Hi there,
I understand the purpose of DMOZ, ie it is for surfers, and not to service website owners. I understand that it is run by volunteers, who will look at websites and list them based on merit, with the description they deem to be appropriate. I understand why this may not necessarily be the same as the website owners priorities. I understand that you never remove a website once listed, unless it disappears.
However, I submitted my site many years ago (5, 6) with my own description, and was delighted to be added, and my description be used as I had submitted it. Since then I have a website theme that allows me to set a meta description for my site, which I have done.
Now, 2 things have happened:
1) my description has been rewritten by someone on the DMOZ database to a really poor description.
2) google has now (as it has a habit of doing, I believe) taken your DMOZ description to use in web search results, rather than my own current one.
This is a massive problem to me - meta descriptions are a major way to establish a brand, and a chance to make it attractive to a customer to click on when in search results (I'm on about a properly worded description, not something stuffed with key words or random spammy content).
How can it be that something I have no control over, that is written by someone else about my company, through no invitation from me be taken as THE description of my website on the internet - a description that appears below my website name on google, describing my business, directly affecting sales. How can it be, that as a small business owner, who is trying to make a living, that I can be told that there is nothing I can do about this, that you won't remove me, and you probably won't rewrite it unless you feel like it.
In your effort to provide something for the web user, you are in some cases hindering people's livelihoods. Unless the category editor happens to be someone who writes something well and relevantly.
I have contacted you with a change request, which was ignored. I then chased via twitter, and was told my request actually HAD now been actioned. However, it still starts with 'Offers ...' , others in my category say 'Sells ...' or 'Offer ...'.
Of course, now I have the uphill battle of persuading google to use my own description and ignore yours, but there is no future guarantee that I won't be in this position again, even if that does work.
Yes, I do understand that you have no control over what google decides to do. But it all seems like pass-the-buck-ville from where I sit.
I understand the purpose of DMOZ, ie it is for surfers, and not to service website owners. I understand that it is run by volunteers, who will look at websites and list them based on merit, with the description they deem to be appropriate. I understand why this may not necessarily be the same as the website owners priorities. I understand that you never remove a website once listed, unless it disappears.
However, I submitted my site many years ago (5, 6) with my own description, and was delighted to be added, and my description be used as I had submitted it. Since then I have a website theme that allows me to set a meta description for my site, which I have done.
Now, 2 things have happened:
1) my description has been rewritten by someone on the DMOZ database to a really poor description.
2) google has now (as it has a habit of doing, I believe) taken your DMOZ description to use in web search results, rather than my own current one.
This is a massive problem to me - meta descriptions are a major way to establish a brand, and a chance to make it attractive to a customer to click on when in search results (I'm on about a properly worded description, not something stuffed with key words or random spammy content).
How can it be that something I have no control over, that is written by someone else about my company, through no invitation from me be taken as THE description of my website on the internet - a description that appears below my website name on google, describing my business, directly affecting sales. How can it be, that as a small business owner, who is trying to make a living, that I can be told that there is nothing I can do about this, that you won't remove me, and you probably won't rewrite it unless you feel like it.
In your effort to provide something for the web user, you are in some cases hindering people's livelihoods. Unless the category editor happens to be someone who writes something well and relevantly.
I have contacted you with a change request, which was ignored. I then chased via twitter, and was told my request actually HAD now been actioned. However, it still starts with 'Offers ...' , others in my category say 'Sells ...' or 'Offer ...'.
Of course, now I have the uphill battle of persuading google to use my own description and ignore yours, but there is no future guarantee that I won't be in this position again, even if that does work.
Yes, I do understand that you have no control over what google decides to do. But it all seems like pass-the-buck-ville from where I sit.
