Contacting DMOZ

DMOZ no reply

[sjferret]

Hi All,
I have a site [snip] and I have submitted it to the proper sub directory almost a year ago and didn't see it come up or in any of the search engines that DMOZ feeds. I have written to the volunteer that is in charge of the sub directory a few times with no reply. I have submitted other URLs to DMOZ in the past with no problem. I am deathly afraid of being accused of spamming and have my URL banned but I am at lost of how to handle getting it listed?
Steve

[edited by: Drastic at 6:55 pm (utc) on Sep. 19, 2003]
[edit reason] No urls please. [/edit]

[hutcheson]

OK, attitude adjustment.

You can't "get" your site listed. "No site is guaranteed a listing." So don't try.

You can bring your site to the attention of some interested editor (by the "Submit URL" form.) Well, you did that. If it isn't listed within 6 weeks, you can Submit URL again, just in case the first one was lost accidentally. I presume you did that.

You can write to the editors, but we strongly discourage editors from communicating with site submitters, due to LOTS of bad experiences. I've written to a few dozen submitters -- most editors probably have never replied to any. I've had a couple of ludicrously impolitic responses, and no physical harassment or threats. I've been lucky, but I've been careful selecting correspondents.

And, of course, the editor you wrote to, may not even be active, or may not be active in that category.

You get lots better mileage asking in forums -- by definition, the editors that read them ARE active and ARE willing to respond. Of course, the response may still be "We've already got 100 sites in that category, and so far, no editor has felt the need of more strongly enough to spend time reviewing more sites. Eventually, someone will. But we don't know when."

What you will almost NEVER get is an editor saying, "I'll list that site right now!" Because, if the word got out, that editor would have hundreds of e-mails daily (besides the usual Microsoft viruses), and they'd never have time to edit. So we don't go there.

What the ODP is, is more-or-less-disinterested surfers picking sites they think are important, at the rate of several thousand per day, and adding them. That's not the same thing as surfers quickly reviewing sites _other_ people think are important.

If your business plan depends on website promotion within a set time, ODP can offer you no guarantee. You'll need to be pursuing other promotional strategies while you wait.

[CrimsonGirl]

Hmmm. In the 2+ years I've been an editor, I've received maybe 6 or 7 e-mails through the contact function on DMOZ. I've responded to every one. I didn't know it was "discouraged".

I'm sure the high-up editors are deluged with e-mails, so I expect them to be more selective. If I got a lot, I'd probably stop reading them altogether. And I've never received an e-mail asking what is wrong with a site. I probably would ignore one like that.

[windharp]

Normally it is a bit faster, it could be that long for various reasons. Two thinks to do:

1) Check if you received the second email (after you confirmed your email-adress there should have been an reply) stating "Your aplication will be reviewed"

2) If that is the case, head over to the Official ODP Forum, locate the "Become an Editor" section and post a status request.

[flicker]

Sometimes people seem reasonable in an initial email and then go psycho on you if what you tell them isn't what they wanted to hear. Editors are *permitted* to respond to anyone they want as far as I know; but I've been generally encouraged to point questioners to the public forum, where they can be told the truth in a slightly more controlled environment. There have been insults, threats, email bombs, and viruses sent to people's private email. Over a link! What is the world coming to! Anyway, that's why many editors don't want to answer private email. Some, like Crimsongirl, may answer email anyway; but you can't expect that any given editor will, due to email abusiveness. The public forum is your best bet.

>I am deathly afraid of being accused of spamming and have my URL banned

You can stop worrying about that, at least on this account. There are people who have asked for a status check in our forum every month for eight months and still gotten listed in the end; their obsessive checking and re-checking didn't HELP them any, and was in my opinion a real waste of their time, but it didn't make us REJECT their site either. Websites get accepted or rejected based on the content of the website. You won't get rejected merely for asking a question; not even for being annoying or making mistakes on your submission (though those might make it take longer for your site to be reviewed, of course). Conversely, some kinds of sites (mirrors, affiliates, most deeplinks) will get rejected even if the webmaster is sweet as sunshine and the site is very attractive. It's the content that matters.