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I want to be a dmoz editor

But I dont want to give 3 new listings

         

pearl

5:40 am on Feb 28, 2003 (gmt 0)

10+ Year Member



I am thinking about becoming a dmoz editor.

But I dont want to give 3 more links for the category because the additional links would be my competitors - who are not smart enough yet to be listed:)

Will the 3 new links be added?

Can I complete the application and not list 3 new links and yet have any hopes of becoming an editor?

jim_w

12:56 am on Apr 14, 2003 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member



heini

My site is as clean as they come. Probability because I’m so paranoid. (GRIN) As I stated, I did file what I’ll just call a FYI to their feedback.

than there's nothing to fear
except of course fear itself.

etoile

I mean OK to have many editors for one cat, not OK to have many cat's with one editor.

rfgdxm1

This is copied and pasted from dmoz. Maybe I’m misinterpreting it.

[dmoz.org ]
‘Multiple submissions of the same or related sites may result in the exclusion and/or deletion of those and all affiliated sites. ’

Maybe I’m just stupid for honoring their request, or as I said maybe I’m misinterpreting it.

cornwall

OK, I’ll read the thread, and I’m sure it will explain it, it always does at webmasterworld.com, but to me it seems pretty clear ‘Multiple submissions of the same or related sites…’ and I still think it is an open invitation for abuse. Especially since they could automate some kind of checking to enforce, as I interpret ‘Multiple submissions of the same or related sites…’ and allow everyone to be listed only once. This would be, to quote an all news channel, ‘Fair and Balanced’

rfgdxm1

2:01 am on Apr 14, 2003 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member



>http://dmoz.org/add.html
‘Multiple submissions of the same or related sites may result in the exclusion and/or deletion of those and all affiliated sites. ’

While it says that, the problem is how can an ODP editor know *who* is submitting these? It could be someone who is spam submitting their competitor's URL to 50 different ODP cats. Thus, the idea of deleting a site with multiple submissions obviously has problems.

>OK, I’ll read the thread, and I’m sure it will explain it, it always does at webmasterworld.com, but to me it seems pretty clear ‘Multiple submissions of the same or related sites…’ and I still think it is an open invitation for abuse. Especially since they could automate some kind of checking to enforce, as I interpret ‘Multiple submissions of the same or related sites…’ and allow everyone to be listed only once. This would be, to quote an all news channel, ‘Fair and Balanced’

It is possible that the deeplinks were added by ODP editors without them being submitted. I suspect this is the case with most, if not all, of the CNN deeplinks.

jim_w

2:29 am on Apr 14, 2003 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member



They do not need to know who is submitting the site, just that the site already has a listing. I mean, it says it several times.


  1. Do not submit mirror sites. Mirror sites are sites that contain identical content, but have altogether different URLs.
  2. Do not submit URLs that contain only the same or similar content as other sites you may have listed in the directory. Sites with overlapping and repetitive content are not helpful to users of the directory. Multiple submissions of the same or related sites may result in the exclusion and/or deletion of those and all affiliated sites.
  3. Do not disguise your submission and submit the same URL more than once. Example: [dmoz.org...] and [dmoz.org...]
  4. Do not submit any site with an address that redirects to another address.

I don’t know that I accept the ‘deeplink’ stuff. Just my opinion. Looks like a crutch to me for people to dishonor dmoz’s requests. Of course that is just my opinion. The site I am talking about reviews software, but they are listed in a software cat. I am sure it was not the intent of dmoz to make a software cat a topic for reviews. That would be naive.

rfgdxm1

2:47 am on Apr 14, 2003 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member



The deeplink policy at the ODP leaves a lot to the editor's discretion. The guidelines generally disfavor this. However, there are exceptions. One of the most notable is authoratative news sites. Another is cases where the deeplinked content is totally unrelated to the main site. Say, if a widget safety site has a large section on the history of the Punic wars. Since there is no cat where both are on topic, the deeplink qualifies.

As for that software review site, is there a cat for just software reviews? If not, I can't see where else to put it but a software cat.

jim_w

3:13 am on Apr 14, 2003 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member



Personally I just think that someone at dmoz, no doubt in a high place, at least approved the rules they have published on their web site. It is the responsibility of the editors as well as the people submitting sites to abide by said rules. No exceptions.

I know it can be hard to select only one category for a web site, but, if that is the hardest thing I have to do all year, I would be one happy camper. Your assumption is that a person cannot select only one category. I disagree. I think that everyone smart enough to create a web site ought to be smart enough to select a single category that best fits the web site they are submitting.

When I was entered into dmoz, there were a lot fewer categories. The one I selected was the best fit that there was at the time. There are now better ones that fit my web site, and I would have selected them instead of t he one I choose. I am trying to get my single category changed right now to a newer one that better fits my site. However, I doubt that it will happen due to an editor. If everyone just picked one category, then maybe the editors would have more time to do their jobs. If they put some automation into their site and only allowed one listing, it would require smaller drives, less people time to maintain and it would be better maintained because it would be simpler. And that makes for a better directory.

