What is a point of applying for small town if his interest is about riddles? This is the stupid thing about DMOZ, instead of letting people volunteer in an area that they are good at and interested, they have to apply for a nonsense category that they have no interest in. Care to guess what kind of people do that and why? What is the end result? He can call himself an editor, DMOZ next month stats for the number of editors go up with one, so people will not notice that it is dying. After that, he will may be fix 10 listing that is submitted to that category, hoping to get permission to edit the category he wants. That will not happen and the only thing his editor position is good for is to login sometimes and read the internal forum. That is the reason 7500 editor is nothing but just plain BS and the real number is about 500.
For a few reasons. Some of them are : Because the directory wants people who want to edit - not people who only want to tend their site. Because it's harder to correct mistakes when someone is working in a category that has (or has the possibility of having) hundreds of sites - as opposed to one that only has 20 or so. Because putting a new editor into a category that has hundreds of sites in it's pool of unreviewed can be very daunting. Because there is a lot to learn - and it's easier to learn when you only have a small part to work with.
Arrgh! I lost my can opener, I can't respond. Come on gworld, find some new comments. The canned comments are getting old. Added: Whew, luckily lmocr brought hers. Good job being prepared lmocr.
And this exactly what they got by accepting you. I think the system is not working very well, don't you agree? Why the hell any body wants to edit something that they have no knowledge or interest in? Unless they have other motivation such as adding their own sites as you kindly pointed out.
You're missing the point. The interest is in the project itself. The knowledge comes from editing and learning about the project. The rest is just details. For the most part, I don't care where I edit, I just want to edit. I added my site the first day I joined, then I went on to do over 90,000 more edits that aren't on my site, most are in categories I have no special interest in.
I think you're both missing the point: If the stated object is to add the best sites on the net, then one would think that goal would be best achieved by finding editors who know the subject matter thoroughly. So if GeorgeB knows about riddle sites, suggesting to him that DMOZ policy is that he apply not to edit in a category where he has some expertise but rather in a category where he has none would seem to be contrary to the stated goals. Indeed, the policy as stated in this thread would seem far more likely to result in mediocrity than in excellence.
George, I think you might be talking about one of my posts. My suggestion was that personally I would declare my own site with a note that I planned to list it, but that I wouldn't use it as one of the original three on the application. It was what I would do, but that doesn't mean you can't use your own site with the application. It was just a comment about what I personally would do. The poster who took my advice was accepted as an editor in about two hours. My reasoning for this is just my own reasoning, but I feel if you have three competing sites in the application instead of two plus your own, that it shows more credibility toward the fact that your purpose is not just to list your own site. It has nothing to do with your application not being accepted just because you use your own site. It was a personal opinion, period.
Yeah, dumb and dumber have got it right this time. Absolutely. There is no point. I totally agree. The information in this thread is based on information from people not involved in the application process. It isn’t policy. Never has been. Editors apply to edit areas of the directory they are interested in. That is the way it works.
Don't you mean that is the way it doesn't work? The people who posted are editors and who the hell are you? The only problem with their posting was that it was the truth about the situation which shows how stupid the whole procedure for accepting new editors is.
Most people have more than one interest - it is better (easier) to begin with something that interests you that isn't commercial. A sport, a hobby, a regional location (where you grew up as a child, where you live now, etc), a charity, a potential law that ticks you off - there are all kinds of places to start. My advice would be to make a list of about five or ten subjects that interest you. Then check out the various categories related to those subjects. I would steer clear of Shopping for a first category, there are quite a few rules to learn there and it's hard enough to learn the basics first.
My advice would be to start your own directory, and forget about DMOZ. They are still working with some serious issues, and this might not be the best time to volunteer.
My mistake. I think it was the fact that you went to the trouble of using a whole post to say: That left the impression that it was something unusual and surprising. I do acknowledge that the fact that it was surprising to me that lmocr may have done anything useful at all may have colored my interpretation of your post just a bit.
I regret any part I may have unwittingly played in giving minstrel an opportunity to lodge one of his gratuitous insults.
No doubt. I'm aware you also dislike that I and others here post about the wrongs in DMOZ. Too bad this isn't the Resourceless Zone, where you could just have me banned...