How to know whether an account is banned or is having technical error/glitch - TravellerG

Google Maps tips & tricks
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Dear Team,

Hope this message will find you safe & happy.

This message is for both feedback & help:

For your Information:

  1. Yesterday early morning, I had a shock, when some Senior LG friends informed me that my Google Maps account has some problem & is showing ZERO Contribution. To best of my knowledge, I have been a law binding Local Guide and have tried to keep at least 6 hours, almost 7 days a week for Google Maps & or LG Connect & Or Local Guides Community.

But, due to my official commitments, I could check Google accont only after a couple of minutes; and when I checked, by God’s grace, my account was working. I have not checked my badge numbers, etc - however, my score/points stand above 290,000 plus.

Request: Can I know, what could have been the reason? or Can you guide me as to how we can avoid this in future? I shall always remain as a good learner, & improve myself with your valuable advice. [can I humbly request you not to send me the same couple of Standard LINKS for quenching my eagerness to lean?] - Thanks in advance, dear friend.

  1. For your kind Help.

Another information I received yesterday morning, which also was a real shock for me is that the account of one of the most popular & helpful LG of Indian Community, @AmbrishVarshney is also banned & till evening it was not re-installed. A couple of us regularly interact & discuss different action plans for improving the Indian Local Guides community & he is one of the most active members.

Can I sincerely request you to kindly check his account (Here), please?

Since I know him closely and his servises to our community, I am sure this ban should be only a mistake or can be a technical glitch. Will you please help by resolving this issue, please - I will be grateful to you. His services to our community is very valuable & hence we need his support very critically - that is why I am requesting you; hope you will understand us and will do the needful. We are on the way to organise a series of Meetups from December 3rd to 10th.

OF course, if he has to do some improvement or correction, he will surely do the needful immediatly - that too I am sure.

PS:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/D5Sprqaw5rnXtryQ7

Dear Google Moderator friend @AngieYC , thank you in advance for your guidance & support
With warm regards,

TravellerG

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Hi @TravellerG

From here your account looks fine.

AmbrishVarshney’s account seem suspended.

I know that the team require wrongfully suspended LGs to use the appeals form and reach out to the local guides team via email themselves. We can not do this on others behalf.

From my experience the team will enggage in communication via email with the suspended LG only if they think the suspension could be a mistake. If the suspension was wrongful it might take 2-3 weeks to get reinstated.

Regards

Morten

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Thank you very much, dear @MortenCopenhagen for your immediate response & guidance.

  1. Yes, regarding Ambrish, it is his request to me to inform one of the Google moderators; although I knew the track theoretically, I represented him for his satisfaction.

  2. In fact, I was told that few other LGs also were removed, accidentally as in my case - it seems - this information is from my team members; I was also interested to know what could have been the temporary glitch, in my case… Hope you got my point.

  3. Also, I wanted to alert the Google Team that such an incident is happening - this can really demotivate active members - right? (even if the ban is temporary or accidental).

Once again thank you.

1 Like
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Hello, @TravellerG
It’s always sad to know anyone’s LG account getting suspended…

The indications of that are:
=> The account doesn’t show the LG level & points.
=> Also, the person who is active on Connect comes to know by the inability to log-in.

Nevertheless, there may or may not be the prior indications like a large number of reviews or photos turning private.

I believe you are well aware of the article “Why was I removed from the Local Guides program?”
The article also provides links to the rules, guidelines and appeal form
Anyone can access the article through the link inserted above & the person need not be a local guide.
I find it useful to go through the rules & guidelines again & again.

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Thanks for your kind response, dear & respected @C_T

I agree with you regarding the standard rules & procedure.

Basically, (my doubt) I was interested to know whether Google Team is aware of what has happened to me & a few others, whose accounts got “Banned and Restarted Automatically”. Is this a BUG or a technical error? Is that the backend team needs to do something?? or Can we do take more precautions, anywhere???

Hope you got my point/doubt

With warm regards

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Sorry to hear about your issue @TravellerG , that according to your description is an apparent glitch, in addition not experienced directly by you.

What define your status is your Local Guide Profile, where you can see a clear indication: Local Guide Level 10, and a badge.

The number of contributions can be not visible for a lot of different technical reasons, related to the database, or to the device itself. As in this case the issue was “reported to you” it would be helpful to know how was the issue fixed (clearing cache, etc. ) or if the issue still present, possibly adding a screenshot.

