DMOZ was not started to impress any search engine inlcuding Google. The ODP was started to provide a human edited directory. It is an effort to provide something different from what is already out there. At one time yes, Google relied on the ODP quite a bit for site descriptions, etc.
But today the editors are still happy to provide ODP visitors with quality directory listings. Our efforts have not decreased by any means to make the ODP the best it can be.
We strive to continue providing a unique service with or without the support of well known search engines. The ODP's initial focus was not to gain respect from search engines. All of that came on it's own. ODP's initial focus was to provide a new way of finding what we needed on the web.