Today I checked and I found out that 3 of my websites have disappeared from DMOZ . 2 of them were listed just a month back. Wonder whether I was targeted or maybe they are pruning the database...
Or it could just be the editor of the category was a competitor who didnt want you listed. It's more common than you think that webmasters in a niche become the editor and stop any rival sites getting in. I wouldn't bother with DMOZ at all, unless you're an editor of course.
Checked again and found another 4 of my aged football sites gone ... Of course there will be reasons but wonder if this happens often.. Some of them are still in google directory so I think they were dropped only recently
Yes indeed. One of the important roles for volunteer editors is checking listed sites to ensure that they are working, correctly listed, and still meet the guidelines for inclusion (which is well worth reading, particularly the section on "Sites Generally Not Included"). Those that do not are dealt with accordingly, as jimnoble has explained.
You've had 7 sites removed? In how long... any clue? Check the wayback machine (that's still around isn't it?) maybe that can give you a better guess... If they were all removed recently, you may wish to look into just who removed them and if they have a beef with you on some level. *shrug* Not saying that is what happened, or saying that happens a lot, just saying it COULD happen & may be worth looking into. Though, from reading your posts here I'd assume that it was based on the sites being outdated/old and if that is the case, then kudos to the ODP
Just to clarify: sites are not removed for being "out of date" as long as they still contain enough unique content to add value to that category. Many very worthwhile educational or reference sites have not been updated for years, but they still remain useful and authoritative. Similarly, sites with original material such as personal accounts of a journey or an illness may still be useful additions to the directory long after the event has passed or the person has recovered or died. There are many such examples of "old" sites which are still worth listing. To repeat: the Site Selection Criteria should always the first place to look when suggesting a site or wondering why it is no longer listed.
The sites were all delisted within a month cos I remember checking a few weeks back and they were there. The sites are updated fairly regularly and they rank quite well in google. It does baffle me when so many of my sites are delisted in one go. I think we should be submitting sites using fictitious names/emails while submitting to DMOZ ... I have used my real name and email everywhere.
Do you really think advising deception will help? Surely the best way is to submit a compliant site with good content, making the editor want to list you.
I agree that many sites that are old can still hold value, especially in the case of personal accounts and as reference material where such references are still true to the mark. Though in many cases "out dated" sites that should not survive are along the lines of where such use as a reference would make the reader believe that such information is current and still holding true. So yes, I do agree there are many "old" sites that are still worthy of being listed, though I'd suspect there are many "old" sites that are certainly not...
That's interesting, would it also apply to Weblogs which by their nature I would expect to be updated regularly if not frequently?
Its a damn shame but it's true. I tried to get into DMOZ for 2 years. The site I tried to get listed is an authority site, it's not like it's a junk site. I don't bother anymore.
Could it be that part of the problem here is that you're thinking of them as "my websites" with the understandable emotional and/or financial attachment of someone who has put work, time and energy into them, whereas in reality they were not actually your websites at all, because you were not yourself in control of them and their survival? I'm not trying to make some facetious point here, I'm genuinely asking for information, because I don't actually know what 'DMOZ' is.