rwkat

Editors are volunteers - in most languages, that means "unpaid". You really think it's important to us that you make money off of our volunteer efforts? Too funny.

Andrew - I processed your update request in Regional/North_America/United_States/Iowa/Localities/D/Dubuque/. (I was cruising by <img src="/images/icons/cool.gif" alt="" />) I'm curious to know why you believe your site also belongs in Regional/North_America/United_States/Government/Military/Army/Education_and_Training instead of Regional/North_America/United_States/Government/Military/Army/Recruiting ?

If I were *queen* for the day, I would delete all submissions that were duplicates, every submission that had a keyword infested title, and any submission that said anything like "Check us out! We're the best!" Since I'm not <img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" alt="" />, I abide by the guidelines which clearly state that every site is entitled to a review, but not a listing. I routinely delete every title and description that is submitted, and I start from scratch. Because I do this, I am only able to review 1/3 of the sites that I would otherwise be able to do in my set amount of editing time. If every site that was submitted adhered to the guidelines, I would be able to review 3 times as many sites. Too bad, so sad for me... unfortunate for submitters and the public. Too bad submitters don't turn on each other (like they pick on editors) and accuse them of mucking up the process so that legitimate sites that deserve a listing don't get reviewed for a really long time.

Since I've been an editor, I've converted completely from using IE to using Opera. Not only does this help me in my business (as a web developer), it allows me to be more effective as an editor, because surfing/editing can be done much more quickly. When I'm on a mission to review every single unreviewed site in a category, I will open IE when I find a troublesome site. However, at that point, I'm aggravated. Using IE means I am subjected to pop-ups, poor web design, and Java that even my 13 year old would find abhorrable. It is my final concession to a site - if I find a page under construction, content of questionable value, or any other reason that would allow me to delete a site within the guidelines (most don't realize it, but editors are held to strict guidelines when deleting a site - we don't do it if we can avoid it) - I *will* delete the site, and take my chances. I design web pages, day in and day out. All of our pages are validated through the w3 - there is absolutely no excuse for the garbage that is posted to the web to be non-compliant. The fastest way to get a site listed in the ODP is to create a site that has content that is of interest to the public, and that can be viewed by any standards compliant browser. (While I'm ranting, please also consider accessibility - even if only 1% of people who surf the web are handicapped and require special browsers in order to see your site - you can gain a significant market share by making your site accessible).

Re: Category Updated/Listing Removed? Debbie, We do lots and lots of quality checks on our sites (yes, I know it doesn't always appear that way, but we do). Say I have a category with 50 sites - it's already been pointed out to me that some would probably be better placed in a different category. So I open a window to see the category as the public sees it. I browse through, first checking to make sure the titles and descriptions meet the guidelines. I then make a guess at which ones need to be moved, based on their current descriptions. So I open my edit window, and I go to the first site that I'm pretty sure needs to be moved. I open the site, take a quick glance, and think "sure enough, it needs to go", so I move it, after making sure the title and description are still good. I do this with maybe a handful of sites. I'm then left with sites that are either 1) staying or 2) need to be reviewed in depth. I go back, visit all the sites that I'm pretty sure are staying, and rewrite the titles and descriptions if necessary. This leaves me with the ones that will take longer. It's at that point that things slow down. Many times we find that a site raises some questions or issues - not because of the site, but because of the guidelines and rules that we work within. So I make a post in a forum to discuss this with other editors. While this discussion is ongoing, I'm not going to touch the site(s) in question - what would be the point? It wouldn't be good for the directory for me to move the site(s) to unreviewed during this process, so they sit where they are until I have an agreement from my fellow editors about what to do with the site(s). I'm not saying this is what is happening to the category you refer to, I'm just sharing the process with you. For the most part, editors care about the directory, and work to do what is right for it. If you suspect there is abuse, there are mechanisms to handle that. Otherwise, rest assured that yours is simply another site in a world of millions - there is no grand conspiracy, and we do our best to do the right thing - it may not always appear that way, but we do. HTH <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" alt="" />

Hiya GoldnGate, Just wanted to let you know that a team of editors is currently working the backlog in SF Metro Area. Can't say right now when your site will be reviewed, but hopefully it helps to know that people *are* working the area. <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" alt="" />

Re: Submitting 2 Directories - Manufacturer and region cgjb - I reviewed and published your site in El Monte today. (I was passing through - please don't take this as a response to your posting) In the future, if you will please list the name of the company (i.e. "Miller Dial, Inc." not "Electrical Switch Manufacturers, Membrane Switch, Silicon Conductive Switch and Nameplates Company") in the title, and a brief description (that lacks hype and keywords) of the site, you'll stand a much better chance of being listed in a timely manner.

May I please be upgraded?