For over a year now, one of my reviews (for a museum) has not been published, allegedly because of (Google-imposed) “posting restrictions that Google has for this place.” Yet, at the same time, many other reviews for the same places have been (and continue to be) published. So I suspect some weird bug, since (again, according to Google) “in this case, there wasn’t necessarily an issue with your content.” I tried all known forms of appeal, but the folks who responded didn’t even understand the issue, much less resolve it. I am trying THIS community as a last resort. Yes, I have rebooted my laptop, reworded the review, logged out and back into Google, etc. It’s been BEYOND frustrating.
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Please share the review and attached photos and videos (if any) and the Maps link to the museum. Screenshots or deep links are fine if public.
Morten
Your profile is set to restricted. If you want help to spot what could be the cause, you need to change your privacy setting as explained here temporarily. It can also be done from a Desktop computer. Goto Your contributions, then Profile settings, then toggle Restricted profile.
Cheers
Morten
I am currently experiencing this. I am not convinced this is due to your profile being restricted. The person managing the business may be blocking the posts for some reason especially if at one time they flagged your review.
Unless there’s evidence to suggest that a restricted profile relates to the OP’s issue, I don’t believe it’s the cause. Changing the privacy settings is akin to asking someone to check if the power cord is plugged in when their washer won’t turn on. Moreover, if a restricted profile were the issue, then no one would be able to leave a review or post, which we know isn’t true.
I did not suggest that restricting is the cause (it obviously can’t be). Seeing his other contributions can in many cases give us relevant hints as to what could be the problem.
Cheers
Morten
@MortenCopenhagen @SandmanT Gents: thanks for your willingness to help. I have changed my Profile setting to remove the restriction. Here’s the link to the WW2 Museum - you’ll see that there are many reviews for it, posted regularly and recently: https://maps.app.goo.gl/MUYuvD8WaERL3hSDA. Here’s the link to my review, created in Sep 2023, and not posted since then, even after some mods, due to the “posting restrictions” I mentioned earlier: https://maps.app.goo.gl/xDiKSEfnz43Bbam68. I am not sure if you can see it, since it’s not posted? Let me know what else I can provide. Your help is much appreciated.
My review is overwhelmingly positive, so I can’t think of ANY reason why the “owners” of this place would like to restrict it. And besides, the “explanation” comes from Google itself, and doesn’t mention anything about the owners involvement. It seems a generic, boilerplate message - but clearly stating that the restriction is NOT because of the review content, but about the place itself.
@Pavliusha I wouldn’t be surprise if the reason(s) Google gave you in fact aren’t relevant to the cause. Like you wrote, " It seems a generic, boilerplate message". I would add that to the plethora of possible examples why users can’t post reviews. The other thought that crossed my mind is that almighty Google feels your review is spammy. Nonetheless, I know how frustrating this can be. I’d post your review on Yelp instead.
Hi,
Your suggestion to change the profile settings implies that the profile might be relevant to the issue. If there was no potential link, recommending such a change would be pointless. Looking at the OP post history serves no purpose especially since the OP is exclusively having the issue with this one business, like I am but it’s the opposite — my review is negative.
@SandmanT Indeed. What is even more frustrating than the review not being posted is the entire system of “support” from Google, which can only be summarized as pathetic. Even when one gets connected to (hopefully) a human being, their responses don’t indicate any level of understanding, engagement or desire to really solve the issue. All they offer are “sincere apologies”. It really seems like the only recourse is to remove all the personal content and focus our efforts elsewhere, as you suggest.
Hi @Pavliusha
Thanks for unrestricting your profile. Feel free to restrict it again. I took a look and your reviews are spotless. I rarely see profiles with no violations of the many guidelines — well done.
Opening your profile also allowed me to check the status of reviews more broadly. Out of your 191 reviews not only one is hidden, but 9 are currently hidden. If you care to look into this I can provide some methods to identify them. Just let me know.
The place has a whooping 44.630 reviews. And you are correct that the link to your specific review is not working (it just takes us to the place). And the latest reviews are only hours old. Therefore it would be helpful if you would share a screenshot of your review text. And if you have attached any pics or videos, please make sure they are also visible in the screenshot.
Have you checked if your review will go public without any videos and pics attached?
Have you tried using this form: Account investigation for contributions not visible on Google Maps ? If so when?
With this information, we might be able to get the escalated.
Cheers
Morten
@MortenCopenhagen Thanks for your detailed response. As far as I can tell, I didn’t attach any photos to the review. I have submitted (twice) a form that looks similar to the link you provided but was a bit different. The responses (identical) that came back indicated a total lack of comprehension of what I actually wrote about - here it is: "Thank you for contacting Google support. Based on the information provided, we are happy to confirm that there are no penalties against your account. " ??? I will submit the form you just sent asap.
