Editor Bookmarks for link popularity

[copyguy]

OK, hoping this isn't too controversial to the upper-tier editors here, and won't be construed as me being an editor solely for my own benefit. I figure it certainly would be out-of-place in the DMOZ.org Editor forums, and many of the same folks there are here, so I'm sure I'll hear if it's unethical, but...

DMOZ editors have their own 'Bookmark' category where they are basically free to whatever they want (list sites, cool sites, create categories, etc.) Staff has more-or-less said "Do whatever you like" (exceptions being people dropping javascript codes in listings, which seemed to cause some problems)

That said, if I were to list pages from my site in my bookmarks, with my important keywords as the titles, in a category structure with the keywords - wouldn't this help my site's and individual pages link relevancy? Besides being listed on DMOZ, which certain spiders like, MANY other sites pick up the RDF dumps so I'd eventually have the pages listed on 100 sites, all using links with important keywords.

As far as ethics - yes, if that was why I became an editor it would be bad. But I've put in a few hundred hours volunteering - hours that I could have spent working my site on search engines (Yes, I did add my site, but it is listed fair and impartially and I don't modify it. Actually does quite poorly in AOL/Netscape/etc). Would it really be wrong to give try to give my site a boost in the above manner?

[trident6]

Hi,
Bookmarks are there for the editor's use. They are personal work areas and can be used to gain experience in editing. A trial and error area, of sorts. They are not intended for public view. No ethical question for me...how an editor utilizes their bookmarks would only reflect their ethics, not mine. That's my take on bookmarks anyway...hope it helps.

[mivox]

I just dug around over on DMOZ... if bookmarks are not intended for public view, why are the editors bookmarks lited on the public profile pages?

I'd say you can put whatever you want in your bookmarks... and putting your own site in there would seem almost automatic. But I wouldn't subit your bookmark page to other search engines. that would seem kinda sleazy.

[Laisha]

Originally, while the bookmarks were open for the public to view, they were not searchable. They still aren't searchable on ODP.

They are, however, on most of the "downstream" directories, which is what leads to confusion.

>That said, if I were to list pages from my site in my bookmarks, with my important keywords as the titles, in a category structure with the keywords - wouldn't this help my site's and individual pages link relevancy?

You are probably right, although I won't comment on the ethics of it, since I really haven't pondered it much.

I will point out that editors are removed from ODP for unethical behavior as it is discovered, and so if the use of your idea became rampant and obvious, it would probably lead to unpleasantness.

[Mike_Mackin]

>it would probably lead to unpleasantness.

< Unpleasantness > gentle warning < / Unpleasantness >

[kctipton]

I'm with laisha on this. Using your bookmarks to manipulate SE results is the same to me as abusing one of your listed categories to get better SE placement. Manipulate at your peril.

[SEGuru]

Hmmm, Laisha... from time to time, I see the words unpleasantness and your name at close proximity with one another. Why is that! hehehehe

;)