Moderating Mapping Data submitted by the General Public
We want to get the general public to submit data about items they find in the real world onto an app map.
For example - let's say we're asking birdspotters to log sightings of birds onto the sighting locations on a map (that's not actually what we want them to spot and our birds are always in the same places)
Ideally they'd all play ball and submit just valid data. However our experience so far is that some people will deliberately make up data and put 'dirty' data on the map.
So we need to have a 'data checking' procedure. If we make this too hard and force them to 'verify' themselves (somehow) then there's a danger that users will not bother with one-off data submission.
However if we just let them submit data there's the danger that false data will be submitted to the map - and without actually going to the location and auditing it, it will be impossible to tell false data from true data.
One approach I'd thought of was to have two classes of users:
Trusted Users - who sign up and can post data on the map. People who then visit their locations can then score their username giving them an onscreen reputation score. If their Reputation is high we assume they are not making things up; if their Reputation is low them we physically have to go to investigate their data points.
One Off Users - they are allowed to enter a datapoint directly on the map (or submit their data which is pre-moderated so that it has to look OK on the map ). But these datapoints visually appear different on the map, and are only converted to a 'verified' data point, when another member of the public has visited this location.
Any ideas on how to tackle this would be appreciated.
Clarifications:
1/ Motivation to submit data is general public spiritedness (a bit like my birdwatching analogy);
2/ I think uncertified data should be usable - most people play ball; it should be realistic for other users to verify it quite quickly (and they would be motivated to report it if it had landed them with a wasted trip)
3/ Anyone can use the app.
4 / Users would be motivated to contribute as it's in their interests for their to be plenty of geographic data points