Jez123 - 2:17 pm on Aug 9, 2005 (gmt 0)

I agree that there are lots of directory sites on the net - but there are lots of everything.

Good directories have a place IMO. I often use them as they often list sites that don't rank in the SE's due to no links or no optimisation and can often find interesting sites and products that I might not normally.

Also, they are a starting place for lots of sites - and cheaper than adsense. I get a some good referals to one of my sites from a directory.

And, if you want to talk about a middleman result, what about adsense? Don't they turn every page that they are on into a mini directory?

I agree however, that some directories are rubbish and hope that google is clever enough (for once) to not throw out the baby with the bathwater.