Suggesting sites that you don't own

I recently suggested a site that I really like, but have nothing to do with it. It made me a little curious, reading the disclaimer at the bottom of the "Suggest URL" page:

To grant Netscape Communications Corporation a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to use, publish, copy, edit, modify, or create derivative works from my submission.

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Can an editor explain what exactly that means? Does it mean that Netscape reserves the right to include the suggested URL, title, and description in a brochure that brags about how great DMOZ is? Or does it mean Netscape has the right to use the content of the actual site?

I'm assuming it's the former. But thinking about this leads me to another query: How often do people suggest sites that aren't their own? Is there anything* to stop an unethical webmaster from submitting their competitors' sites repeatedly (causing their competitor to get banned)?

Nareau

*Note that I'm only asking if there's anything like this, not for too many deatils; I'm sure if there is anything like that, you probably don't want to reveal the nature of it to the devil-worshipping, baby-eating, grandmother-kicking marketroids.

Can an editor explain what exactly that means? Does it mean that Netscape reserves the right to include the suggested URL, title, and description in a brochure that brags about how great DMOZ is? Or does it mean Netscape has the right to use the content of the actual site?

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The one in bold, ODP gets to use the description and title, but they don't own it exclusively.

How often do people suggest sites that aren't their own?

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I used to do it before I was an editor. But I have no idea how often it happens.

Is there anything* to stop an unethical webmaster from submitting their competitors' sites repeatedly (causing their competitor to get banned)?

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We would expect that webmasters and competitors might try that, and are prepared for that being attempted.

devil-worshipping, baby-eating, grandmother-kicking marketroids.

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How does that remnd me of?

I was there when Netscape added this, and the first is what it actually says. See, Netscape is going to take your submittal -- title and description, which you wrote and which is therefore copyrighted by you. The editor may want to add it (or parts of it) to the ODP, where Netscape will publish it. But do they have that right? NO ... unless you give it to them.

This is you giving them that right: to add your hand-written description (possibly with changes) to the ODP that they publish.

The editors have a similar bit. As a condition of being allowed to edit the ODP, we give Netscape the copyright to our work, and they can do whatever they want with our work. (Otherwise it's the same problem -- they can't publish the work because each editor has copyright on his own work.) Netscape in turn licenses all of our work (bundled together) to anybody who wants to use it, free. (There's a license that you can read -- basically you have to give Netscape credit -- but no money is involved.)

There's also a "Social Contract" -- which editors STRONGLY urged that AOL create when they bought Netscape -- that our work will continue to be freely available, and will never be locked away so that (for instance) only AOL but not Google can use it.

It's easy to get suspicious -- there are greedy folk in the world, and some companies give things away only to gain an opportunity to steal something more valuable. But the ODP is ... here, take it. Search it. Sort it. Burn a DVD copy and hide it away in your safe deposit box. It's yours, no strings attached, no catch, anything you want to do with it is OK. Because I said so when I did my part of the work -- and every other editor says the same. People who aren't willing to give something away, aren't going to enjoy editing.