Epinions...

Can someone please tell me why one site has over 1800 links listed in the DMOZ? These links are helping epionions to monopolize google and other search engine results.

http://search.dmoz.org/cgi-bin/search?search=epinions

Thanks!

please read a previous thread on this subject at http://resource-zone.com/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=general&Number=16775

Thanks for the link! I cannot believe that the DMOZ would do such a thing for a for profit company. I feel they should get the same treatment as every other site on the web. One link in the best possible category; nothing further. If someone could look into this problem it would be greatly appreciated by myself and hundreds of others!

Thanks!

Monopolize google? Have you see how many opinions/comparison sites are in ODP? Epinions has no monopoly.

Name one comparison site that has more DMOZ links than Epinions... On the other hand, don't waste your time, there isn't one. I don't care if their are a million such sites, as long as each site gets treated the same way... One link in the most relevant location in the DMOZ directory. Not thousands which only serve to promote a site above the rest. The DMOZ needs to take responsibility for aiding in crippling many small businesses this Christmas with it's intentional or unintentional promoting of Epinions.com.

Need an example???

Look at the relevancy of this query. Note that Shopping.com owns Epinions, PriceTool, and Dealtime... So by promoting one of these you promote them all.

Here ya go
http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&q=delta+baby+cribs

The original epinions decision was made with complete and total disregard for any possible effects it might have on Google or any other search engine. Any review of that decision will be made with complete and total disregard for any possible effects it might have on Google or any other search engine.

Now, did you have any question about anything that ODP editors might actually be interested in?

Anytime you put a link to Google in a post and start to talk about dmoz.org you need to stop. We are not Google. Google just uses our data. If you have a problem with Google search results, talk to them.

So editors are not interested in how their listings affect the world, then why are there such stringent listing guidelines?

I also like the comment about google... I have contacted google about the problem, and being that the DMOZ is the root of the issue I have brought it up here as well.

You may consider your listings as completely unbiased and mutually exclusive from any other portion of the web, but that simply is not true. Being that your site is used to validate and list only the upstanding sites on the web there should be some responsibilty taken when your processes are abused and it affects other honest online web sites.

I point my finger at both the DMOZ and Google for causing such problems, and it appears the both you and Google will sit back and point the finger at each other and nothing will ever get done to correct the issue.

If you believe this issue isn't affecting hundreds if not thousands of online businesses then I guess we should order all of those involved walking sticks for Christmas and pray that their vision can some day be restored.

Should the ODP decide to remove the majority of epinions listings it would be because they are no longer valuable to the category they are listed in. The ODP will never take a webmasters lose or gain into consideration when adding or removing sites to the directory. That is not the purpose of the ODP.

A large site is automatically going to have more pages indexed with search engines simply because they have more and search engines look for keyword relevancy. If you want a better position in the major search engines then optimize you site. There are many webmaster forums that help with search engine optimization.

While I happen to agree that most of the pages from epinions does not add any real value to the directory (they may have at one time), the way you addressed this issue will not get you what you want. All you have managed to do is put the editors on the defensive and most will just ignore your comments since you clearly do not understand the purpose of this directory.

I'm waiting for LOWRY to point out which consumer comparison site is not getting enough listings.

<All you have managed to do is put the editors on the defensive and most will just ignore your comments since you clearly do not understand the purpose of this directory.>

I guess my perspective would seem a bit self centered; but I do understand the purpose of your directory. It is supposed to provide its users with a means to find relevant information on the web. In most cases it does just that, but when a for profit company infiltrates and monopolizes your listings for monetary gain only harm can come out of it.

You may not like the way I voiced my concerns, but you must admit that a great injustice is occuring on the web and your listings are a major contributor, whether you intended them to be or not. Your site has been played like a fiddle allowing corporate spam artists to bias external search engines. If you choose to take up the fight and correct the problem that is your decision, if you choose to do nothing then big corporations will continue to exploit you until all of the web is contaminated and your directory becomes less relevant. The fix is simple and fair, please take the 5 minutes required to resolve the issue.

<I'm waiting for LOWRY to point out which consumer comparison site is not getting enough listings.>

None of them, they all have atleast one listing in your index. One listing is all that should be required. I run a small business which also sells products on the web, and until recently epinions and it's sister sites were only a neucance, but now 20 of the top 30 search engine results are all owned by shopping.com (parent of epinions, dealtime and pricetool)

Here is a press release stating their association:
http://www.shopping.com/xCPT-about_press_releases_111703

<Blurb>
Shopping.com is the leading comparison shopping service committed to delivering the world's ultimate shopping experience, where people use the power of information to make the best shopping decisions. It is the only resource that combines millions of consumer product reviews with detailed price information on millions of products from thousands of stores.

