I really am an expert

I have been designing and selling car top carriers since 1997. Really, I've used them all, know the owners of many companys that produce them, go to the trade shows, talk to hundreds of consumers that use them. I own a company and web site that talks about them and sells them. Yet this catagory Shopping: Vehicles: Parts and Accessories: Exterior: Roof Racks and Carriers has been vacant for a long time. Even though I have a web site and sell the darn things what's the problem with having a "real expert" work this section? I know alot about tents too, since I'm in that business. There are several areas I could work. Am I being denied because I'm in the business?

Am I being denied because I'm in the business?

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Without looking at your application (which I can't because it's gone now) I can only make general remarks.

We need people who we think can become good editors and if they are expert in their field, so much the better.

Candidates are declined for one or more of the reasons given in the email bearing the bad tidings. Why not study it carefully, learn from it, and then try again.

What did the denial e-mail say? No one would be denied a category because they have experience in an area, but it's also not a guarantee that we would grant the category either. Subject expertise is great, but you still need to understand how things work in the ODP to be a good editor.

I haven't seen your application but are you sure that the example web sites that you provided were appropriate for the category? Shopping is a tricky area for new editors. Did you read the general description of the Shopping section? Did you read our FAQ and General Advice thread in this forum?

One more comment to add: Demonstrating to the editor who reviews your application that you can write grammatically-correct english, without spelling mistakes, is highly important.

Many people try several times before they become an editor - there is a fair amount of reading that needs to be done in order to get a good application put together. The reason this is important, is that there is EVEN MORE reading that needs to be done once you become an editor.

Showing the reviewing editor that you are both willing and capable of doing this is as vital as expert knowledge of the subject area.

As others have said - I have not seen your application and the comments I make are general ones.

Hope this helps.

Thank you for the feedback. I believe I was denied because I sell car top carriers on the internet. Would it be a good idea to get experts to add sites even if they do resell that product or catagory and have a completely different crew take sites off? That would eliminate any potential conflict of interest. I think that was the issue. In any event, it may be a disservice to DMOZ and users to have a vacant catagory and let 'experts' slip by.

Belief is a wonderful thing. But do you KNOW why you were not accepted? What did the email you received say was the reason?

I find it hard to believe that you were rejected simply because you were "in the business". There are many MANY editors who impartially edit a catEgory in which they own a business or have some sort of affiliation.

>I believe I was denied because I sell car top carriers on the internet.

To be an effective ODP editor, you first need to learn to deal with alternate belief systems: the meta-editor who reviews your application will, I guarantee you, NOT believe this.