Misleading description of site by editor.

Hi Can someone please assist ?

Our website http://www.horses-sales.com has been listed in DMOZ for nearly two years now.

http://dmoz.org/Business/Agriculture_and_Forestry/Livestock/Horses_and_Ponies/Sales_and_Marketing/

For some reason an editor recently decided to change the description. There was no need as the previous description was quite appropriate and accurate. However the new description given for no apparent reason is now incorrect and misleading.

It reads "Advertise horses for sale including pictures, horses wanted, loan or lease. Seperate categories for European and North American countries. Free classifieds.


The site does not SOLEY cater for European and North American countries - It is a "Free International horse and equestrian classifieds"

The site caters for Canada, Australia, Russia, UK, Holland, Germany, etc, USA and ALL OTHER countries. It always has done. Surely if an editor deemed it fit to change the description they would have had to visit the site and had they visited the site and read the content which is readily available on the home page they would have recognised that their new description was not fitting and that the site description did not necessitate change?

I have requested changes via URL update but have not as yet seen anything change. Please can someone explain why it was changed in the first place and wether this eror can be rectified? I have noted that many of the other sites have been relocated but I maintain there was no need to edit our listing.

Regards

Gilbert

I read "Separate categories for European and North American countries" as meaning that the site has separate categories for USA and European listings. I don't see it saying "only USA and European".

Regardless, I have now deleted your site, as it is quite clearly a fraternal mirror of http://www.sport-horses.org/.

It was difficult to decide which of your sites was the main one as sport-horses.org clearly has more content than horses-sales.com, but some of the links on sport-horses go to horses-sales. In the end I decided to choose sport-horses.org as the main URL, because it seems to have more on it than horses-sales.com, and it already has three listings compared to horses-sales.com's one.

You are entitled to your opinion . To me the description reads that it caters for two seperate categories.

My question though is why was it edited? The description was fine as it was. Previously it read something like...

"horses for sale including pictures, horses wanted, loan and lease. Free horse and equestrian classifieds.

Why was it changed? There was no need.

Now can you please justify your descision as to why you dleted the site? In what way do the two websites mirror one another?

There are no horse sales available on sport-horses.org?
These sites are not "Mirrored" A mirrored site means duplicate content.

I came here and asked initially if indeed it was ok to add the three sites when these forums were first opened several years ago and one of your editors stated that it was justifiable to add each site independantly to DMOZ due to the unique content. Now I raise an issue of concern and you remove the content altogether?
Will you now remove all large site independant URLS as there are hundreds of them throughout the directory?

>> In what way do the two websites mirror one another? <<

In that they contain the same content, or links to it.


>> There are no horse sales available on sport-horses.org <<

No, but there is a clear link to horses-sales.com, which is where you do your sales.


>> A mirrored site means duplicate content <<

We call your sites 'fraternal mirrors'. This describes two sites that may look and feel different, but they both lead the surfer to the same place, your business. We do not allow one business to have several different sites selling the same product.


>> I came here and asked initially if indeed it was ok to add the three sites when these forums were first opened several years ago <<

This forum has only recently passed its first birthday, so that seems unlikely.


Businesses that have clearly separated product lines can be listed in more than one topical category. If you sold horses, and light aeroplanes, we'd be happy to give you two listings for one single 'site' (ie. domain). Since you just sell horses, you are only entitled to one topical listing, no matter how many domains you purchase.

Sport-horses.org currently has listings in Sports/Equestrian/Show_Jumping/News_and_Media/, Regional/Europe/United_Kingdom/Recreation_and_Sports/Sports/Equestrian/Directories/, and Regional/Europe/United_Kingdom/Scotland/Fife/Recreation_and_Sports/, so it is already well represented.

I came here and requested where I should submit www.horses-sales.com I was told to submit it where it is now. This was well over a year ago as the site horses-sales.com has been running for nearly two years. I requested if I could add each individual country in the appropriate category and was told not to and that two submissions would be permitted for horses-sales.com one in the category that it is now and a regional category (place my business is locted). At the time a member also stated that sport-horses.org was well represented but the more senior editor quickly intervened and stated that the content of each was quite different and a valuable asset. I can not remember my old user ID but if you keep a back up you will easily find this information.

The directory and the Internet should be that users find relavent content. If you wish to prevent this from happening then carry on by removing the horses-sales.com site.

Businesses that have clearly seperated product lines can be listed in more than one topical category. If you sold horses, and light aeroplanes, we'd be happy to give you two listings for one single 'site' (ie. domain). Since you just sell horses, you are only entitled to one topical listing, no matter how many domains you purchase.

Click to expand...

I do not sell horses. I offer a free non profitable Equestrian classifieds on the horses-sales.com

The stallions-online.net website caters for Equestrian breeding - Bloodline and pedigree information, resources on breeding for mare owners.. Breeding news, stallions and show results.

The Sport-horses.org site caters for equestrian photography, artwork, website design, Scottish and UK Equestrian news diary, and links.

They are three very different categories of information, just as you have different categories amongat the dmoz directory. You do not put all sites under equestrian. Just as I have not put all of the content on one single site.

I maintain that each website contains valuble and different content from one another. Each website offers valuble resources and services to the equestrian visitor.


regards

Gilbert

The only time your site has been discussed before is in this thread from 10 months ago. In it you will see that many editors expressed similar opinions to mine. You were not told to submit your site to that category, you were told that it was already listed there, and that you would not get another topical listing. I don't see anyone authorising you having several domains listed, let alone saying that any of your sites was "a valuable asset".

Please reveal the total content of this previous discussion especially the part where another editor states that multiple urls are accecpted when the content is of value.

If there was any kind of dispute as to my site being allowed entry where it is now then it would have been commented on and removed at the time. I came here tonight requesting why the description had been edited? to find that you are now removing it.

Can you please re-instate.

I will contact staff regarding this matter.

> Please reveal the total content of this previous discussion

The link dfy provided does exactly that.

Thank you.

Indeed the discussion as to whether the site be allowed entry where it is now has already been confirmed. If there had been an issue of its placement there at the time. It would have been removed. There is therfore no need to have the site deleted.

All I asked is to have the description returned to what it was. I have found this experience most intimidating.

Regards

Gilbert

Dfy did what he was supposed to do, the content can be reached from one site to another--the policy is not to list both. Apparently your site slipped through before, I've caught others in similar situations (sometimes when an update is submitted) and done the same as was done here. It is not personal or in any way meant to punish you, rather it is the policy of ODP not to include fraternal mirrors and only one of your sites can be listed as the purpose of ODP is to provide unique content. Your other site can still be reached from the listed site, so it doesn't change the user's ability to reach that site.