Webwork - 12:38 pm on Sep 13, 2012 (gmt 0)

Thanks for the reply, Jim.

In an increasingly data driven world I'm a bit surprised that such data isn't more readily available or that a "public good" entity wouldn't be a bit more ~willing/able to be transparent about it. Please talk to your fellow bosses.

can certainly see the downside

I can easily flip that on its head by a bit of rhetorical questioning: "What would be more relevant and probative of DMOZ's continuing value and/or utility than providing (some) evidence that it continues to drive traffic, the nature of the traffic, the beneficiaries, possible reasons for success (larger, well maintained subsection, etc.), etc.?"

I'm not inside the culture of the ODP but I've always had a hunch that the "enemy at the gate" (marketers, SEOs, etc) was, at the same time, "the great threat" AND "the great hope" for the role the ODP would place in search and discovery. The future, in that analysis, depended on how well the ODP handled its PR with the "website discovery and website promotion community" AND how thick skinned (in the phrase's positive sense) ODP's upper management was. The same community from which whining/whinging voices arose might, with a bit more positive engagement, may have been a source of "above the crowd" voices promoting the value and utility of the ODP as a continued source of value and utility.

On that latter topic I give you all the credit in the world for staying engaged in the ODP/DMOZ dialogue.

Honestly, thanks once again for stepping up to provide a bit of insight.