Fortune_Hunter - 1:12 pm on Oct 17, 2006 (gmt 0)

I didn't intend for the post to turn into a firestorm against the DMOZ rules when I made my mistake, but having read all the posts I think there are good points on both sides. When I submitted my site I carefully picked about 6-7 categories and submitted, because I felt I had good content to share on all those categories. Further, I had read that sites like CNN had hundreds or even thousands of links in different categories to different content.

While I will never compare myself to CNN, the point is really the same allowing sites with a diverse amount of content to be listed in more than one category. If the content is really diverse and valuable to people who may never search under the category where you are "approved", but may find you under another category, that adds value to their internet experience and allows them to find resources they would otherwise miss.

Now having said that I can see why DMOZ editors would also like to be careful because people can and will abuse this concept and detract from the value of the entire directory if they simply listed their site 30 times in different categories to get more exposure, but didn't really have the content to support it.

My feeling is that since DMOZ prides itself on human editors that evaluate each site on a case by case basis they should also consider evaluating each site on multiple categories on a case by case basis. Sure, such a step requires more resources and time, but the goal is the same, creating great listings and information for people that use the directory. That can and should include the possibility of multiple listings in the right cases.

Fortune Hunter