Just my opinion.

etoile

8:33 pm on Apr 14, 2003 (gmt 0)

10+ Year Member



I think that everyone smart enough to create a web site ought to be smart enough to select a single category that best fits the web site they are submitting.

Not necessarily. Having sites listed in more than one category cuts down on the legwork both users and editors have to do - if a site fit more than one category but could be listed in only one, editors would have to evaluate the possibility of relcat or @link to the other appropriate cat. If this were the case for more than one site, the number of relcats/@links would increase. This makes more work for the user, who has to wade through even more listings to find the information they're seeking.

heini

8:54 pm on Apr 14, 2003 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member



Jim, in short: there are lots of legitimate reasons for sites to have more than one listing. If you believe this is not the case with your competitor, and you really think it's an editor doing your competitor a favour, do as motsa said. Nothing more to be said about this.

jim_w

2:37 am on Apr 15, 2003 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member



etoile
This makes more work for the user, who has to wade through even more listings to find the information they're seeking.

That is what keywords, content and search engine algorithms are for. To help an end user find what they are looking for, in my opinion.

heini

in short: there are lots of legitimate reasons for sites to have more than one listing

In my humble opinion and as I interpret it, it violates their submission rules regardless of how many legitimate reasons there may or may not be.

If you believe this is not the case with your competitor...

Yes, as I stated I already filed a complaint. It seems to me that the 'competitor' issue is actually a sidebar, the topic for this thread I believe is what is the appropriate behavior for an editor at dmoz. That of course would depend on what rules dmoz has in place, how are those rules interpreted by others, and how are they enforced, if at all, but I may be mistaken.

I don’t want to tick anyone off, but I do feel it is a very important topic and much more substantial now than when it was originally started. So if I should shut up, I will. It just seems to me that this is an important topic because it creates backlinks doesn’t it? I’m not sure. If it does this would of course effect the google placement and the guessestimate or 1%, pointed to in the prior message, may be totally off now. If the above is true, then the opportunities for abuse would be very high. Wouldn't it?

Wish I had the time and knowledge to write a perl script to actually audit the number of categories over 4 or 5 or so. Personally I believe the 1% to be much, much too low now, although it could have been dead on at the time it was written.

Nothing more to be said about this.

Agreed. Everyone seems to have their own opinion and interpretation. I have made mine more than clear. So I shall not post any more on 'this' thread if that is what you have in mind.

etoile

1:22 pm on Apr 15, 2003 (gmt 0)

10+ Year Member



That is what keywords, content and search engine algorithms are for. To help an end user find what they are looking for, in my opinion.

Perhaps you've noticed that this is the Directories forum. ODP isn't a search engine, and isn't governed by keywords, content, or a search engine algorithm. A directory serves a different purpose, one of which is to expose the user to relevant sites they might not find through a search. The functioning of the site - allowing a site to list in more than one category provided each category is appropriate - is designed to cut down on the work for the user, as I described.

Sorry to keep beating the dead horse. Feel free to ignore this post.

jim_w

1:52 pm on Apr 15, 2003 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member



Perhaps you've noticed that this is the Directories forum. ODP isn't a search engine, and isn't governed by keywords…

They get married as soon as a search engine starts using a directory, don’t they? At what point is there separation if a search engine uses a directory for at least partial criteria in the listing process or the searching process?

I do see your point and perhaps this is where the discrepancies are coming into play.

heini

2:19 pm on Apr 15, 2003 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member



The ODP was huge before Google even was on the map. It was never intended to be a backbone for search engines algos.
And I certainly think the ODP should not even take Google's PR into consideration.
The ODP should just do what they do best: continue to strive to build the best and largest human edited directory.
Everything else will fall in it's place eventually.

jim_w

2:47 pm on Apr 15, 2003 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member



And I certainly think the ODP should not even take Google's PR into consideration.

Or vise versa. I don’t think google should count ODP and everyone that uses ODP on their site as more than one link-back. OK to use the words in the different categories, et. al. just not the physical link-backs. (or what every they are called. I’m getting one of those coffee rushes)

Everything else will fall in it's place eventually.

Agreed. One way or another.

cornwall

8:13 pm on Apr 15, 2003 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member



>>I don’t think google should count ODP and everyone that uses ODP on their site as more than one link-back.

