A couple of comments:
The ODP is not "Open Source" at all. The only part that is open is that we make the directory avaiable to anyone that wants it free of charge.
You are right, there are no hard and fast rules laid out for website owners to read, understand and (potentially) try to work around. There are parts of the directory where that has been tried before and it has ended in tears, believe me. A LOT is left up to editor discretion - that is one of the things we are most proud of, to be honest. Yes, it causes some long and heated discussions within the editorial community, but most of us editors believe that this is the only way we can effectively create the directory we strive to create, and feel so passionate about.
And this debate can't really go too much further, since, to quote the "rules" for suggesting a site for inclusion, which can be found at
http://dmoz.org/add.html :
Please recognize that making the ODP a useful resource requires us to exercise broad editorial discretion in determining the content and structure of the directory. That discretion extends (but is not limited) to what sites to include, where in the directory sites are placed, whether and when to include more than one link to a site, when deep linking is appropriate, and the content of the title and description of the site. In addition, a site's placement in the directory is subject to change or deletion at any time at our sole discretion. You should not rely on any aspect of a site's inclusion in the directory. Please understand that an editor's exercise of discretion may not always treat all submissions equally. You may not always agree with our choices, but we hope you recognize that we do our best to make fair and reasonable decisions.
Editors have made a decision. You don't agree with it. That is your right. But that is the nature of the ODP.
I hope this clarifies the situation.
