Volunteer application denial

A few months ago I submitted an application to be an editor for the Regional > North America > United States > Alabama > Metro Areas and Regions > Dothan Metro category. I have just received an email denying my application as follows:
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Dear ,

Thank you for your interest in becoming an Open Directory Project editor.
After careful review, we have decided not to approve your application at this time. The most common reasons a reviewer will deny a new application include, but are not limited to,

* Incomplete application. Insufficient information has been provided in some fields including reason, affiliation and/or Sample URLs.
* Improper spelling and grammar.
* Sample URLs are inappropriate for the category which one has applied to edit. They may be too broad, too narrow, completely out of scope, poor quality, or in a language inappropriate for the category. All non-English sites are listed in the World category. Applications for World categories that include sites only in English will be denied. Likewise, applications for World categories that include sample URLs in languages other than the one appropriate for the applied category will be denied.
* Not properly disclosing affiliations with websites that are, or have the potential of being, listed in the category.
* Titles and descriptions of sample URLs (and other information provided) were subjective and promotional rather than unbiased and objective. ODP editors do not rank or write website reviews. ODP editors provide objective and unbiased descriptions of websites and their content.
* Self-Promotion. Application which leads us to believe that the candidate is interested primarily in promoting his/her own sites or those with which the applicant is affiliated. The ODP is not a marketing tool, and should not be used to circumvent the site submission process. If this is an applicant's motivation for joining, then we ask him/her not to apply. Editors found to be inappropriately promoting their own site will be promptly removed.

Due to the large number of applications we get every day, we are unable to provide personal responses to every application or to respond to inquiries about why you were rejected. If a reviewer chose to provide additional comments to you, they will be given in the "Reviewer Comments" section below.

Your willingness to volunteer is greatly appreciated and perhaps we will be able to utilize your talent in the future.

Regards,
The Open Directory Project

Reviewer Comments:

Thank you for your interest in the ODP. While we are always looking for new editors, I am unable to accept your application to edit in at this time. I sincerely hope you will be able to undertake some background reading and re-apply in the near future. Here are some suggestions that may help to improve your chances for acceptance into the project: 1.) Choose a category of around 100 sites and suggest 2 or 3 urls (3 is preferable) relevant to the category requested. The urls should be working and from different sites. 2.) Read our General Guidelines for descriptions: http://dmoz.org/guidelines/describing.html#descriptions The suggested sites should have accurate titles and descriptions. The titles should be the name of the site, firm or organization. The basic formula for a good description is: Description = Subject + Content. Say what the site is about and what information is contained on the web pages. Do not write a review on it or include marketing language and first/second person pronouns. Your spelling, capitalization, and sentence structure are also being evaluated. 3.) Also remember, the application needs to be complete. This includes the disclosure of web sites you own, created, host, marketed, contribute content to, etc. These should be disclosed in the section marked 'Affiliations'. Thank you.
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This looks like nothing but a standard rejection letter that only talks about generalities and is not specific as to 'why' my application was turned down. This is not helpful at all.

I've been submitting sites to DMOZ for years with hit and miss results. The sad thing is there are so many categories that has 'no' editor and, in those situations, most of the submissions have not been listed. I do resubmit websites once a year even though the guidelines says NOT to submit a site more than once. I do this for one category only per website. The reason I do this is to try and get lucky with different editors. This has proved to be successful on more than one occasion.

What I find confusing is to come across sites that are listed in multiple categories yet I have problems getting clients websites listed in just one and most of these have been in the regional area that I work. There are only around 6-7 other website development firms in our area and, I'm pretty sure, they have the same general problems with DMOZ. That was the reason I volunteered to be the editor for this category so there would be 'someone' to review submissions. Yes, I know that there are higher level editors that review submissions but with the hundreds of thousands of submissions, that is a lot of work for a few individuals. I was just wanting to help as well as to assist businesses and organizations in our area in getting listed.

I don't take this rejection as an insult but simply as a waste of valuable resources as well as a loss for our Dothan area businesses and organizations. AS for my clients, I use other means to get their sites listed on search engines including establishing Google accounts, submitting sites directly to search engines and integrating SEO technology into the websites I develop. This is typical for most development firms.

I'm 62, semi-retired with time to contribute, have been involved with my local community of Headland, Alabama for well over 35 years serving in many organizations as well as our city government and have owned four local businesses during that time. Ask anyone in my community about me and you'd find that I am highly respected as well as liked in our community. As you can see by my username, I don't hide who I am with cryptic user names.

So the loss is for the DMOZ community as well as our Dothan area. Hopefully, someone else from our area will volunteer and start to serve us as I won't be applying again.

Adios amigos!

Luke Douglas
Webbering DDH
515 E Church St
Headland, AL 36345
Webbering.com

LukeDouglas said:

This looks like nothing but a standard rejection letter that only talks about generalities and is not specific as to 'why' my application was turned down. This is not helpful at all.

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As written in the response your recieved
Due to the large number of applications we get every day, we are unable to provide personal responses to every application or to respond to inquiries about why you were rejected. If a reviewer chose to provide additional comments to you, they will be given in the "Reviewer Comments" section below.
You did receive addictional comments, so the meta editor who reviewed your application did take some extra time to help you.
We are not taking everybodies hand to give them detailed help to write a good application. being able to understand the reply, to find the mistakes you made and to solve them in a next application can be seen as part of the process.

I've been submitting sites to DMOZ for years with hit and miss results. The sad thing is there are so many categories that has 'no' editor and, in those situations, most of the submissions have not been listed. I do resubmit websites once a year even though the guidelines says NOT to submit a site more than once. I do this for one category only per website. The reason I do this is to try and get lucky with different editors. This has proved to be successful on more than one occasion.

Click to expand...

So, despite the guidelines which you clearly have written you decide that those guidelines do not apply to you.
Suggesting a site more than once can only do you harm. In the best situation it only will take more time between first suggestion and review, in the worst situation you will be qualified as a spammer. And we do not like spammers.

Metro areas such as Dothan Metro aren't good starting points for new editors because most websites are listed in their localities, not at metro or county level (you probably already know that from reading the category's description). That's why so few websites are listed there and, indeed, the categories are primarily link farms. To prevent a similar situation from happening again, I've disabled editor applications for the category.

I suggest that you begin with one of the localities, gain some experience in that sand pit and then request further permissions.

I haven't looked at your application BTW

Piqued, I looked at your application.

My post and actions above were a complete waste of effort: You actually requested Headland/Business and Economy, not Dothan Metro at all .

The message you received when your application was declined was accurate when it advised you to consult our editor guidelines for advice on writing titles and descriptions. It's very clear that you hadn't done that, or even looked at current ones.

We are keen to recruit new editors but there are a few attributes such as communications skills (which include reading), attention to detail and accuracy which are mandatory.

Now, with your new found knowledge, try again.