ingress (remote view via portal keys), I counted the number of upvotes photos on each portal had. The total number of upvotes is shown below (rather than the number of upvotes per photo, as there are often multiple photos per portal).AnalysisIndsigt cellPortal nameStatus in Pokemon GoNo. of photo upvotes in IngressFacade med KaklerExisting gym10Maria's StatueExisting gym4IndsigtNew gym3Obelisk på KirkegardPokestop3ÅlefangerenPokestop2PaustianPokestop2ChildPokestop2Lady at GravePokestop2Kranse fra BisættelserPokestop2V. LindhardtPokestop1Anno 1865Pokestop1UKH Wall ArtPokestop1Alan's Bike BixPokestop1TrætPokestop0Krokodille i TræPokestop0Harald JensenPokestop0Sitting on a BenchPokestop0Old Ceres Top MuralPokestop0State of Peter SabroePokestop0Rådhus cellPortal nameStatus in Pokemon GoNo. of photo upvotes in IngressSnakeExisting gym18Konen med HønenExisting gym14RådhusNew gym12FramPokestop11Horse Shoe SculpturePokestop7Fugl med GudæblePokestop6Pigen i træPokestop6Pige Der Læser LektierPokestop5Stones in Water SculpturePokestop5GalvmaleriPokestop5ArosPokestop4Vågnende kvindePokestop4Humpback GunshipPokestop4Crowns on SticksPokestop4ØglePokestop3RidehusetPokestop3Galleri V58Pokestop3Copper TapPokestop3Sort Granit Fra CongoPokestop3Den Danske FrimurerordenPokestop3Johan SkjoldborgPokestop3MøllestienPokestop3AagaardenPokestop3Frederik’sPokestop3Vestegade MuralPokestop3SpinstairsPokestop2Scandinavian CenterPokestop2Statens Arkiver - ErvervsarkivetPokestop2Pigen af 1940Pokestop2VokseværkPokestop2Aarhus i BronzePokestop2Tiden, Byen og MandenPokestop2Red Memory - Shy BoyPokestop1Water Feature, Scandinavian HotelPokestop1Ole RømerPokestop1Hermes 1914Pokestop1Ny Jyske Kjøbstat - CreditforeningPokestop1Harry SøibergPokestop1JasminPokestop1Tir Na NogPokestop1Red Sculpture at MusikskolenPokestop0Fighting CagePokestop0DamePokestop0Lunchmoney GalleryPokestop0Boat in MøllegadePokestop0Cafe Ziggy cellPortal nameStatus in Pokemon GoNo. of photo upvotes in IngressRiis Skov EntranceExisting gym6Cafe ZiggyNew gym4Artful DoorPokestop0Vejdirektoratets Vejpris 2000Pokestop0To Bænke Med Fire StenPokestop0Abandoned Bomb ShelterPokestop0ConclusionsI was unable to refute the hypothesis that Ingress photo upvotes determine gym creation in Pokemon Go. This analysis therefore adds to growing evidence that photo upvotes do in fact determine gym creation.In each of the cells analysed, the Pokestop with the next-most photo upvotes after the existing gyms became a new gym. The only exception is in the Indsigt cell, where Indsigt and Obelisk på Kirkegård both had 3 upvotes. In the case of ties like this, I would hypothesise that the gym is selected at random or by alphabetical order (it's not alphabetical, see comments).Future researchI encourage PoGo-Ingress players to collect and publish more data using this same method I have presented above with newly created gyms.My hypothesis about the treatment of tied number of upvotes requires testing.The outcome of attempts to create gyms from a specified Pokestop using this method should be documented and published.Many thanks to all the Team Valor Aarhus Ingress players for their contributions to this research.Edit: formatting chaos, clarity and typos via /r/TheSilphRoad https://ift.tt/2xIrd4A