I don’t want to discuss on specific users or areas, but I’m noticing that the quality of contributions, especially on LVL 10 LG is going down.
Same photo uploaded to dozens of different places.
Casual photos uploaded to places (i.e. a smartphone hidden in one hand, taking photos around)
Selfies
Everyone, here, is trying to do his best so, this should be considered a constructive suggestion: you are lvl 8, 9, 10, now, let’s focus on quality, please, delete all the duplicate entries, remove selfies, and try to improve your photography skills, don’t go for quantity, research quality.
I think it will take years, for me, to reach LVL 10, because i try to upload original and best quality i can photos; it’s up to you keep maps a better place.
I totally agree with this. I think it’s great we have a new goal to achieve, and some people will try to do whatever possible to achieve level 10 quickly. But in the end, it’s always quality over quantity.
Your 50 high quality reviews, where you put a lot of thought into it, will help a LOT more compared to 500 reviews with just the word “good” in it, for example. I cannot stress this enough. It really does make a difference.
Keep being consistent in contributing, and enjoy the ride. Before you know it, you’ll be at level 10
Hi @LucioV . There are automatic checks and balances in place and while we may not catch someone right away for sharing contributions that are against our policy, we will catch them. As you already know, there are ways to report content to us so if you have seen something inappropriate, please let us know by sending an email to the address previously shared with you.
For others coming who are not familiar with reporting content on Google Maps, please see this post.
Amen! PREACH @LucioV !! I absolutely agree. I spent a good majority of my contribution time reporting photos last week. It was amazing how in a group of 20 photos only maybe 5 were actually relevant to the location. The problem is increasingly getting worse. Contributions need to be a balance.
Ever since the new point system with the photos being worth 5pts per picture, major abuse has taken place.
I think part of the problem is Google has been pretty vague about what it wants (probably because the aim always changes). Also for the type of information LG provides, it is time sensitive… e.g. in my area 90% of restaurants die in 5 years, so you don’t really need photographic permanence for a place that won’t be around.
We can debate quality vs quantity till the cows come home, personally I think the key is to be able to clearly convey the information the Map user is seeking, so for goodness sake have the decency to at least include the places’ name somewhere in your picture composition!! I think it really depends on the situation and medium. Also would a Google Map user notice a defect in the lower left hand quadrant of my picture when they are viewing it on the 5" smartphone? Highly doubt it. For written reviews, I personally prefer taking a look at all the reviews and make a judgement based on them instead of honing in one particular writer. I noticed people who write negatively tend to do that to all their reviews. So in that sense “sort by helpful” option has its limitations.
For gaming the system, it happens to all systems. I think part of the problem was Google kept level 5 for way too long, a portion of the former level 5 users now are probably panicking because they are no longer in the “top” tier. That’s something perhaps they can reflect on.
I think LG program can used some organizational psychologists (or perhaps they have already) to manage the users… I think there are a lot of fascinating undercurrents going on… can get a lot of desertions written especially in this gig economy era.
Personally I find it fascinating just to observe. @LucioV Keep doing what you are doing, it is all good… with so many LG I suspect like in all dynamic systems, it will settle into an equilibrium and balance it out in the end.
For any system change, it will prompt a lot of expected / expected desirable / undesirable responses.
On one hand, we are expecting Google to keep us LGs motivated keep contributing. On the other hand, we do not want “motivations” too strong such that it will induce lots of Spammings.
As a Local Guide, I always have different objectives from time to time:
Help local business
Put more data to Maps
Keep Maps clean
Gain points and Level up
I want to advice LGs do not rush to up Level - although you might arrive the top in comparatively short period of time, your effort might got cancelled out in a moment once Google detected you and got you banned.
I really hope Google will deploy more and more AI for all kinds of checks in Maps. No matter it is Spam detection, Spammer detection, Duplication detection, Edits Approval, etc.
And one area outside AI that Google should consider is, how to make people reporting Bad content and Bad user as streamline as possible.
Given the current situation, LGs should spare more time on reporting.