FYI Here’s the text of my review for the museum:
“This thoroughly modern museum is one of the few (may be the only one?) that shows that World War II was started not by just one culprit (Hitler’s Germany) but also by another one (Stalin’s Soviet Union). It tells the WW2 story from the rarely heard perspective of Poland and its people, starting from the pre-war period (1930s), through September 1st and 17th, 1939 - all the way to the post-war period, which for the countries in Central Europe, which fell under the Soviet domination, sadly was NOT the end of atrocities and suffering. To see all the exhibits, which are arranged in more or less linear fashion along the huge underground corridor, takes a minimum of 5-6 hours, so I’d recommend either a careful selection of topics to focus on or a very good pair of walking shoes and excellent stamina :-). The museum may get crowded, so plan accordingly - and please don’t let any logistics issues (many lower-ranked reviews complain about the ticketing process, etc. - which for us was not an issue) detract you from the essence of what this place is all about.”
Looking forward to hearing back from you.
Cheers,
Pawel
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Hi again @Pavliusha
The form you used in the past is this one: https://support.google.com/local-guides/contact/local_guides_appeal
Unfortunately, you will not get a response on the second form. Keep in mind, that it takes several weeks for the check to be done, so I suggest you check the status of your reviews once a week or so.
Regarding this part of your review:
“This thoroughly modern museum is one of the few (may be the only one?) that shows that World War II was started not by just one culprit (Hitler’s Germany) but also by another one (Stalin’s Soviet Union). It tells the WW2 story from the rarely heard perspective of Poland and its people, starting from the pre-war period (1930s), through September 1st and 17th, 1939 - all the way to the post-war period, which for the countries in Central Europe, which fell under the Soviet domination, sadly was NOT the end of atrocities and suffering.”
This text is what Google considers to be general remarks. There is no mention of your experience with the place. It is also called Wikipedia-style information. It can be found (and copied from many places on the web). Especially the exact dates could trigger the spam filter. So you might want to test if rewriting or removing these general remarks will let the review go public. It could also be that mentioning Hitler and Stalin could be the trigger.
The rest of your review reflects your visit and it is very helpful.
Why are you writing your reviews in English and not Polish? Eighter is good.
Give it a few weeks and resume this thread if the problem persists. It would be great to hear how the Googlers interpret the wording in the message in your opening post.
Best of luck
Morten
@MortenCopenhagen Thanks again for all your comments. I hear you on the “general remarks”, but I have a somewhat different view on some of them - I do think that my remarks reflect my own perspective, which may be also shared by other Poles, but is certainly NOT widely known in the West - and that’s the point I was trying to convey. That’s also why I write my reviews in English - to make sure they reach a global, rather than national audience only. As you suggested, I will make further edits, will remove dates, etc. And will wait, indeed.
I will remain in touch. All the best,
Pawel
2 Likes
All is good, @Pavliusha
I just wanted to remind you about the automatic translations in Maps. Reviews are shown in the language selected in the app.
All the best
Morten
@MortenCopenhagen Thanks again. Yes, I am aware of the translation feature… but still, I figure making sure these reviews are in English is easier on my intended audience. Be it as it may, I did change the review twice (sic!) - the latest version is below, and it remains UNPOSTED. I would LOVE to hear what’s wrong with it. And even more, I would love to get a meaningful explanation of why the entire support around such issues is how it is (ergo “nonexistent”). I know, of course, it’s not up to you. Here’s the latest review:
“This thoroughly modern museum offers a holistic perspective on the origins, conduct and consequences of the 2nd World War, all told from the rarely heard (in the West) perspective of Poland and its people. To see all the exhibits, which are arranged in a more or less linear fashion along the huge underground corridor, takes a minimum of 5-6 hours, so I’d recommend either a careful selection of topics to focus on or a good pair of walking shoes, plenty of time, a bottle of water and excellent stamina :-). The museum may get crowded, so plan accordingly - and please don’t let any logistics issues (many lower-ranked reviews complain about the ticketing process, etc. - which for us was not an issue) detract you from the essence of what this place is all about.”
Excuse me, don’t you consider my help to you as support?
I tried posting your newest text and here is the result:
And pressing Details does not let me appeal this as shown below:
Conclusion:
The block on this review is not caused by anything on your account. It is in the text.
I think we now are ready to suggest @MoniDi to try to get some more insights on this for us.
Cheers
Morten
@MortenCopenhagen Oh, No - YOU ARE THE ONLY BRIGHT SPOT in the darkness!!! In my gripe, I meant all the experiences which preceded me finding you.
FYI I did delete the original review, and posted a new one, with exactly the same text (its latest version). I did this on the assumption that the prior review entered some “weird state” from which Google’s review engine could not recover. I’ll keep you posted, of course.
And BIG BIG thanks again. Have a great day.
- Pawel
2 Likes
Hi @Pavliusha ,
I hope everything is clear now, after @MortenCopenhagen shared the helpful screenshots. Keep us posted if something like that happens in the future and we can escalate it to the relevant team.
1 Like