What makes it more unrealistic is that in order to get to the point in an editing career where you would be able to accept bribes and deliver you would have to have put in several thousands of hours of work having had your editing record reviewed dozens of times in great depth as you move upwards and gain the editing rights. To then throw all that away for $100, the respect you have built up over a year or more, is not something many would even contemplate. That doesn't mean to say that there are not a very small number of people that would go through all that and then turn bad or desperate, but they are few and far between. There is one branch, Adult, with a history of abuse that is well known (according to an Administrator). But I suspect that the nature of that is self-interest and competitor blocking rather than bribe taking. Possibly also the threat factor since it is not a nice business.
That site is pretty funny, I didn't know about it! Hey, it even answers some of the questions about mechanics: http://www.corruptdmozeditor.com/2004/12/how-to-bribe-dmoz-editor.html Their suggestion is to send paypal *before* submitting, without negotiating anything. I agree that it seems to be a fraud.
SEO professionals are welcome in DMOZ and can list their customers' sites as long as they qualify for listing, are declared, and the SEO/editor has the editing rights. As I said in http://forums.digitalpoint.com/showpost.php?p=1315642&postcount=1 it is the quickest way to get listed totally legitimately for the webmaster and the editor. There is something wrong that says an SEO/Editor can include a DMOZ listing in a package charge as long as they don't mention it, but someone who offers it as a nominated stand-alone service is corrupt. I actually think the answer is to remove taking cash for listings from the list of offences but control it tightly. Like Prohibition it is far easier to control something that is out in the open and it removes possible criminal elements.
So gworld, you're saying that corruption is actually mostly in the form of conflicts of interest (webmaster / seo guy becoming editor). This seems more likely.
Brizzie, what do you mean -- don't editors get editing rights in their category right away? Why would a corrupt person have to wait a year and build reputation?
No, I say both are part of gravy train for "senior" editors. Listing their own sites and getting paid for listing others. Because as new editor you have editing right only in 1 small category, in order to serve your customers, you need editing right in all categories and need to be a "senior" editor.
I suspect that a SEO that knows what he's doing wouldn't waste a second, let alone a nickel, on a DMOZ link.
Uh-huh. Troll alert! If you start a thread the way you did this one, I think you give up any right to complain about the responses you get. Hint: The staff at this forum disapprove of double posting. That's what the edit button is for.