Status of www.eManor.net

have submitted www.eManor.net to the below listed category's, could you tell me if the DMOZ.org category's are appropriate?

Category One

DMOZ URL:
http://dmoz.org/Regional/North_America/Business_and_Economy/Real_Estate/

Description:
Buy or Sell Real Estate. Post your homes and rental property's for sale or rent free on eManor.net.


Category Two
DMOZ URL:
http://dmoz.org/Business/Real_Estate/Marketing_and_Advertising/


Thank you

I just took a quick peek to see if it was appropriate for the Regional/ category you listed, and quickly discovered that your site suffers from a profound lack of content -- unique or otherwise.

Some personal advice: Forget about an ODP listing until your directory has enough listings to reflect that it is the best of best. That, to me, would mean extensive listings in every state and major community. What represents extensive: I can't put a number on it, but I'd know it when I see it.

Directories have very little chance of being listed, empty directories have virtually no chance of being listed. Submitting an empty directory is the equivalent of submitting an incomplete site: it is a clear violation of our submittal policies.

I am sorry, but I do not have a clue about your remarks with reguard to my question about status. I would simply like to know if the category's I have provided are appropriate.

The website is a simple site providing the ability for real estate agents and the like to post real estate ad's to www.emanor.net . This is easily understood from reading the front page. The front page was made simple as possible and to the point.

Question? are you judging the website or are you saying the it does not belong in the category I suggested? Also are you saying that a website needs to be the best of the best to be listed on DMOZ?

Also your remarks about “Submitting an empty directory is the equivalent of submitting an incomplete site” are you saying that my site is a directory and that it is empty? Maybe you are telling me that the DMOZ directory that I submitted to is empty? if so, might I suggest the following directory:

http://dmoz.org/Regional/North_America/United_States/Business_and_Economy/Real_Estate/



I am not looking to start this website out big but am humbly trying to get it listed on the DMOZ/ODP.

What spectregunner is implying is that in its current state the choice of category is irrelevant as it is not a site that we would be looking to list.

As we ourselves are a directory (and an extremely huge one at that) we are rather proud to be able to say that we have covered an extensive range of topics and have an amazing amount of sites already listed. When we look at a site for possible listing (specifically in the case of a directory) we are looking for content that is available there and then that would add to the directory. A site which is in effect empty adds nothing and therefore would not be considered for a listing.

The site may indeed grow to be one of the biggest sites of its kind and when that happens it may indeed be a site we would take pleasure in listing and making available to our users but until that happens the choice of category is not really relevant as a listing is unlikely.

You have submitted a directory with one entry. And that is for a property I am pretty certain, despite not being a US citizen nor a martyr to capitalism, is currently not on the market. I think the current occupant has the best part of a 4 year lease left on the place. Though it's a bargain at only $2.5 mill, I wouldn't want the heating bill, would you? Are you sure it has a gas range, I understood it was all electric.

Anyway, whilst the property for sale is pretty unique, a site advertising a single residential property does not qualify for a listing. That's the first point. The second is that we do not accept any site that has no original content (disregarding the one you don't have permission to market). Yours falls into that second bracket. It not only doesn't fit into the category suggested to, it doesn't fit into DMOZ full stop (period).

So the status is that the site has been rejected, it cannot be listed. There isn't a single editor who could even contemplate doing so in any category.

Also are you saying that a website needs to be the best of the best to be listed on DMOZ?

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Well yes, especially when it comes to Directories. Best as in unique high quality content that cannot be found elswhere, and lots of it. Even more specially especially when it comes property directories. You see we can always list the source - the agent's site, the only thing your site can possibly contain is regurgitated material that is likely to be less well maintained by the agent than their own site.

Whilst the site isn't, and is highly unlikely to ever be, suitable for us, that does not mean that we don't wish you well with your other promotional channels. If you find a buyer for the one you have advertised then the commission should keep you in hot dogs for the rest of your life. Though personally I'd up the price - it would make a lovely hotel.

Thank you for your reply.

With respect to your sarcastic remarks about the example property listed on the site, it is clearly titled “example Listing” and as a proud US tax payer I do believe I have the right to use this property for demo purposes however I could paint DEMO across the photographs or even use a completely fictitious property.

With no disrespect but what right do have to say that the site will not be maintained to your expectations? I do have a verification process for each and every listing. If you read the www.eManor.net/help.php you will see that each ad needs to be approved. Also I do not consider www.eManor.net to be a directory.

