Service down - unable to register our sites

Byron said:

... the "Suggest URL" service ... that service is current unavailable, ...

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A bit of a tangent, but I just thought I should comment on this point. The Suggest a URL functionality of the ODP is not a "service." This functionality is for people to help the ODP editors build the directory. I think that sometimes people are confused about this and I thought it would be good to clarify this point again. We appreciate it when people want to help us by suggesting web sites that they think could possibly be added to the directory, but it's not the only resource that editors use to add web sites to the categories. I'm only mentioning this because it sounds like maybe you're relying on this functionality a bit too much to help you to market your web site(s). I think that's why so many people get frustrated with the ODP - they think of it as a listing service but it's not.

Well said!
Amen:icon_excl

I have been thinking the same thing, but we should remember that it actually says "Service Temporarily Unavailable" when you try to suggest a site. Of course that is just a formulaic way of saying "You can't do this right now", but still, it's what people see when they get there.

But needless to say, donaldb is right. "Suggest a site" isn't a service to anybody other than the editors who are being helped by the suggestions. (Except there is a script that services those who wish to help, and it's that script that's not functioning so in a way it does make sense, perhaps.)

Hmmm. The Deep Thinking nea appears to be in danger of disappearing in a puff of her own logic.

Hmph

Just wait 'til I've had some breakfast and you'll see Deep Thinking!!

So, what`s _really_ going on?

Experiencing technical problems since 25th of october, everyone keeps telling OPD is alive and back soon.

If you got hardware-problems, go to HP, Sun, IBM or whoever. They`ll gladly sponsor you.

If you got security problems, ask politely and the majors e.g. Symantec will help you.

But don`t tell bull****, that everything`s fine.

So: direct question awaiting a direct answer: when is ODP fully operational again, deadline? If not, you might become declared dead by the :icon_excl users.

Thank you for your interest in the current situation, but I'm afraid your reasoning is undermined by a number of fundamental misunderstandings, all of which could be addressed by reading some of the public ODP documentation, the Announcement at the top of every forum, and many of the recent threads here.

So: direct question awaiting a direct answer: when is ODP fully operational again, deadline? If not, you might become declared dead by the users.

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See the previous postings.
We don't know


BTW people suggesting sites are not our users

Why can't anyone understand that it is unknown when the problem will be fixed? If they are as quick at getting things fixed as they are at approving sites then you can expect OPD to be fully operational in about 2 - 5 years time or even longer than that.

Here's something I found over at unrumor.com

At this stage it it still just a rumor, but there are reasons to believe that DMOZ will suffer the same fate as Zeal. DMOZ has been dieing for a while, AOL knows it, and educated webmasters knows it. This has gone on for years.

However it is not possible to kill DMOZ right away, DMOZ is editor driven and some editors have spent hundreds or even thousands of hours adding content to the directory. Like any other large online community it has it's own culture and codex, by pulling the plug AOL would make this mass of web users unhappy. It is better to soften up the community first and make more and more editors discontinue their work for the project. A year ago I would have guessed that DMOZ would still be a active project in 2010, I now doubt that DMOZ will see the second half of 2007. If the rumors I am hearing are correct DMOZ will die in a month or two. By not allowing new edits and discontinuing the RDF, most sites using DMOZ data will replace DMOZ with something else or nothing at all.

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Thank you for understanding that we cannot provide an expected recovery time, but I'd just like to point out that the recovery is completely in the hands of AOL technical staff, not volunteer editors.

<added> And as for conspiracy theories such as the one above, forum administrators expressly asked people not to indulge such wild speculation here. It is unhelpful, completely unfounded in fact, and adds nothing at all to any discussion.
Everyone is free to invent whatever theory they like, of course, but as no-one apart from AOL staff has any real knowledge about the situation, it seems completely pointless to try to imagine what the truth is. Why not simply wait, with the rest of us, until there are more facts available? Making things up will not bring that time any closer.

Is the open directory still alive? 3 months seem a lot of time to fix any server problem you might have had.

Have you considered changing your domain to another hosting company that brings more reliable technical suppport?

Complaints about system issues

Having read this thread of postings, for what it's worth here is my view.

There are likely people greatly more competent than me scratching their heads over the problem. Let's wish them luck & let them get on with it.

I don't think conspiracy theories will help!

davaguco said:

Is the open directory still alive? 3 months seem a lot of time to fix any server problem you might have had.

Have you considered changing your domain to another hosting company that brings more reliable technical suppport?

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The Open Directory is indeed alive, as you can see if you visit http://dmoz.org. True, that is a static copy, and editors have not had access for 7 weeks (not 3 months), but repairs are progressing well and we are all optimistic that editing will be possible again in the near future.
The hosting of the ODP is not the problem. It is part of the AOL group, and is not owned by the editors, who simply volunteer their time to help the directory to become more comprehensive. You might like to read http://dmoz.org/about.html .

andrewchesshire said:

I don't think conspiracy theories will help!

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A truer word was never spoken. Thank you. :icon_excl

Yep, I hope is very hard to solve the problem ...

Just think: How many sites are in the DB ? ...

It's a VERY BIG database ... I'll waiting here

>There are likely people greatly more competent than me scratching their heads over the problem. Let's wish them luck & let them get on with it.

Hey, man, you've been copying my attitude! Give it back!

On the other hand, ... keep it, I'll share. And best wishes to you also.

>I think there are plenty of reasonable people who think that is a reasonable thing to ask ...

How could a reasonable person possibly think so? What legitimate reason could there be? What reason, that is, which would have any weight for the person who would answer the question?

Do you pay his salary? Do you manage him? Is he doing this for you? Is there any evidence that you share any of his ideals or goals? Are you and him fellow participants in any community? Does he owe you any obligations? Is there even any evidence that you'd be capable of understanding the technical details involved? Will answering your impertinence help him to do anything that matters to him?

In other words, is there any conceivable reason for him to be responsible to you?

NO. There is NOT.

So it is absolutely NOT reasonable that he should be responsible to you. And absolutely no reasonable person would think so. Even a five-year-old learns that when he hears "Not now, mommy's busy", is a good time NOT to ask the same question over again. And in that case mommy has a vested interest in answering all the questions possible, because the 5YO is presumed capable of learning, and deserves a right to learn, and in fact probably would learn something from the question. But your question is far below that level.

Service unavailable for quite a while now

Service unavailable for quite a while now, when submitting a link.
I am wondering..is this a deliberate thing?
Really why should this take so long..Not that i am being impatient. With DMOZ you have to wait a lifetime for your site to be included. But you'll have to register it first to get your site in ..and that doesn't seem possible anymore. Everytime i try to it doesn't work, is there something that can be done about this, i would like to help whenever possible.

I have read the Anouncement about this and i read that there is no ETA for resolving this issue. But this is going on for quite some time now. I don't see why any problem should take so long to resolve (ok, maybe money problems).
Please can anybody tell me where i can submit quality (new) websites for inclusion in your wonderfull directory. In fact it is the only one i trust my website with.
Please help.

Everytime i try to it doesn't work, is there something that can be done about this

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Stop trying it until the announcement at the top of this forum say that all is well .

i would like to help whenever possible.

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Thanks for the offer but only AOL technical staff have access I'm afraid.