Question regarding category

Hello,

I've attempted to list my site. I submitted it about a year ago and did not hear anything back, so I figured I put it in the wrong category. I re-submitted the site a few months ago, and again have not heard anything.

I'm well aware of the rules of submission and the fact that editors no longer give status updates. My question is: Is my site in the right category and if so is it still in line?

I'm actually quite confused as none of my websites have ever been accepted into Dmoz. I don't run spam or advertisement based websites. I run three moderately sized e-commerce companies all which are unique from other companies within their industries. I also manufacture and distribute aftermarket performance automotive parts through my nationally branded company. Aside from that, I own an import/export company with offices in America and China.

The point I am trying to make is that all of these sites have been submitted for potential approval for listing into Dmoz and none of them have been accepted.

Browsing through the directory I find countless websites that shouldn't even be allowed a parking space let alone a listing in the Dmoz directory. I've attempted to become an editor on numerous occasions and have not heard from anyone.

Am I just SOL with this organization?

My question is: Is my site in the right category and if so is it still in line?

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I'm afraid that would require that we give you a site suggestion status check and we stopped doing that over a year ago.

I'm well aware of the rules of submission and the fact that editors no longer give status updates. My question is: Is my site in the right category and if so is it still in line?

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You have just asked for a status report in the sentence right after the one where you acknowledged that we do not give status reports.

You mention websites -- plural -- which suggests some interesting scenarios. You are a well-meaning individual/business and you have made the decision to split your business into multiple websites -- all of which you have submitted. While that is your right, it is our right not to list them. We would, at most, list one, but depending how aggressive you were, it is entirely possible that in the process of sweeping out the excess, we were exceptionally efficient and swept out all traces of your business.

Another scenario might be that you are a web developer/promoter/something and you have been submitting your client sites. If this is the case, ask youself if you have been submitting to the correct subcategories (unlike a developer in one state who is so lazy that every site he develops gets submitted to the same restaurant subcat, for the same locality within the same state -- regardless of the nature of the business. His hit rate isn't so hot either. While editors generally don't kill off a site for being poorly submitted, the process is such that doing so can often cause major delays. Case in point: you submit to a terribly wrong category. It sits for 19 months before an editor looks at it (not an unusual wait period at all). Editor determines it is a wrong category, but may not be sufficiently knowledgeable to make the right guess (maybe the editor only started three days ago!). So the editor makes a guess and sends it off to the next category, where it waits 27 months for an editor, who determines it is the wrong category and....

Remember one very important thing: getting a site listed is all about that site -- the fact that there are sites listed that you don't think should be in no way impacts the listability of your site. When we are reviewing your site, we are reviewing just your site, no one else's -- and editng decisions are not fungible.

So far as being able to influence the volunteers for your own personal commercial gain, I hope and trust you are out of luck.

So far as your business being listed, I suspect at least one of those sites might potentially be listable. But you've probably also run afoul of the "multiple related sites" guideline -- typically, we'd be looking for "one businessperson, one business site--no matter how many domains it is spread out over."

That is, from YOUR perspective, a "hard and fast" rule -- your input wouldn't be welcome at all. From our perspective, it is not "hard and fast" but for practical purposes we mostly treat it as if it were. (The practical purposes being, of course, whatever allows us to put a question behind us and get on with some constructive activity.)

You've done what you can to help, we haven't yet done all we're going to do. And that's really all we know. We used to look up statuses, but it really didn't accomplish anything constructive, so we don't do that anymore.

All of my companies are in completely different industries that are not related.

You could see from an end users point of view how it is frustrating to patiently wait for three years for ones sites to be listed. It is especially frustrating to view sites that have gained submission when the extent of their content is "click here and get rich". It's like being the star player and sitting on the side lines watching little Jimmy try to kick the ball...

It's even more frustrating when I am willing to donate my time to edit websites within my industry, whether it be mine or my competitors, because I believe that Dmoz serves a purpose in the web world.

OK - My rants over. I hope I was somewhat entertaining.

You could see from an end users point of view how it is frustrating to patiently wait for three years for ones sites to be listed.

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Huh?

End users don't wait for sites to get listed. They find sites by browsing our directory or a copy of it, or by using some of the more creative sites based on our data.

