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If you're behind a proxy or firewall, this might be the problem.
[edited by: Laisha at 10:32 pm (utc) on Feb. 5, 2003]
[edit reason] removed link. see charter. [/edit]
I've read lots about this problem and have tried the following:
1. Turned off my personal firewall (ZoneAlarm).
2. Tried a different browser (so far I've tried IE, Netscape and Opera).
3. Tried a different ISP (so far I've tried three different ISP's).
4. Tried submitting at different times of the day (early morning, mid day, evening, late at night).
Nothing works!
About six months ago I was able to submit but got an error about not being able to detect my IP number. I believe that was ok as my submission was still recorded; but now I can't even get that far!
Maybe they don't like submissions from New Zealand...
This is a big problem. Whats happening? Any one know if/when it will be fixed.
As someone mentions above then it would say it could not determine IP etc.
Now at least today and for me it just seemed to hang there as if it were trying to process it.
The ODP has recently (past few months) been facing sustained malicious automated DDOS attacks. It may be in the form of dozens of cooperative pagewhacking spiders with grotesquely antisocially voracious behavior, or it may just be simple malevolence. It may be gathering information to use spamming.
Whatever, it has distracted support activity from the real bugs and enhancements that the project needs, which may even be the purpose -- there are some real ODP-phobes out there.
Whatever evil lurks in the heart of the perps, Netscape is addressing the problem in several directions. In the long run, they are adding gerbils to the server rooms, and even replacing some of them with hamsters.
But ... in the SHORT term: they've dedicated most of the main server's energy dedicated to editor-only connections. Which means everyone else (public surfers, public searchers, and most unfortunately, submitters) gets short shrift.
I'd recommend trying at different times of day. It's hard to recommend a specific time, though, because the problem is not human load -- it's automatic spam attacks.
Note that this is really different from the "Could not determine your IP address" (which means your submittal DID get picked up and you should NOT repeat it.) If you get the timeout, your submittal did NOT get picked up, and you need to repeat it.
ISP is Freeserve (uk ISP).
If you use Freeserve, then you will get the error message. Freeserve uses caching.
You'll need to submit through another ISP, which is what I do.
And as the other advice says use "site seach" at WebmasterWorld to get the previous threads
Sheesh.
Talk about OLD technology - even Alta Vista has upgraded to Armadillos.
there are some real ODP-phobes out there.
It is difficult to understand why anyone should have an antipathy to nice guys like you at DMOZ ;)
I sincerely hope that the gerbils get treated better than the editors
"The evil that men do lives after them;
The good is oft interred with their bones;
So let it be with Caesar. "
And on a serious note, thank you for that information as to the attacks and the the effects they are having on non-editor use of DMOZ. Gives a bit of understanding when we get delays (rather than just swearing ;) )
The Gerbils get paid...
I can't just sign up to another ISP just to submit to ODP. I've got a business to run and costs to reduce. If its happening to me (fairly standard setup) it must be happening to thousands of others. ODP must make it possible for the ordinary folk to submit sites.
I'm not complaining about Netscape's servers. The nice thing about hamsters and gerbils are that if need more rodentpower you can either upgrade all the way to capybaras, or (with a bit of effort, which is part of what's happening now) harness swarms of them in parallel. Whereas if you get locked into armadillos, ... well the big ones (glyptodons) are extinct, and the little ones are not at all social animals.
>It would be very interesting to know the server load produced by Google, Alltheweb, Ink and Altavista spiders. "adding gerbils" may not keep up the innocent.
It's easy enough to estimate. There are about 400,000 pages to pull, and they'd hit them about once a month. And they have "well-behaved", intelligent spiders. Altogether, averaging under 100,000 hits per day.
_One_ daily spider, _well_ programmed and _polite_, is four times that. I very much doubt that the spiders we're seeing are either. But the problematic ones don't identify themselves, which suggests that they are intentionally malicious.
and the little ones are not at all social animals
Then Hutcheson, neither are your present ODP editors
I am very sorry, but I could not resist that
> You'll need to submit through another ISPI can't just sign up to another ISP just to submit to ODP. I've got a business to run and costs to reduce. If its happening to me (fairly standard setup) it must be happening to thousands of others. ODP must make it possible for the ordinary folk to submit sites.
I've tried three different ISPs, at different times of the day, and still no luck. Also disabled proxies and firewalls.
I've tried three different ISPs, at different times of the day, and still no luck
Well all I can say is that keeping all the other factors constant (firewall, computer, browser, etc) and only changing the ISP from Freeserve to a non caching UK ISP, then I can submit to DMOZ.
In my case its Freeserve, and nothing else, that is preventing submission
He said not to worry about it - "you may get an error, but the page will go through"; or something to that effect. He gave some reason for the error that I now forget, but assured the person posing the question that these requests were getting through.
A senior ODP editor at the Search Engine Strategies conference in Dallas . . .
That senior ODP editor was the verysame Hutcheson posting above. :)
just curious....when have you had the time to get to know all 5,600+ of us?
I'm sorry. I've tried to figure it out, but to which post was this referring?