Still, I fail to understand your argument with regard to rejecting it. The reasons that the site does not have any other real estate listings is that it is new and is not listed on any search engine yet such as the DMOZ so how can it become anything when you discriminate on what gets listed on the DMOZ and what does not! hence who will ever see it?

I thought your function was to edit the directory so things are logistically correct. However it seems that you decide who gets listed and who does not. I would have expected this behavior from a commercial search engine not an Open search engine. Do you have a written policy with respect to what you have stated? I do think you are discriminating and am curious if you a have an escalation process?

I do have a verification process for each and every listing.

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Each and every listing. That's a joke I suppose

We list sites that have content, we don't list sites so they can get content. Your site is absolutely unlistable, and any editor that did list your site in it's current "under construction" stage, would get lashed and dismissed.

However it seems that you decide who gets listed and who does not.

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That is exactly what we do.

We are not a listing service for webmasters. We have do desire of obligation to list a site simply because it was submitted. We have no responsibility to webmasters.

Our goal, in simple terms, is to build a directory with content that the surfers (our real customers) can respect and trust because it provides, wherever possible, links to websites that offer unique content.

In some regards, the sites we choose not to list are a more critical editing decision than the sites we choose to list.

Let me clarify what the others have been trying to tell you. You are trying to submit a real estate listings site that has no listings. That makes it completely unlistable to us. We do not list sites based on the content (listings in your case) that they hope to have at some point in the future or their potential for growth; we list them based on the content they have at this very moment. You have no listings. None. We can't/won't list it until it has a significant number of genuine listings.

BTW I presume the site is meant to be a portal rather than a porthole [sic] which is one of those little round windows on a ship or boat.

bobrat,

No I am not joking!

I see that your service is a complete wast of time with such frivolous comments. I have not said a derogatory thing about you! Do you or do you not have an escalation process so that I may handle this on a more professional level?

No, there is no escalation process.

In its current state, the site is unlistable.

DMOZ inability to list websites in a clean and efficient manner.

I respect your decision however I am surprised to see how some of you handled the process and would have preferred to have been directed to a policy page rather than put up with the unnecessary and unprofessional comments.

Given the difficulty and cumbersome process of the DMOZ and the inability to list websites in a clean and efficient manner I do not see the value of spending a lot of time here.

Thank you for your time.

The thing to remember is that this decision is based solely on your lack of content -- which means that it is something that can be addressed (it will definitely take quite a bit of time, but it can be addressed).

It is not something that resulted in a ban, or a permanent black mark which would make you unlistable for eternity. Any experienced editor can tell stories of sites they rejected for lack of unique content that -- 18 to 24 months later -- were shoo-ins for getting listed.

So, back into the free advice mode: keep working on your site, add lots and lots of content, and when your competitors start to privately tell you that yours is the best site around (or they pay you the ultimate compliment -- they steal your content) then resubmit.

It is for you to read all our guidelines before suggesting your site, they are freely available on the main dmoz.org site. In fact you have access to all the guidelines editors get - how's that for open. Given that DMOZ is entirely staffed by unpaid volunteers it is courtesy to do one's homework and not to waste their time by suggesting sites that breach the guidelines. As has been pointed out, we are not a listing service so your idea of efficiency and ours are approached from entirely different angles, but there are plenty of listing services out there.

http://dmoz.org/guidelines/include.html might help you.

"In general, ODP editors should enter sites that represent the following:

Original, unique and valuable informational content that contributes something unique to the category's subject. "

http://editors.dmoz.org/help/submit.html

http://editors.dmoz.org/add.html - Editorial Discretion section

Please recognize that making the ODP a useful resource requires us to exercise broad editorial discretion in determining the content and structure of the directory. That discretion extends (but is not limited) to what sites to include, where in the directory sites are placed, whether and when to include more than one link to a site, when deep linking is appropriate, and the content of the title and description of the site.


Not that it has any bearing on the decision but arms of government tend to copyright material and be quite protective about its use, especially for commercial purposes. If it were me I would rather have the peace of mind to know I had permission.

If you read the ...help.php you will see that each ad needs to be approved.

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Ads might need to be approved to get in but the vendor/agent has every reason not to then take them out when sold whilst they are generating leads - i.e. perform maintenance - which they would need to do on their own site or it would cease to be credible. This is the reason we don't list individual residential properties for sale. It is also a reason why portals in general are less reliable as sources of property for sale than the agents' original sites. Whether a site is kept up to date, when it is essential for the purpose of the site that it is kept up to date or it is useless, is a factor in listing decisions.