foetusized
Member
- Joined
- Mar 25, 2002
- Messages
- 152
The Open Directory Project has a link-checking bot that runs every few months, named Robozilla. It checks every listing for validity, then goes back in about a weeks time and double-checks the ones that had problems on the first run. Robo then marks the sites that were invalid on both checks, flagging them in red. At this point the human editors become involved, giving the sites a third check, and attempting to find a new valid URL if the URL we have is indeed dead.
So why am I bringing this up now? Robozilla is currently on the rampage, marking sites in red; he started this afternoon. Editors are starting to panic as their listings start to bleed red. Oh, the carnage!
How does this affect the users of the Open Directory Project? First of all, the weeks following a run are the few times the directory shrinks instead of grows, as invalid URLs are removed from the public view. If you notice your site removed from the ODP in the coming weeks, there is a chance that it was flagged as bad and removed; please submit the current URL (editors appreciate this help, really).
Secondly, there is a tendency for editors to concentrate on dealing with the Robozilla-flagged errors following a run. The number of unreviewed sites will increase over the next months, partly because some of the error sites will be moved to unreviewed to remove them from public view pending further investigation (different editors do this, but not all), and partly because we review fewer submissions while investigating the Robozilla errors. That's right, it might take even longer for new submissions to be reviewed in the coming weeks; it all depends on how much time the editors working in an area have to edit.
Sorry to lecture. Any questions? /images/icons/smile.gif -- Foe
So why am I bringing this up now? Robozilla is currently on the rampage, marking sites in red; he started this afternoon. Editors are starting to panic as their listings start to bleed red. Oh, the carnage!
How does this affect the users of the Open Directory Project? First of all, the weeks following a run are the few times the directory shrinks instead of grows, as invalid URLs are removed from the public view. If you notice your site removed from the ODP in the coming weeks, there is a chance that it was flagged as bad and removed; please submit the current URL (editors appreciate this help, really).
Secondly, there is a tendency for editors to concentrate on dealing with the Robozilla-flagged errors following a run. The number of unreviewed sites will increase over the next months, partly because some of the error sites will be moved to unreviewed to remove them from public view pending further investigation (different editors do this, but not all), and partly because we review fewer submissions while investigating the Robozilla errors. That's right, it might take even longer for new submissions to be reviewed in the coming weeks; it all depends on how much time the editors working in an area have to edit.
Sorry to lecture. Any questions? /images/icons/smile.gif -- Foe