Request Status for AirFitBackRest.com

Request status of http://www.AirFitBackRest.com
Thank you,
sfirsten@fitcareproducts.com

Read "read before posting" then add the information we need.

Status of http://www.AirFitBackRest.com

Please let me know the status of http://www.AirFitBackRest.com , submitted to
http://dmoz.org/Shopping/Health/Conditions_and_Diseases/Musculoskeletal_Disorders/Back_and_Spine/

Thank you,
sfirsten@fitcareproducts.com

Although you haven't waited the required 30 days after your submission of 31 May, the 31st of June will never come.

Site is waiting to be reviewed in that category. Unforturnately, it cannot be listed as it is a doorway to http://fitcareproducts.com/ . The URL has been changed and the new URL is waiting in its place.

Status of http://www.AirFitBackRest.com

Please bear with me, I am doing my best to understand your procedures and want to make sure I get it right.

I have 3 domain names which point to my website, (1.) fitcareproducts.com, (2.) airfitbackrest.com, and (3.) selfinflatingbackrest.com ,,,

I NOW realize that I need the (3.) selfinflatingbackrest.com URL to be the one that is listed by DMOZ.

I am in the process of making the necessary changes with my "host service", to make the (3.) selfinflatingbackrest.com the main URL for my site.

Based on the current status of my submission here - can you advise me what I need to do so that DMOZ can make the necessary change to list the URL (3.) selfinflatingbackrest.com instead of the (1.) fitcareproducts.com

Thank You,
S. Firsten
safdc@airfitbackrest.com

Make sure that if someone goes to the "wrong" URL they get to the right one. Make sure that can be seen by the human surfer and the browser program both. That is, show the canonical URL in both page text and link hrefs. And tell your geeks "301 redirect". They'll know what that is.

Editors are used to seeing the wrong URL in submittals. We often fix it automatically.

If the site gets listed with a different URL than you prefer, you can submit an Update URL request.

follow-up to request status for airfitbackrest.com

I hope I am not pushing you to the limit!

...when you say CANONICAL,, do you mean the MAIN domain name for my site ???

Currently, I have 2 PARKED domains that point to the MAIN domain for my site. I am having my "host" switch one of the PARKS to become the MAIN name ,,, and then the current MAIN name would become a PARK.

My "host" assures me that this will be seamless to visitors who will arrive at the site regardless of which of the 3 domains that they may type into the browser. Would a "301 redirect" be at all necessary for geeks given the previous statement ?

I am making the switch to the domain that has "verbiage" that is more descriptive of my "product" hoping this may help my search ranking ( I am sorry to bring up the subject).

I will be adjusting all the links in the code to reflect this as well - although I am not sure that it will be helpful, or a necessary step.

I will submit the new Update URL Request if necessary in the future.

Just one last thing. Should I just sit tight, and periodically check the DMOZ directory to see if my site ever gets listed. When would it be acceptable for me to make another status inquiry here ?

Thank You !
Stuart F.
sfirsten@fitcareproducts.com

"main"? Sort of. Assuming they are all equal, the one that corresponds most closely to a company name (as opposed to a keyword list or product description) is the one we'd choose. We won't be interested in affecting your search engine ranking -- we won't change just for that. If the domain names are all the same, then we'd pick one and probably not change it afterwards. So if you want us to be sure to pick the right one, make sure the others DON'T look seamlessly like (possibly plagiarized) copies of it. Or even -- if we can't decide which one to pick, we might end up not listing any of them (that has happened before also.)

(The search engines aren't going to like you either. They are getting better at finding and whacking duplicate content like that. But that is not our concern.)

But the 301 redirect will keep both ODP editors and search engines much happier.

Status of http://www.fitcareproducts.com

Please let me know the status of http://www.fitcareproducts.com,
submitted to
http://dmoz.org/Shopping/Health/Conditions_and_Diseases/Musculoskeletal_Disorders/Back_and_Spine/


Site was originally submitted May 31, 2004. Could you tell me if I have followed the correct procedure for submitting the site.


