Google Directory Search

[Owlcroft]

The Google Directory is the Open Directory sorted by, and showing graphically, PageRank. The Open Directory's own Search facility is, even by their own admission, essentially broken, and is close to useless. Google apparently does its own searching of its Directory.

Being a replica of the dmoz directory, Google's also has the bizarre category structure that dmoz does, one apparently extracted from the collective nightmares of the weirdos who assign telephone Yellow-Pages categories (whose life goal is to make sure that nothing, ever, is listed at where one would expect it). So it is hard, without scrupulous notes, to keep track of where a given site is listed. But that's why there is a Search, yes?

What, then, is one to do when that Search is as apparently broken on Google as on dmoz itself? I can be looking right at the Google Directory page with a given site listed on it, search for that site, and be told it cannot be found in the Directory. Whatever is going on here? Moreover, some sites seem to swim in and out of G's ken--for a few weeks you can find them, then you can't, then you can, and so on.

I'd like to look in now and then on a few sites, to see if PR has changed; do I have to keep paper notes??!?

[Dominic]

The search function in a directory is pretty key isn't it! Do they care so little about the directory that they have let it slip? Hope not!

[macdesign]

But the Google search is created by Google, and should have no connection with the terrible DMOZ search. Now DMOZ never admits to having a proper search working, and with no $ to buy a decent search, we can understand.

But why can't Google get it riight with all the money they have?

And also Google does not copy the DMOZ structure correctly, and displays the sites in random order - which is pretty pathetic. I made a copy of the ODP structure in less than weeks work, so something is really wrong with them.

[PRBot.Com]

I'd like to look in now and then on a few sites, to see if PR has changed; do I have to keep paper notes??!?

The answer is simple: http://www.zonebot.com :D

Our search may be a bit slower but it works :D

[shivam]

Dmoz is nothing without google. dmoz directory are added by google and search result too. Google could start directory like yahoo has their own with some editor and some payment just like joeant..

[macdesign]

If Google ceased to exist tomorrow, DMOZ would be exactly the same. Over time, some small number of editors would leave since they only edit in DMOZ because of Google.

IF DMOZ ceased to exist tomorrow, Google would be exactly the same Over time, their directory would get more and more out of date, and they would probably drop it.