Dropped from dmoz after a year and a half.

PS> Geez, how does one get above the rank of "peon"? I feel like I'm at my old job.

 

LOTS of them...

Really? What? (not counting editors...)

 

Minstrel you meant (not counting editors ...... and Google).

 

Not really... I don't think Google loves DMOZ. I think they just haven't got around to replacing it with something better, but I have no doubt that they will in due course. There are just too many things wrong with DMOZ for Google to continue to shore it up. And honestly, why would they want to? What's in it for them?

How many times this year has Google even bothered to update its feed?

 

"the spider that the ODP uses certainly doesn't remove listings based on a single check"

I find it hard to believe ODP has a spider at all, considering there are year old dead sites up there. And tons of redirects.

 

My impression is that webmasters and SEOs don't love the ODP because of Google. Quite the contrary - I'd like to suggest that the ODP is hated because of the link to Google and the result that causes.

I think that if Google dropped its feed from the ODP (or it's using the replicated ODP feeds in it's rankings) tomorrow, the degree of antipathy towards it would decrease dramatically. Instead of it being something you all hate, it would become a case of "ODP? What's that?"

The ODP may well continue, just with a lot less attention from the web professionals.

 

Which is why I made the comment in that same post:

 

I agree... totally. And I think it's a virtual certainty, although not tomorrow.

Or anyone else except DMOZ editors... I mean other than "web professionals" and DMOZ editors, does anyone even know that DMOZ exists now?

 

Minstrel, we have to stop meeting like this - we're agreeing with each other far too much.

 

Frankly, Alucard, it's a pleasure to finally communicate with someone from DMOZ who doesn't just spout canned slogans...

I'm not asking anyone to agree with all my opinions -- and I'm sure you don't (don't worry... it's mutual) -- I'm just asking that DMOZ "representatives don't insult our intelligence with sloganeering -- please just go away if the only thing you have to say is a quote from the RZ/DMOZ databank of canned responses and press releases.

 

Psst, minstrel, you forgot to close your quote...

 

WTF do you mean? Would DMOZ take out a site because you express your opinions about them? Or would that mean that if I do some butt-kissing for DMOZ I will get all my sites listed?

Sorry, but your comment is really dumb.

 

Here's an additional thought as a follow-up to the Google comment made earlier.

In my view there is a fundamental culture clash between the ODP editors and the web professionals. You only have to read most of the exchanges on RZ, here and other fora to see that. I don't believe that either side is going to change the mind of the other.

The real beef of the web professional is that Google uses the ODP data as an important "reference point" for it's rankings (yes, we can debate how little or how much until the cows come home, but it's obviously non-zero and it is perceived to be significant, otherwise people who care about such things to make a living wouldn't be so upset about it). Given your opinion on how well/badly the ODP is organized, I can easily see how you would reach that conclusion.

So I guess the question I have is why Google uses the ODP data? I mean they are constantly tweaking their algorithms and formulae, trying to find the best way to service their customers, right? If Google regarded the ODP as corrupt or useless, wouldn't they drop them like a hot coal? I can't think it's because they are not paying attention.

(and I'm not trying to look into the future, here or speculate what may happen - if it really is that bad, then why haven't Google stopped using it a long time ago?)

Look, I'm not an SEO - I haven't made a direct penny off any website design that I have done, and I don't give a tinker's about how any site I have appears in any rankings, so I really don't understand these things. I came on here for understanding, as it was obvious from what I read on RZ that I didn't get this aspect of what you do.

So could someone please put any bitterness and sarcasm they feel to one side for a second, and try to help me understand this?

Thanks

 

I personally don't consider myself a "web professional" nor do I especially care about rankings directly reflected from my link on dmoz... I was just a little confused over the removal since my traffic has only increased and I believe my content has only gotten better over the past year. I do spend at minimum 4 hours per day on this site... just confused.

 

I just want to clarify what I mean by the term "Web Professional" - essentially it's anyone who makes a living directly form doing work with web sites. For instance, if the owner of a restaurant designed a web site just to publicise her business, that's not it. But Web Designers, web Marketing people, SEOs and the like definitely are.

To my mind, if you are concerning yourself with traffic figures and where you rank in search engines for anything other than geekish enjoyment, you are what I refer to as a web professional.

Sorry if I caused any confusion.

 

I don't think it's because they haven't been paying attention... I think the fact is that they have had other more pressing things to do and they don't see ANY directory as a high priority. I think the Google Directory was a nod to the Yahoo Directory that at some point Google thought they should perhaps have but not enough to create their own. In effect, the DMOZ-fed Google Directory has been like an extended Google Labs project which never really got going. A couple of years ago, Google reduced the prominence of the Google Directory on their websites, which coincided with a sharp reduction in the frequency with which they update their DMOZ feeds. I think that was a signal -- or a reflection what limited importance they give the Directory. If it was truly important to Google, they would keep it as up to date as possible -- their casual treatment of the Directory tells me they don't value it very highly at all.

At this point, I see only two serious futures for the Google Directory: (1) Google will create their own, divorced from DMOZ, and do it right, throw some real resources at it, as they have done with their other valued ventures; or (2) they will simply dump it altogether and cast DMOZ adrift. Either way, I think anyone who is betting on a long term future for DMOZ as a Google "partner" is in for a serious disappointment.

 

Try to keep up, fryman. In fact, that is EXACTLY what a number of people have claimed (the taking out of sites part for pissing an editor off, not the getting them listed because of butt kissing).

So it's not such a dumb comment. It may not be accurate but it's not such a dumb comment.

 

Great, another conspiracy theory, just what we need...

 

Which conspiracy theory is that, fryman? The one where Coop editors were personally singling you out to deny your ads? That one?