Khym_Chanur

"Blue Wonder Cloth" looks like an MLM business, and thus should be listed under Business/Opportunities/Networking-MLM/; it won't get listed anywhere else. ODP meta editors have decided to remove all independant representative/distributor sites (see this thread). Since your site seems to be the primary/central site for this MLM business, it can get a listing; either make this clear on your front page, or clearly note this in the description that you submit.

Since only the first page is in English, the submission was moved to World/Deutsch/Computer/Software/Shareware/, where it sits in unreviewed, with 97 other sites. The closest category with editors is World/Deutsch/Computer/Software/, which has two editors and a total of 2334 unreviewed (including yours).

It's entirely up to users of ODP data ("partners") on how to use that data. Google's directory is certainly searchable; others aren't. We at the ODP have no influence on this.

You've submitted your site three times. Two of those were deleted, while the third was left in unreviewed in another category, where it's waiting while the editors hash out what to do about a reorganization.

Couldn't a non-editor just use the "update URL" function?

<blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr><p>How is it that SO MANY sites get away with the domain name tactic of using numbers and keywords?<p><hr></blockquote>Probably some comination of: [*]Companies who's real names are the same as their keyword loaded domain names. [*]Comapnies who lie about their real name on their websites, in order to get listed that way. [*]Mistakes made by editors.[/list:u]

Continued from the locked thread...<blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr><p>So whoever gets there first is the one who survives in this world.<p><hr></blockquote>Using a phrase that is repeated exactly on over 100 sites is often an indication of affiliate sites, which we do not include; from looking at editor notes, it appears that the editor who deleted your site thought it was an affiliate site. If your site is not an affiliate site, you can argue your position here, and then resubmit with the URL for this thread in the site description (if an editor doesn't do it for you). If it is an affiliate site, then whomever you are an affiliate of will get listed, while you will not.<blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr><p>Whatever happened to democracy...<p><hr></blockquote>Democracy applies to many countries in the world, and to private organizations that decide to run themselves that way. The ODP is not a government organization, and has not decided to run itself in a democratic manner. We do try to make it as useful as possible to end users, but we do so in an un-democratic manner.<blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr><p>... relevancy ...<p><hr></blockquote>If your site is an affiliate site, it isn't considered to be relevant to the ODP. <blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr><p>...the fact that there are multiple engines with many of the same sites, repetitive sites in them which no one seems to mind.<p><hr></blockquote>We are a directory, not a search engine. Search engines are supposed to index as many sites as they can, regardless of the fact that they might be repetitive. There might be others directories out there that include all of those sites, but they run their directories their way, and we run our directory our way; if all directories were run the same way, what would be the point of having more than one?<blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr><p>How many points of view are we allowed to have in this world?<p><hr></blockquote>Lots. There's nothing ODP is doing that prevents you from maintaining your site, or from being listed in other directories.

Yep, I goofed; sorry. It was deleted from unreviewed, and then another editor put it back into unreviewed. My bad.

Was just now listed, according to editor notes, but it hasn't showed up on the public side yet.

Re: www.feedmypet.com The question about MLM Independent Representatives has been discussed for quite some time by the Meta Editors, and it was recently decided to remove all IR categories from Business/Opportunities/Networking-MLM/. It is extremely unlikely that they will be put back in. If you want to attempt to convince the metas that they should be put back in, start up a general thread about MLM IR sites in the "General ODP Issues" forum.<blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr><p>he manufacturer of Flint River Ranch pet food does not have a website, or a web presence of any kind.<p><hr></blockquote>Maybe you should convince Flint River Ranch to put up a website with links to all of the IR websites.<blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr><p>Independent distributors who develop their own websites are the only way for Internet users to get information on this all-natural pet food. .... Independent distributors provide the only way to place orders through the Internet<p><hr></blockquote>The metas were well aware of this fact when the decision was made to remove all IR categories.<blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr><p>Distributors host their own websites, shopping carts (there are no links to an affiliates site), and provide individual customer service and product education.<p><hr></blockquote>None of that counts towards "unique content and value" (thought their opposites would count against it.)<blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr><p>Special discounts and promotional offers are often directly from the distributor, and not from Flint River Ranch.<p><hr></blockquote>I'm guessing that the metas did not consider this variation between IR sites to be enough unique content/value to make it worth maintaining the IR categories (I'm only guessing, since I wasn't a part of the private metas-only discussion on the subject).<blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr><p>If this category cannot be reinstated, would it be possible to list my site under another category related to pet products or a regional category?<p><hr></blockquote>No. If the ODP was going to list IR sites at all, it would be in the IR categories that were just removed.

