No action taken for my submission

Over the past year I've submitted my website twice and no action to approve of reject it has been taken. We desperately need the website to be listed but it's like the editor isn't doing anything.

Our website is <url removed>
We're trying to get it listed in :

Regional/Oceania/Australia/Recreation_and_Sports/


I just don't understand what the problem is and I wish there was someone we could contact to discuss it. Not getting a listing here and not being picked up by the relevant search engines is really hurting our business.

Please take the trouble to read this forum's FAQ (There's a link towards the top of this page). It explains that this is a volunteer organisation and that timescales are thus uncontrolled and uncontrollable.

not being picked up by the relevant search engines

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Promoting your website is your responsibility, not ours. An ODP listing won't suddenly trigger a money storm.

...is really hurting our business.

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This might sound harsh, but if your business depends upon the actions of a bunch of anonymous volunteers who don't know you from Adam, it's at great risk. Ask your financial advisors.

Unfortunately a lot of search engines take their listings from the ODP, hence being listed in the ODP is very important, as I'm sure you know. Of course we are promoting our website elsewhere, this listing is part of our business plan (and a very important part of it).

I mean what is the point of the directory if the editors can't be bothered to look at the sites that are submitted and make a decision. I've read the FAQ. You could sum it up in one line really "We'll do what we like, there are no firm guidelines so don't ask questions, you won't get an answer". In my opinion this "project" needs some serious over-hauling.

I understand it's voluntary. Evidently this system isn't working. There should be a paid inclusion program where you can pay $50, and get someone to look at your website within 3 days and include it if appropriate or reply with reasons why not. I'm sure the revenue generated would more than pay for the workload and there may even be enough $ left over to get a graphic designer to take a look at the ODP.

sporn said:

...There should be a paid inclusion program where you can pay $50, and get someone to look at your website within 3 days and include it if appropriate or reply with reasons why not. I'm sure the revenue generated would more than pay for the workload and there may even be enough $ left over to get a graphic designer to take a look at the ODP....

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But who would get that $50? I am a volunteer, and I edit for free. Would I then get paid? Or would the money go to AOL?
The idea of a paid listing goes completely against everything the project stands for. There are plenty of places where you can go, to pay for a listing. The Open Directory is not one of them.

Did I say "Paid listing"?

I suggested a paid service whereby you get a guaranteed site review with a response (yes/ no -why), not a guaranteed listing.

The volunteer model works fine if people are actually doing things. It's when there is no response and people are left waiting for months with real economic impact that the system breaks down. I just want to know why my site hasn't been listed in over a year and i'll happily pay someone to tell me. I'm sure you can understand how frustrating it is to not know.

I don't know who would get the money. I'd assume it would be the person that had 3 days to review my site. Maybe it could be donated to charity.

The volunteer model works fine when people stop expecting it to be something it isn't.

The ODP volunteers haven't volunteered to review your site or any other suggested site. They've volunteered to help build the directory. As long as the directory is growing, then they are doing exactly what is asked of them. If you want a directory where you can pay someone to review your site for possible listing within a specific time frame, there are loads of them out there. But the ODP isn't one of them.

And as an aside, if the viability of your business depends on whether or not you're listed in the ODP, then perhaps you shouldn't be in that business. (That's a general "you", not you specifically.) Countless people manage to make a go of their businesses without an ODP listing -- you don't need an ODP listing to rank highly in search engine results.

"you don't need an ODP listing to rank highly in search engine results"

... but it helps

many search engines take their new sites list from the ODP, so you might say it's critical.

I know this line of reasoning is going nowhere. Why do you even have a "suggest a site" option? Surely it would be much easier and less frustrating all round if that was removed. No expectations = no disappointments.

No expectations = no disappointments.

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Yes, that's it exactly. If you don't expect your suggestion to be listed, you won't be disappointed.

All that you have done is make your site a little easier for an editor to find when they feel like building that particular category. They are under no obligation to even look at the pool of suggestions, of course, but we appreciate your help in contributing to that collection, because it is certainly one of the resources they may use.

I know this line of reasoning is going nowhere.

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True. And there's a fundamental reason for that.

If a site "needs a listing" to get past all the "other sites" that it "competes with" -- then there's an extremely good chance that site isn't needed at all, ever, by surfers. You see, the other sites serve them perfectly well.

In other words, "I need a listing" is, practically speaking, equivalent to "the listings don't need me."

"I don't need a listing" is a much more effective line of reasoning. But THAT argument can't possibly instill a sense of urgency, nor can it be plausibly uttered in a shrill or whiny tone.

Logic is a wonderful thing, so long as it's kept secret.