Shopping.com is the result of the May 2003 merger of two Internet pioneers: DealTime, the leading shopping search engine; and Epinions, the leading consumer reviews platform. Shopping.com is privately-held and backed by August Capital, Bain Capital, Benchmark Capital, Bertelsmann, Goldman Sachs, Israel Seed Partners and others.

Shopping.com and the Shopping.com logos are trademarks of Shopping.com Ltd. DealTime, DealTime.com, Epinions, Epinions.com and the DealTime and Epinions logos are registered trademarks of Shopping.com Ltd. and its subsidiaries.
</blurb>

Now just take a second to review this search, and tell me that everything is fine and no injustice is happening...

http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&q=delta+baby+cribs

This is a product which I currently have excessive stock for and am not selling due to the results listed above. Yes, I'm scorned; yes I'm angy, and yes you can help to resolve the problem.

>> So editors are not interested in how their listings affect the world, then why are there such stringent listing guidelines? <<

Do you think the editors wrote the guidelines? You should not assume stuff you don't know about.

I started this thread intending to figure out why a company could take advantage of your directory and have so many irrelevant links listed within it.

Here is what I get in return.

<hutcheson stated> Now, did you have any question about anything that ODP editors might actually be interested in?

*** Funny, but I thought issues related to your directory would be of interest to you...

<old_crone stated> All you have managed to do is put the editors on the defensive and most will just ignore your comments since you clearly do not understand the purpose of this directory.

*** Belittling remark, yet I am unphased.

<thehelper stated> Anytime you put a link to Google in a post and start to talk about dmoz.org you need to stop. We are not Google. Google just uses our data. If you have a problem with Google search results, talk to them.

*** Near sighted view of how your data is actually used. If google just uses your data, and your data is biased it is googles fault... Right?

<kctipton stated> I'm waiting for LOWRY to point out which consumer comparison site is not getting enough listings.

*** Makes the assuption that I am a direct competitor, I am not.

<thehelper stated> Do you think the editors wrote the guidelines? You should not assume stuff you don't know about.

*** Stuff... hmmm, did I say the current editors wrote the guidelines? I don't think I did. And I know a lot of "stuff", about a lot of important "stuff", so don't tell me what "stuff" I may or may not know about.

This is still an issue, no matter where you choose to put the blame. You can just choose to flame the messenger and do nothing... Please choose your words carefully as It may be read by more than just us little people.

Dealtime.com listings are no more (there were almost none anyhow). Yes, the root dealtime URL redirected to shopping.com.

Dealtime.co.uk seems to be a different beast. Yes, it's part of shopping.com but the product lines appear to be different. I hope I didn't overlook anything when trying to compare the two.

Shopping.com had 0 listings until a little while ago.

I see that shopping.com both links to epinions.com AND uses the epinions.com writeups under its own URL. If there were an easy way to change these many URLs we might do it.

Why is epinions.com irrelevant?

http://www.shopping.com/xPR-Canon_EOS_Rebel_TI
http://www.epinions.com/pr-Film_Cameras-Canon_EOS_Rebel_Ti/display_~reviews

These are close, but changing the URLs is a nontrivial process.

I agree that epinions.com is essentially a subset of shopping.com. Still, there's no simple way to handle this other than to not list the root URL of shopping.com OR the root URL of epinions.com

I run a small business which also sells products on the web, and until recently epinions and it's sister sites were only a neucance, but now 20 of the top 30 search engine results are all owned by shopping.com (parent of epinions, dealtime and pricetool)

Click to expand...

How does the ODP contribute to those search results? Do you know how long those epinions pages have been listed here? You give the ODP far too much credit for its supposed influence of search engines. The ODP is not the deciding factor of search engine results.

If you seriously believe it would only take 5 minutes to remove those listings then you truly are delusional. Anger does that to some people.

I too would agree that the UK versions of the sites are completely different as they seem to promote products not offered in the US. Not that I am an expert, just through my recent observations.

Very true about the 5 minute quick fix. Depending on how the DMOZ software works it could take hours, unless you could possibly directly edit the database which houses the information.

I do appreciate those who are looking into the matter, even if there isn't much that can be done about it.