8 - FAQs
Are the Top 100 Leaderboards a Competition?
While each of the Top 100 Local Guide Leaderboards tap into the element of gamification in the Local Guides program, I didn’t plan or see them as a competition to see who are the best LGs or who have the most Local Guides points or photo views etc! So while there is that fun and competitive element, see for example the Race to a Billion Photo Views post by @TerryPG , they are more about performance and quality of our contributions and to learn how we can improve on these.
Their purpose is to motivate us, help us to monitor our contributions and performance, provide a convenient place where we can engage, discuss and help each other in the areas covered by them, and show us how to improve the quality of and make better Maps contributions so that we achieve better outcomes, in a fun and enjoyable way!
Additionally, instead of having hundreds of achievement type posts scattered throughout the Achievements topic of Connect, they create the one simple and convenient place to show and compare our various Maps achievements.
To register and participate I notice that I need to use login credentials but how safe is it?
For security reasons you do need login credentials, namely a username and password. The username must be your Connect Username and this is to provide the necessary integration with Connect. You will be aware that your Connect Username is public information. Not only is it widely visible on Connect, it is also visible on the open web. Given this, there should be no issues regarding using your Connect Username for your registration credentials.
The password that you use can be any password of your choice up to 20 characters long and it is suggested that this be unique for the Top 100 System. Again for security reasons, passwords are not stored! All this is made clear during the registration process and is also explained in the excellent How-to video created by @AZ_2021. Rest assured, your security and that of all other registered Local Guides is given the highest priority.
Where does the information on the Leaderboards come from?
The information on the leaderboards is volunteered by the participating Local Guides and is not scraped by me from publicly available data.
I submitted my information but why don’t I appear on the Leaderboards?
There could be a number of reasons for this:
(a) I haven’t as yet done the next update or
(b) There was a problem with the information you provided on your entry form;
Once your entry is received and checked you will be added to a Who’s next to be added table on each of the Top 100 leaderboard posts that you wish to participate on. You should check these tables for any messages about your entry. Also, make sure you read any messages from me within the posts and any private messages that I might send you.
What happens when my photo views, points or Local Guide level change?
Yes every day we all add photos and more people see our photos so the view counts as well as our points stats are dynamic variables that can change each day and so can our Local Guide level. Note also that these can also go down. The Top 100 Leaderboards are updated monthly and bearing in mind that they have been created and being maintained manually, they are not perfect. They provide a snapshot of the situation at a given point in time and for the purpose of this analysis, this is good enough! When your Maps contributions or Local Guide level change so might your position on the Top 100 Leaderboards (see the Snakes & Ladders section).
Will the Leaderboards be updated?
Yes. The Leaderboards are updated on monthly basis as shown in the schedule here:
(a) Prior to the update, all Local Guides that have join in the previous month will be added.
(b) Once the new month’s leaderboards are posted no further Local Guides will be added. However, they will be added in the next month.
(c) On each update the data for all participating Local Guides is updated.
(d) When updated the Leaderboards are time and date stamped.
Are the Leaderboards automatically generated and updated?
No, the Top 100 Leaderboards are a totally manual effort with the help of many spreadsheets. So please be patient.
What exactly happens after each update?
To better understand what happens after each update you should read the Snakes & Ladders section.
How do I indicate that I have checked my entry?
Because this is all being done manually, once the leaderboards are posted, it’s important that each participating Local Guide check their entries for any errors or omissions that I may have made and it’s useful to indicate that you have done this. However, as there are currently some 500 Local Guides participating in one or more of the leaderboards, rather than indicating that you have checked your entries by a comment on the post, the simplest way that I have come up with, which avoids copious comments and private messages, is to just give your like to the leaderboard and soon after your Connect Username will be turned into a link. Simple!
Once I get onto the Leaderboards am I a permanent resident?
Haha! Sadly not necessarily so! Well when you get to the top maybe but generally you can fall off the bottom of or pop off the top of any leaderboard that you are currently on. This is explained in the Moving Up & Down the Leaderboards notes.
If I fall or pop off the Leaderboards can I get back on?
Yes, you can re-enter at any future point in time should your photo views or points increase sufficiently because of your improved Maps contributions. Just keep making quality contributions, and on this, you can read my comments and observations about quality of photos in this post.
I was on the last month’s leaderboards but why aren’t I on this month?
This can happen for any one of a number of reasons as explained in the FAQs above and the Snakes & Ladders section.
Are there notes that explain how to read and interpret the information on the leaderboards?
Yes, additional to the notes about the Structure of the Top 100 Leaderboards, these explanatory notes will be helpful for when reading the leaderboards.