Struggling with Dmoz

Hi

I've been trying to get the website I made listed for over 3 months.

I applied to become an editor of the category but was refused on the grounds that the category was too big.

I tried to email the editor that works on the category but there was a system error on sending sending the mail with cgi-bin script.

Initially I may have made mistakes with the submission, putting it in a less than ideal category and leaving a sign on the website that it was still under continuing development which may have been misleading to an editor, I corrected everything and submitted it again shortly after.

The person in charge of editing the category, is looking after 12 separate categories with over 300k listings.

I made the website and update it as a unpaid volunteer. It is for a registered charity run by all unpaid volunteers. As I'm an unpaid volunteer I have no bias, as I work to help all the animals regardless of which rescue they are in.

I last submitted the site over 2 months ago, shall I list it again, can anybody check that the site is in the queue for me? What is the waiting time for animal rescues category? If I was an editor of the category I would be dealing with things within 24 hrs as I do for the charity but DMOZ doesn't want me lol I haven't had any messages from DMOZ about the website.

Regional: Europe: United Kingdom: Society and Culture: Animal Welfare: Rescues and Shelters

Please can somebody at least confirm that I am in the Queue to get the website reviewed? I didn't think I would have this much trouble getting an established charity listed, and thought that if it's taking you 3 months to approve one then you might appreciate some help managing the directory.

Thanks

Mark

Hello
There are a few misconceptions in your post, so I hope we can clear them up for you.

I've been trying to get the website I made listed for over 3 months.

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Only editors can list sites. We welcome suggestions from non-editors, but reviewing those suggestions is not the primary role of an editor, so nobody can say when your site will be reviewed, or by whom.

I applied to become an editor of the category but was refused on the grounds that the category was too big.

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Unless you were asked not to reapply, you are welcome to do so. Many current editors were accepted only after using the feedback they were sent to help them fill out a more careful application.

I tried to email the editor that works on the category but there was a system error on sending sending the mail with cgi-bin script.

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Yes, that's a bug we are all waiting on AOL to fix, but in any case, there is never any need to contact a particular editor.

I corrected everything and submitted it again shortly after.

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See my comment above. It will be reviewed by someone at some time.

The person in charge of editing the category, is looking after 12 separate categories with over 300k listings.

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Not the case. There are over 200 volunteers who can edit anywhere they choose, so the name on a category is absolutely no indication of if or when a suggestion will be reviewed. That's why I said nobody can predict who will review your suggestion, or when.

I last submitted the site over 2 months ago, shall I list it again

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Please don't. As the form clearly explained, only one suggestion is needed, and excessively repeated suggestions are not only pointless but can be seen as spam. Provided you saw the confirmation screen after you made the suggestion, you know it has been received.

can anybody check that the site is in the queue for me?

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Sorry, we don't do that. See the FAQ or the thread at the top of this forum for a detailed explanation.

What is the waiting time for animal rescues category?

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There is no "waiting period". An editor might decide to spend a couple of hours looking for worthwhile sites and listing them there tomorrow, or next week, or next year. Who knows? We are all volunteers, after all.

If I was an editor of the category I would be dealing with things within 24 hrs

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If you had time to work on the directory every day as an editor, then that would be great, but editors are not required to do any set tasks, nor to spend any set time on the directory. It's a hobby, that's all. Also, the collection of suggested sites is nothing more than one place that editors can look for sites to add. There are a lot of other ways of spending our time in building and improving categories that interest us.

Please can somebody at least confirm that I am in the Queue to get the website reviewed?

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As I explained above, there is no "queue", and we don't need to tell people their site is awaiting review. You already know that.

you might appreciate some help managing the directory

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Certainly! We always welcome people who want to help us build the directory, so I hope you will reapply after following all the advice you were sent, and reading the other resources provided to help you.

Thanks very much for your reply.

Sorry for my late response.

I submitted the site again for inclusion before reading your post so please accept my apologies as I did not realise.

Also to apologise if I seemed pushy but please know the site is for a registered charity and neither I or anybody else get paid. I foster dogs, help with fundraising and made the website for the charity about 12 months ago and as you can probably understand I am keen to get it listed to help rehome the animals as some of them have been there a long time. Please let me know if you have any issues with the website, I look hopefully forward to our eventual listing in the directory.

Thanks

Mark

I am keen to get it listed to help rehome the animals as some of them have been there a long time.

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This is certainly a worthy cause, but as I have already explained, DMOZ is not a listing service, so please do not rely on this directory to promote the site and alert people to the plight of animals. There are many far more effective ways of doing that, and I urge you to consider them. Simply waiting for a volunteer to become interested in a particular topic and to spend some time in the relevant category is a very poor way of achieving your goal.
In summary: If you wish to make your site better known you will need to look at other methods, I'm afraid.

Please let me know if you have any issues with the website, I look hopefully forward to our eventual listing in the directory.

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To do that, we'd have to evaluate it - which is going to happen in due course anyway.

There are millions of websites that we haven't looked at yet and I imagine that nearly every one of their owners thinks that theirs is the most important.