

The Google Map Maker tool will reopen next month after temporary suspension.
Launched in 2008, the mapping tool was designed to increase the services offered by Google Maps. The idea was communities could enter mapping data into the tool, and after a Google system moderated the data, it would appear in the main Google Maps service.
However, in May, deficiencies in the review process came to light. Google had to apologise after searches which included racist slurs were shown to find the White House in Google Maps.
Searches that included racist slurs, when focused on the Washington DC greater area, returned with the home of US president Barack Obama as either the primary search result or one of three.
The service was suspended while the tech giant could figure out "ways to add more intelligent mechanisms to prevent such incidents," Pavithra Kanakarajan, Google Map Maker product manager, said at the time.
Over the next two weeks, Google will offer certain mappers in each region the opportunity to become a 'regional lead' on Map Maker. From August, any changes made in a region will go through the lead and Google's automated moderation systems, with Google operators only moderating from time to time.
"The reason for this change is that every time we observed someone attempting to vandalise the map, many [Google map editors] acted quickly to remove the offending feature and demonstrated real ownership for maps within their region," says Kanakarajan.
"We have come to the conclusion that of all the defences available to keeping our maps clean, the interest of a community of well-intentioned users is among the most reliable and fast."
Google says the tool will be re-opened in phases from early August and more regional leads will be added in each country over time.
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