Question about site submission

Hello! Let me start by saying that I think a man-made directory of the web is a great idea. Search engines cannot control their content as effectively as pages with links that have been approved for a particular category. My question is this: How effective can this project be when it takes a minimum of several months for approval of a site? I've seen some people claiming that they've been waiting for over a year for inclusion without a response. Why does it take so long? Are there not enough editors available? (I am an IT professional myself and volunteered to be an editor though I was rejected for some unknown reason.) Aside from sites taking a long time to be listed, there are several sites in the category that I submitted to that are invalid links. Maybe someone could shed some light as to the inner workings of this operation.

Thanks,
AL

There are a large number of factors governing the size of the delay:

1) Spam - this is the single biggest problem. Spammer trickery wastes hideous amounts of editor time.

2) Editorial areas of focus - some areas are more popular with editors than others. e.g. People are often more interested editing in categories related to their hobbies, where they live and their fields of research, than they are editing in some of the more commercial areas. So as a general rule the backlogs are lower in non-commercial areas. But we also have many editors whose primary focus is reviewing commercial sites, because they find that most interesting. Editors are all volunteers - so noone is compelled to edit in areas that don't interest them.

3) Huge numbers of virtually identical sites. Some categories receive very very high submission volumes.. e.g. Web design firms.

4) Focusing on building new categories. Many of us prefer to build out areas the directory does not currently cover, rather than adding more sites on a topic that is already adequately covered by existing listing. For instance adding one site in a topic that isn't covered at all - adds far more to the directory from a user perspective than adding one more IT consultancy firm to the hundreds already listed. If I am building a new subcategory I will look in the parent category unreviewed queue for suggested sites that would fill it out though - so suggestions are still useful in these areas.

there are several sites in the category that I submitted to that are invalid links

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If you could report them in the dead links thread here:
http://resource-zone.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=5453

Someone will attend to them

How effective can this project be when it takes a minimum of several months for approval of a site?

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It doesn't take a minimum of several months. Most editors have areas of primary focus, and submissions in some areas are often processed within hours. However there are some categories that for whatever reason, no active editor has visited recently.

And as for effective.. Well if you are a user and you are looking for information on a particular topic, and we have a category that contains sites on it that allows you to find that information. Then the directory is effective. If you find a topic that we aren't covering at all - feel free to mention it here though, we're always on the look out for improving the scope of the directory.

HTH
Andy

DMOZ has never been, is not, will never be, a listing service for webmasters. It is not our job, is not any part of our concept, to provide in any way shape or form a listing service for webmasters. If anything we are the anti-Christ of listing services for webmasters. We do not exist so webmasters can send us their sites to review and list so webmasters can promote their sites, increase their Google Page Rank, sell their wares, show off to their friends what brilliant web marketing experts they are.

So what are we?

We are a bunch of unpaid volunteers who spend their spare time working on a project to catalog all the unique content on the Internet that we can find. We search the search engines, we write down URLs from the back of buses, we ask whether our dentist has a website. We trawl through pages of links on personal websites and on other directories.

And we invite members of the public to help us with our little project by sending us their suggestions. It is called the Suggest URL feature. It can be the results of their travels around the Internet, something they have seen on the back of a bus, their dentist's website. Or it can be their own site.

We take all the stuff we have found ourselves, and everything suggested to us by the public, and when we have some spare time we look through it at our own pace, listing some, rejecting others, saving the rest for the next time.

How effective can this project be when it takes a minimum of several months for approval of a site?

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The project is extremely effective because as indicated above we are not in the game of approving sites as a listing service is. True quality and originality in areas we believe of most use to the users we serve always stands out and gets priority attention. Sadly it is not that common as affiliate marketing sites swamp the Internet. In many categories the wait for a review can be as little as a few hours - tends to be those categories that attract those brilliant sites I mentioned.

I was rejected for some unknown reason

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I won't speculate because I can't possibly know any more about that than you. But you seem to have a fundamentally wrong idea of what DMOZ is about. Though you aren't alone.

There are several sites in the category that I submitted to that are invalid links.

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Point us at them, we always welcome more eyes working on these things (especially me). Generally completely dead links are automatically weeded at regular intervals.

Thank you both for your quick responses. Oneeye, in regards to your comments, it is the webmasters who know best about their site's content! If not for webmaster's submitting their sites, who will. If this project isn't a huge advertisement for the businesses it contains than I don't know what is, regardless of who may have submitted the site. I have been a webmaster for over 5 years and submitted the site I did because I know its content is accurate and it is an established name in its area. I can assure you that I'm not trying to "show-off" in any manner. As I mentioned earlier, I applaud the concept behind the project and would be willing to help if you allow me to do so by becoming an editor.

--AL

If not for webmaster's submitting their sites, who will.

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This very legitimate question prompted two wildly different thoughts from me:

1. If a site is useful, user friendly and chock-full of unique content, any number of satisfied surfers will share the URL.

2. If submissions went away tomorrow, the directory would probably grow even faster. Editors could then focus on finding great sites (we all seem to have a little detective in us), which is how a huge number of sites get added.

>If not for webmaster's submitting their sites, who will.

Um, Us and our clientele? that is, editors and surfers who think the sites are worth visiting.

I could work full-time for days, adding peerless resources, without reviewing a single submitted site. I could build whole categories from quantum vacuum -- without a single submittal to help. (I have, and given free time, I will again.)

I don't mind help, not at all, even from interested parties like webmasters: but don't tell me I'm helpless without it....

Well if what you guys are saying is true, it ultimately comes down to help. And there is no such thing as too much help. I'd like to help you guys as an editor. Please contact me directly so we can discuss my qualifications and your requirements.

Please contact me directly so we can discuss my qualifications and your requirements.

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Uh, I think you're misunderstanding how it works. If you want to become an editor, you need to apply. We don't contact you directly in advance in order to discuss anything (hence the reason I removed your email address from your post). Qualifications are largely irrelevent and our requirements are pretty much spelled out in the guidelines. You might also want to read the become an editor forum's FAQs.