portable-cd-mp3-player.com

Hello,

I've submitted my site in January this year, http://www.portable-cd-mp3-player.com under the category

Computers: Hardware: Peripherals: Audio: Portable Players

and waited for a month before I submitted again a couple of times within several months. However, my site still hasn't been listed until now.

The site contains affiliate links but it also contains many unique and useful content for the visitors. I tried to make the unique content accessible from anywhere on the site.

I've also emailed the Editor above this category but has received no replies. This category currently has no editor.

Have I done something wrong? Any help is appreciated.

Thank you.

Re: Problem getting listed: Portable MP3 Player Site

You've done nothing wrong, however the site was declined a listing in the directory. Your site consists of affiliate links, and "content" copied straight from cnet.com. As such, since it offers no unique content, it will not be listed in the present form.

Re: Problem getting listed: Portable MP3 Player Site

Thank you for the quick reply. Some content was taken from from CNET as I mentioned on the site, but not all of them. It does contain some unique contents.

I've been thinking to make the changes, and I'll be soon.

Thank you.

Re: Problem getting listed: Portable MP3 Player Site

Just wondering, I noticed one of the sites listed on that category, http://www.mp3shopping.com contains affiliate links and contents copied directly from the affiliate merchants websites. How come this site get a listing?

Thank you.

Re: Problem getting listed: Portable MP3 Player Site

For a start the site is probably not still identical to when it was first listed in 1999, before the current guidelines existed.

The site has a hardware sales focus, which would allow listing. Upon further investigation it appears the sales are via amazon.com affiliate lianks. I'll look into it further, but it looks like it is incorrectly listed by current guidelines.

Thanks
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Re: Problem getting listed: Portable MP3 Player Site

>>How come this site get a listing?

Hard to tell, there are lots of possibilities.

1) Added improperly, and not yet noticed and removed.
1a) By mistake--editor didn't notice that the sales were only affiliate. (editor receives information on ODP guidelines when noticed)
1b) Editor abuse--crooked editor added his own site. (editor gets removed when noticed)

2) Added properly, but site changed
2a) Site created to get listing, then changed ("bait and switch" -- this is like cloaking at Google, and it gets the same penalty)
2b) Site changed focus because webmaster lost interest, or someone else picked up the URL for a different purpose. (site gets moved or removed when noticed.)

3) Added properly, but ODP changed (sites may be removed when noticed)
3a) As the depth of depravity of spammers becomes clearer, guidelines are tightened, and sites that might have been tolerated before are recognized as not useful.
3b) As the net matures, more comprehensive and reliable sources appear: and some old references are no longer considered unique or useful enough to be listed.

I know that outsiders often obsess about the "hidden motives of ODP" but the fact is that there are thousands of active editors, each with their own motives, and there really isn't an overall tendentious pattern. What particular motive was in mind depends on the editor and the day. (Sometimes I just like to whack spam. Sometimes I notice improper listings while checking to see if new submissions are unique. Sometimes I notice egregious hype, and when I start looking at the site to see what its description should be, I notice that there's no unique content to describe. Sometimes some non-editor mentions a listing that looks bad, and I go whack it to help restore the ODP's reputation. It is really, VERY, VERY seldom that I remove a site because it's a competitor, or I don't like the webmaster, or I've been bribed.