Panoramio migration fail, Google email update Sep 14, 2018

[HikingMike]

Here is the email I received from Google, on September 14, 2018... maybe September 15 for some people.

Subject: Update regarding your Panoramio photos

Body: 

Hello,

Earlier this year, we turned off Panoramio and stopped showing Panoramio photos in Google Maps and Google Earth. Before that happened, we shared our plans to copy all your photos to the Google Album Archive as a full-quality backup.

We recently discovered an issue that caused some Panoramio photos to appear in Google Maps/Earth under your Google account name during this backup process. These photos were public in Panoramio, but were previously shared using your Panoramio account name. We have now removed these photos from Google Maps/Earth and will continue to copy your Panoramio photos only to your Album Archive. If you do want to re-share any photos on Google Maps, you can follow the instructions here.

Thank you,

The Panoramio team

Google LLC 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043

You've received this mandatory service announcement to update you about important changes to Panoramio.

---

"We recently discovered an issue that caused some Panoramio photos to appear in Google Maps/Earth under your Google account name during this backup process."

They are supposed to! That is the primary goal of the migration. They are supposed to appear in Google Maps/Earth and under my Google account name is fine because Google required that we link our Panoramio account to our Google account to enable the migration! The person who wrote this does not know the goal of the migration, and seems to not know the situation with Panoramio.

The migration was discussed more at this Google Product Forum thread-

https://productforums.google.com/forum/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer#!msg/maps/H4VObBFsIyA/nZ8...

(For some reason I cannot view much of that thread right now. Recent posts do not appear.)

Some quotes in that thread posted by the Google Earth team:

"We are migrating the photos of those Panoramio users who agreed to link to their Google+ accounts and share their photos with Google Maps."

"Once the migration is complete, you should see an improvement in the coverage and availability of photos in Earth, especially in out-of-the-way places."

"As eligible Panoramio photos are migrated you should see more accurately-placed photos appear. We’re also talking to the Google Maps photos team in hopes of favoring the display of these photos instead of their snapped-to-place ones in our layer."

"We have to wait until the eligible Panoramio photos are migrated into the new catalog (and hosted under their new URLs) before we can include them in the new Photos layer."

"For those Panoramio photos eligible for migration, once they are processed they will appear at their original, non-snapped locations where the owner publicly had posted it."

You have to migrate the photos to Google Maps/Earth. You cannot just copy them to Album Archive. 

"If you do want to re-share any photos on Google Maps, you can follow the instructions here."

That suggestion is ridiculous. First of all, I can say that sharing photos using the Google Maps interface causes the latitude/longitude coordinates to be disregarded. That would lose all the locations set for Panoramio photos. Secondly, wow, that would be a lot of work, and basically it would be like there was no attempted migration at all as it is not much different from adding new photos to Google Maps from scratch.

The situation described in the email is unacceptable. The migration needs to be completed correctly.

[lpiazzi50]

Until now I didn't receive any mail from Google.

[HikingMike]

There is a possibility that it is a mistake. Maybe Google did not correctly recognize that my Panoramio account had been linked to my Google account (Google+ enabled). 

Noisette, a forum moderator at the Google Maps & Earth product forum, said-

"my understanding is that you have received this email if you did not link your Panoramio account to a Google plus account. 

Your Panoramio photos were published with your Panoramio user name. If you didn't link your Panoramio account to a Google plus account, Google knows the user name on your Google account, but they think they don't have the right to link the two if you haven't already done that.

It seems that the migration process has mistakenly migrated the photos of accounts that weren't linked, hence the email you have received.

If you have linked your Panoramio account to a Google plus account and you still got this email, please let us know."

[Dhanasekaran_Muthu]

I received a Message from Google to share my Panoramio Photos as follows :
"We recently discovered an issue that caused some Panoramio photos to appear in Google Maps/Earth under your Google account name during this backup process. These photos were public in Panoramio, but were previously shared using your Panoramio account name. We have now removed these photos from Google Maps/Earth and will continue to copy your Panoramio photos only to your Album Archive. If you do want to re-share any photos on Google Maps, you can follow the instructions here."

On clicking the link instructions here. it led me to  https://support.google.com/maps/answer/2622947.

The instructions says how to share the photos in Google Maps and nothing about the migrated photos.
It does not throw any light on the fate of the migrated panoramio photo - but they say "If you do want to re-share any photos on Google Maps, you can follow the instructions here" leading to the same repetitive annoying loop of instructions to post in Google Maps 
I asked in my email post "Can any one say how do I reshare  my panoramio photos (already migrated years back) following the above instructions as do not find any option as 'reshare' ? " 

In some forum post I notice discussions as if the migration processes to Google Maps & Google Maps are not yet completed!

With my hard work in Panoramio, I had posted more than 168,000 photos  more than 90 percent with titles and did migrate to Google Maps as instructed.
To my dismay I do not find any of the photos in Google Earth and very rarely in Google Maps (not with my name tag)
I attached screenshot of one of my status in Rank 1 in 2014 given by Pano Rank !
There was a funny answer from one to my post as 

"Re-share refers to posting them again.  You would need to follow the instructions given on how to post a photo. From your description I believe the second FAQ found at www.panoramio.com describes your situation."

This answer does not explain the FATE  of the migrated photos from Panoramio to Google Maps. The answer doesn't help me anyway.
Anyone may post a reply on the fate of the migrated photos at the instant of the Google's Instructions 

[HikingMike]

Hi @Dhanasekaran_Muthu,

Right now our hope is that the photo migration from Panoramio to Google Maps did not complete successfully and they will fix the problems and do it again. That email message (which I also received) was confusing. A moderator on the Google Maps & Earth Help Forum thought that email meant you did not link your Panoramio account to a Google+ account. However I have learned many of us that received the email did link our accounts. So perhaps that is another mistake that they will need to fix.

Here is the Google Maps & Earth Help Forum thread about this (really long)-

https://productforums.google.com/forum/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer#!msg/maps/H4VObBFsIyA/eAe...

There hasn't been a reply recently from the Google Earth team, or a subsequent reply from the moderator who said the above. Things are still uncertain. Right now, definitely do not "re-share" your photos according to the instructions in that email. We want a successful migration so we have to wait for that. You have a LOT of photos so that would be a bit crazy. But also, when sharing to Google Maps, the true location of the photo (lat/long coordinates) are not used!

We wait for more information.

[Dhanasekaran_Muthu]

Let us keep watching the highly compromised drama and keep lamenting over the fate of photos of Seven Years Hard Work going to doldrums with Elegy to the Great Geographical Site.

Oh Pano Pano your fame became nano nano!
¡Dios mio! Dios mio! ¡Ahorre nuestro trabajo!