Editor banned after Shoemoney extortion

What a boring, boring, boring story. The rules are extremely clear - see http://www.dmoz.org/guidelines/communication.html#privacy And this is of course why jdevalk got kicked out. If "Shoemoney" had the balls to tell what editor tried to extort him, that editor would have been gone immediately. I'm very sorry that jdevalk was kicked out over this issue, but if he can't respect fellow editors privacy he shouldn't be part of the community - it's that easy to me.

It's OK that you want to bash DMOZ, but please do it for a valid reason - and please make "Shoemoney" give us the facts (if some of you know him) ...

PS! Ivan, if I told you something in privacy, and then you told it to the world we wouldn't be friends anymore. (Not that we are friends now.)

PS! The manner that editors are kicked out - without reason or defense - is of course worth a discussion, but not in this case.

 

hansfn: you don't agree, fine. I made a mistake, fine too. My account, which I worked hard and a lot on, got deleted. NOT FINE. more like complete nonsense.

 

Great idea for Google to have a clean out!

On the same logic, they could dump their webmaster tools. After all, they ain't prominent on the home page, and Google themself don't use them.

It'd inconvenience a tiny proportion of Google users (I suspect 99% of all Google users have never used the webmaster tools, including most of the Google users under the age of 20).

A few people find them useful? Well, f[vowel]ck 'em. yes?

 

That's kinda messed up.

Anyways, there's alot of other things to do besides editing dmoz. JoeAnt is an alternative. Having ur own directory I guess which dmoz doesn't let it's editors do is another alternative.

Actually Google doesn't use dmoz any different then any other directory besides using the descriptions. They mention on their webmaster guidelines, that u don't have to submit your site to google to be listed in the Google Search Engine.

They say if there are links to your site, Google will follow those links and will find and include them in it's search.

They mention one way of getting links is to submit your site to Yahoo! directory, dmoz and other industry specific directories. That's about it.

The only reason Google has a directory is that all big portals have their own directory.

Most sites which come up on the first few pages of Google are not listed in dmoz.

Try it, search for anything you like, and see if the sites are listed in dmoz.

Dmoz, IMO is pretty much following in the footsteps of AOL, which basically now has been cut down to microsize.

They used to have a huge data center right in the outskirts of Dulles Airport. Don't know if they still control it, or Worldcom took over or what.

 

So omertà is still being fully enforced, jdevalk should be lucky he is not wearing cement shoes on the bottom of the sea.

BTW what f***** community??? Community is bunch of people working together and helping each other not backstabbing bunch of <insert your favorite curse> which are obsessed with getting more editing rights and keeping them and don't give a **** about who they hurt along the way.

Manically hiding content of editor notes and internal forum both of which can be fully read by anyone with average IQ taking five minutes two apply as editor is probably one of most idiotic decision ever made - paranoid secrecy about something which can easily be accessed by anyone and then instantly removing people for violating that and then wondering why is DMOZ so much despised.

Shouldn't everyone be equal and get equal treatment? Well what can we except from little führers running DMOZ.

 

And DMOZ bashing can be very fun since they are constantly messing up and their damage control makes bad things look even worse and public relations attitude "entire World is against us but we are right" makes them such easy pray.

BTW does anyone recalls anything nice about DMOZ?

 

Then in which case? I brought it up in the case of Compostannie and was called a troll and worse by meta and admin. Yes, its worthy of discussion, but from all appearances (inside & out) it's simply a taboo topic. Sad isn't it.

The state of how things are ran within the Meta community should in all cases show just how they are...in fact it does, and in the end, it is that group (not any other) that will be the downfall of the directory.

Demand transparency, or YOU may be the next to be ousted without word or warning.

 

Ouch. Poor guy! Very sad. Wow. That is pretty sad. Sucks for him

 

Well the way I see it, is that dmoz maybe thinks it is doing a favor by letting people edit it. Going by the words on this snapshot.

http://www.joostdevalk.nl/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/login-removed.png

The editors making tons of money are really the ones making out, cause they are getting what they goaled for.

They pretty much know how http works and where to acquire proxy ip's which are not categorized as open and probably have several accounts. And they will probably never get caught either no matter what dmoz does. It's just how http & ip networks work.

