Look, if I knew how to make a travel site unique, I'd be rich. This isn't the place to ask that question. We are aware of the problem of the Nine Million Names Of The One Travel Database -- even more aware than we were four years ago. And we know that zillions of people are facing the same problem -- standing before the microphone with nothing to say but "me too!"
That is not our problem, though: we're focusing on generating a unique directory of unique sites, which is enough of a challenge without taking on enumerating the NBNOTOTDB.
As for traffic, sorry, but we absolutely decline to take on that responsibility either. For one thing, there are many ways to get traffic, so nobody NEEDS us in that business -- too much competition, and we wanted to do something unique. For another, whoever told you the ODP was "key" did not know what he was talking about. (You don't have to take my word for it: check out the top Google results, and you will see the truth for yourself. But know assuredly that what I say is what I believe and what I act on.) And, finally, we don't CARE how much traffic a site gets. More, less, what matter, so long as surfers see what is available and choose where to go? We're trying to give that power -- that knowledge -- to the surfers. What they do with it is hardly ever a concern. In other words, our gift to them has no strings attached.
We are asking you not to try to tweak the website to conform to your conception of the ODP rules. We see that as manipulation, and we take it personally. It is generally futile and counterproductive.
We are giving you free information -- that the ODP's mission and yours do not have any apparent intersection. The logical consequence is that pursuing an ODP listing is futile. What you do with that information, also freely given, is up to you. No strings are attached.
I should mention that the apparent parallel between our service for surfers and our response to webmasters sometimes causes people to think that we're in the business of providing services to webmasters, just as we are in the business of providing information to surfers. That's not true, not true at all. We give out these (harmless and, unfortunately, pretty much useless, although greatly sought after) tidbits of trivia in order to attract an audience for our real message, which is about how you can help us: that is, tell us about websites with unique content we don't have yet, tell us about mistakes we made listing inappropriate websites, but don't ask us to promote websites that don't contain it.
