This could potentially explain a lingering error on my Google Drive. Might there be movement within Google to contact the owners of data that was lost?
Surely this is why Google docs can manage collaborative working more easily -- because they can control of the whole stack.
Better than the OP would be file syncing of arbitrary files between arbitrary systems is hard.
What if I edit the same pixel, in the same image, in the same nanosecond on two different devices, and then sync?
There are situations where conflicts are necessary. The focus should be on making conflict resolution easily accessible, not on trying to be smart and overriding files at random
(Disclaimer: I work there but have absolutely no knowledge about how Drive stores data)