Hi, and welcome to the world of Waze map editing!
The current implementation of the feed is a bit of a double-edged sword - whilst it is useful in helping us to keep track of issues that we’re already dealing with, and in highlighting some new issues that we might be able to do something about, it will also list stuff which either is in areas we know little about, or issues that we can’t do anything about. It does seem to be behaving itself a bit better now than it did when it was first introduced though, at least if the typical contents of my own feed list are anything to go by now compared with in the early days.
Unfortunately there’s little the feed can do to suppress issues we can’t do anything about, because when someone reports an issue there’s nothing which links it to a specific road segment, and so nothing that WME (the map editing application) can use to work out whether or not the report might be solvable by an editor of a given level.
Even if reports were linked to specific segments, this still wouldn’t help in many cases, since users don’t always send in reports at the location of the problem, and sometimes even if they do, the solution to the problem may require editing several other segments as well, some of which may then be locked at a higher level.
Depending on the road in question, it may be appropriate for its lock level to be temporarily reduced so that you can fix the problem yourself - if you haven’t already found it then please check out the UK Editor Requests forum where you can post requests for downlocks.
The one thing I’ve never seen the feed do is list something in an area that I’ve not got any editing rights. You mentioned trying to sort some of the issues in London, which implies you do currently have some editing rights there, which in turn implies you had been running Waze at least some of the time you were there. Does Kings Cross station fall into this area, even if it’s only on the very edge of it rather than closer to the middle where you actually were travelling?
Remember that as you drive around with Waze active, you’ll temporarily unlock an editing area in a small radius around your location - if you happened to pass within 1km (IIRC) of Kings Cross station, even if you didn’t actually drive right past it, then it’d be included on the fringes of this temporary area and any issues there would then be eligible for inclusion in your feed.
I’ve also not seen binned items reappearing, although that’s not something I can be 100% certain about. What may be happening here though is that you bin an item, but then a new item is generated (either by a user submitting a report, or as part of the automatic issue monitoring processes that Waze itself runs regularly) which looks similar/identical to the original one you binned.
As for working on user and parking lot reports where no changes need to be made to the map data - please don’t think this isn’t helping much, because it truly is. Maintaining the map data is important, sure, but dealing promptly with user reports is just as important - for many everyday Wazers, the responses we provide to their reports are the only interaction they get from another human whilst using Waze, so ensuring they don’t feel like their reports are being ignored or dismissed is crucial in helping to maintain a good working relationship between everyday users, map editors, and Waze themselves.
So even if someone’s report can be dealt with without any changes needing to be made, the simple act of replying to them lets them know their reports aren’t just falling into a black hole, which then may make them more likely to report something again in the future. And that next time may be a report of something which really does need to be fixed ASAP…
Whatever you find yourself able to do as an editor, please don’t feel that your contributions aren’t helping much - whether it’s fixing a problem, responding to an issue, or even just keeping an eye on areas of the map to make sure things are still all shipshape, it’s all useful work that contributes to the overall task of keeping things running smoothly. So keep up the good work, and sooner or later you’ll find yourself increasing in level and able to do more.
Regards,
Chris