The dmoz admins just see them as logins from different user agents from say Brazil, New York, China, Paris .......


Now for the few out there which really are interested in editing, I guess it's like danger zone as u never know when u'll get booted or why.

 

1) Senior editors trade listings with each other, I list yours and you list mine.
2) Senior editors hint to ass kisser editors that they should hurry up and approve some submissions. Ass kissing editors chasing higher editing rights will approve it.
3) They tell the link buyer to submit a submission, they approve a submission.

And many, many more imaginative solutions for listing their affiliate links or selling links.

 

I love my community, and I was overjoyed when I got to be an editor. Though when I started things were still a bit hodge podge from the meltdown so I sat on the place for a while while a few of the bugs got worked out. I was just starting to actually make my little niche a better place when Annie got fired, and that is when I quit...because I like to talk, and while I am generally civil, I'd have rather left on my terms which I'd know, then their hidden veils, smoke, and mirrors.

I wonder how many editors in the project have left for reasons like I have or who are simply sticking to their one cat fearing that if they ask for more, or even speak up they will be booted by some over zealous Meta or another.

 

He thinks by being loyal a** kisser he will one day be given ultimate power of meta (unless he already is one), that is unless they decided to sacrifice him as scape goat for something before.

 

No, I'm betting 90% of editors simply got bored especially since metas can take weeks to approve or reject request for extra categories so if your one of those editor who get editing crave every few weeks and instead of instant editing rights they are treated like little children, spammers etc. never mind the fact that category has zero commercial value.

So when faced with bureaucratic dinosaur which trusts nobody and choice of editing at Wikipedia where everyone is welcomed and nobody is treated with suspicion until they actually mess something up and newbie errors are addressed politely by other users not to mention secrecy paranoia doesn't exist since there is no secrecy.

Oh and so-called community is virtually non-existent since number of post in internal forums is ridicules - it can take days to get single response.

 

Sounds to me like the domino's pizza 30 minute deal.

At one time, u could order a pizza from domino's and if it arrived later then 30 mins it was free. Then it was changed to $3.00 off. Then finally when a driver killed someone while trying to make that guarantee, the government came in and they stopped the 30 min deal.

I worked as a driver at dominos in York, Pa and in a few locations in the Northern Va area, while going to school.

Technically, managers were not allowed to tell the drivers to hurry up or bust their butts to get the pizza there on time.

But that's just technically, . You start delivering late pizza's and ur out the door.

I remember one time behind fairfax hospital, I was in such a hurry, that I didn't put my car all the way in park and got out to get the pizza their on time.

My car hopped into reverse and banged the car sitting in the parking lot, luckily it belonged to the people where the pizza was going and they just laughed it off.

So there's alot of stuff which goes on but doesn't get out.

I'm an editor at JoeAnt. Added just one site, mine. They don't have any problem with that.

Plus that anthill & stuff is kinda fun too. Too bad, I don't have much time for it.

 

I know you put alot of good honest work in to your categories Joost, don't worry people on power trips do come undone in ways they just don't expect.

Shovel + Button = Dugg

 

Well how about telling us what you really wrote on that editor note jdevalk. was it really as nice as you present in your blog, or did it have a serious profanity directed at DMOZ? I looked at the site last night and looked at your editing account because you brought what was a dead item back to life, not with a sensible discussion, but with profane remarks about the directory. You knew the site was banned, you knew it had been banned for several years and yet you chose to breathe life into the argument and also to bring an editor directly into the situation.

Quite frankly I have no problem defending this booting. Your actions and words showed that you really did not belong. If that means you join the vitriolic group of ex-editors on here willing, often, to do anything or twist anything to bring DMOZ into disrepute, then so be it.

 

Conclusion: Corruption and bribes are OK but profanity is wrong.

 

I guess that's the group I'm in... though honestly, all I've asked for was changes to aid you as an editor. However, for every point I see brought up against DMOZ I generally see in reply nothing but personal attacks. So if you'd like people to pick one side or the other maybe, just maybe you yourself should see which side you feel best fits your description of ex-eds.

 

Your very generous in wanting to help us, but frankly I think we can manage without, but thanks for the thought anyway.

 

Sadly DMOZ gotta pay for this now !!
What a big mistake that editor has done
SUCKS BIG TIME man!