Category updated... but still missing

Each time a Category is updated in DMOZ does that mean all the applications to that category have been approved/denied?

I ask because last November I submitted my Hawaiian travel site to the directory. I'm fairly positive it'd be accepted as I have several other sites in DMOZ and I believe it to be one of the best I maintain. I have however noticed the category I submitted it to (and it was the best fit) has been updated twice now, but yet my site remains excluded.

Can I take this to mean the site was denied? Or does it just mean the category was updated and my site may still be pending?

I too have been a little bit in the dark since the removal of the status area... I last asked in January, and upon checking today noticed my category was recently updated again, but yet my site remains missing.

Thanks for any help in clarifying this.

Did you get an email?

I'm not an editor, but I believe that if you got an email telling you that it got denied, then you are denied. (obviously)

If you didn't get an email then it is probably still pending review.

If it's been over a year, then it has probably been submitted to another category that doesn't have an editor.

If you would like to help then you can submit an editor application, that doesn't take as long to get approved or denied as a site. I've gotten denied in the same day before!

Don't resubmit more than one time, and I would wait a year or more to do that.

Being listed in DMOZ is a privelege, not an obligation.

All of the editors are volunteers and are working hard to get every site of value indexed.

That pretty much sums it up!
Hey Meta Editor, can I become an editor now??

Great question!

From one perspective, it would be easy to say that it means nothing at all. Or at least nothing that one could base a decision or conclusion on.

It could mean that an editor had been in reviewing sites in the pool and made an addition. (Conversely, it would not change if an editor had been reviewing sites in the pool and only deleted dead links without changing any of the listed sites.)

It could mean that an editor identified a bad link and removed it.

It is really an indicator that something happened, but it by no means has a quantity or mark of completion on it. Since only a percentage of editors review sites by submission date, it becomes even less relevant.

Your best best is to make no assumptions either way.

Hope that helps.

Untouchables reply, while apparently well intended, is misleading in a couple of areas.

There is no e-mail. ODP editors do not e-mail people upon reviewing a site, regardless of the decision, so looking for an e-mail is a false trail.

The advise with regards to it being more than a year also has no basis in fact. There are many categories where the wait time exceed three years before an editor takes a first look at a suggested site.

There is NEVER ANY indication that a site has been denied. You just can't tell. Oh, I know some people put their faith in server logs, and others in chronometrology, and ... but the fact is, even back when we gave status reports, professional psychics asked for them. (I am not making this up.)

But, for practical purposes, it doesn't matter whether a site submittal has been denied or is pending. Surfers can't get to the site through the ODP; but ODP editors still can review the site for a possible listing there or elsewhere. In any case, your situation is the same, and your best response will be the same.

So it doesn't really matter that you can't tell.

Sorry

My bad, I remember getting an email. But that was from my editor application being denied.

Thanks for clearing that up

Now you know why I am not an editor

By the way, I have seen editors on here say that you can resubmit one time without penalty. I have seen from 8 months on up. What would you recommend for reapplying?

As far as a category being updated and a specific site not appearing - as spectregunner stated, there are many reasons.

I edit in categories with a lot of subcategories. When I move sites from one to another, or modify a description, or correct a URL, or delete a dead listing, the category will show that it has been updated. That doesn't necessarily mean that I've reviewed every submission (suggestion) or listing in that particular area, although I may have.

You just can't tell.


As far as resubmitting after a period of time, the only thing that I can say with confidence is:

The submission guidelines state: [emphasis is mine]

Procedure After Your Site is Submitted
An ODP editor will review your submission to determine whether to include it in the directory. Depending on factors such as the volume of submissions to the particular category, it may take several weeks or more before your submission is reviewed. Please only submit a URL to the Open Directory once. Again, multiple submissions of the same or related sites may result in the exclusion and/or deletion of those and all affiliated sites. Disguising your submission and submitting the same URL more than once is not permitted.

Click to expand...

I would offer, as a suggestion, to webmasters who have tried, unsuccessfully, to get their sites listed - apply for web awards. Read the criteria for submission. In many ways, what makes a site worthy of an award are the same qualities that the ODP wants to see. Additionally, many award websites will provide a critique that might help.

Now DON'T turn around and insist we list your site, because joebloeawards gave it an honorable mention in 'Weirdest Sites We've Ever Seen'. I'll have to come back here and retract my advice!

DJ

Thanks for the feedback and response. I had seriously become worried the site was looked over, but I felt sure it had the quality to be accepted.

I'll continue the wait. I admit the category isn't exactly a mainstream one, so I suspect that's part of the reason the wait time is longer.

Thanks again.