What does the "@" means?

In the DMOZ categories.

[fischermx]

Hi,

In the DMOZ categories, sometimes, some categories has an "@" in front of them.
I notice this categories are somehow listed under more than one place. Is this what the "@" stands for?
What is the proper name to the categories that uses the "@"?

[cornwall]

The @ means that it is in another "tree" of the directory, not the one that you are in.

In effect all it really means is that the editor of the page you are looking at cannot edit the @ pages (but can only edit pages below the page you are looking at, that are directly "down" from that page.

In other words don't worry about it ;)

[hutcheson]

The technical term for those is "@links" (pronounced "links"). The technical definition of
"@link" is "a related category that could also be considered a subcategory (if it weren't already a subcategory of some OTHER category)". I call them "stepchild categories" sometimes.

Yes, @linked categories always appear in at least two places in the ODP category hierarchy. All but one of those places contain the "@" character in front of the name.

You'll see similar concepts in other hierarchical taxonomies like the librarians' Dewey Decimal System and Library of Congress system.

[flicker]

That's pronounced "links"? I've always been pronouncing them "atlinks." :-D

[mister charlie]

i think another term for them is symlinks - that and atlinks - i think hutcheson forgot to add the "at" in his reply...