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Dmoz the snail

         

christopher

8:21 pm on May 26, 2004 (gmt 0)



Someone wake me up with cold water. Woe - dmoz finally visited my site. Even if it did take 2 years lol

Can anyone please confirm if this is their link please.

[editors.dmoz.org...]

jo1ene

8:56 pm on May 26, 2004 (gmt 0)

10+ Year Member



Yep, this is it. They finally visited me for a correction after six months. Now let's see if they correct anything.

mars9820

9:05 pm on May 26, 2004 (gmt 0)

10+ Year Member



that they visit you doesn't mean they change anything :P

christopher

10:13 pm on May 26, 2004 (gmt 0)



Thanks.

So I'll do a search then. God knows where they would have put me, but I'll take a peek anyway.

theseeker

5:59 am on May 27, 2004 (gmt 0)

10+ Year Member



>>They finally visited me for a correction after six months.<<

Recent improvements now allow ODP editors to more easily find and process update requests. Also, the same improvements will hopefully make fixing or removing broken links much faster and easier.

victor

7:39 am on May 27, 2004 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member



Someone wake me up with cold water. Woe - dmoz finally visited my site. Even if it did take 2 years lol

Hmm, DMOZ has been around for over five years.

But it took you three of those before you even created your site.

During all those years, DMOZ editors were adding somewhere around 1,000,000 sites a year.

You must be using some sort of private meaning for the word snail :)

christopher

8:25 am on May 27, 2004 (gmt 0)



So how do you know how long my site has been online then?

No one knows that except me and my designer. But what's your point anyway.

flicker

1:47 pm on May 27, 2004 (gmt 0)

10+ Year Member



I'm sure the point is that the speed of the ODP is identical regardless of when your site was reviewed. A million sites a year is a million sites a year regardless of whether your site was the first one added that year, the last one added that year, or wasn't added that year at all. For that matter, ten sites a year is ten sites a year regardless of whether your site was added first, last, or not at all. DMOZ may be too slow or it may be terrifically fast, but the order in which the sites are added is as irrelevant to its speed as the order of hits and strike-outs is to a baseball player's batting average. (-:

christopher

3:32 pm on May 27, 2004 (gmt 0)



No one is interested in 'average speed' of this and that. They want their sites listed fast. The sooner sites are listed, then the sooner people can make a profit or whatever.

Now, I blame these editors. Problem with recruiting in this manner means uncertainty of the quality of editor, which must affect speed of entry.

Dmoz is quite clearly not paying these editors - which is the main crux of the matter. And all the status in the world of working for Dmoz etc aint going to be incentive enough to speed things up.

Why the hell would someone work for nothing. What, so they can say "Yeah, I'm an editor for Dmoz"

So what!

Together with the other million of dmoz editors. Now we have loads of editors hmmmmm, looks like saying the 'I'm a dmoz editor' don't have any status to it anymore.

If people know that dmoz has tons of editors, and still can't get it right - what does this say about dmoz?

I can input 1000's of companies in minutes. Beats poor old dmoz and their cash eh.

flicker

3:44 pm on May 27, 2004 (gmt 0)

10+ Year Member



Hey, just so we're straight. It's not the *speed* of the ODP you're cross about, it's the *order of the sites they added.* Namely about two million other sites before yours. Might make me grumpy too, but you've got to admit it's kind of amusing to call that SLOW. (-:

>No one is interested in 'average speed' of this and that. They want their sites listed fast.
>The sooner sites are listed, then the sooner people can make a profit or whatever.

Well, yes. I'm sure that people would also like it if I gave them a link from my homepage, and Microsoft gave them a link from their homepage, and all their competitors did. And that it all happened tomorrow.

However, I, Microsoft, your competitors, and DMOZ each have our own agendas which have little to do with whether or not you make a profit. All of us are interested in pleasing our own users, actually, for our various reasons. And though *you* might not be interested in how quickly the ODP is expanding outside of the profit margin of your own site, as one of its frequent users, *I* sure as heck am. Guess whose opinion is more important to the organization, and will presumably continue to be. (-:

victor

4:33 pm on May 27, 2004 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member



Woe - dmoz finally visited my site. Even if it did take 2 years lol

So how do you know how long my site has been online then?

I believed you. Any period other than 2 years invalidates your opening statement. Apologies if we were both wrong.

A potential DMOZ review starts at the date a site first goes online -- not the date someone first suggests a URL. Many, many sites (and often the more relevant ones) are reviewed without ever being suggested via the "suggest URL link".

