Very frustrated Local Guide!

[BishowvijayaP]

This is what happens to us also @EsteponaJen. But I am sad to know that you got frustrated. Please don't loose the hope.

[Teejai]

Here is the thing that I don't quite understand, we now have 10 levels in LG. Reaching anything over 8 is a big commitment if it is done properly. Why can't the LG team leverage these members through an additional audit system and them bring them into the fold of approvals? Maps is growing faster and fast, I'm sure Alphabet and google want it to continue growing. That growth is going to require larger teams of actual people. AI is not going to be able to fix everything for you! I go back to the original request, why can't you give additional responsibilities to higher level LG's that have first been passed through additional checks? 

[JohnPeter]

I am not the right person to answer your questions.

But I saw the video from your link, really inspiring. You are doing something bigger and greater to your community.

Just by your video I understand the responsibility of a Local guide.

Great madam, please continue to strive forward. 

With best regards

John Peter

[FintoCubano]

Hi @BruceDM, many thanks for addressing my issue.

Any time I try to add anything new (restaurants/shops/landmarks) within these national parks boundaries the following message pop up:

Clearly, a restaurant or a shop or a landmark cannot be a national park?

You say:

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@BruceDM wrote:

Most parks and especially National parks are places that can't be edited by the public although businesses can be added if they live therein.  This is something that can and should be done through Google My Business.

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I wonder what the purpose of being a Local Guide is if outside the national parks we can make edits, while within the boundaries of national parks Local Guides are superseded by Google MyBusiness? 

Most of these Southern Italian national parks' boundaries encompass areas that have several towns and villages with large population - see the Gargano National Park or the Cilento National Park which cover quite large areas. My region (Abruzzo) is 30% covered by national parks and within their boundaries 10% of its population lives. These places are located in disadvantaged areas of Italy which are mostly off the beaten tourist path and could greatly benefit from our passionate work as Local Guides. 

Perhaps Google could consider tweaking the algorithm (that was recently improved) to remove any restrictions, considering the location/geographical extent and context of the abovementioned?

Cheers.

[BruceDM]

Hi @FintoCubano,

Thank you for your post.  Based on your screenshot, it almost appears you are trying to add the park itself. That is something you cannot do - the restaurants or shops within can be added although something like that is best served through the Google My Business confirmation process.  When a business is added, the location is confirmed by having a postcard with a validation code sent to the location - which can then be officially approved. We can certainly provide feedback on the approvals process but the many filters that are in place are there to protect the integrity of the Map.

[FintoCubano]

Hi @BruceDM

No, the screenshot appears ANYTIME I try to add ANYTHING (bar/shop/church/restaurant) within the boundaries of the national parks in Southern Italy I mentioned in my earlier posts. This is what happens since the Map Maker days, at least since 2015 when I first noticed the issue. 

Let me give you an example: If I add this wool craft shop, by filling all details of the form, which I visited in August 2017 (proof the pictures in my Photos), located in the village of Santo Stefano di Sessanio within the boundary of the Gran Sasso park, the message you saw in my previous post appears. I click on Submit and the place is ''pending'' (when I added that in August 2017 it was denied a few days later).

Or for instance, the XVI century tower of the village, an historical landmark of the village, (the ''tower'' category has disappeared since Map Maker), the same message appears and it's then not applied straight away. 

Nearby, in the village of Calascio, if I try to add the local council's tourist office (visited in the same time), the same message appears this time including 2 other businesses that have the ''Calascio'' name in their name, and it's then ''pending'' (it was denied after a few weeks in August 2017)

Perhaps these many filters in place in the algorithm to protect the integrity of the map, following the feedback of the Local Guides - some of them with 130k+ of points - could do with a bit of clean-up after so many years?

Cheers

[AdamGT]

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@BruceDM wrote:

We can certainly provide feedback on the approvals process but the many filters that are in place are there to protect the integrity of the Map.

---

I've been crying out for this for long time now. Some feedback would help ease the frustration with the NOT APPLIED. When an we expect this feedback start to be given @BruceDM ?

