Is anyone an editor on dmoz.com

Have you enquired as to why they are rejecting you?
JP

They're looking for certain criteria in the application such as good grammar and spelling, sticking to the editing guidelines for the exmple sites and expertise in the chosen catagory.

Pick a low level catagory to get in then work your way up as you get more edits under your belt. Try something local or one which needs building up, there's lots under the business heading.

I became an editor about a year ago, and since then have tried moving up the ladder, but it seems the criteria keeps getting harder and harder.

Simon has a point. Start VERY VERY low, then try working your way up. I suggest going for a category with no editor yet.

You may want to check this article out:

http://www.traffick.com/story/06-2000-xodp.asp

Adam

searchenginepower.com
webserverlist.com

Everyone:

Thanks for your info, this has helped a lot. I wish I had kept my profile, and was more active. Never thought they would be this big. I was an editor at one time!

Bob,

Thanks, and I will try that. I can't find any cat related to ecommerce that is really far down. Most of them stop after a couple of levels. I just used my personal email address, that is all. I didn't change anything else.

I am trying to give it another shot. Didn't think this would be this darn hard!

Curtis

Curtis,

I was an editor a while back. I can tell you why you are having problems. There are too many pompous, arrogant and extremely rude higher level editors throughout dmoz. I found that out when I made a simple suggestion, to make a change in their system so that requests to become editors, or to get additional categories, did not go unanswered.

You might be surprised at the hostility I met from what was intended to be a helpful suggestion. I heard from many editors saying they were too busy to reply. Even if you apply for a category that has no editor, they might turn you down, and do it repeatedly, just because they don't want to be bothered with your request.

They just kept on attacking me personally and started with the insults. I'm not one to take abuse, nor resort to infantile behavior. I did point out that their motto of "humans do it better" wasn't entirely true.

I heard from many other category editors (by e-mail rather than in the forums) who reported even worse cases of treatment. They had all lost their enthusiasm and were no longer interested in helping in other categories.

There are a number of arrogant, rude, higher level editors abusing category editors and the rest of the higher editors are too scared to stand up to them. Some of the nicer ones told me so, again, by e-mail.

Despite it being a clear violation of the stated policies, the listings of my site were removed, even though they were in place long before I became an editor. My site is an informational resource that deals with safety and life support situations. I don't sell anything so they couldn't hurt me in any way. The only people hurt by the removal of my site are the very Internet surfers dmoz is supposed to be helping.

When I pointed this out, they removed me as an editor, another violation of policies.

I know someone who had somewhat similar experiences. They assumed he owned an Editor's Choice site (like Cool Site), made a choice by another editor, and would not believe he didn't own it. (You're not supposed to make your own site an Editor's Choice). They removed his own site and him as an editor because they were too pig headed to admit they made a big mistake.

I was so outraged at their behavior that I notified the higher level editors and sent a certified, registered letter to Netscape detailing the whole incident. No one even cared to reply, even though I had all the means to contact me enclosed, from telephone to e-mail.

Netscape and dmoz can fade from the landscape as far as I'm concerned. Netscape has been losoig ground in several markets, from browser share to Enterprise servers. Just rewards, I say.

Do you really want to subject yourself to that kind of abuse to help an apathetic corporation?

I have since boycotted dmoz and will not allow my sites to be listed. The categories I once edited have declined in usefulness, new descriptions do not conform to dmoz standards, some still don;t have editors, and I don't care. My site is more popular than their section on the same topic and serves a higher purpose. They shot themselves in their cyber feet.

Some people should have no authority at all, not even as volunteers. It just goes to their heads. Some of those egotistical reprobates need a pin to deflate their egos. They must be horrible wretches as employees if they have jobs.

[Edited by Duster on 07-15-2000 at 07:41 PM]

Don't have any experience per se with dmoz but I can tell you that many people who have no formal ties to a website feel very strongly about protecting "their site" and will resort to just about anything to do so.

Ignoring people is one of the things that ODP does best, despite their hypocritical "humans do it better" slogan.

There is a forum for ex ODP editors and even an alternative directory XODP

Take a look at http://searchenginediscussion.com/cgi-bin/ubb/forumdisplay.cgi?action=topics&number=48&SUBMIT=Go for a lot of discussion by former editors. There are also some present ones in related forums on the same site.

You can read other tales of abuse by the megalomaniacs at OPD.