Re: No Unique Content <blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr><p>OK if I set up another site with 1 page of about 5 new ringtones from my site and 1 link through to my current site you'll list it then, if not then all you've just said is a lie.<p><hr></blockquote>I don't know if 5 original ringtones is enough content to get listed. However, adding a link to a site consisting of affiliate links won't affect it getting listed or not.<blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr><p>Yes it does [have unique content], it has User Forums, pages on Bluetooth, Wap, MMS, Free SMS Texting, Games, News, Gadget...<p><hr></blockquote>Yes, and none of that has anything to do with "Ring Tones, Graphics and Logos". The parts of your site that do have to do with that are links to Stealth NET. Also, the affiliate links are big and prominent at the top of the entry page, making one think that they are what the site is about, while the unique content are in smaller, no-graphics links at the bottom of the page; since the whole purpose of the site seems to be the affiliate links, it's not going to get listed. If the unique content was prominently listed at the top of the page, while the affiliate links were listed less conspicuously at the bottom, then your site might be included in the ODP... under a different category.<blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr><p>I pay for all the servers and phone lines...using your rule anyone who has hosted space is advertising the big isp's unless they host thgeir web site on there pc at home<p><hr></blockquote>???? I don't see anyone suggesting anything like this.

<blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr><p>What we all should realize is that this discussion is actually pointless. Nobody here, as far as I know, edits that category. I would be amazed to see someone actually do something about this matter.<p><hr></blockquote>Well, don't be too amazed. If your site ultimately ends up not being included in ODP, then the sites in Home/Consumer_Information/Price_Comparisons/ will be reviewed, and the ones that don't offer enough unique content or value will be removed. A while ago a submitter who couldn't get his site into Games/Gambling/Directories complained that 90% of the other sites in that category were pretty much the same as his; we realized he was right, and ended up removing the whole category.

<blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr><p>Hutcheson wrote: “The guideline that you need to meet is "prominent, unique, relevant content” Relevant to who- You - The ODP editors? The directory was created with an end user in mind – it wasn’t created as an editor playground.<p><hr></blockquote>We editors are also end users. We use comparison shopping sites, book selling sites, fan pages about moveis and TV series, and every other kind of site listed in the ODP.

<blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr><p>Very good observations ... sure makes you wonder how one site could get 3 and yet your told sites are only permitted 1 listing<p><hr></blockquote>The URLs for BestAds.com aren't identical. The only way a site can get more than one listing for an identical URL is once for a topical category, once for a Regional/ category; thus the BestAds.com listing don't fall afoul of this rule. The main/entry/home page of BestAds.com is listed once, and then two "deeplinks" are listed. According to the ODP guidelines:<blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr><p>Deeplinking is the process of adding links to sub-pages within a site. In the vast majority of categories and branches, deeplinking is the exception rather than the rule. Deeplinks should offer content that is unique and extremely useful to a particular category. There are no strict rules regarding the type of site that should or should not be deeplinked. Providing deeplinks, in a uniform way, to sites that offer extremely useful and unique content can add value to the directory in a few cases (e.g. categories with very limited content, and where the meat of the available web content is typically buried within web sites). However, editors should be very judicious when adding deeplinks of a particular URL. If you are uncertain about adding deeplinks, ask an experienced editor, such as a meta or an editall for advice or guidance. Ultimately, all deeplinking decisions are subject to staff approval.<p><hr></blockquote>Of course, it's possible that those two deeplinks to BestAds.com shouldn't be listed; we editors are, after all, only human, and make mistakes.

