Status check http://www.realtylawllp.com

I submitted http://www.realtylawllp.com to http://www.dmoz.org/Society/Law/Services/Lawyers_and_Law_Firms/Property_Law_and_Real_Estate/North_America/United_States/California/ on 6-27-03.

I did read the forum guidelines, and realize the prescribed 6 weeks has not yet expired since submission, but my client is very eager for information about their DMOZ status (I may have overdone my promotion of the importance of DMOZ in site promotion!)

Anyway, any reassuring word I could pass along would be much appreciated.

Thank you
Max

Don't worry about the six weeks guideline in your case. More than one month is long enough to wait in that category before requesting a status check.

Your site is awaiting review with around 25 others.

[Added] It looks like the firm is based in San Diego. Have you considered submitting to http://dmoz.org/Regional/North_America/United_States/California/Localities/S/San_Diego/Business_and_Economy/Legal_Services/ which has a very small backlog? The two submissions should be independent of each other -- being listed in the Regional/ branch category shouldn't affect the decision on the Society/ branch listing. [/Added]

Waiting for review with several dozen other submittals. (There will be no need to resubmit when the six weeks are up.)

I am not a lawyer, but it looks like the right category for the site. If the site really describes a genuine law firm that has no other website, then the site is likely to be accepted.

The site may also be considered for listing in the category of the locality containing the firm's place of business (or, if there are several places of business, in the smallest Regional category containing them all.) Such a listing should not prejudice review of this submittal, and vice versa. Our experience is that frequently, the Regional submittal gets reviewed more quickly.

As for overselling dmoz, I can't help you with that. It's certainly worth submitting your site to the appropriate category (or two categories in this case.) If they have a fully-functioning site in other languages (e.g., Spanish), it's worth while to submit in World/Espan~ol also. You won't get a quick response, but when it happens it will have been worth more than the few minutes spent submitting it.

Beyond that, it's hard to say. Yes, it gives the site a small boost in Google, but so would a listing on, e.g., your town's Chamber of Commerce website -- which, of course, I trust you are also trying to get. So does a listing in Yahoo, at $300 a year: if it matters $300 how quickly you get listed, you should definitely go after that also. (And if it doesn't matter $300, you don't need to breathe quite so hard down our necks.)

Side question: what is your interest in this? If, say, you are a web designer who does work for local clients, and you can tone down the hype that constituted about 80% of your submitted description for this site and you're willing to list your local competitors' work as quickly as your own newly developed sites -- and willing to not list even your own sites that don't belong in the local category ... you might consider applying to edit that local category.

It's not for everybody; many people have trouble dealing with the conflicts of interest. You probably would need to not tell your clients that you are an editor, to avoid getting pressured to hype-keyword-stuff their descriptions. You'd need to let other editors (or the metas) know which sites you had connections to: full disclosure removes temptation as well as the appearance of abuse. It is a bit of a tightrope walk, but some people do manage it successfully. And when they do, it's a win for everyone involved: the town, the ODP, their clients.

Thank you both for your quick and very informative responses.

Regarding the "hype" of the submission description, I have to confess I was concerned about that. Not to make excuses, but I pasted that into the description field from their site content, intending to edit it down, then just plain forgot. I was sick to my stomach when I reviewed my records of the submission, and saw that section.

The description I used for other engines was "California-based law firm providing comprehensive representation in all facets of real estate law."

Is that still too promotional for DMOZ?

I wouldn't let the "comprehensive" through; but I'd probably click off on the rest of it.

You could also add something about any of the site contents that make it unique: general information about RE law, downloadable RE forms for DIY'ers, etc. -- any unique related information that might be useful to someone who isn't yet a client (and might turn up to be eventually).
Something like "Includes summary of California lemon-landlord law" would also be good.

Seriously, if that other description made you blush (but we've seen worse,much worse) then you have two things many editor-candidates don't. Can I convince you to give up one bad TV show a week to help out your home town?

This time Hutcheson posted faster than I did, but I'll add a couple of things.

Don't worry about the hype in the description. If an editor accepts the site, he or she will write a new one, removing the hype. Very, very few submitted descriptions are compliant with our guidelines - of the thousands of sites I've added, I actually can't think of more than one or two submitted descriptions that I kept completely intact.

Does that mean that the submitted description doesn't matter? Not at all. For example, a relatively good submission can help the listing editor write a better description (not to mention one that the submitter likes), by clearly pointing out the important parts of the site. A good submission may also help an editor process the listing more quickly, since there is slightly less work to be done.

In your case, I wouldn't worry about it. As hutcheson says, we've seen much worse.

Regarding your other description -- since you asked -- in addition to what hutcheson mentioned, "California" really shouldn't appear in a description in a "California" category -- if a firm isn't California-based, it shouldn't be in the category. Similarly, "law firm" wouldn't need to appear in a category of law firms, but it can be difficult to work around. "Comprehensive" and "in all facets" seem redundant to me, but now I'm just nitpicking.

If I were reviewing the site (which I'm not), I might edit it down to something like this: "Firm providing representation in all facets of real estate law." And then I'd add something about the contents of the site (e.g. "Contains attorney profiles and descriptions of the areas of practice."). But that's just my style. Other editors may do things differently, as long as they stay within the guidelines.

Finally, I must add that I also think it's great that you are concerned about the hype in the description. Like hutcheson, I believe that your concern is a sign that you could be a good editor if you wanted to!

Wow. In-depth responses. Very helpful.

I am a web designer, and although my client base is primarily local, I do have some clients in other regions. Realty Law, for example, is in San Jose, and I am in Denver.

Because my client base is so diverse, I don't think I'd really encounter much "conflict of interest" if I were to edit a category. How do editors choose a category, or does a category choose them? ("We've noticed a backlog of 5,000 submissions in the "Arcana" category, Mr. Donnelly. Why don't you begin there?")

Thanks for your interest MaxD.

How do editors choose a category, or does a category choose them? ("We've noticed a backlog of 5,000 submissions in the "Arcana" category, Mr. Donnelly. Why don't you begin there?")

Click to expand...

If you would like to apply to become an editor, the first thing you would do is look around to find a category of interest to you. For your best chance at being accepted, the category should be small. The best guideline is <100 listings, including all subcategories, if there are any -- so your 5,000 site backlog example would never be given to a new editor. There's enough reading and guidelines to overwhelm new editors without giving them a huge backlog to deal with. Many people start with a category in their hometown in the Regional/ branch, or a category for a nearby town. Others start with small categories in a topic relating to a hobby or their work. It really depends on what interests you.

I suggest reading the excellent FAQ and General Advice post in the "Becoming an Editor" forum. I think it should answer most of your questions.

Don't let yourself get overwhelmed by the volume of material. Metas have said many times that they aren't looking for perfect knowledge of every little detailed guideline in a new editor application. I'm not a meta, but I would think that some of the most important things to remember in an application are: carefully check spelling and grammar, avoid hype and self-promotion, and above all, be honest.