Why would a site be deleted from DMOZ?

I hope that you catch on that I fully agree it's not a listing service. If it was, it would be listing sites as a service. It is CLEARLY not doing that.

I also hope that you can catch on to the FACT that the end user and webmasters are often the SAME.

The fact that editors have a hard time realizing that IS one of the many problems.

 

The idea of an official, staff-written ODP blog was certainly very welcome when it was first proposed. Editors were naturally delighted that AOL staff were committed to providing a public interface, and the reaction from the internet community was equally positive.
It is unfortunate that AOL staff have not been able to keep up a regular posting schedule, but this is perhaps understandable as they have many other responsibilities.
The most recent post caused quite a lot of confusion, and it is regrettable that there has not been an opportunity for the corrections to be made in a more legible manner, as highlighted by my friend and former colleague shadow575.

Nevertheless, the blog remains an excellent potential source of official information about the directory and its projects.

 

Good grief Christopher, you just love twisting half truths to paint a distorted picture of something to try and fit your world view. You have been doing it ever since you turned up here, and frankly you are not very good at it. Someone reading this would assume that there is no customer support at any level, especially for webmasters. This is simply classic Qryztufre flim flam jibber jabber.

Examples of existing customer support at some level even for the webmaster

• http://www.dmoz.org/help/helpmain.html
• Update URL link
• Add URL link
• Dmoz Blog
• http://www.dmoz.org/Computers/Inter...en_Directory_Project/Policies_and_Procedures/
• http://report-abuse.dmoz.org/
• http://resource-zone.com/
• Send Feedback to an Editor
• Etc. Etc.

 

It's a nice club we are in isn't it?

And have you actually tried to use some of those examples? Though, I guess, if you want to get technical, that is service on SOME LEVEL, though by no means a respectable level according to many/most.

 

I am glad I read this post.

 

As bad as the last DMOZ blog post is/was and the fact that the weekly reports have been less than forthcoming, I still hold high hopes that the DMOZ Blog will eventually amount to another good resource. The editors really want it to be and many are not really excited or happy with its present usage and status.

 

I vote they let you write it. Your blog's always informative and a helluvalot more frequent.

[Yeah, I know... I don't get a vote. What can I say, it's still a good idea.]

 

IMHO, waiting for the AOL crew to blog more is a lame excuse. If DMOZ editors *really* want to blog and reach out, they will start a blog anyway. Maybe it's not official, but it may very well be second best. Perhaps there even are some good dmoz-blogs? (p.s.: i'm an editor too)

 

It's alright Rob, I don't get to vote either. I appreciate the kind words though. I try to keep my blog both real and factual. I can think of many others who would probably be better suited for it than me.

Many, many of us do just that. The problem is, only staff can convey certain information and only staff can make official statements. So all we can do as volunteer editors, is talk about what has already been made public. The DMOZ blog could do so much more than it does with the infrequent and sometimes confusing posts it does now.

 

My experiences with DMOZ have been mixed. I agree for the most part it is inefficient and self serving. Though there are some good editors there who still believe it to be honorable I have deemed it worthless..

 

There are indeed quite a few present and past editors who blog about DMOZ stuff, in several languages, and most of us provide various combinations of links to them.

But I don't see any of them being supported by AOL or ODP management as even "semi-official" any time soon.

 

This is one of those rare instances where Rob & I agree... thought it was worth pointing out. *shrug*

It would be nice if there was more then what there is, or at least some head nodding in the direction of a few of the better bloggers out there that are a part of the ODP. As it stands nothing other then the official blog is "official" and around here nothing less then official is shot down by other editors.

So I hope that a few of you editors can push them in the right direction...

 

A reliable, authoritative, accessible and above all informative site would be a great step forward, yes.

(And a perfect birthday present for the directory!)

 

@makrhod: exactly