What's so good about DMOZ?

I mean do users really use directories to find things they like? I have NEVER seen anyone going to a directory to find something in their "niche" I have only seen users going on google and googling what they want... I don't think anyone wastes their time on a directory that is hard to use especially DMOZ with the green backgrounds of hell and the 1997 graphics.
The only good thing about directories are the backlinks nothing else.

 

Some do, but the Directory isn't meant to be a destination website, but a collector and organizer of data for others to use with a specific goal in mind. Editors do not act as a listing service for submitters (which is a common misconception), but instead concentrate on building categories of sites containing unique content.

When we're doing that, we can get these sites from any source, newspapers, billboards, yellow pages, submitted site suggestions, links we find on other sites, other directories, chambers of commerce, webmaster sites, server sites, and hundreds of search engines.

Any of those are viable sources for us.

By the way, my first personal choice is Google search, whether privately or as an editor, but we have nothing to do with Google. They are just one of many users of our data, though the largest, and they get the data for free, as everyone else does.

 

I see a fair amount of traffic from my DMOZ listing. I don't notice it as much in my referrer stats as in the contacts which come in; but from people attempting to submit manuscripts. We are only an online publisher and don't solicit submissions anywhere, so most of these end in disappointment, but since being listed, these submissions have been nearly daily. I feel sure it is DMOZ, as we are listed first for our category, thanks to the miracle of alphabetization.
Hopefully we'll be able to grow to take on a couple of these writers. It saddens me that we lack the resources to bring them to print.

 

The good about DMOZ are the backlinks. Not only from DMOZ but from many other directories using their database too.

 

The best about dmoz is huge database categories which is helpful for all directory owner to create categories and listing database is also huge

 

and that is it
Nothing else.

 

You guys know more about search and backlinks and that stuff. I've never had any reason to be interested in it for anything. I can see how it would be important to webmasters/SEO's, but it doesn't have anything to do with building categories in a directory, .

The only thing I know about search is that I like using Googles and ours really sucks, but ours is really meant as a category search of the Directory, I believe. To search for a site there, you need to leave the www. off of it, and just search for mysite.com.

 

DMOZ is the king of all directories.

 

Thank you, kind of nice to hear a few good comments, .

 

Bottom Line: There are more bad things about the DMOZ directory, than good.

 

I have to agree with that, but while there are people who have the misconception that dmoz is king when its nothing of the sort it will stick around for a while. There will be competition though I'm certain of that.

 

That's interesting. Competition for what? We collect data, organize it, and offer it freely to whomever wants to use it. If another directory pops up and does the exact same thing, I think we'd be thrilled to have another outfit with the same goal.

That's like saying a taxi cab that offers free rides, would be upset if another taxi offered free rides. The first one is maybe doing it for poor people who can't afford to pay, why would he consider it competition? I would think he'd be thrilled that someone has joined him in his cause.

 

What's this 'We' all you are is a volunteer.

 

We, as in volunteers. I only speak for myself, though, nobody else. But, volunteers believe in the idea of the ODP, and what it does, so I think I'm on pretty firm ground to say that I don't think they would object if another directory decided to do the same thing.

What would probably happen I imagine, is that some editors would work in both directories, some who had a bone to pick with one, might only choose to work in the other, each directory would probably consider the other as a sister directory.

The whole idea would be interesting, but if there were any competition it wouldn't be for submitters, but for editors. Websites are free for the picking, no directory needs submissions to list websites. Anything on the net is free game, a directory needs neither permission to list it nor the submitters help to list it.

Any editor can go out on the Internet right now and find a hundred new sites to list, without looking at one submitted site.

If the Directory shut off all submissions right now, it would take a year or more just to go through the site suggestions that have been submitted, and after that, editors could get along just fine by finding new sites on our own.

Many editors work in other directories now. I have an account at Chefmoz, others edit over at Wiki, some start their own niche directory, just for fun.

 

Not all kings are good...

I am willing to bet that once that first free taxi's public sponsors lost too much of their edge they would drop the project. It IS business in the end, and AOL and it's affiliates are reaping the rewards of many many links which bloat their numbers in nearly every ranking system. If you don't think it's about the money, then you should recheck things.... if it was truly about the end user their fantastic search engine would actually be fantastic and they Maybe would have bothered to keep back ups of things. As it stands, they are getting some fair editor traffic, links all over the net from the ODP and it's clones, as well as links from people asking what's up? All for the price of hosting. Thats GREAT if you compare the prices for such links from the BST section here at DP. The great thing about DMOZ is its links, but then, it only really helps if you have thousands of them, as that's when it's truly cost effective.

So it's all about that free taxi, and that guy that drives it...the only real trouble is that when you call him for a ride it takes him 'up to a few weeks or more' to get around to even think about giving you a ride.

 

You could very well be right, but despite what the corporates motivations might be, editors have a different motivation that has to do with the final product, and their own motivation is to create something for the web surfer, with or without a lot of corporate help. Editors have no control over that, all they can do is to use what is provided for them.

 

But its this abuse of good intentions by people like you that really annoys people. This misconception that Dmoz is a non profit making entity is nonsense, the so called 'Staff' of the dmoz get paid a hefty wage I'm sure, and for what? Watching people like you work for free.

Sorry crowbar, its not personal against you, its against the whole charade created. I'm going to stop looking now as the more I do the more I get concerned about dmoz http://www.skrenta.com/2006/12/dmoz_had_9_lives_used_up_yet.html

 

I agree that most senior editors have different motivation:

• Listing their own sites
• Selling links
• keeping the competition out
• .....

 

Jamie, you are getting yourself all confused again.

You are posting dear old skrenta's opinion on the ODP as being significant but in the same post you are making statements like "This misconception that Dmoz is a non profit making entity is nonsense".

However when one reads skrenta's opinion that you are championing it says "However, I maintain my belief that, without a monetary engine -- in other words, without making the directory a business at some level -- dependence on corporate patronage will eventually leave it weak and understaffed again"

Either it is a business or it is not a business. Nonsense or not nonsense.