Should closing URs be limited to Rank 2+?

[radjax]

So what if the UR's are Stagnant.?

what i see often is an editor clicks on multiple UR's and regardless of the message from the user ask a ton more questions from the reporter.
No action is taken to resolve the issue.
When and if that reporter doesn't respond and the UR sits there for months with no activity and clutters the screen.
Per "etiquette.." no one is supposed to act on these. that is crazy?

Its proven that if you dont get a reply within 7 days the chances greatly decrease.
or you will get even less info as they dont remember the details.

Yes if someone just clicks NEW UR's and closes them as solved without doing anything it is a big issue, however this "owenership' and unwillingness to close UR's after making changes in WME is also a problem.

[roadtechie]

Instead of restricting who can close a UR I believe anyone should be able to re-open a UR before the 10 day expiration window ends. The only bad thing I could possibly imagine would be if a R1 or possibly R2 decided to re-open a bunch of URs then re-close them trying to get the #'s on their stats. So, maybe make it where any R3 and up can re-open a UR if they believe it was closed improperly.

[shawndoc]

I'm at the point where most address edits in Map Maker are published immediately. Business locations still tend to get flagged for approval.

[SkiDooGuy]

Agreed. Even while sitting here at work today I had 3 UR's that were taking time to research and specifically said "do not close" closed by a few different level 1. I can still work them and comment sure. But now the reporter gets either mixed signals or gives up. A rather large annoyance.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[speakeasy4x4]

HI, I am new here & I'd like to offer the POV of a newbie reporter. 3 weeks ago Waze told me to turn left where it was impossible. I reported it directly in the Waze app (iOS). Today (7/30/2014) I got a very nice email from a Waze editor asking a question about where exactly the problem was.

I was eager to help supply the requested info, but sadly there was no (obvious) way to do so. The email had a reply to address of "Waze Map Editor" <no-reply@waze.com>. So that's a no go. There was a URL referenced in the email, but that also is not a way to communicate. The URL takes me to a login screen, where I finally discovered that my username had been changed (without my knowledge) to all lower case. After getting past that issue, the URL shows the location of the map problem, but there is still no way provided to respond to the Map Editor's request for info.
So this could easily explain the mentioned "lack of engagement" from Users after requests for additional info. In this case, I searched the forums for the Editors nickname & eventually send him a PM. But I certainly would not expect anyone else to go to that kind of trouble to fix a left turn restriction.

After some thought, I did also visit the Waze app inbox, even though that is not the method by I got the message, and found that there is a way to reply in there. I have to say that it is a bit maddening to compose a message while only being able to see such a tiny amount of text at a time.

Anyway, just wanted to bring some beginner user perspective to this process.
HTH

[taco909]

Another idea might be to allow an editor to take ownership of a UR.
If an editor begins working the problem, have a flag set that would allow other editors to jump into the conversation, but only to allow the "claiming" editor (or one of higher level) to actually close the report.... maybe have it "unlock" after 90 days of inactivity or without re-confirmation.

I've closed a number of "stale" reports that have been sitting out there for months, and the last message was "If you do not respond this report will be closed in 10 days" or 7 days or whatever (and that time is long passed)... I try to look for those to see if there is anything around that might have been missed, and also to clean the area up. There's just so much out there here in LA that I can see some of these reports being forgotten about.

[taco909]

Leaving a UR open for a short time after making a correction is useful if there is some communication going between the editor and reporter. It is also useful as a "bookmark" if the editor wants to keep an eye on the area.
Make the change, verify what you can on the live map or a local field trip, and inform the reporter that you believe the problem is solved, wait a bit for the map to update, refresh bookmarks, etc....
And ask the reporter to confirm that the problem is solved... wait for that response, or perhaps 2 weeks if no response, before closing the report.
Yes, Los Angeles is blanketed with URs, most of which have no information and few have useful routing and GPS tracks. Unless there is something obvious in the area, it can be difficult to pin down the issue... if there even is one at all, given that users don't realize that the pin is dropped where they hit "report" and not where the map cursor is or where they are when they hit "Send"... and report-send will generally not provide tracks. The report seems to log the track between activating "Report" and tapping "Send"

I had one closed on me this morning. Another L2 sent the initial request for information to the reporter. The reporter indicated that they would provide more information, and the report sat for another week. I drove to the location, verified the issues, made corrections on the map, and sent a message to the reporter.
I still intend to do more work in that area (new housing development), so the UR is nice to have as a reference pin.
This morning, the editor who originally requested more information closed the report without comment. In fairness, my comment to the reporter did not indicate that I intended to do any further work, but it has only been a couple of days (I drove it and made the adjustments Tuesday, tiles updated on the area yesterday)

[taco909]

For some time I've been following the excellent suggestion of editor pumrum to add "(Open to any editor)" at the end of initial canned queries. Other editors can follow up efficiently without violating etiquette. I'd love to see that habit catch on

I love this idea. Many of the reports in the Los Angeles area have canned introductory questions with no responses and they are several months old. Of course, with busy editors, these "orphans" are somewhat off the radar.

What might help would be if Waze could send out a reminder digest, once per week, recapping all of the currently watched URs. Just a single email containing a link to all of the URs... not a separate one for each
It will serve as a reminder of stale reports that should be closed, and it will also serve as a reminder of the workload the editor has volunteered for.

[taco909]

Thank you for your report and for taking the time to visit the forum.
I believe the intended design is for the reporter's response to go through the app, but as you said, it is not that obvious the way the email is structured (and the emails that I get, the link to the map is not even clickable).
Once on the live map, if you are not in editor mode, then you can click the "Edit map" button at the lower left. From there, open your user report, and once that is open, open the "Conversation" option.
I might be wrong but that may already be open when you follow the link, since it appeared that you could read the reply from the map.
So once there, look down at the bottom of the conversation box and you'll see a small box with a "Send" button next to it, similar to a chat response window. This is where you can directly input your reply from a desktop device. I do not believe that option is available from a mobile device.

[taco909]

It would be a lot better if they could reply to an email. We might get a lot more responses if this were an easier process then doing this through the app or the editor. Most people want things simple.

Personally, I think this is a great idea, but I suspect that Waze does not do this out of privacy concerns, both for the editor and users. I'm not familiar with privacy laws outside of the US, but I understand some countries are quite strict... it would have to be routed similarly to the way forum post and PM notifications are handled, but with the body of the message included, and the kicker, a unique traceable ID tag so the editor's response would go back to the reporter's email without revealing any personal information to either party.