Ok, what am I supposed to do, category not updated

Hi everybody,

I updated my site to DMOZ about 9 months ago. If I have to wait 2 years to get listed, ok so be it, I can wait. But what I don't understand is that the category that I submitted to doesn't get updated at all. I also checked the higher category, doesn't get updated either. What do I base that on? Well, if you're like me and have done a lot of SEO and have been searching for lot of affiliation partners, then you get a good idea what kind of sites show up all the time. I also made screenshots months ago and both categories look exactly the same. All the sites that are listed on Dmoz in the two categories are old sites, I don't see newer sites that are 2 years or younger and mind you, that was already the case 9 months ago. Now does it sound so unfair mr. DMOZ if I'm feeling kida desperate.

See, this never got really attention on this board that I know of. Most of the time people ask when they get listed, but this time I'm asking; when is Google to update a category, even when it's with a competitor?

It's the same story with Google search; sometimes I'm looking at sites that are on page 1 or 2 with little content and updated 2 years ago. Is this the new Google; we only want top sites that can make a difference for our cash flow? Mind you, I'm not saying that it is actually the case, but I do feel a little left out by Google, especially considering that I'm in the top 3 with the 22 major keyord combinations on other major search engines.

Of course they don't know how to develop a search engine right, why put a less lucrative web site on top of the list?

Or is it that I'm just totally missing something?

Forgive me, but I'm getting more and more frustrated with Google lately.

John.

OK, I agree that the situation you describe is terribly unfair. Three or more years ago, people created websites in niches that were unpopulated -- searching out content that wasn't already on the web -- and maintained those sites steadily for years. Commitment, vision, hard work. And does it get rewarded? Not, certainly, from SOME search engines. No, there an ignorant spammer with the spam technique du jour can easily supplant even the most resource-rich, most informative, most reputable, most valuable sites.

Fortunately, Google and the ODP are less susceptible to that vicious vicious unfairness. And users have a choice. My concept of equity doesn't rule the world, and that's probably a good thing. Your concept of equity doesn't rule the world, and that's DEFINITELY a good thing. Each entity does its own website, and users can pick stale-but-stable content, or they can pick fresh-spam, just by choosing the search engine that suits their olfactory glands.

If you're disappointed with Google, go use another search engine. If you're disappointed with Yahoo, check out Google. Check out the ODP -- check out Yahoo directory, check out any of the dozens of fly-by-night free-for-all affiliate-banner-clicks farms. Your choice.

I think there's still a lot of good in Google, although the du-jour-spammers have by sheer mass made a right royal mess of most searches even there. I'll be periodically checking other resources, to see where they shine well, and where they don't.

You're forgiven. Google isn't God, and we aren't it's hierophonts. You're missing most of the universe, of course, and most of the best parts -- but so, to a lesser extent, are we all.

If you're feeling desperate about site promotion -- that's really not an issue here, so you won't find many experts in that subject here. Most people who come here for site promotion really haven't a clue: and the mentality that makes for good editors usually DOESN'T lend itself to dedicated SEO. But you always have lots of options. You can ... close down the site. Or donate the worthwhile content (if any: I haven't checked) to some established site. Or use the information you have to build a community of people with similar interests. Or if it's a business, focus on the local not-necessarily-web promotional methods that are more likely to bring customers face-to-face with you. There are lots of options that don't involve depending on the priorities of strangers with, um, stranger than usual priorities.

There, that was simple, wasn't it?

Do something because it's intrinsically worth while, or do it because you enjoy it, but ... I warn you, we're going to do the same thing. Then, no need for desperation: just desire for accomplishment, or joy in accomplishment.

JohnM said:

Or is it that I'm just totally missing something?

Forgive me, but I'm getting more and more frustrated with Google lately.

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Yes, you are missing something totaly.
This forum is for DMOZ related discussions only.
We are not related to Google, have no influence on their behaviour and don't have the knowledge to answer questions about them.

Overall your posting sounds like a SEO wannabee who didn't succeed in misleading Google.

John, as I see that others have talked about your comments about Google, I will address your other point.

There are most definitely categories that have not been updated in a while. Unfortunately this is one of the down-sides of the directory.

Editors are volunteers, and do whatever they like, when they like it. The benefit of this is that we have a huge resource of humans maintaining an exceedingly large directory.

Editors come and go, and the one that showed an interest in a particular category will, at some stage, move on to other interests. Unless there is someone with similar interests, that category will not get the same levels of attention it had before. At this point there are a team of editors who edit categories further up the tree, please several hundred editors who have the ability to edit any of the several hundred thousand categories in the directory. They also edit according to interest.

So this results in some categories not getting any new entires in a long period of time, for sure.

If this is a category that you feel you have a stake in, then that can be frustrating, of course. You would like to see YOUR site listed there.

To go back to your question from the subject line "What am I to do?" the answer is that there is nothing you CAN do in order to get a quicker review of your site. Do not submit to other categories (that will slow things down, and may frustrate you even more). Resubmitting won't help either, as it just overwrites the one that is already there.

You also really need to understand that Google and the ODP are two completely separate entities - Google is just a user of the ODP data. But as a person who has "done a lot of SEO", you probably knew that already.

Hopefully now you understand a little more how the ODP works.

Thanks for the comments guys, including the oelewapper who doesn’t know what SEO means (O stands for Optimization my friend, not Officer) and who finds it more important to attack people then answering my question why categories aren’t updated and which choice(s) I have.

Sorry, my mistake thinking that Dmoz isn’t owned by Google, but it sure does feel like that sometimes.

Listen, I’m not an SEO expert, I don’t pretend to be one, that’s just what Oelie makes of it. All I was trying to explain is that I did a lot of SEO (whether it’s was the right SEO was not the point) which included searching for affiliation partners to explain how I noticed that none of the reasonable young sites (1-2 years old) show up in the 2 categories.

But what I don’t understand is the whole purpose of Dmoz.
If editors are saying, sure, several categories are not updated, we don’t have the manpower, so look for alternatives. What does that tell you about Dmoz (and forget about the Google or SEO issues). It tells you that it’s getting old and dusty and as a resource it’s losing it’s value. I’m also asking myself what’s the purpose of this forum? What a waste of time. Why are Dmoz editors spending 2,000 or more posts on this board when a few FAQs or guidelines that take 1 day to type can save not only the time of webmasters, but also editors. I’m sure you have enough topics on this forum to figure out what to write.

And what is this “Oh, we don’t have enough manpower” thing the whole time? Sure, it helps to answer that same question over and over again, but what does it solve? What’s the whole purpose of Dmoz other than a Google that values it so high (for what ever silly reason that might be). And who started Dmoz anyway? Is it just a hobby site, because it sure starts to look like it this way. And if it’s more than just a hobby site, why not worry about the fact that Google might indeed drop Dmoz one day because it can’t recognize it under that 3 feet blanket of dust. That would mean the end of Dmoz.

Sorry, but I don’t get it, I don’t get Google when it comes to Dmoz, I don’t get Dmoz itself.

I didn’t come here to hear that Dmoz doesn’t have manpower (heck, how many times have we heard that story) or to hear that there are alternatives (yawn), I came here to find out if things will change one day. So the answer is “no”. Thanks, now I know that I don’t need to worry about it anymore and that maybe with a bit of luck when my 3 ½ year old decides to marry in 2023 my site might be included. No wonder why there is a lack of editors, nobody wants to jump on a sinking ship.

But what I don’t understand is the whole purpose of Dmoz.

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Clearly, which, since it's objectives are extensively documented elsewhere, makes this thread pointless. From your remarks above, you'll presumably applaud my closing it.