Manual approval of sites is the surest way open to you - unless you automate the process. Automation is pretty much flawless if done correctly, and combined with charging is practically foolproof. Directories ARE hard work, it's the nature of the beasties, and can't be reduced a whole lot, so either get used to it or find another business model.
Yes that would seem to be a good combination,automation I dont agree with I prefer to visit the sites,but combined with charging you would cut a lot of spam! But the nature of the post originally was to find a way to , 1 check pages .. make sure they are not spammy 2 mass delete unapproved sites 3 mass approve the rest however everyone likes to just blast their opinions without regards to finding solutions or the right questions. It should be forum Etiquette If you are not adding something useful ,helpful ,factual .Then keep it to yourself. most of the responses seemed to be based on opinions and where not trying to help solve a problem or answer a question, or even to clarify the question or problem. however I thanks those individuals that added useful information. The answer to the question was the paid versions of phpld have the capability to mass delete or approve sites. Thank you Ted