One of the projects I have been working for the last month (i was very busy) is ready for the public. Democratic Directory is a general web directory with a very simple design and easy to use, but has several features that as far as I know, other directories don't have. Most directories are flooded with links submitted automatically by programs and the owner often is demoralized and has a hard time keeping the pace with the incoming stream of new content submitted. Because of this, I have implemented a system where webmasters that wish to submit their websites must earn a few points by reviewing the websites and categories other webmasters submit before them. A website or a category is accepted in the directory only if 15 directory users have voted it and out of those 15, 10 users have agreed that the website or proposal follows the rules of the site. You earn points if your vote has contributed to the websites' acceptance or refusal, and you lose points if you say the proposal is fine but others don't agree with you. That's where the name of the website comes from, you earn points by voting other users' proposals, which in turn vote your proposals. On regular directories, you usually have no control where your website will appear, after you submit it. Most often, your link jumps from page to page, as links are submitted on your category and often, your website is listed on the same page with websites of dubious quality, that may have escaped the owner's review. With Democratic Directory, you don't have to worry about that. As soon as enough websites have gathered in a category, a new page is created in that category and the websites configured to appear on that page will remain on that page. This way, as Democratic Directory will get older, the page your website is on will be consistent and change less times. If you feel one of the websites listed on the same page as your website hurts your website, you are free to report it and express your concerns, if you are right the website will be removed, "grayed out" or corrected. There are also other features implemented but currently disabled, because they need more testing, such as caching, more meta tags (page creation time, last modified on, comments on each link, akismet filter for comments, etc.) As I have mentioned above, the website is currently in Beta stage. I believe I have killed all bugs that I know of, but if there are any problems please contact me with a brief description of the bug. Due to the way the system works, you will have to create an account. You can use any mail address you wish, but keep in mind that you will have to confirm your account. Naturally, you won't get any spam and I won't sell your email addresses. DP members receive automatically 20 points after registration, but your websites or proposed categories still have to be reviewed by other users that register, in order to appear in the directory.
interesting concept - I will be curious to know how many people you get using it. Mostly people are in a hurry when they are submitting sites and this one will definately slow them down. That said, I submitted two and reviewed the only other submission there.
It only takes a couple of minutes to review about 15-20 websites, a number big enough to earn 10 points and have your website reviewed by other users. A think it's a good trade-off. On another website of mine, Helpedia Directory, no matter how much I try to protect the form from bots, about 40-60% of all the websites submitted are done with automated software. It's getting harder and harder to keep the pace, considering I already receive about 180-230 websites each day. From my point of view, right now I don't have a better idea, it's either something like this or paying for submitted website or for an account, which I'd rather not do. Thank you for your websites, I have also reviewed them and so far, they each have one "Yes" vote from me.
Interesting idea. I registered and voted for several sites (all "yes") and proposed one site of my own. Everything worked smoothly, except that I didn't appear to receive any points for casting votes. I also wonder if I'll be able to come back later see the voting results tabulation for my site. Anyway, I appreciate your hard work in setting this up, and I also think the voting process will lend some credibility to the directory and its listings
When a website receives 15 votes, the voting process for that website is closed. If it received at least 10 "Yes" votes, it is listed in the directory and all those users who have said "Yes" will be credited with one point. If you said "No" and the website did not make at least 10 "Yes" votes, all those who said "No" will be credited with one point and those who said "Yes" will lose one point. So because of this, you can submit as many websites you wish, and when you're credited with enough points, the oldest website you have submitted is placed under review and 10 points are subtracted from your account. Right now, there are no mail notifications to let you know when your website is listed in directory or placed under review or rejected, but there will soon be. Also, some websites may screw up the review page if they have anti-iframe code, I have coded a workaround for Internet Explorer but for Firefox I have to code something else. If your website is rejected, the vote list will be available, otherwise it doesn't make sense to keep the vote history if your website is listed in the directory.