Phil - Thanks for your post. Two comments about the process in general.
The fact that an application is rejected quickly indicates that there was something "obvious" wrong (spelling, grammar, category applied for etc.) To try to keep the queue manageable, the metas look for the obvious deletes first, which unfortunately are 60-80% of applications received. I agree that it would be better to always include a reason with the rejection, and hopefully we can improve this, perhaps with a check box form or something.
It has been suggested in other threads that ODP should be less stringent in accepting new editors if we need help so badly. What we really need is highly motivated, quality help, not just a body off the street who is going to toss a few poorly described URLs in a cat and then time-out after they lose interest. A side effect of the application process is that it weeds out people who are not highly motivated to join. Someone who is persistent enough to figure out how to get accepted, even in the face of several rejections, will probably be motivated to learn how to be a good editor and stick with the project. I'm not saying that this is the intention of the system, just a side-effect. Yes, editors get accepted who aren't motivated to stay (many never even login once and a lot only do a few edits and then time out after 3 mos.) Yes, we probably lose potentially good editors who are put-off by a rejection with no explanation. But most of the editors that are active and have moved up in responsibility have "I was rejected" stories, and how they eventually worked out what was wrong and improved their editing.
I knew nothing about ODP besides reading the guidelines before I hit the application button. My first application was rejected without explanation and I felt a little miffed. After all, I had very nicely explained why I had applied to a higher level category and how I was going to reorganize what was there. However, being rejected told me a couple things: first, the person reviewing has no idea who I really am; second, they really meant what they said in the guidelines; third, apparently I was not going to just be given free reign in a small section of the directory. I applied again to a lower level category, was accepted, and then discovered I had actually joined a community of people. Not quite what I thought I was signing up for, but better! I straightened out what I started with, learned a lot of how editors do business, proposed my reorg and eventually did what I had originally proposed in my application. The process was very different than I thought it would be looking in from the outside.
What I am being very long-winded in saying is that being an ODP editor is more than just listing URLs and writing titles and descriptions, it is working with a community of people, absorbing the common goals, learning about the tools and past organizational decisions and constantly improving yourself. The application process is just the first filter in fitting a new person into the editing community, and most people have to figure out how to pass through that gate by themselves.
Hope this slightly different perspective on the process is interesting!