I have studied this subject in some depth, and as far as I am aware there is no evidence to support that remark

Perhaps you could post evidence if you have it. I would be interested to see any evidence that Google gives cumulatively any more weight than the one backlink.

etoile

8:30 pm on Apr 15, 2003 (gmt 0)

10+ Year Member



count ODP and everyone that uses ODP on their site

This might be nearly impossible, as it's not always apparent to the human eye - and certainly not to Google software - that a site is using ODP data.

jim_w

10:05 pm on Apr 15, 2003 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member



cornwall

I have studied this subject in some depth, and as far as I am aware there is no evidence to support that remark

In a previous message I wrote

It just seems to me that this is an important topic because it creates backlinks doesn’t it? I’m not sure.

Wish I had the time and knowledge to write a perl script to actually audit the number of categories over 4 or 5 or so.

Using a script and an audit deal would be the only real way to prove it. And your not going to do it on a Windows machine unless you do a SETTI, (or what ever the abbrv. is) thing with the screensaver. google makes it impossible to prove, and I'll bet for a good reason. It may disclocse some of their algorithms.

However, go to google, digpile et. al. and type in…

[domain-with-lots-o-cats.com...] +dmoz

And see that every category comes back with a link.

However at google when you enter…

link:http://www.domain-with-lots-o-cats.com +dmoz

It comes back with nothing, even though if you leave the +dmoz off, it has them listed.

This was interesting, when I was messing around with trying to prove the above, at MetaSearch I came back with a DMoz.org Open Directory Project: Unofficial Editor Support page on some PA ISP. Wonder if there is an official one.

etoile

Pretty much anything that one can view with one’s eyes, there can be a perl script to fetch it and store it. It’s just a question of if you want to use SQL or a text database.

hutcheson

1:00 am on Apr 16, 2003 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member



>They get married as soon as a search engine starts using a directory, don?t they?
No, they're just good friends, otherwise Google would be a bigamist (remember the Yahoo feed?).

>At what point is there separation if a search engine uses a directory for at least partial criteria in the listing process or the searching process?
At every point. Search engines have been using links from listed pages as criteria to the listing and searching process since their inception. Throughout the entire history of SE's, anyone could set up two or three (or 400,000) link pages on their site, and had them used as criteria (in various mysterious ways) by the search engine spiders and rankers. Google/Alexa/et al are merely continuing the tradition in their own clever idioms.

hutcheson

1:03 am on Apr 16, 2003 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member



>I don?t think google should count ODP and everyone that uses ODP on their site as more than one link-back.

This is the directories forum: you probably want to suggest that over in the Google forum (where at least it will be the right people who will be ignoring it). Here you should be saying something like:

"I don't think ODP should design its structure around Google's current way of using and/or spidering it," which would be ignored by the right people for the right reason -- that is, because it is already ODP policy.

etoile

4:17 am on Apr 16, 2003 (gmt 0)

10+ Year Member



Pretty much anything that one can view with one’s eyes, there can be a perl script to fetch it and store it. It’s just a question of if you want to use SQL or a text database.

jim_w, you obviously didn't understand what I said. It's not always apparent to anyone or anything that a site is a downstream user of ODP data. You specifically said ODP and everyone that uses ODP on their site should only be counted as one backlink by Google. What I am trying to get across is that while some sites may use ODP as their data, they might hide that fact for their own reasons. (Many sites do this very well.) Because it is not obvious that they are using ODP data, they would be counted as another backlink. All I'm saying is that it's impossible for your statement to be implemented.

jim_w

6:08 am on Apr 16, 2003 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member



hutcheson
No, they're just good friends, otherwise Google would be a bigamist (remember the Yahoo feed?).

Reminds me of a line out of a Marx Brothers movie.

At every point. Search engines have been using links from listed pages as criteria…

I can’t argue with that.

(where at least it will be the right people who will be ignoring it)

I wish someone would. I’m getting tired of saying the same thing over and over, and over and over.

"I don't think ODP should design its structure around Google's current way of using and/or spidering it,"

I think it is vise-versa. Which is why if editors break the submission rules as stated by DOMZ, look above for the URL, et.al. and as I interpret them, but it is pretty clear with their statements see msg #:93 it could be a problem.

My only point, which I thought I stressed, is that according to the submission rules as stated by DOMZ, look above for the URL, et.al. is that only one listing is allowed and there are editors giving out not just 2 or 3 but listings in 7 different categories. Due to this, and depending on how the algorithms of google work, and given that it is now the biggest search engine, that there is a potential for abuse by the editors, which is the topic of this thread, as I perceived it. And that it would be simple enough for DMOZ to insure that there is only one submission per site thus solving all the issues I have brought up.

The fact that people won’t stop kicking the proverbial dead horse and keeps defending the multiple listings in DMOZ even though it violates their submissions rules, probably indicates something.

etoile

When you do a search in most search engines, if a site is listed in a directory, it will come back with the path to that site as …
www.searchsite.com/misc/business/quality
or whatever. If you do a normal search in google, they actually have the category just above the last line in the description if there is a directory listing. While it could be possible to disguise it, most I have found do not go to the trouble because there is no logical reason to. Too much work and not enough buy-back. Not to mention that someone will figure out they are disguising it thus making them potentially look like a fraudulent site.

