My pet DMOZ thread

I want my own pet DMOZ thread so here it is.

So far I have submitted 10 sites to DMOZ, 4 of my own and 6 other peoples (with their permission). The Oldest was 7 months ago, the latest 2 month ago. Sites accepted = 0.

I just wonder what the point is of a directory that lists sites 6+ months after submission. The info on the site is probably outdated and irrelevant.

DMOZ, in my opinion is a dinosaur spending it's time staring at the sky and watching the meteor hurtle towards it. As long as it keeps staring, it's only a matter of time till the big crash.

 

Bah, i just ignore DMOZ nowadays. The only reason I'd submit links to it is if i were an editor...

 

I was young and foolish.

 

If this is true DMOZ has done a very good job in my eyes. If a site is already outdated and irrelevant after 6 months it is not worth visiting and listing.

 

But those are the sites being listed, the out dated and irrelevant ones.

 

Do you have proof of this? If so, I would love to see some examples. Thanks.

The conclusion only old and irrelevant sites are being listed does not in any way logically follow from the fact that your sites haven't been listed (or anyone else's for that matter).

 

If it takes 6 months+, which seems to be the trend, to be listed then that is the proof that sites are outdated.

 

So essentialy you are saying that you are only buidling sites that are of any use during their first months of live. If that is the case would you do me and the other DMOZ editors a big favor. Don't waste our time by suggesting these worthless sites. We are only interested in sites that have a much longer spam of usefull life. Somewhere in the range of 5 to 10 years.

 

I'd say a good pecentage of searches done are for current events, why should anyone use DMOZ to search for them?

 

If you want current events, go to a news aggregator - most of the search engines can't keep up with current events, either. News aggreators do a MUCH better job, if you want to use several sources.

DMOZ tries to list stable, established sites, not the fly-by-night ones that will disappear in a couple of months.

 

This is not directed at you, but there seems to be a lot of ify behavoir as far a sites being listed. If a few people scream foul, you can write that off to them being upset, but as more and more voices join in, it starts point in the other direction.

In my opinion, and I have a right to that opinion, DMOZ has some major issues and sooner or later either they will be fixed or the associatoin with Google will be severed. Once that happens DMOZ will be just another directory.

 

" the associatoin with Google will be severed"

That day cannot come too soon.

 

how many of those grievances are genuine, rational and deserved (and proportional to the good, hard work DMOZ editors dedicate to the project)? and how many are skanky webmasters trying to make a quick buck from their fly-by-night websites, upset their sites didnt get in and so having a rant?

 

As an editor I know there are things that could be improved. Nothing secret about that. But the so called "major issues" webmasters and seo's mention are most of the times not the problems we think are major.
IMHO our major issue is the spam we get. If G would drop the directory this will probably stop. So please let it happen today. (this is my personal opinion)

 

I certainly agree. Perhaps the people around here saying stuff like ;'DMOZ is dead' and 'DMOZ has no value to a webmaster' are actually benevolent editors in disguise?!

 

Based on my observations in my time as an ODP editor, I think that most of the hardcore ODP editors get all the gratification they need just from building the directory. I don't think they really derive any self-worth from the fact that Google, or any of the other hundreds of "downstream" sites, find the data useful. Most just want to build a good directory. If some people find it useful, then so be it. If some people don't find it useful, then they can use another tool. In other words, they see it as a hobby, and if others choose to use the results of that hobby, then more power to them.

I agree that if Google were to stop using the ODP tomorrow, then there would be some editors who would leave, there would be a lot less complaining in webmaster and SEO fora about it, and the ODP would get a lot less submission spam.

The fact that Google (and others) continue to use it is, in my opinion, because they still perceive a value in the directory's data. Personally, I am very glad they use it, but if they stopped tomorrow, that would not affect my decision whether or not I edit in any way.

I believe strongly that if Google were to stop using ODP data tomorrow, the ODP would not die. It would just disappear from a few people's radar screens.

 

If you just make one minor wording, I'd agree completely:

 

Most of them. Obviously more than you realize.

Not nearly as many as the average knee-jerk party-line DMOZ editor would like to believe.