Anything I can do?

What does the "common practices" on the Internet have to do with building categories for information seekers? Here's a straight answer for you.

Editors don't serve site owners like yourself, we build categories for people who are looking for information about a specific topic or geographical area. What part of that don't you understand?

That's very easy to answer. We currently don't have the resources to provide an automated system like that, and secondly, it wouldn't do you any good if we did. (other than satisfying your curiousity)

If I tell you, "Hey, I looked at your site and we don't want it so we deleted the suggestion. " How would that help you?

 

That would be no help at all... however replying with something like...

We reviewed your site and did not list it because it seemed to have several pages that are missing/incomplete. Fill in your own blanks and try again.

Could seriously result in a better page for the web master and in turn, a more suitable site for the directory.

Alternatively, replying with "Your site was rejected because it's a spam ridden affiliate page and will never be listed" could likely result in the person not trying again, which would lighten the load.

As for not having the resources, that is a matter with AOL, and if you could kindly give the contact information to the parent company, then I'm sure we could get the issue resolved by voicing our collective opinion on the matter. As it stands, it really looks as though AOL does not want to be contacted because they don't really care for the directory any further then you care for webmasters...

 

A common practice is not letting a person submit twice something you can easily know it's duplicated in your database, like an URL.

I would knew it was reviewed and won't spend my time trying to figure out whether I need to submit my site again or not. Because it could have never been reviewed at all (if it were lost during a database crash and recovery). In fact we don't care whether you want our sites or not. The only thing we need to know is whether our sites are in the submission database already.

But that would be boring for you. You wouldn't have the chance to tell the people how wrong they are about what DMOZ is. And how insignificant their sites are for DMOZ editor community.

You haven't the faintest idea how a database works, do you? Since DMOZ have a database with all websites suggested. Knowing the same URL is in the database already comes at no cost. Try not to justify DMOZ if you don't know what are you talking about.

Just in case, here is my contribution to DMOZ

SELECT count(1) FROM suggested_site WHERE url = '<new url here>'

Code (markup):

Of course a unique key constraint would do just fine if you check the INSERT result. haha

 

You're assuming stuff again. It would be really good if you stopped doing that.

The data is currently held in a gazillion text files, not a database to which SELECT statements could be applied

 

Does DMOZ frown upon business/commercial sites? In other words, sites that are only informative regarding their products, and not necessarily an industry topic or blog?

 

That, with hope and prayers is something that will be fixed in DMOZ2.0 that the blog keeps mentioning

 

Do you know how MySQL, Oracle and most relational databases store their data on disk? hehehe very much like large text and binary files. And that is not excuse for not creating an index.

 

Not at all. For Internet sales, a site would be listed in Shopping:
http://www.dmoz.org/Shopping/

A brick and mortar walk-in business would be listed in Regional in the locality in which it is located:
http://www.dmoz.org/Regional/

The Business section of the Directory is a little different and described here:
http://www.dmoz.org/Business/desc.html

http://www.dmoz.org/Business/

Does that answer your question, or did I misunderstand it?

 

Actually, no I don't, nor do I want to know, lol. Way too technical for me.

I would suggest you contact AOL staff with your suggestions about databases, brother caprichoso, editors don't have anything to do with that part of the Directory, being just lowly volunteers an all, .

You still don't get it. What you want is immaterial to us because we don't serve you. You are allowed to suggest a site to us for consideration, as a help to us in building categories, but that is only one of many sources we have in finding new sites.

You have no other right, and all you're owed is a thank you, which you receive when you suggest a site.

Only those who do the work of building the Directory (that would be the editors) have any say in how it operates. That, of course, wouldn't be you.

 

They appear not to be interested in DMOZ.

I guess that resumes pretty well what a DMOZ editor thinks about mortals. Thank you!

 

Not Mortals, just pushy and impatient webmasters

 

@straw33

One other link that's important:
http://www.dmoz.org/guidelines/include.html#notinclude

 

All you can do it be patient and wait.