Re: Can I get the reason behind my site being remo Well, it was in your bookmarks, but then it got moved to Business/Industries/Retail/Technology/POS_Hardware

It is sitting in unreviewed with 1 other site. The editor for that category appears to not have edited for about 40 days. The editor one category up has 11 unreviewed in total to deal with, and hasn't edited for about 2 weeks.

<blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr><p>Do I need to list everything that we provide within our website?<p><hr></blockquote>It's not a requirement, but if you list it in such a way that it's easy for a visitor to find, you'd be more likely to end up in the proper category sooner. Typically, an editor isn't going to go deep into a site to make sure if it belongs in category X or Y ("Basic Service" or "Full Service"). We usually only dig deep into a site for categories prone to abuse, to make sure the submitter isn't trying to slip anything by us.

<blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr><p>I just noticed one of my sites was moved to a lower category. Does this happen often? Why is it done? ... I don't believe my skills as a web designer or web promotion has degraded - but my listing has.<p><hr></blockquote>A site being moved to a lower level category only means that the site is a more precise fit for that lower level category, and says nothing about the quality of the site or the company/people offering the site. The Computers/Internet/Web_Design_and_Development/Designers/ category has been undergoing a re-organization for the past several months, with the creation of new categories "Basic Service", "Full Service", "Dynamic and Multimedia", and "Freelance". Editors are systematically going through all sites directly under Computers/Internet/Web_Design_and_Development/Designers/ and moving them to the appropriate lower level categories. There are many sites are still at the higher level category you once had, but that's because there's a lot of sites to move, and only so many editors to go around. If you feel that you do not belong in "Basic Services", you may contact an editor about it, but it's likely nothing will be done about it until the end of the re-organization. The "Basic Service" description: Who Belongs in This Category? In addition to basic design, sites in this category may offer any combination of the following services: shopping carts domain name registration assistance hosting assistance search engine submission maintenance custom graphics[/list:u]Sites offering services to primarily corporate sites, or any of the following major services should not be listed in this category: primary hosting services e-commerce server-side programming and databases complex Flash, XML, or DHTML driven web design[/list:u]These companies are located in Full Service. ------------------------------ The "Full Service" description: Who Belongs in This Category? In addition to basic design, sites in this category must offer a wide range of web design and devolpment services. These could include: [*] domain name registration assistance [*] hosting assistance [*] search engine submission [*] maintenance [*] custom graphics [*] hosting services [*] e-commerce [*] server-side programming and databases [*] complex Flash, XML, or DHTML driven web design [*] consulting [*] Intranet architecture[/list:u]Companies which do not provide most of these services may belong in Basic Service.

<blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr><p>You say it hasn't been touched. Is that because it just hasn't been reviewed yet?<p><hr></blockquote>Most probably, but not for certain. The only thing an editor can tell about a certain URL is it's edit hisory: when and if it's been published, deleted, moved or commented upon; none of the things have happened to your URL. An editor could have reviewed your site, and not even added a comment to it, but that's unlikely.<blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr><p>Is there a team within ODP to ensure that every category is getting updated on a somewhat regular basis.<p><hr></blockquote>Nope. The all editors are volunteers, and there is no minimum time commitments required of them. Of course, there are many editors who are very dedicated, but there's also a lot of unreviewed sites, and there's a lot of time drains on an ODP editor besides reviewing submitted sites.<blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr><p>Is there anything I can do, or am I at the mercy of ODP?<p><hr></blockquote>I don't quite get what you mean. When you submit to any directory (or other human managed collection of links) you're at their mercy; they're who controls what goes in and when. Or do you mean that you're so much at the mercy of some other directories, because you can pay them for inclusion, but with the ODP it's entirely up to the discretion of the editors?

<blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr><p>As I browse through Top: Business: Financial Services: Mortgages, there are not many sites with more information/content than mine. I could list them here for you but you can easliy see for yourself.<p><hr></blockquote>If this is true, and your site isn't being listed, then those sites should be removed. We recently removed an entire category, Games/Gambling/Directories/, because a rejected submitter complained that the other sites listed there weren't any better than his, and, well, he was right, so we nuked it.