Resubmitting - FAQ and post answers

Given the high volume of requests/spam for listings in the internet search category that jeanmanco referred to I thought that would justify a larger number of editors to process them.

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One might reasonably think so, but ODP has never considered itself as submission driven, or felt that processing a queue was a priority. I realize this is very difficult to understand, since the world in general is queue driven. The drive in most places is to reduce backlog but that's not really the deciding factor as to where editors spend their time.

As an example, when I look at my email, the biggest folder every day is the pile of spam. In many case (but not all) a large "backlog" in a category could be from the amount of spam and mirrors. Of course it could also indicate a large number of great sites in a category that no editor had been interested in.

Regardless, we don't send editors to go tend backlogs, editors direct themselves to places where they have an interest.

hutcheson said:

>It's hard to get listed unless you're already reasonably well-known i.e. listed somewhere else or proficient with seo.

Nonsense. There are many professional SEOs and well-known people who are having just as much trouble as you are -- no matter how much trouble you're having.

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Just realised that what I wrote was ambiguous. What I meant was: if you were proficient with SEO you could get listed on various search engines, hopefully boost your ranking, get more people visiting your site and if it were any good maybe they'd submit your site to ODP. I wasn't suggesting if you were good at SEO that it would help getting listed in ODP directly.

Many editors list sites that aren’t listed anywhere using many different means to find them. Remember, the pool of submitted sites is only one of many resources editors use to find sites to list and has a marginal bearing on the number of sites added daily to the directory.

I'm a fairly new editor, so take all my recommendations as such, not as anything near official policy.

asked said:

I'm not interested in being an editor for the sake of being an editor so maybe this alone makes me unsuitable. And for this reason I won't apply for a regional subcategory. I have an interest and knowledge in the category I was applying for and thought this would be useful and helpful to ODP. During this discussion I have been disabused of this idea since that's not what ODP is looking for. I still find it a bit odd but the volume/spam issue is understandable and I guess I can see why this is sufficient reason for rejection. However, isn't there scope for combining an experienced editor with an expert in the field (who is not necessarily an experienced editor)?

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Since you don't have the interest and/or time to "train" for a spammy category you are interested in, by first working in a non-spammy category, it sounds like it's probably best for you not to become an editor, given the way the ODP works. However there are some other options available:

1) Simply suggest the URLs that you know of that you think are good (not just yours). Use a description that conforms to the odp guidelines. If they really are useful sites, chances are that many of them will eventually end up in the directory, and you will have helped everyday browsers. I know you've already tried that with your own site. It might well still be in the queue, but if it was rejected, put it behind you... what the users want is a bunch of good sites, and you suggested that you have knowledge of others from the literature.

2) Set up a website where you list all the good QA sites you know of. Discuss the pros and cons of them all. Put in your own academic opinions of them. The key here is to put in lots and lots of unique and quality information. That page in itself will contribute to the ability of searchers to find good information. Other possible outcomes:
* that page might eventually be listed on the ODP as a QA directory
* some editor may oneday come past and love the insight you have shown at cutting through the spam and finding quality sites. s/he may then simply grab that list, and put them all into the ODP category, having checked the sites written descriptions for them him/herself.