Nfzgrld:
Despite the profane manner in which you ended your post, I will attempt to give you a civil response, because there is just so much misinformation that you post must not go unanswered.
Perhaps if you spent more time reviewing and taking care of the sites from webmasters who've actually ASKED to be included instead of gleaning links from newspapers and such you might not have these kinds of problems.
I'm sorry that you think that the primary responsibility of an editor is to process submissions. Submissions are but one (usually very poor) source of sites that we try and list. Contrary to your belief, we are not a listing service for webmasters and no where do we make a commitment as to when we will look at a given suggestion.
More and more webmasters I talk to just don't bother with the ODP any more. It's not worth the trouble. You're value as a search tool or a marketing tool is quickly evaporating.
We are not now, nor have we ever been, concerned aobut our value as a search tool or a marketing tool. Our social contract make no reference to those concepts. Similarly, what the averagfe webmaster thinks about the ODP is also not terribly concernign to us as webmasters are not the people e set out to please, rather we care only for the surfers who use our data.
Lead, follow, or get the heck out of the way. Right now you're a joke to any serious professional webmaster. You are still in a position to turn that around if you'll show some leadership, or at least try to follow the prevailing trends.
We do lead, every single day by being one of the few resources on the web that does not succumb to commercial pressures, where no one can buy their way in, where the small quality site is given more value that the huge megasite that has no unique content -- just a huge marketing bucket. We are one of the few resources on the web that actually cares about the surfer, and puts their interest above all others.
They're also taking up space where there might be someone who's actually willing to DO SOMETHING CONSTRUCTIVE with their category.
The simple response that that you are factually wrong. ther is no "space" to take up, there is no quota on how many active eidtor "slots" there are. This is not the landing pattern at O'Hare where a Cessna 172 with two passengers is keeping a Boeing 747 with 435 passengers from landing.
If you're just there to try to control the competition, or keep things pointed in a direction YOU think they should take, then get out of there before someone decides to clean house. At some point in the near future someone is likely to do that.
Wow, like power to the people, man. Nice rant, but utterly irrelevant. We are not guided by what we want, but by our social contract (have you even read it?). The facts of the matter are that every day hundreds, perhaps thousands of edits take place. Many, many sites are added daily. Links are maintained and checked, categories are built, and restructured. Powerful debates on the crrect placement of sites take place, thousands of spammers and directory abusers are thwarted. Perhaps we should just stop everything and list your site.
There will be no popular uprising, no overthrow of the evil tyrant. If someone comes along with a better directory idea, they are free to do so. Heck, we'll even contribute the first five million listings. Rather than tilting at windmills, do something constructive. Feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, build a directory -- and try not to get royally steamed when some ingrate comes along and tries to tear down what you are doing because he personally does not profit.
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