Flicker has added a good answer to your other question -- thanks, Flicker.

helleborine

5:38 pm on May 27, 2004 (gmt 0)

10+ Year Member



Since site description updates have been mentioned, I would like to point out the following:

Generally, there are 2 kinds of update proposals.

1. URL/title/content of site has changed.

Great! This is a work saver.

2. Webmaster unhappy with description.

Often, webmasters want their description to stand out. They want to add "discount," beautiful," "wide variety," even "order now and get 20% off."

Inclusion of such terms in a description is against guidelines, and the proposal is usually declined.

It's not the only reason why a webmaster may observe that their site updates aren't made; you can always check your status at the Public Fora.

christopher

6:06 pm on May 27, 2004 (gmt 0)



Don't flatter yourself Flicker. You're just another editor mug - putting all that effort in for Free.

While they laugh and take all the rewards.

I suppose you think it's going to get you somewhere.

stever

6:15 pm on May 27, 2004 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member



Whether someone is an ODP editor or not, christopher, they deserve the same standard of respect as you should be giving to every other member of this board.

For "Web Professionals", remember?

flicker

7:13 pm on May 27, 2004 (gmt 0)

10+ Year Member



I was a user before I was an editor; I am an editor because I am a user. I had my user hat on in my previous response. My *editorial* opinion is that I don't care a bit whose site gets reviewed before whose, no matter what their attitude is like. I can't imagine how expressing that opinion would have been of any use to anyone, though. (-: The user's observation about who the ODP as an organization is trying to cater to--me who uses the directory to find things on a daily basis or you who are angry that it isn't providing you with free money--has a valuable kernel of information in there for WebmasterWorld readers who are savvy enough to notice it.

robotsdobetter

7:24 pm on May 27, 2004 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member



You know it's sad at the DMOZ because in over five categories that I seen today have over 1,000 sites waiting to be reviewed and they don't do nothing about it!

christopher

7:47 pm on May 27, 2004 (gmt 0)



You know Flicker, you really should be careful about analysing and assuming people's opinions - when you don't know what you are talking about where Service is concerned.

You made the assumption "you who are angry that it isn't providing you with free money"

I didn't say anything like that, and if you read my post you will see that I didn't.

Nobody here or on the entire web (except perhaps MLM, or scam artists) expects the SE's etc to provide free money. But we do expect to be listed in an established directory service, within a few months.

Mind you, I can understand that these SE's can become overloaded, but don't you think that 2 years is very long wait, even for a free entry?

I mean Yahoo listed me in about 4 months. And they get their results from Google, do they not?

And I believe ODP supplies Google results. So what gives.

It's very obvious why they do this - to sell their Advanced listings. But to offer a free service and then to take so long to provide it, can only go against them.

It doesn't matter how big you are (directory) you can still be considered useless.

flicker

8:04 pm on May 27, 2004 (gmt 0)

10+ Year Member



>Nobody here or on the entire web (except perhaps MLM, or scam artists) expects the SE's etc to provide>
>free money. But we do expect to be listed in an established directory service, within a few months.

Why?

I'm serious. Why do you expect somebody else's site to provide you with a free and unreciprocated link within the timescale you demand? Because "the sooner sites are listed, the sooner they can make a profit or whatever"? Why should your finances be anyone's problem but your own?

Really, the self-entitlement some people have just boggles the mind. I have even received a few angry emails demanding that I link to people from my PERSONAL HOMEPAGE because I had a link to one of their competitors there. Unreal. Just in case you missed the proclamation, folks, they abolished slavery back in 1863. ;-)

robotsdobetter

8:13 pm on May 27, 2004 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member



they abolished slavery back in 1863.

Who cares? This has nothing to do with webmaster stuff.

flicker

8:22 pm on May 27, 2004 (gmt 0)

10+ Year Member



It was meant to be light-hearted. (-: Sorry if it missed the mark.

The point is this: the ODP is not a service for webmasters, any more than my personal homepage is. The ODP is a service for its *users*: the people like me who use the directory to find things, and the people who use the directory's data to enhance their web pages. The ODP has no moral obligation to list any one site within three months merely because Christopher, or another webmaster, would prefer it that way. The ODP *does* have a moral obligation to list sites swiftly, because its users want that; but as I said way back in the beginning of this thread, we, the users, don't really care what order it happens in, and as Christopher said way back in the beginning of the thread, he, and other webmasters like him, care *only* about how quickly their own sites are listed.

