Restoring The Record

Hi, I submitted my site http://www.webarrow.net/chatindex/ a bunch of times to different categories which had to do with subpages of my main site a while ago. This is not allowed (lol now I know)

I sent a few messages to editors asking about my listing, they said I was already listed in some category but they didn't tell me I could only be listed in 2 categories so I kept asking why I was not being listed in the one I had applied to.

[edited - Please read the Forum Guidelines - apeuro]

My site is established and rich in content, I'd just like to be included in the category which so perfectly fits my site.

Your site has been discussed extensively among the editors. It was then decided that it can't be listed as it is now. Then main reason wasn't your aggressive submission strategy, but our Guidelines on Affiliate Marketing Schemes.

I know.... But how can that be true? If someone could please take a look at my site and tell me how I have too many ads? My site always has at least 20 chatters in the room, the site has a lot of original content and there are 2 affiliate links on the index page.... One banner and one text link. How is this wrong? EVERY site in the chat/directories category has more than that.

Please, please, please take a min to answer me because I have less affiliate links than all the other sites listed.

>> there are 2 affiliate links on the index page.... One banner and one text link

Ehm... are we talking of the same site ? A quick glance at http://www.webarrow.net/chatindex/ shows a prominent list of 9 chatrooms:
Adult Friend Finder
321TeenChat.Com - Teen Chat
Chat Web
321Chat.Com - Adult Chat
#1 Chat Avenue - Free Chat Rooms
iFree Top Chat Sites
Adult Chat World
HornyAds Free Adult Chat
Free Chat Rooms

All them are affiliate links (hidden through the cgi redirect).

OMG is that what DMOZ people think they are? Those are not affiliate links. Just the first one; adult friend finder. All the others are webmaster's sites that have joined the ranking list. Notice the IN and OUT columns next to the other sites.

I use a cgi based ranking list on the main page to set up link exchanges. It's much easier to maintain then continuously checking if the traffic trades are equal. Neither me nor the other sites make any money from those links they are just other webmaster's sites who wanted to trade links. I got the ranking list script from http://www.jmbsoft.com/ If you wanted to be listed there you could, any chat related site can join from the link at the bottom of the page.

Link exchanges are allowed right? If so, now that this has been cleared up is there anything you can do to help me out. If there is some other problem please let me know.

>>If there is some other problem please let me know<<

There is very little likelyhood of your site being listed. Continuing to argue with us about this in these forums will get you banned from here.

I'm just looking for an answer. Please respond to my last post now that you know they are not affiliate links.

It is inevitable that general editing practice will be:

If a site claims to contain "widgets"
-- And the reviewer looks at two or three links to "widgets" from the home page
-- And those links in fact go to other sites

Then the entire site must be, and will be, assumed to be either an "affiliate doorway" or a "directory" designed to drive traffic to other sites. And it will be considered for listing based on that assumption.

When making this determination, the editor is not expected to inquire into the technical details of the link tracking, nor into the details of the financial arrangements involved. It is more than sufficient to have reason to believe there is one or the other.

In short: it really doesn't matter _how_ they pay for the links, or _how_ or _why_ they track them.

I think I understand what you are saying.... That at a glance it may look like a bunch of affiliate link and it is not the job of the editor to take a deep probe of the site to determine how links are set up. This I understand, that's why I'm posting here in hopes someone will take a deeper look and include my site.

What I was saying is that no one is paying for anything, any chat related site can join the ranking list on the index page for free. And I'm applying to be placed in a category for directories of chat sites. http://www.dmoz.org/Computers/Internet/Chat/Directories/

>This I understand, that's why I'm posting here in hopes someone will take a deeper look and include my site.

Not only do editors not play Zork looking for unique content on the site, they don't expect visitors to do so either. In a high-doorway-spam area (and that _certainly_ includes chatrooms) try a usability test: get a friend to go to your homepage and find your unique content. If he doesn't find it within 30 seconds, then the page is not ready for ODP review.

Note: editors will be probably be (infinitesimally) more generous than this.

Note 2: The site currently fails the test.