Betreff: How to handle fake edits epidemic BY establishing weighted score to enforce edit-higher LG

[#1]

I am writing this after advice @GeorgesHR given in the LGconnect discussion about the epidemic of fake/joke edits on the google maps in Ukraine and some other Eastern European states and Central Asia.

This epidemic was covered multiple times by local press and media and seriously affects the reputation of Google as the company and the LGcommunity!

The main suggestion was to limit editing rights to LG with lower than level 8.

Provide editing right only to LGs with 8+,

and do not block or delete the numerous qualified edits done by highly ranked LGs in 'spam attack' as their work are being lost forever after this because of such rough approach to problem-solving.

the link to the discussion in the local community 

https://www.localguidesconnect.com/t5/General-Discussion/%D0%A1%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%BB%D1%8C%D0%BA%D0%BE-...

Now after collecting feedback, there is My suggested solution:

I think some weighted score should be established. 

for example, to enforce edit, place owner (manager, creator) need to approve it, OR 500 points (votes) from LGs needed to confirm this fact.

and Level 10 LG has 100 points, and level 1 -  only 1 point to contribute.

so we need 5 LG Lever10 to vote, or 500 Lever 1 LG to confirm the edit.

Some scoring system should be established what can become a part of a filtering algorithm which prevents fake edits and spam attempts.

[MWJones]

@YerlanB I'd have to dig back through other posts here in the Idea Exchange, but at one point there was an idea posted of making certain functions only available as you reach certain levels, much like the highly sought after perks, So for instance a Level 1-3 poster might only be able to post reviews and photos. At level 4 maybe they can add video and do some editing, and progress up to a level 8 or 9 that would have advanced editing and some edit review abilities (likewise, with enough approved edits, the AI would give higher "trust" to those who produce quality edits, thus allowing them to publish more frequently without additional review.

The idea being you encourage participation knowing that the more you contribute, the more you can contribute - other mapping platforms already have this capability to varying degrees in their editors.

[Oleksandr]

Dear @thex 

thank you for contributing to the discussion of the idea raised in the Ukrainian community. 

and I do encourage you with yours and with your confidence in strong opinions 'I still believe that my Idea Exchange request would help more"

[Oleksandr]

Thank you @MWJones ,

I do agree with you, getting more functionalities and editing rights to encourage participation and empower local guides which just started for doing their best!

some vetting or profile verification might be also useful. 

[ErmesT]

After your edit, (giving a "score" to LGs instead to limit the approval only to the L8+ LGs) I think it make sense, so I voted it.

In my opinion the goal can be reached if this proposal is combined with mine (Pop-Up for "fact checking" if you contributed to a place with photos / review)

I am not asking to merge the two (we are exploring different ways) but just invite Google to keep in consideration the combination of both, for giving to the Local guides a better tool for fighting spam

[Oleksandr]

Dear @ErmesT

thank you for your support!

yes, I hope Google will collect different ideas and feedback to elaborate complex sophisticated solution but with simple use cases.

P.S. as PhD in Statistics I would be happy to engaged in developing such Data Science models.

Regards

Alex

[ErmesT]

You are welcome @Oleksandr

Count in me for every initiative taken for fighting spammer, and for consistency of information on Maps. The perfect algorithm don't exist, but working together I hope we can achieve the goal

[thex]

@Oleksandr

I now also voted for your idea since voting points depending on LG level to approve changes does make sense and is a much better approach instead of simply locking people out depending on their level. However I still suggest that it should depend on how new / old a specific POI is. If a new POI is added or recently created it should still be possible for lower ranks to add or modify them without issues. However I'm with your idea concerning POIs that are already listed / established for months / years.

[Oleksandr]

Dear  @thex thank you for support,

It is a vary good idea to include the age of POI to the algorithm.

@ErmesT FYI about POI

[ErmesT]

Thank you @Oleksandr, @thex

I agree

I also noticed that Google is (finally) asking to add a picture when you add a new business, or want to close it.

Why not to ask for a picture showing the front store with the name, if you want to change it?

[thex]

@Oleksandr
np, it's always difficult to keep the community restrictive enough to lock out spammers but be open enough for honest contributors. Hence, I was also not very happy with your initial approach, but I like the new one.

@ErmesT

This approach also has a down side because people often know in their community if a specific place has changed somehow. Actually, it is often the case in specific areas that they people already know things without having to be physically there in front of the location. So it kind of limits the ability for contributions. There also might not be a ultima ratio for the actual problem. Just my thoughts on this.