Do the new rules ban us from checking to see if our submission was even received?

I submitted my site (www.antiquefever.com) for the first time on October 8,2004 and after not seeing it listed I requested the status of the site. I was told that there was no record of my first submission and was told to resubmit, which I did on April 15, 2005. I was wanting to know if this submission had even been received, which I think is a valid question considering my first submission was never received. Do the new rules on the checking of site submission status also ban checking if your submission has been received??

This is the copy of my original post and the response

Sorry, but we don't do status request anymore. Checking if your suggestion has been received is a status request.

I know that there are no more status checks--I just returned to the forum today and was dismayed by the news but can see the reasoning behind it. But I would still like to have some way of knowing that at least my submission was received...I can follow all the guidelines and have an amazing site with wonderful unique content, but if it is never seen by an editor how do I know that and is that my fault????

Sorry, there currently is no way to get answers to status requests of any kind. See the FAQ for more details.

The site suggestion feature is only one way editors use to find new sites, so sooner or later an editor will find it anyway.

Thank you for your help...if my site does not show up again what is the recommended period to wait (is it six months??) before resubmitting? I want to make sure I follow all the rules to give my site the best chance for submission. Also, how is "unique" defined and used by the editors? For example, the site I want to be included is an antique furniture site, which probably isn't unique since there are so many of them, but the site offers very unique pieces that can't be found on every site. Do the editors take this into account? I guess what I am asking is how does the "unique" criteria actually work in practice???
Thanks again

does the "unique" criteria actually work in practice???

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It works very, very well. Just look at all the people who post hateful messages becasue we won't list their content-free, affiliate-rich websites.

Within the ODP, content is the absolute king.

Case in point, I was talking with another editor today and we both compared notes on sites that, if we just blindly followed the guidelines, we might not have listed, but in both cases, the unique content was so profound, that we listed the sites without noticeable hesitation.

We build this directory for the people who use the data, not for the submitters, and any time we can list content-rich websites, we do our darnedest to do so.

What does that mean to someone like yourself? It means that you need to make sure that within the first 30 seconds of an editor visit, the content should just jump out at us, smack up between the eyes and make us mutter "wow". Layout doesn't do that, graphics doesn't do that, Flash definitely doesn't do that. so it is clearly in your enlightened self interest to make sure that the unique content is prominent and easily found. You'll be doing your customers a favor as well.

One of the things that's almost guaranteed to be unique is "here's who I am and here's what I'll do (sell) for money." There many be many "antique dealers", but there are only a few (relatively speaking) in East Podunk, New Jersey; there may be many "antique dealers", but if you have a stock, you're the only one who can tell what you'll sell it for. That's "unique" for the purpose of the Act.

Thanks forthe great pointers and discussion! I appreciate it!

FYI- On an additional note, a site needs to sell on line or have pricing listed to be included in the Shopping section otherwise it may get deleted or moved to another section of the directory.

annehilton said:

offers very unique pieces that can't be found on every site. Do the editors take this into account?

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and yes, we do take into account the actual items you are listing and how that relates to the other sites in the directory.

a site needs to sell on line

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A little misleading - Shopping requires a method of purchasing without visiting a physical store. Which can include other types of remote selling. Products and prices are also, of course, a requirement.

spectregunner said:

. . .you need to make sure that within the first 30 seconds of an editor visit, the content should just jump out at us, smack up between the eyes and make us mutter "wow". . . .so it is clearly in your enlightened self interest to make sure that the unique content is prominent and easily found. You'll be doing your customers a favor as well.

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This is very interesting. I believe I have a very "content rich" site, but you'd have to click down one level from the home page to find it since there are several different categories, all related to mixed media art. In the "first 30 seconds of an editor visit" is an editor likely to do this?

Thanks for the reply.
Karen
http://karenswhimsy.com/

Depends on your site navigation. Clicking down one level can certainly be done in 30 seconds, if you don't put too many impediments in the way.

I picked up content to evaluate within 5 seconds or so - that would pass the 30 sec first test. Most editors are highly proficient surfers and know where to go to find content if it is there. There is a small minority who hide their content so well that an experienced editor who has reviewed tens of thousands of sites misses it. Some do a fantastic job of making original content actually look for all the world like syndicated affiliate spam believe it or not. I guess they have seen such a site and are looking to emulate it, not realising what they are doing.

Having seen content, that gets you to the second test - is it unique? That takes a bit longer to establish and an editor will give it the time it needs.