In any case the presence of a LG Level and badge makes very clear the difference between a Local Guide and a Suspended account

As a personal rule I do not comment about suspended accounts, and I had already several discussions with some self defined “expert” who wants to suggest to analyze the accounts, to see if everything is fine. Even if I am a moderator, I don’t have x-ray vision (no one have), so:

  • What we can see on an account is what is “publicly visible”
  • On a suspended account the “bad contributions”, if related to photos and reviews, have been probably already made private by Google, so no way for us to comment, other than “speculate”
  • An account is not restored by popular vote, nor by public appeal of friends and acquaintances, but simply after an analysis of the contributions.
  • As indicated on the Help page “If you think you’ve been wrongfully removed from Local Guides after reading the policies above and your account has been removed for more than 10 days, fill out the Appeal form to let us know you’ve been suspended.”
  • An appeal cannot be submitted “on behalf of …”.

This said, I am personally sorry when this happen to a person that is well known for the activity in the Community and of course I hope it will appeal and it will be reinstated. We know already about accounts that were reinstated, recently and in the past but, again, I find inappropriate commenting on a specific account

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Hi @TravellerG ,

Thank you for reaching out. As it was mentioned already in the comments, we suggest to fill in the appeal form, which is available for Local Guides in the Help Center.

Thank you @C_T , @MortenCopenhagen and @ErmesT for your comments.

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Thank you very much for your detailed response & guidance, dear @ErmesT .

The screenshot I have collected from a senior LG is added here (this took a day - hence the delay).

Screenshot
Screenshot540Ă—1170 66.4 KB

“… it would be helpful to know how was the issue fixed …” Sure, it is my responsibility to explain it to you.

The LG who took this screenshot, when tried to see my profile after a while (an hour or so), he found my account as normal. Any other support from my end, please?

Of course, Ambrish has appealed & waiting for the response.

Once again thank you & appreciate your kind heart.

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Thanks, dear @InaS for your kind response.

I have noted the content & conveyed the information to the concerned.

As I have informed earlier, my account is fully functional.

Regards

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Thanks for the screenshot, @TravellerG where you can clearly see:

  • The Level 10 badge on the avatar
  • Your photos and reviews.

Of course you can also see a “0 contributions” indication near your avatar, that is a clear contradiction compared with the fact that you can see that the contributions are there.

That’s why I suspect a glitch on the side of the user, and I was asking about the way the issue was fixed (clearing cache, or whatever action taken).

Good to know that everything is fine now

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  1. Thanks for your regards.

  2. I reconfirmed with the LG = He has not done anything special according to him…

  3. After some time, when he checked, the account was normal - that is what he has informed me, the second time also.

Regards, dear @ErmesT

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Thanks @ErmesT @InaS @MortenCopenhagen

For your detail explanation which will certainly help us to be aware of such circumtances and take corrective measure to prevent such incidence in future aside @AmbrishVarshney I request you to kindly fill the apeal form as suggested with tag to moderator can help u ,

thanks @TravellerG for helping hand we can take this learning to help budding and some junior LG which could be helpful for all of us

lets Good practices can be spread up for the betterment of the community

may be @TraciC can help us with some of their additional input for resolving this issue

in anticipation for candid justice

thanks and regards

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Sorry for the delayed response, dear @Anil6969

At the same time EXTREMELY HAPPY to inform you that our LG Ambrish Varshney’s account is activated and is in perfect order.

Thanks to Google team,

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As a gesture of courtesy, kindly allow me to say thanks to you, dear @InaS for activating our @AmbrishVarshney 's account & would inform you all are in order.

Sincerely appreciate and thank each one of you for your kind concern, guidance and suggestions, dear friends:

@ErmesT @C_T @MortenCopenhagen @MortenCopenhagen & @StephenAbraham .

I am extremely happy to share this very happy news with you all.

Mot sincerely.

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Thank you for letting us know that everything is in order now, @TravellerG , I am happy of the good news

Ermes

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Welcome… @ErmesT

You are very kind.

:pray:

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Thank you so much @TravellerG sir, @ErmesT @InaS @Anil6969 @C_T @KashifMisidia bhai @MortenCopenhagen & @StephenAbraham bhai

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Very happily & sincerely welcome you back, dear team member @AmbrishVarshney

We are proud of you…

We assure you - we shall be together, always (God willingly)

:handshake:

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thanks @ErmesT @InaS and @TravellerG indeed its a good news for all of us that @AmbrishVarshney is back on connect and active thaks to google and its moderators (heartly)

regards