Hmm, interesting, editors think "The submitted sites is the worse source and some editors just ignore them". That explains a lot.
Editors use multiple sources to find sites to list. The suggested sites is just one of those sources (but its the worse source and wading through them is an unproductive use of a volunteers time if you want to actually find sites that are worthy to add). More than half the sites that get added to DMOZ were never suggested in the first place.
Think of it this way...if a directory is to be useful to the web surfer (and not just a place for webmasters to get backlinks for SEO purposes), then it has to list the most important sites on a topic. Can you imagine, for eg, these sites actually spending time submitting to directories: The whithouse; Nike; Walmart; Amazon; Google; etc ... how useful is a directory if these key sites are not listed? Some directories do provide a submission processing service for getting backlinks. Some directories are trying to provide a directory of useful resources for the web surfer. Which if the above 2 types of directories is google going after?
As many years as DMOZ has been around, sites like you mention (whitehouse, nike, walmart, amazon, etc), true authority sites (not G's definition), should have been added long ago. If you are not going to review the submission queues then why not be honest and simply stop accepting submissions?
They were added long ago, but do you really beleive that they were submitted by the webmaster? I never said the submission weren't reviewed. They are just a bad source of new sites and some editors ignore them. Do you remember about 3-4 yrs ago when the submission function was broken for a few months --- that was the period of greatest growth for DMOZ. The role of a DMOZ editor is to build a category of useful reources. To find sites they use multiple sources, the submission pool is just one of those sources (just a poor source). Editors are free to prioritize there time as to which source they want to use.
I posted my site to DMOZ about four months ago. The site is strictly informational for tourist and locals it's all about the city's San Francisco. But I haven't heard anything and still not listed. I don't know if I should reapply.I don't have time to be an editor just to get listed.
Judging by the sites I showed you earlier I can easily draw the conclusion that Dmoz does not have a system that works. What they need to do is setup a system where visitors can vote on what they think the best websites ares. Kind of like how Digg is setup for people to vote on News. People can have a button on their website where people can vote for their website. The top 20 websites in each category and sub-category will appear on Dmoz. What do you think?
And then services will start popping up in the services section similar to the digg services where people offer to get your website on the front page.
I'm sure the people at Dmoz can figure out something that can't be easily cheated. Having a bunch of random individuals making their own decisions on a website like Dmoz isn't that smart in my opinion. And who's to say they won't get bribes from people who badly want their website in Dmoz?
At the end of the day the Directory belongs to DMOZ and it's up to them how they run it. I have submitted sites which have never been listed, I also applied to be an editor and was rejected. That doesn't mean they're running the directory wrongly, but it does show they don't accept 'random' individuals as editors.
I'm not complaining but rather expressing my views on things. I think we're all entitled to our own opinions.
It provides an experience, you can learn new things, network, be part of a community and help contribute.
Digg's broken. Getting to the front page of Digg requires you to have a more sociable account (i.e. a lot of friends & fans), and what you actually submit is usually not of importance. I started reading Digg a few years ago, but now it's just a bunch of random comics, pictures & videos. It can and does happen. When someone finds out, your editor account is removed and the bribed URL is blacklisted - it will never be listed again. The random individuals are still setup in a hierarchy. For instance, I manage my own small category, and a person above me can still swoop in and remove any listings that I've approved (which they don't approve of). Some sites still slip through the cracks, but most of the time, it works.
Check out this posting I just found on ShoeMoney.com. And some of you guys are trying to tell me that the way Dmoz operates is legitimate? There are also several other postings of editors trying to bribe people for money to get their site listed in Dmoz. http://www.shoemoney.com/2007/08/26/dmoz-extortion/