All I'm saying is that it's impossible for your statement to be implemented.

Which statement? Never mind I don’t want to know any more.

I’m wrong there is no such rules for multiple listings at DMOZ, my monitor must be playing tricks on me, and there are no potential ways that any editor could possible do anything that would change the results of any specific search on any directory or search engine. This has now become more time consuming than it is worth I'm not even marking the Do you want an email notification of replies Silly me, why didn’t I realize that before.

[edited by: Laisha at 7:09 pm (utc) on April 16, 2003]
[edit reason] delinkified [/edit]

steveb

6:13 am on Apr 16, 2003 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member



"The fact that people won’t stop kicking the proverbial dead horse..."

Irony alert.

etoile

7:46 am on Apr 16, 2003 (gmt 0)

10+ Year Member



Now I'm amused more than anything else.

cornwall

8:40 am on Apr 16, 2003 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member



>> there is a potential for abuse by the editors, which is the topic of this thread, as I perceived it

I think you will find that the topic of this thread is "I want to be a dmoz editor But I dont want to give 3 new listings" ;)

kctipton

1:43 pm on Apr 16, 2003 (gmt 0)

10+ Year Member



Wow, have to agree with cornwall there.

cornwall

4:39 pm on Apr 16, 2003 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member



>> What I am trying to get across is that while some sites may use ODP as their data, they might hide that fact for their own reasons

Does this mean that AOL do not take steps to police their licence conditions [dmoz.org]

These among other things state:-

"2. Attribution Requirement. As a material condition of this Open Directory License, you must provide the below applicable attribution statements on (1) all copies of the Open Directory, in whole or in part, and derivative works thereof which are either distributed (internally or otherwise) or published (made available on the Internet and/or internally over any internal network/intranet or otherwise)..."

cornwall

4:41 pm on Apr 16, 2003 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member



>>Wow, have to agree with cornwall there.

Just goes to show that very occasionally ODP editors and I find things to agree on!

John_Caius

8:35 pm on Apr 16, 2003 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member



There is an editor-view-only category called ODP Licence Agreement Violators and I guess those sites get contacted by ODP representatives.

g1smd

11:17 pm on Apr 16, 2003 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member Top Contributors Of The Month



>> And that it would be simple enough for DMOZ to insure that there is only one submission per site <<

Define site.


www.mylittlewidgetsite.com -- yeah, have to agree, one listing.

www.geocities.com -- hmm, different plan required?

www.small.isp.with.non-obvious.name.com/username -- human review?

hutcheson

10:34 pm on Apr 17, 2003 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member



>>The fact that people won?t stop kicking the proverbial dead horse and keeps defending the multiple listings in DMOZ even though it violates their submissions rules, probably indicates something.

You misunderstand the circumstances, and mischaracterize the guidelines.

LISTINGS of multiple PAGES in a single site are "allowed in exceptional circumstances" in the EDITORS' guidelines. Editors MAY review a site submitted once, and may list it, or subpages of it, multiple times. This has nothing whatsoever to do with the "SUBMISSIONS RULES".

Multiple _submittals_ of a single site or related sites are _forbidden_ in the SUBMITTERS' guidelines. Although no exceptions at all are mentioned there, editors have mentioned certain exceptions, and encouraged specific kinds of multiple submittals (i.e. regional/topical, multilingual) in forums like this, and even occasionally in private e-mail. (I have written to a few dozen webmasters suggesting how they might submit particular types of deeplinks, to help editors quickly find and review high-quality _informational_ -- as opposed to marketing or retailing -- content.)

This is why the frequently-heard reasoning that "I saw my competitor with xxx listings, therefore it must be all right to submit my site xxx" is ALWAYS invalid.

PatrickDeese

1:07 am on Apr 18, 2003 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member



>> I do not want to give DMOZ any of my competitors sites in advance. Who in their right mind would want that?

If I became an editor, of course, I would add my competitors listings - if they apply. <<

The idea of being an editor at Open Directory is to improve the content of the categories you edit.

As an editor you should be improving the category and making it as complete as possible. If you do not want to contribute to the quality of the directory then you do not deserve editorship. Editors aren't supposed to be passively waiting for sites to trickle in, they are supposed to be looking for sites that are appropriate to their category and list them.

Anything other than that is a doing a disservice to the cat and to the Open Directory Project.

rfgdxm1

2:17 am on Apr 18, 2003 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member



Yep. If an unlisted site sits in the queue for longer than some webmaster thinks, he complains. Now some are complaining they have to few deeplinks listed? The ODP has obvious reason not to want people submitting lots of deeplinks.
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