[BruceDM]

Thanks for sharing @FintoCubano. I'll try to do some digging into why something like this wouldn't be applied. The algorithm is always changing and teams are always working to adjust the balance between a rejected item vs a legitimate add.  While I cannot manually check everything raised here on the boards nor can I manually push a change through for you, the feedback received from people like you help us to push changes and forward and close gaps where something could be improved.

@AdamGT - "Not Applied" is definitely not very satisfying in terms of explaining why something is not applied. Again, the feedback is something that can be shared and perhaps in a future update, more transparency will be available to the public but for now, sharing exact reasons is something that isn't feasible so as to protect from spammers.

[Flash]

Hello @FintoCubano,

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Or for instance, the XVI century tower of the village, an historical landmark of the village, (the ''tower'' category has disappeared since Map Maker), the same message appears and it's then not applied straight away.  

Your link states that the tower has been destroyed.  It would not be mappable.

---

Nearby, in the village of Calascio, if I try to add the local council's tourist office (visited in the same time), the same message appears this time including 2 other businesses that have the ''Calascio'' name in their name, and it's then ''pending'' (it was denied after a few weeks in August 2017)

---

The feature is already mapped at https://maps.google.com/?cid=18058502697228507055.

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Let me give you an example: If I add this wool craft shop, by filling all details of the form, which I visited in August 2017 (proof the pictures in my Photos), located in the village of Santo Stefano di Sessanio within the boundary of the Gran Sasso park, the message you saw in my previous post appears. I click on Submit and the place is ''pending'' (when I added that in August 2017 it was denied a few days later).

The fact that the feature went into pending shows that edits are not being prevented in this area.

You are not being restricted from editing, but rather the duplicate checking is just asking "Did you actually mean xxxx?"  This happens around the world, and especially happens when you place on feature on top of another.  This is essentially what you are doing; parks are not political boundaries but rather are just regarded as normal places; so you are placing a new place on top of an existing place and thus triggering the duplicate checking.  If it's not a duplicate then you should click "Submit Anyways".

[FintoCubano]

Many thanks for your reply @BruceDM, if you need other examples please do let me know, although there are fresh ones at the end of this post for your info.

Hi @Flash, many thanks for your reply.

1) The tower has not been 100% destroyed, it was partially (80%) damaged by the 2009 earthquake and is now being reconstructed. Reconstruction is slow, but in my pic dating to August 2017 it was undergoing. It is however there physically, even if in less than half.

The Roman Forum wouldn't be mappable because it's mostly destroyed, would it?

2) The link you have provided is of the Town Hall at coordinates 42.325466, 13.694775 -  I have provided the web link in my post for info only. The place I'm referring to (and tried to add) is the Local Council's Tourist Office, located in another building at coordinates 42.325752, 13.697466 some 150m further east on the SP7, where one can buy tickets to visit the castle up above and from where the shuttle bus leaves to reach it.

3) The craft shop is now pending. It was also pending when I first added it in 2017, then it went not applied a few days later.

Looking at my pics of that trip again, I have now tried to re-add once again two additional craft shops (this one and this one) I visited that were not applied first time around. And both have been not applied once again straight away (following the same duplicate message and the ''submit anyways'') . See below in my contributions screenshot.

I understand I'm not restricted from editing and edits are not prevented in this area. What I'm trying to explain and provide some (I hope) useful feedback to Google is that:

1)  Anytime I try to add anything within the boundaries of the national parks mentioned in my earlier posts, the duplicate check message appears telling me ''Wait, are you trying to add the XXX National Park?'' whether it's a bar, a wool craft shop, a tower, anything. It does not happen, instead, OUTSIDE the boundaries of these parks at all.

2)  After clicking on ''Submit Anyway'', most of the times (80%) the edits are not applied - proof above - 15% are (still) pending, 5% are applied.

3) These national parks encompass large areas, also populated, that are located in disadvantaged areas of Southern Italy which would greatly benefit from our work as Local Guides in adding/editing new/exisiting features, landmarks and shops, whose owners are (mostly) not aware of Google My Business.

Thanks

F