http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_Directory_Project#Software Well, what do you know? It's not "shitty", afterall
Actually it is not very good at all. Data is not captured in a relational form but in a flat database. This greatly hinders a lot of potential editor tools and surfer features that could revitalise the project. Search is not real time but a quirky function based on a data download, and it can be weeks out of date. It isn't fit for purpose. Smart submission forms would significantly reduce spam and increase guideline compliance for titles and descriptions but the form has remained unchanged for as long as I can recall. Compare with the Wiki interface and you can see the weaknesses very clearly. Bottom line is that it is very out of date and requires major revamp to bring it up to today's standards.