Is there a list of 'Categories of greatest need'?

I have applied for an editor position. During the application process I thought it might be a good thing to somehow have a list of 'areas of greatest need' - i.e. Directory areas where the greatest number of submissions intersect with the least editors. If something on the list were a topic that I could contribute to I might also apply for it to help the overall process.
I am relatively new to the DMOZ and would like to contribute in any way that I could to this worthwhile project.

mpbubb

There is such a list, but due to the big amount of unreviewed entries waiting in those categories, most of them wouldn't be given to new editors anyway. As a start its a good idea to apply for your hometown for example, or a subcategory if the town should be a big city with lots of links already listed.

Additional reason for not having such a list: If we would offer such information to the public, submitters might think "better submit to another category, not to the best one" and we would have additional work sorting submissions back to where they belong.

Re: Is there a list of 'Categories of greatest nee

>> I thought it might be a good thing to somehow have a list of 'areas of greatest need' <<

I can see what you mean, but this isn't really what we want.

We want editors to apply for categories that they have a personal interest in. This makes them more motivated to learn about editing, and helps them get get over the initial learning period before branching out into other areas. If we have a 'help wanted' list, we'd get people applying just to get their foot in the door. Since they'd have no real interest in that cat, they'd soon get disillusioned and give up.

thanks to dfy and windharp for the answers

I knew there was an answer (and am probably the 1000th person to ask... though I didnt find it in other posts or FAQ).

I see your point (dfy) about wanting editors with a personal interest in the cat. What I meant to convey is that one may have diverse interests that could intersect with a number of unrelated categories. i.e. - I am fascinated by: metro subway systems, the history of European Road Cycling Races, Argentine novelists, the Frankfurt School of philosophy, Open Source software, German Expressionists, etc.
I would enjoy editing and would have the ability to contribute to each of those cats and maybe a few more.

However I am sure that multiple editorial applications would be frowned upon and would create more work on your end...

I see both of your points though and I thank you for the responses.

mpbubb

Re: thanks to dfy and windharp for the answers

You may have been the thousandth person to wonder but, as far as I know, you were the first to ask. This is exactly the sort of thing this forum was intended for.

Re: thanks to dfy and windharp for the answers

Well Society/Philosophy/Continental_Philosophy/German_Philosophy/ needs an editor. As does Arts/Art_History/Movements/Expressionism/, and Arts/Literature/World_Literature/Latin_American/.

Re: thanks to dfy and windharp for the answers

There's nothing wrong with having multiple interests. If you're serious about becoming an editor, then apply for one of the categories that you have an interest in, build it up and get it looking prestine (there are plenty of other editors around in the forums who will help you with this) and then apply for another one. Editors who can edit competently in diverse areas of the directory are just what we want.

Re: thanks to dfy and windharp for the answers

... and while editing their first category, many new editors build up prospective content for other categories (both existing, and proposed new categories) in their editor's bookmarks area of the ODP. Many new categories have been created this way, and many more enhanced with additional listings. It gives you a chance to build it outside of the main directory, without actually having to have permission to edit the real category. Once a higher editor has reviewed the work, then it is a reasonably simple operation for a Meta editor to move it all into the main directory listings for you.

Thanks for all the responses

Thanks to al for the perspective on this.

- apeuro I will apply in one of these areas if my current app is turned dowm.
- totalxsive - I will give the one cat a shot and then possibly move on to others.
- giz thanks, I have a better sense of how it works.


Overall I am surprised I havent known about the dmoz. I must have been under a rock... I suppose I found out about it through self-interest (trying to include a url) and became intruiged by it.

I was thinking last night of how the OED got started - in the mid 19th cent a Philology group proposed to create an historically based dictionary and sent out requests for etymological information about the words they were compiling...

An activity analogous to the best open source projects.

Anyway, again thanks for the feedback, I am getting a better sense of the ethos and the overall process of the dmoz.

All the best

Michael