If end users find what they're looking for, we're happy. If they don't, we try to improve.

End users can help us improve. If they find a useful site we haven't listed, they can (when our servers are running again) submit a suggestion that we list it. But the users who submits suggestions aren't likely to care very much how long it takes for us to list the sites they suggest. After all, they've already found them.

All of my companies are in completely different industries that are not related.

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This is often an area of misunderstanding. Bear with me while I take a shot in the dark here (remember, I have no knowledge of your specific situation).

We have often used the fictional example of the apple farmer. He grows and sells apples, and has a website, which was submitted and eventally listed in the fictional category: North_America/Alaska/Fruits_and_Veggies/Apples.

The farmer decides to expand, and knowing how fast things grow in Alaska, soon has a nice crop of peaches to sell. He starts a website for his peaches business in the belief it will be listed in North_America/Alaska/Fruits_and_Veggies/Peaches. To his dismay, the site is never listed, even though, as every Alaskan farmer knows, peaches and apples are vastly different industries.

Then our farmer reads the FAQ,and discovers that related sites are not allowed, and since the site was designed by his cousin Fred, and is top-notch, he evntually wonders if this might be the problem. so he has old Fred add the peaches to apples site, does a URL Update request, mentioning the new content and is stunned to find that his apples site is no longer listed in North_America/Alaska/Fruits_and_Veggies/Apples. After a brief period of panic, he discovers that ait has been moved to North_America/Alaska/Fruits_and_Veggies/ and the description has been rewritten to mention both apples and peaches.

He now plans some asparagus, and repeats the same scenario -- building and submitting a site, having it not get listed, then eventually adding it to the Apples/Peaches site and doing an update -- and eventally seeing the description get changed.

Fred's eldest daughter Connie is pretty good with a set of tools, and starts a little automobile restoration business in the back of the Apples/Peaches/Asparagus store. Eventally Connie convinces Fred to build her a website and submit it. It eventally gets listed in North_America/Alaska/Businesses/Car_Fixers because, other than the location, it has absolutely nothing in common with the apple/peaches/asparagus business. ven that fact that she has invented a fuel cell that uses rotten apples/peaches/asparagus to power the cars.

Now the nitpickers can take issue with certain details of this little story, but it really is designed to illustrate that our view of different industries is often quite different than that of people in the various industries.

spectregunner -

While your scenario doesn't apply to my situation, I appreciate the time you took to explain that - unless that was a macro response, of course.

I am willing to donate my time to edit websites

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I'm not sure if this means you would like to apply to be an editor, or whether you have already done so and were rejected, or perhaps something else altogether.

In the case of the first two, we hope you will (re)apply when the technical problems are fixed. In the meantime, you are well-advised to read the ODP Guidelines and the FAQ and Advice provided here for applicants. If a previous application has been rejected, please read the list of reasons carefully and then honestly address the issues raised.

Although many current editors were initially unsuccessful, being accepted as an editor is not at all difficult provided the person is honest, follows the guidelines and the instructions on the form, and takes care with site selection, titles and descriptions. Good Luck.

Yeah i think that i have the same problem as the apples to pears scenario.
I sent in an application for one of my companies a while ago which is a civil engineering firm, submitted my info for a paintball team website, and submitted information for my new online paintball store website. I don't think the online paintball store website got listed due to me submitting some other websites before? But it was all a long time apart.

I've applied to be an editor and got shut down and told that i should consider another topic because mine was already covered enough despite my understanding that editors were needed. I guess i didn't make the team due to my lack of skeels.

told that i should consider another topic because mine was already covered enough

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If you're refering to the "too large for a new editor or already well-represented" bit of the rejection email, then in the vast majority of cases, it's the first part that applies -- ie you've been asked to choose a smaller category to start in.

We do need new editors, but it takes time to learn how to edit, and we're unwilling to let new editors start off in large (or otherwise unsuitable) categories. You can potentially do a lot of damage (intentionally or unintentionally) when you're just starting out and the senior editors would prefer to be editing rather than clearing up someone else's mess.

If the reply suggested you should apply for a different category, you should take heart -- that the suggestion was made implies that the rest of your applicaiton wasn't terrible, and that you therefore stand a reasonable chance of being accepted in a more suitable category.