ODP Listings Editing Question

I see several listings for the same site several times, some times they have listings for domains that have been parked on top of other domains, i.e. five differnt ODP domain listings pointing to the same domian.

Is this a form of spamdexing, I know a editor has the right to list the same site in multiple categories, when the occasion permits

I have heard the term "Black Hating" used in this forum a couple of times can not remember where.

I don't have the devious mind so trying to figure this one out evades me.

What is "Black hating" and how does it effect the OPD. How would one identify "Black Hating" and its occurrences.

I have always been told "The only stupid question is the one that goes unasked and remains unanswered."

Black Hat is related to SEO and has no influence on DMOZ at all as we are not a Search Engine.

If there are several listed domains that all point to the same content we would like to know which listings (url, dmoz category, title of listing). We have a special Quality Control Feedback forum to tell us about such (possible) problems.

I see several listings for the same site several times, some times they have listings for domains that have been parked on top of other domains, i.e. five differnt ODP domain listings pointing to the same domian.

Click to expand...

What happens here is that originally the sites were legitimate and were listed. Later on the owner of the site lost interest and the domain name lapsed. Usually the site 'disappears' and is removed by Robozilla, however this can take a few months.

There are people who buy up old domain names to take advantage of any PR that they may have by pointing them to their sites which is what you seem to describe. So before Robozilla got round to discovering that the site lapsed, a new site is up and running.

It is a method that takes unfair advantage of ther peoples efforts so please report any such you find.

regards

pvgool said:

Black Hat is related to SEO and has no influence on DMOZ at all as we are not a Search Engine.

Click to expand...

I understand the part clearly that your not a search engine, your a directory.

I believe there are a few sites using the ODP data, and if the data ends up getting some of these types of listings, then would it not effect alot of areas down stream?

Would this be a detriment to the quality of ODP listings?

This is why I was asking the question cause and effect.

Some person said "for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction"

timamie261 said:

I understand the part clearly that your not a search engine, your a directory.

Click to expand...

And as a result SEO (black ro white) has no effect on DMOZ or on our choice to list a site or not.

timamie261 said:

I believe there are a few sites using the ODP data, and if the data ends up getting some of these types of listings, then would it not effect alot of areas down stream?

Click to expand...

Yes. I have learned that I can't control the whole world and I stopped bothering about things I can't control.

timamie261 said:

Would this be a detriment to the quality of ODP listings?

Click to expand...

The quality of our listings is not influenced by the way other sites are using our data. I wouldn't know this would be possible.

timamie261 said:

This is why I was asking the question cause and effect.

Click to expand...

did you already report the sites

Eric-the-Bun said:

What happens here is that originally the sites were legitimate and were listed. Later on the owner of the site lost interest and the domain name lapsed. Usually the site 'disappears' and is removed by Robozilla, however this can take a few months.

There are people who buy up old domain names to take advantage of any PR that they may have by pointing them to their sites which is what you seem to describe. So before Robozilla got round to discovering that the site lapsed, a new site is up and running.

It is a method that takes unfair advantage of ther peoples efforts so please report any such you find.

regards

Click to expand...

Thats what I was thinking, because I now view so many categories when ever I am able to.

I think you may have noticed my posts in "Report Hijacks, Dead Links, Inappropriate ODP Content, and other issues here ONLY."

While going through the category, I some times end up following something that some how got there, now being totally un-related.

Pvgool said:

did you already report the sites

Click to expand...

No I did not, I was not clear on this, I will go back and review those categories again and find those listings.

I dont have a editors review history, and I have already cleared my history. It will take a few hours to go back and find them and I will and they will get reported as I find them again.

What would be nice is if I had some sort of a tool to export and preserve my browser history to a text file, so I could go back and view it later.

I have to correct myself I did report on such site, that hijacked a listing

timamie261 said:

Report Hijacks, Dead Links, Inappropriate ODP Content, and other issues here ONLY

July 31, 2006 07:24 PM #2635

All Cobras, Free Forums

Click to expand...

It is true to say we ignore SEO when evaluating a site - we're interested in the uniqueness and usefulness of its content to users, and couldn't care less how it is promoted (provided the promotion approach doesn't make the site unusable by end users).

I would say that, in my experience, most of the sites I've seen that employ black hat SEO techniques tend to be unlistable according to ODP guidelines anyway because they invariably lack any unique or useful content.

andysands said:

It is true to say we ignore SEO when evaluating a site - we're interested in the uniqueness and usefulness of its content to users, and couldn't care less how it is promoted (provided the promotion approach doesn't make the site unusable by end users).

I would say that, in my experience, most of the sites I've seen that employ black hat SEO techniques tend to be unlistable according to ODP guidelines anyway because they invariably lack any unique or useful content.

Click to expand...

Thanks andy

So a few black hatters get through from time to time? If so is there a real good way pick it out if did? Saying they met all the listing qualifications at the time of listing the site.

We simply don't ask "black hat/white hat". We ask "unique content/no unique content." If a website would make the world better by disappearing, it really doesn't matter how politely it is flogged by its shills. If a site is a detriment to the public, any promotion of it, by whatever technique, is also a detriment to the public.

And ... if a site IS worth listing, then ... the fact that its owner has been victimized by a professional search engine perverter, is not really a good reason for US to shun it also.

It is just that, as andy points out, real businesses nearly always have better things to do, and better ways to do them. And MOSTLY they don't engage in the usual tricks of the SERP perp. So it seems like there is a correlation between the ODP listing and non-spamming websites (because in reality there is), but it's not a correlation we IMPOSE on reality. It is something that reality imposes on us.

And it really doesn't make any sense to talk about "all the listing qualifications". There are really only two qualifications: (1) must contain significant unique content. (2) must be legal; And legality is obviously an extremely rare issue: illegal sites generally don't want to attract attention.

Thanks for the insight in these matters, I am always looking to do the best I can do. I just wish I was able to do more to help out.