I’m a former Google employee, and I love contributing to Maps.
However, some of my edits get pointlessly rejected by the reviewers, despite photos that prove their authenticity. Sometimes if I submit exactly the same edit a few minutes after I see it got rejected, it gets approved.
As a former Google employee, I know that the reviewers are outsourced folks from developing countries, and without any local knowledge of the area in which the edit was made. This is understandable.
What’s less understandable and honestly frustrating, is that as Local Guides, who submit edits with well-documented photos, we have exactly the same level of (low) trust as any random Maps user who has submitted an edit. I’m also a Google One subscriber I’ve tried complaining about rejected edits that way, but Google One representatives couldn’t do anything about it.
Current Google employees reading this - it would mean a lot to us Local Guides if you could advocate with the Maps team to implement a simple feature for us - an indicator/badge/flag alongside edits sent by Local Guides, indicating a higher level of trust. The reviewers should be made aware of this badge, to take it into account when reviewing an edit.
@MadanKPradhan I’m aware of the Maps Help community, and unfottunately it’s been woefully ineffective for the types of issues I’ve reported.
Also, complaining there for each for each high-quality individual edit that gets incorrectly rejected, would be a game of whack-a-mole.
In my OP, I’m suggesting a higher-level solution that would help prevent these rejections from happening in the first place. As both a Local Guide and a former Google employee, having my edits rejected with no explanation, then approved when submitted identically again, is a lousy experience. I’m sure the Maps team wants to treat us Local Guides better. Implementing my suggestion is one way to do so.
Yes @dandv, it’s quite disappointing and I have also faced the same issue with the reports. We have also asked questions regarding the trust level issue regarding higher level Local Guides.
To my understanding, the Maps Help Community is the best way to deal with Maps related issues, monitored by the Volunteers.
I fully agree. It seems like the AI’s put in place to filter our edits, reviews, and photos have been created by the fraud prevention teams with very little understanding of how some users and Local Guides are dedicated to making authentic contributions and improving the data quality on Maps.
