Happy Halloween!
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What are the little creatures in every DMOZ category?
Well, DMOZ was started by Rich Skrenta in 1998, under the name of Newhoo. But in 1999, the directory was integrated into Mozilla, became directory.mozilla.org, and quickly became known simply as DMOZ. Mozilla was acquired by browser-maker Netscape Communications, and Netscape was then purchased by AOL. AOL still owns Netscape and DMOZ, although the Mozilla foundation is now autonomous and has brought us the Firefox browser.
Now that you know a bit more about the history of the Open Directory Project, it is time to talk about what we call the Mozzies. Have you seen any little creature at the bottom right of every DMOZ page? These are the Mozzies.
Mozzie was originally the mascot of the Mozilla project. So when DMOZ was a part of the foundation, the editors decided to add him at the bottom of every page.
And they even took it a step further to make different Mozzies depending on the category ...
Every editor has the option to change the Mozzie on every category where he can edit. Today we actually have hundreds of Mozzies available. You can see them all in the bookmarks of Mozzie.
So now you might be wondering who makes the Mozzies. Well, guess ;-)
Good guess. It is the editors. We all can suggest Mozzies to the community, and some of us have the ability to upload new Mozzies on the server. When a new Mozzie is uploaded, the editor responsible only needs to add the appropriate link in the Mozzie's bookmarks.
Maybe you feel like an artist? Well, why not draw us a new Mozilla for your favorite subject? That's very easy! Make your Mozzie the most beautiful you can. Then, apply to become an editor (for example, in the category where you'd like to see the Mozzie listed). Wait for your application to be approved. When it is approved, you'll be able to submit a new Mozzie. To know the steps to follow for that, just ask an editor, on the editors' forum, for example.
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