Google Map Maker is returning and you can be a vandalism narc

Google is resurrecting its Map Maker platform, following an embarrassing spate of vandalism earlier this year.

The web giant temporarily suspended the tool – which allows users to made edits to Google Maps – in May following a host of incidents, one of which included an Android robot urinating on the Apple logo.

In order to combat the pranks, Google is now handing power to users to act as moderators when the tool comes back online next month.

The firm is appointing ‘Regional Leads,’ to review and approve any changes to maps in their areas in order to share the load with Google’s in house moderators.

In a post on the Google Map Maker blog, product manager Pavithra Kanakarajan wrote: “While some edits will still require moderation by Google operators, our loyal users will recognize that this is a departure from how we have operated in the past where majority of your edits were reviewed by Google operators. This has been a request you’ve made for a very long time, and this change should, hopefully, come as good news.

“The reason for this change is that every time we observed someone attempting to vandalize the map, many of you acted quickly to remove the offending feature and demonstrated real ownership for maps within your region. We have come to the conclusion that of all the defenses available to keeping our maps clean, the interest of a community of well-intentioned users, is among the most reliable and fast.”

Related: Could the new Bing Maps leave Google Maps in the dust

Google will be approaching active editors to take on the roles, but there’s no mention within the blog of giving those folks any compensation for their contributions. So, let the great willy drawing spree of 2015 commence.