There's a fundamental difference of opinion there, and like any sensible business of organization, the ODP is more interested in the concerns of its users than those of other folks trying to make a profit off of their actions.

Really, this misconception obviously is not limited to the ODP, or Google, or any other large group, or I wouldn't be getting scaled-down demands about my personal homepage. It just isn't a right to be linked to by another person's site. 99% of the world seems to understand that, but the other 1% sure does make a lot of noise. (-:

christopher

8:51 pm on May 27, 2004 (gmt 0)



And who exactly provides the actual service to it's users. Websites do. Without us, there would be no directory.

I can't see what the problem is by offering a little good service. This is the problem with the web in general, ka-ching, ka-ching.

And sod the customer (not the user). By giving something good for free - you actually gain customers!

Of course if it was down to you, then the only growth industry would be to become an editor.

Go to college and study business - then I might listen to you.

flicker

9:15 pm on May 27, 2004 (gmt 0)

10+ Year Member



The ODP offers plenty of good service. Just not to you. (-:

Webmasters are not the customers of the ODP; they are more like its suppliers. This can be a very beneficial relationship for webmasters who understand the distinction. But in no way are you obligated to listen to me. My words are spoken in general, and there are plenty of other people on WebmasterWorld besides you-- some of whom may find them of interest, or even be able to use this knowledge to benefit their sites.

robotsdobetter

9:24 pm on May 27, 2004 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member



And who exactly provides the actual service to it's users. Websites do. Without us, there would be no directory.

Without Google, Yahoo, AOL or DMOZ we can't get much FREE traffic (Remember we are not Microsoft or AOL), so it helps in both ways! Well, not that the DMOZ will send a lot, but will help!

stevenmusumeche

9:44 pm on May 27, 2004 (gmt 0)

10+ Year Member



Christopher, what do you not understand? It's a free submission, but you aren't entitled to get a listing there. DMOZ, a website independent from your company, does not have any obligation, legally or ethically, to provide a link to your website. It works the other way too - you have no obligation, legally or ethically, to provide a link to DMOZ from your website.

DMOZ is not a business, so it is not bound by the "business rules" that you spout. Most people are complaining that their latest and greatest site didn't get added. Well, what good will adding your site to a category that already has 200 similar sites in it already? The audience of DMOZ is the users of its data, NOT WEBMASTERS WHO SUBMIT SITES TO IT.

I don't see how this issue is so hard to comprehend.

cbpayne

10:08 pm on May 27, 2004 (gmt 0)

10+ Year Member



christopher - flicker and steven are right. You seem to be laboring under the impression that you are entitled to a link in DMOZ. If you have been to business school, perhaps you could explain what DMOZ actually owes you? Perhaps you should request a refund if you are unhappy with the service.

(BTW - in the category I edit, no site waits more than 12 hrs for rejection, moved or listed - I check 2x a day)

christopher

10:08 pm on May 27, 2004 (gmt 0)



Yes I FULLY understand what you are saying. YOU just don't want to accept that I'm ultimately right about this.

I must be the ONLY one that has this opinion out of the entire web population then! (About entry times).

This is not going anywhere.

steveb

10:09 pm on May 27, 2004 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member



"Why the hell would someone work for nothing"

To make the Internet a better place.

Also maybe to frustrate selfish dips.

stevenmusumeche

10:57 pm on May 27, 2004 (gmt 0)

10+ Year Member



Also maybe to frustrate selfish dips.

Perfect.

hutcheson

10:58 pm on May 27, 2004 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member



christopher, you are not alone in your opinion. And you are welcome to it. But the web is a large place, with room for more than is dreamt in your philosophy. And it is an expression of the same human spirit that drives colleges, churches, charities, and community orchestras.

The Open Directory, long since passed Yahoo in size, scope, and rate of growth, is by no means the only example of altruism on the web. Project Gutenberg is publishing 10 or 15 books a day, to compete with Harlequin Romances for the largest publisher in the world. The wikipedia is a serious challenge to the Encyclopedia Britannica for breadth and depth of coverage. The Free Software Foundation is developing and publishing some of the world's best software, doing more than anyone else (except Microsoft) to make Microsoftware look obsolete and disfunctional. Both the Cyberhymnal and Christian Classics Ethereal Library are larger than any comparable commercial collection.

Chase your dream, you won't be alone: and when you all get to it, you can fight over who gets the largest piece. We'll diminish the fight and increase the prize by our absence.

We have a a different dream, which won't be diminished by being divided.

oilman

11:21 pm on May 27, 2004 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member



I think that's enough DMOZ chit chat for today ;)