application to be editor not accepted

The good news is that the application process to be an editor is now working. I think it took less than a week to get my application read.

I didn't get accepted. I thought I was pretty honest on the application. I did mention that I worked in the relocation industry and I even submitted the application with my company's e-mail address.

The topic was pretty obscure, and it's not very large. http://dmoz.org/Business/Business_Services/Corporate_Relocation/Outsourcing_and_Consulting (14)

It doesn't look like that particular topic has an editor, so I thought it would be a good way to get started. Quite a few of the large companies are missing, and I thought I could really help it out.


Below I've listed the suggested reasons why I might have been denied. Any suggestions on how to apply again?

Paul

* Incomplete application. Insufficient information has been provided in some
fields including reason, affiliation and/or Sample URLs.
* Improper spelling and grammar.
* Sample URLs are inappropriate for the category which one has applied to
edit. They may be too broad, too narrow, completely out of scope, poor
quality, or in a language inappropriate for the category. All non-English
sites are listed in the World category. Applications for World categories
that include sites only in English will be denied. Likewise, applications
for World categories that include sample URLs in languages other than the one
appropriate for the applied category will be denied.
* Not properly disclosing affiliations with websites that are, or have the
potential of being, listed in the category.
* Titles and descriptions of sample URLs (and other information provided)
were subjective and promotional rather than unbiased and objective. ODP
editors do not rank or write website reviews. ODP editors provide objective
and unbiased descriptions of websites and their content.
* Self-Promotion. Application which leads us to believe that the candidate is
interested primarily in promoting his/her own sites or those with which the
applicant is affiliated. The ODP is not a marketing tool, and should not be
used to circumvent the site submission process. If this is an applicant's
motivation for joining, then we ask him/her not to apply. Editors found to be
inappropriately promoting their own site will be promptly removed.

Did you disclose all your affiliations clearly (other than using your company e-mail address?)

Did you read dmoz.org/guidelines before applying, particularly the bit on how to write titles and descriptions?

Did you provide three URLs for sites you weren't affiliated with?

Usually the best advice is to re-read the guidelines and try again - plenty of editors got rejected on their first application.

If you read those possibilities, you will notice that all of them refer to the applications content. I can't get my cristall ball working right now, otherwise I might be of help. Untill I have fixed this issue, you have to tell us something about the content of your application to guess why it was rejected.

DISCLAIMER: We can't tell you why it was rejected (we simply don't know what exactly the rejecting meta was thinking). We can make guesses - and in most cases it is sufficient to read the FAQ thread at the top of this forum.

Hi Paul - The list you got is just a compendium of reasons apps fall short... sort of like the troubleshooting guide that comes with your computer that starts with...

• Check to see that the computer is plugged into power-source [/list:u] It would be an odd app that had all those things wrong. Not being a meta I didn't see yours, but I doubt the affiliation is the problem so long as it was disclosed. There IS value to having an editor who knows the terrain... which is why you noticed the missing companies.
  
  I used to work for PHH Homequity (now Cendant Mobility) long ago, and I know as well as you do that employees of a Relo company have about as much to gain by favoring the employer's site as the editors at ODP have to gain if we favored the AOL corporate site. We do have plenty that try to gain entry to favor a site they own, so in the slim case you garnered disfavor due to the affiliation, you might point out the reason you dont have an axe to grind. Those who know the industry would think it pointless, but not a lot of people know the Relo world.
  
  Assuming you didn't have mis-spelled words and poor grammar and sentence structure, and assuming you provided 3 relevant example sites... it might be something as simple as not putting in proper descrips and titles as used in the directory.
  
  Many current editors did not gain entry on their first try. Apps are not rejected "with prejudice", there is no harm in trying over. Good luck.

Almost certainly the quality of the application was THE issue. Did you write good English? Spell correctly? Write titles and descriptions in a reasonable way (and especially in a way the guidelines would suggest)?

Were you truthful sounding? Boastful? Making statements which could not be verified? There are "official" documents out there covering the application process. Read those, try again, save the application somewhere in case you need to refer to it later.

I can re-read how to write titles. i think I pretty much just listed the company name.

As for submitting sites, I only submitted two. Maybe I should try three next time.

I had originally requested to be an editor with my yahoo acccount, that kept bouncing back. I'm not sure if that application ever made it.

Thanks for the ideas. Glad to hear others don't make it on the first round.

Thanks for your suggestions. I can only guess that not having three sites was the problem. I think my grammar was pretty clear. I'll definitely try it again. Relo is a small world of big companies, that's probably why there's so little interest in the section.

I definitely wasn't too boastful. Maybe "dry" might be a better word. I'll give it another shot tomorrow. Seems like the wait time for my application was only a week(not too painful)!