Why would someone want to become a DMOZ editor?

In my opinion, yes. The vast majority of people looking to bribe editors (especially those here at DP) don't have sites good enough to make the grade. The majority of sites are just scraper sites looking to make a fast buck, and wrongly believing a Dmoz listing would achieve that.

 

I would actually agree, though not all of them. A few would just be morons with fantastic sites thinking that the ODP is a listing service with a payment option. A few others would/could be just thinking that they submitted two or three years ago and payment is the only option...

 

If it was up to me I would make the process of accepting new members clear to all. What I mean is nobody knows who decides whether his application is acceptable or not. Apart from that there are no guidelines about who is an appropriate candidate editor and that's why the whole process creates so many myths and many people are curious to see if they will be accepted just for the sake of it. Which in its own turn increases the amount of applicants and that leads to stricter approval process.

And after all let's remember that there are not enough categories for everyone who wants to become an editor..

 

I disagree. Millions of submissions and only 6000 editors? Much, much more is needed.

 

Meta editors (and catmods) decide. If you meant the actual individual who decides upon a particular application, most of us have learned the hard way that it's best to remain anonymous when declining an application.

Really? The publicly available guidelines on how we evaluate editor applications are here.

Paraphrasing them, I look for:

• Communications skills in the language of the category.
• Understanding of the category.
• Integrity

 

Ok and how do you look on people who are trying to become editors, but they own a site from the category they want to edit? Is this enough to make your application turned down?

 

Not unless they try to conceal it.

 

There is a problem in that link... it's in the guidelines for meta. Something I assume the basic editor does not really need to read, and likely something the average applicant has yet to bother with.

 

Guess what's hit#1 if you google for dmoz application guidelines (no quotes needed) .

 

Guess what's not listed on the page you get to after clicking the "become an editor" link...

I'm not saying that its not public, or can't be found, I'm just saying that it's not in a place the average person would likely look.

The about page or the become page should have a link to the Meta Guidelines for a would be editor.

 

I'm glad you referred to the application form. If you compare the Filling Out the Application Form section of its preamble with the evaluation guidelines, I think you'll find that they are largely stating opposite sides of the same coin .

Mind you, many applicants are so keen to become editors that they don't appear to have had time to read and take note of the preamble anyway .

 

Reminds of something my wife tells her students. "I don't give you grades, you get the grade you've earned."

So don't blame the metas for the answers you give.

 

Hey Spiderman.

I applied to be a DMOZ Editor again. Didnt succeed the first couple of times, hopefully i will this time. Thanks for convincing me to try again and i will let you know how i go.

I spent hours looking for 3 great sites, all in the region that I live in. I applied for a very small regional category where i live and work, so hopefully..............fingers crossed.

And before anyone asks........ My Webstore (signature) is currently in DMOZ and am applying because i think editing would be fun and I have no ulterior motives.

 

Just the kind of editor we need, .

Editing Guidelines
http://www.dmoz.org/guidelines/

Regional Guidelines
http://www.dmoz.org/guidelines/regional/

Special Guidelines just for Real Estate sites
http://www.dmoz.org/guidelines/regional/realestate.html

Unique content applies across the Directory, but in my own opinion, within Regional the name of the entity (Joe's Bar) and it's address (29 Pine Street) already make that entity unique, so anything on the site about Joe's Bar is going to be unique content. It's unique content because it only applies to Joe's Bar.

Real Estate sites in Regional are another matter. They are almost always going to be a cookie cutter type template with the same standard information on them. Unless they have unique content on them, listing them would be akin to a listing in a telephone book (which we aren't). What we might look for on them are personal information about the agents credentials, community service, home listings that particular agent is or has dealt with, personal knowledge of what the community is like, ect.

What we're looking for on those is something that would help the web surfer who is looking for an agent, choose one. Does the site have something unique on it to help the web surfer make that decision. If it does, then that would be unique content for that particular real estate category. If it doesn't, we don't need that site, it's in the phone book.

The first thing we look at in Regional is the address on the site, because all sites there are placed first by location, and secondly by topic. In my opinion, a good site would be any site that is located in that city(locality), and has some kind of unique content on it (which most of them do).

In a top Topical area of the Directory, like Business or Shopping, location is usually not an issue and not considered (except when a category becomes so large it needs to be subcategorized by location), and unique content is the first and most important factor.

We also have Business and Shopping categories in Regional, but those are small subcategories of each locality (city). The difference is a strictly cyber shopping site would be placed in the Topical "Shopping", and a store with an address and walkin, brick and mortar location would be placed in the subcategory "Shopping" of the locality (city) in which it is located within. (which is what you would be doing as a Regional editor, .)

I hope I haven't confused you, but, it was a good opportunity to give everybody a little insight about the Directory and what editors do. Most of our "secret" conversations that the public isn't privy to deal with where to place sites, adding new subcategories, reorganizing, unique content, sites that have url problems and how to resolve them, how to do this and that, training new editors, asking for new permissions, and other editing issues.

There are also the occassional "hot topics" where the fur flies. Those conversations need to remain private so that editors can feel free to speak honestly about issues. Disclosing such conversations in public is a breach of trust and does great harm to our ability to speak honestly and openly (as private conversations in real life are).

 

I think being a DMOZ editor would be interesting, but I think most SEO's look at it more as a way to sneak their own sites in, which is a shame.

 

A better question might be Why would someone spend so much time and effort trying to discourage new editors? Perhaps the time might be better spent encourgaging more new editors to apply to edit. Then there would be more editors, more sites added, and less time waiting on submissions.

PLEASE, everyone go and apply, then edit, edit, edit, there is plenty of work for you. You can be part of the solution, or just a bystander complaining.

PS: I am not an editor, nor a complaining bystander, I have an older site in the directory , and others I have submitted recently & I am hoping for listings one of these days. I pretty much go by the submit it, and forget it, & move on.

BWC

 

Actually you're right... it is pretty interesting... and believe it or not there have been some darn good editors with SEO roots. SEOs are people too, and just as capable of enjoying a volunteer gig as the next guy.

I'll admit I've been shocked at some of the people that went thru while I was there... pretty much the full spectrum of netusers, everything to kids that can probably speak in hex code to doctors, lawyers, etc. LOL... actually had to change a saying in there about how hard stuff was when an an actual rocket scientist joined.

If you get a chance to do it, give it a shot. Pretty rewarding experience... good group in there. Not everything we do has to show up on our bank balance.

 

I think it also becomes an obsession.

I have now been unsuccessful on about 8 applications to become an editor but i can see after i get the email back, where i have gone wrong. Its actually elementary mistakes and not drilling down, or clearly reading the category description. It also appears to be "a knack", in that its not hard, its just a way of donig things, how things are done in the ODP.

Im determined to become an editor now, if it takes me 100 attempts and im looking from the perspective that simply applying and filling out the form, is training me to perform the function i will be doing, anyhow.

I mean.....surely i can only fail so many times

 

It seems crowbar has found a new apprentice for his art. I hope you know the effect is limited, even your master didn't get that far.

 

If one can browse the net and have some fun, whilst also adding a site that meets the ODP guidelines, then surely that is fun, with the added benifit of helping all parties concerned.

It wouldnt be a job or a chore.......merely an escape from the wife and 3 kids