@LucioV , every Community have this spammers and they incease day by day what we can do is to report as in @GusMoreira Article which @TraciC add ,
Another thing is to increase the number of Good members who think twice before add their reviews and photos , this low quality reviews not just low quality the map also low quality the businesses when some just add one letter or two and one star , and sometimes they not Visit this place ,
We report and report , but they still add the same reviews and add …
I know spammer here and report before when I read this I open the profile , he do the same thing and approximately will reach level 10 soon , we are in Jordan and he start add reviews for Los Angeles Now
@LucioV 100% agree with you . few guy new commer they think if they touch L 9-10 . they got something also show all guy they are subprime . i talk with few guy personally but they there same replay " who are you to say this . There not any rules or mention Upload limit and word limitation .
new spamming like this " copy past location name " all place give same review . also i know one guy add 300 + picture one place 3-4 day jump level 7 to 9 . till increasing point . just take photo from car and upload .
dearest @LucioV I totally agree with you, of course and also I have noticed that thing. But I’m quite sure that in a while our best guys in Google will fix these inconveniences.
while we’re talking about the net and about a program that is free and totally run by volunteers (as we are beings a LG), we can understand one thing: not everyone has got the right gift to understand the real value of that kind of program.
In last three years I’ve got only good things from this program that we call Local Guides!
I’ve met very special persons thanks to LG: the first I’ve met was @TraciC the one who signed my automatic invitation mail to the program, I can even now remember how happy I was, even if I didn’t know a thing about all this program; then I’ve met my co-mod Enzo Spedaliere, the one that ruled my community in my long absence; than I “fell in love” with Mauro Biancacci and above all Fabio Cellini.
So, I know that you’re right, @LucioV but please we can fix our attention at the positive effects of this program!
ps: I’ve to mention also @OSAMA who let me in LGConnect more than any other in the world, and @MahabubMunna my lovely Sippangi a sort of friend in real life, even if it is quite strange! and last but not least Pavel Serwar who gives to me and to @AntonellaGr the huge privilege to be a part of Sukonna.org
dearest @LucioV I totally agree with you, of course and also I have noticed that thing. But I’m quite sure that in a while our best guys in Google will fix these inconveniences.
while we’re talking about the net and about a program that is free and totally run by volunteers (as we are beings a LG), we can understand one thing: not everyone has got the right gift to understand the real value of that kind of program.
In last three years I’ve got only good things from this program that we call Local Guides!
I’ve met very special persons thanks to LG: the first I’ve met was @TraciC the one who signed my automatic invitation mail to the program, I can even now remember how happy I was, even if I didn’t know a thing about all this program; then I’ve met my co-mod Enzo Spedaliere, the one that ruled my community in my long absence; than I “fell in love” with Mauro Biancacci and above all Fabio Cellini.
Hi @LucioV in principle I agree, but I don’t necessarily think it is the way the higher levels got where they are. I reckon we all pop up duplicates photos from time to time - I’m sure I have. I add some photos and some time later Maps will pop up and ask me to add certain photos to a place, if I remember I’ve done it then I won’t add them again but if its been a few days and I forget I’m sure that I probably upload doubles despite best intentions.
I do like the idea of quality over quantity, sometimes you see someone put up 25 images of the same place which huge overlap. I might word it a little differently though, a useful photograph on Maps is worth a lot more to me than an artistic masterpiece. As an example, a mediocre photo that shows the entrance of a shop when the front is hidden behind a truck in the Street View is really good. A photo that gives me an idea where the toilets are in relation to a restaurant so I don’t have to ask is just about priceless.
It will take me a long time to get to Level 10 too, I’m probably half way between Level 8 and Level 9 and I look forward to getting there but I’m not in any hurry and I don’t really even keep that much of a watch on my points. If I get all the way to 10, then what? It would be like being stuck in Level 5 all over again.
I would hesitate in placing limits though, some places really could take 25 photos to do a good job - a place like Disneyland could take thousands. I upload lots to the railway I volunteer on because I’m there at times and see things that no-one else ever does and I like to share those behind the scenes moments.
The other problem with limits is that if you make a concerted effort, you could for example add a reasonable photo of every store in a mall and legitimately upload 500 reasonable photos in the day earning yourself 2500 points. I would not want to stymie this sort of effort by stopping that really enthusiastic person from contributing. Some people in the @HelloSamsonR Map Edit Walk would have earned hundreds and at least one earned several thousand points in that one day.
So in conclusion, you’re absolutely right that some people are gaming the system - that’s always going to happen. No matter how random we are we’ll establish patterns of behavior and Google are experts with Machine Learning. Will ML catch people? No, but it will surface people who are stepping outside their pattern for humans to check out. Do I know that ML is used with Maps? No, not at all. Would I be surprised if it wasn’t? Yes I would. Do I want to know? Sure, but I don’t expect to - ML is one of the Google vs the world secret sauce things and secrets are not usually revealed because then they wouldn’t be secrets :).
Thanks @PaulPavlinovich
This thread is not to be intended as an advice (spamming report should be done using other channels, as Traci stated), but more as an encouragement: guys, now you are LVL 10, you got it, let’s improve quality now! I hope they will hear me
