No Confirmation Email

I submitted my site a week and some days ago and did not receive a confirmation email. I've seen confirmation emails mentioned in the forum but did not see anything about it in the submission instructions area:

http://dmoz.org/add.html

I assume I should have received a confirmation email had the submission gone through without a hitch, so either it did not go through at all or the e-letter was lost to the electronic void.

I am not simply asking for the status of my site because of a few reasons I believe should be addressed:

1) I read nothing about confirmation emails on the DMOZ site despite a long search effort.

2) I have read on the forums that one should reapply if they do not receive a confirmation email, however, the submission instructions state multiple submissions may result in the deletion of the submission, and an editor may not have the full story.

3) I would normally assume that confirmation emails are automatic, but seeing as DMOZ does things differently from most other internet services, I have no clue.


I therefore would like to suggest the following:

1) Have someone review http://dmoz.org/add.html and address the issues I have mentioned. Explain how the submission process works in a little more detail and mention the confirmation email and by what time it should be received.

2) In the email, give the number of submissions awaiting review and an estimate on when the last submission might be reviewed, based on the *average* time it takes to review a submission. I know there is a tendency for editors to say they "simply don't know," but this comes across as irresponsible. Because of this I also suggest an explanation in the email stating that there are many factors that affect the time it takes to start a review on a particular website, and the estimate given may not be completely accurate.

Of course I don't know what is contained in the current message, as I have not received it because of issue 1).

Now, I could be wrong about all of this, but the fact that after a lengthy search of the DMOZ site revealed nothing implies that there is still an underlying problem.

Thank you for reading this. I hope there is a quick solution to this problem.

I submitted my site a week and some days ago and did not receive a confirmation email. I've seen confirmation emails mentioned ..

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DMOZ doesn't send conformation mails for submitted sites.

What you have been reading about are the mails someone receives when he/she signs up to become an editor.

the fact that after a lengthy search of the DMOZ site revealed nothing implies that there is still an underlying problem.

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The reason a lengthy search turns up nothing is because, as pvgool says, automatic emails aren't sent out for submissions. Therefore, your tips aren't applicable (i.e. (1) there's no point mentioning features you don't have in a notice and (2) even if an automatic email was sent out, the size of the pool of sites waiting and the average time for review would never be given in it).

And therein lies the problem. Sites that are submitted are merely supposed to wait and see if their sites are listed?

I've seen this mentioned before. I can understand that the volume of sites submitted is rather high, and a small script sending site submission confirmation letter would be beneficial to both those who might find themselves waiting several weeks and months for their sites to show up on the directory, and the editors who find themselves bombarded by unsuitable sites. A confirmation letter reminding submitters that their sites should be complete etc. before final confirmation of the submission ( a click of a link or reply to the letter that would actually place the site on the waiting list). And finally the addition of all the points I made earlier.

I am absolutely sure this would save many people many hours on both sides of the submission, eliminating erroneous, redundant, script-generated and unfinished site submissions.

The email could list all submission fields for confirmation as well, and show the top searches for the keywords used perhaps, again eliminating redundant submissions.

I know DMOZ is supposed to be human based, but a little scripting to help smooth things over before the submission reaches the reviewers would save allot of time. I am sure there is someone out there willing to put aside a couple hours to generate a possible script. I would myself if my own scripting abilities were adequate.

Please consider these suggestions, as I believe they are quite valid.

We appreciate your interest in helping the ODP in our effort to be the largest and best human-edited directory on the web.

Reading your posts I understand that you would like to see more specific information when you submit a site. Also, that you believe that such information would benefit both submitters and editors. Additionally you have suggested adding additional levels requiring affirmation of guidelines-compliance.

I have bookmarked this thread and will refer back to it when the subject of reworking the submission process is reviewed internally.

Thank you very much. I am glad the ODP is willing to take outside suggestions into consideration.