Thank you,
sfirsten@fitcareproducts.com

http://www.fitcareproducts.com is still waiting to be reviewed in that category.

Requesting email address of editor for category

How can I get the email address of the editor for the category I have submitted in ?


http://dmoz.org/Shopping/Health/Conditions_and_Diseases/Musculoskeletal_Disorders/Back_and_Spine/

Thank you.

There are many editors who can edit that category, there is no specfic editor. Also, although it's fine to send information to editors, they are discouraged from responding.

Is there anything I can do to facilitate or expediate the review of my site which was submitted in May 2004 ?

No. The volunteer surfer/editors set their own priorities. That's not just slack management: we believe that way provides the best possible sampling of other surfers' concerns and needs.

When they "surf" and make their choices which site they will review are they "surfing" simply a directory of the submitted domain names then ?

By no means! Directories, search engines, link lists, magazine advertisements and business cards and truckside signs -- anything is fair game.

I would guess that the majority (but not the vast majority) of listings were NOT submitted.

Site submittals, by themselves, are a horribly unbalanced and biased source. But they can be one ingredient in a balanced breakfast.

Remember, editors are supposed to be able to find and categorize sites without any help whatsoever. But that doesn't mean it's wrong to accept help: it's just wrong to depend on it.

That's not quite what you expected? It's certainly unique among well-known websites. But ... in another way it's not unique at all. Some of the most successful community sites were conceived as providing enabling tools for volunteers to do what meant most to them.

At such sites, you have no influence, other than as the content you voluntarily provide inspires other people to do similar work. People who are inspired by this (and thrilled by a lower level of the more brutal forms of persuasion) gravitate to these sites. Which leaves people with specific ulterior motives at an advantage (regardless of whether those motives are innocent or malicious.)

Thank you for your forthright reply it was concise and informative about how DMOZ works. I trust also that what you suggest is also accurate, so I will look to that as advice.

This is very "heady" stuff. Appreciated but more then I am used to. I have worked long and hard, and am doing my best to do the right things with regard to my site. I realize there are many others who may be in the same position - as they hope that their site may be reviewed and listed some day. What you are saying is understandable but sort of eye opening. I doubt any reviewer will learn about my product via a road side sign. I will then redouble my efforts and continue to make the existence of my site known in the most practical ways that I can. Perhaps one of the editors, a friend of theirs, or family member will develop a case of back pain that troubles them when they are sitting. I wouldn't wish that on anybody, however when it becomes bothersome or disabling enough they may become motivated to "search" for solutions - then they may happen upon my site and "prioritize" it for review.

What you describe does happen (editors do build up categories to serve their personal needs), but ... much as I despise marketroids and all their works, if you have a business, then it is going to be part of your job to get the word out. The ODP isn't going to be a substitute for that.

I know hardly anything of how that should be done -- but at the very least least, your website should be prominent in every business advertisement, promotion, public reference, etc., about your company.

I have only visited this forum several times since first submitting my site last May. I thought that the extent of the protocol was to check in one month later then again at another 6 months which I am doing now.

In your opinion, could my site (and its chances for review) be well served if I was to invest time becoming involved in these forums? Or do you think that would be a complete waste of time and I would be better off investing in roadside signs?

Can you also reconfirm the status for my site http://www.fitcareproducts.com and when do you suggest I check in again on its status.

I think you misunderstand - since you got a status on December 5, 2004, 05:10 PM - you should come back six months from then [but only if your really feel the need]. We only give that option since some people really want to keep checking. Since you have received confirmation that the site is in the heap, personally I would suggest there is no reason to come back in six months -- at some point your site might be listed, anywhere from tomorrow to never, and it will be obvious to you when that happens, as you will see new traffic in your server logs.

Those that come back every six months, and seem to come back exactly to the minute, seem to have been doing nothing else except watching the clock. Seems a bit obsessive compulsive. Spending the time putting up road signs would be a better activity.