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Comment by pitdesi | Hacker News Reader

You have no idea how much I would love to! It's a tough problem to solve, but the internet as a whole is getting there with crowdsourced review sites.

I think Google is actually the most poised to solve this problem at the moment, and I'm interested/excited to see how the Trusted Stores thing they announced today http://www.google.com/trustedstores/ plays out. Certainly a step in the right direction.

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Given that I can't even get them to update the street address on a client's (successfully claimed) Google Places listing, I have my doubts.

To the extent it allows Google users to interact directly, perhaps. To the extent it demands any (non-development) support from Google staff, "forgetaboutit".

(To clarify, I can sign in and update the listing all I want. It shows correctly on that page. Access the Places listing while not signed in, however, and they are, months later, STILL listed as being at their old address.)

I think roles such as these (i.e. 3rd party ratings) are best left to non-profit entities. Not that there isn't any potential for conflict of interest simply because the org is non-profit, but it seems to minimize the possibility. Also, because non-profits are dependent on donations, there is more interest in transparency and honesty. I'm thinking about something like Charity Navigator.

Sorry I do not see how Google is in improvement in anything.

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