www.alamax.biz submission status

Please help me to determine how to proceed. An ODP listing is an essential step for me.

The URL submitted is: Alamax Consulting Home Page .
My initial submission is over three weeks old. The beginning directory of submission was :
DMOZ Human and Computer Interaction Consultants Directory
I emailed the editor Chris McFarlane, who informed me that he had referred the site up one level to:

DMOZ Computer Consultant's
The editor there is Stephen Pace, whom I have likewise e-mailed.

After waiting 5 days, while considering that Mr. Pace is most likely very busy with all those subdirectories, I do not wish to continue waiting if there is a chance that my submission will be lost in the stack.

I understand busy. It is my way of life. I would, however, like to know if it would be okay to resubmit to a different and less congested directory, provided it fits my site design.

If I am advised to wait it out a bit longer, I can do that, too. But I am sure you all how costly that could really be.

Thanks very much for any help that you may be able to provide.

God Bless!
Max Richey <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" alt="" />
Alamax Consulting
alamax@tds.net
(for the little people)

Your site is in the queue with 1734 others. I'm sure you realise that this is a very spam congested area of the directory and submissions here often take a long time to check out. Your site will be reviewed one day, but don't hold your breath waiting.

Submitting your site to another, less congested, category will not speed up your application. Any editor reviewing it will simply forward it to the correct category, where it will replace the current unreviewed entry. This will push you further down the queue.

Please consider the following:

With my site in a congested area, you say my only apparent option is to wait it out, but not to hold my breath.

This alamax.biz URL was the first domain that I submitted. I have another waiting in the wings that is more relevent to the consulting directory. I am seriously considering making it a more focused site that is more in keeping with ODP guidelines for a less congested area.

The alamax.biz URL really should be pointing to a DNS that is an established e-commerce site, while the unsubmitted URL should point to a DNS that will serve the relevent consulting pages.

If I modify my registrar's pointer and resubmit alamax.biz-- thus sacrificing my position in the consulting queue-- as an e-commerce relevent site to for instance:
Top: Computers: Hardware: Components

Then do the same thing for my waiting URL by pointing it to a revised and more focused consulting site such as:
Top: Computers: Consultants: Systems Integrators
I then arrive at the bottom line question following all of this thought:

Will this earn me a penalty of any sort?

If not, can someone say that it would be okay to do this?

I hope you understand that it makes very little sense to wait for a submission review that may take months.

Please help. I feel lost in obscurity without options. Can someone offer some hope?

Posting here does not guarantee a speedy review - there are 1700+ other sites in the same Computers category also "desperate" to have their site listed in ODP.

&gt; Can someone offer some hope?

You may submit to Reg/North_America/US/AL/Localities/C/Centre/Business_and_Economy once. Your site *may* be processed more quickly in the Regional area of the directory.

Editors are very alert for what we call "bait and switch" tactics, where a site gets listed somewhere, then significantly changes the content. What you suggest might be seen as that sort of tactic. If you decide to go ahead, please make it clear when you submit that the site focus has changed to avoid editors coming to the wrong conclusion.

Of course, there's no guarantee that a more focused site will be listed any faster than your current one. The same editors will be reviewing the site, and they'll still have huge amounts of unreviewed sites to clear before they get to yours.

How do I make such things clear up front without violating submission guidelines?

Do I notify the editor in advance of the submission?

That seems a bit questionable as well, doesn't it?

Will I be penalized for resubmitting in the regional area somehow?

Also, since I am a resident of this region would I be automatically disqualified as an editor here? I did not know the directory was even there. <img src="/images/icons/blush.gif" alt="" /> I do not want to cross ethical boundaries, but if a local doesn't edit a regional listing, who would? <img src="/images/icons/confused.gif" alt="" /> This is a very small town. I am the webmaster for the Chamber of Commerce (don't laugh) <img src="/images/icons/ooo.gif" alt="" /> . We boast 26,000 strong here <img src="/images/icons/grin.gif" alt="" /> .

If you do decide to radically alter the site's contents, you simply need to add something like "Previously submitted to [...] but site now completely altered" to the description field.

You will not be penalised for submitting to an appropriate category in http://dmoz.org/Regional/ .

We actively encourage people to become editors for their home towns, they're the ones that know the local area the best. However we wouldn't like to see an editor joining up just to add his own site. If you are genuinely interested in becoming an editor, please apply, we'd love to have you on board. If you are thinking of applying just to get your own site listed, don't bother. New editors are watched quite closely and if you just add your own site and nothing else, you'll soon find yourself and your site removed permanantly.

That sounds both right and ethical. I am totally okay with it. As only one of two(maybe three) local web developers/consultants, if I add my site and several others right away, am I in the clear as far as ethics?

Also, if I develop sites then add them as the editor in the regional listing, is that kosher?

Presuming that the answer to both the above is 'yes', how do I get started?

I'm actually feeling excited about this. I really would like to help our community out this way. No kiddin'. No 'Gomer'-isms intended.

Yes, you'd be fine if you added your own site along with others, and yes, there's no problem with adding sites that you have developed, as long as you give them fair and accurate descriptions.

Whatever a "gomer-ism" might be, the way to get started is to go to http://dmoz.org/Regional/North_America/United_States/Alabama/Localities/P/Piedmont/ and click the 'Become an Editor' link. You'll need to read everything that comes up, and it's probably a good idea to print it all, take it away to read, then come back and apply later.

I'm assuming Piedmont is where you are currently based because there's an interesting discrepancy between the contact information given on your site, and the information in the whois database. I have a personal distaste for US citizens that use addresses like "1460H West Main Street Centre, Alabama 35960". I'm British and all I know about Alabama is that it's very very big. Seeing that address does not help me to locate the company, nor does it tell me which area of the ODP to send it to for a Regional listing.

One thing bothers me about my last post.

Can this be construed as promoting my own business affairs?
Honestly, I want to help out, but this seems pretty shaky to me. I mean, I really would be doing just that. It would be up to me to be honest enough to let the other folks in town know that it is a free service to them. The fact that I would be an editor would just be a side benefit in such cases.

But how could I ensure that you guys were likewise aware of honorable intentions. Whereas it may be easy (at times) to spot abuse of priviledge, it may prove contrastingly difficult to both establish and demonstrate integrity on an ongoing basis. I mean, if you guys were to become dissatisfied, or someone questioned my motives, how in the world could I show that I am honest. The penalty is like.... "web excommunication." That's not to be taken lightly.

I feel a need to help my community, not only as a reasonably priced businessperson, but I also must maintain integrity. If this seems questionable to me, then wouldn't I be wide open for someone's attack on my integrity simply because I am in this position? Sometines the best intentions can get the worst results.

Please advise. I tread both lightly and circumspectly here.
Many can benefit, but it seems I have the most to lose.





Perhaps it is simply best if I just submit my site to the regional area.

The easiest way to demonstrate your integrity is to be open and honest. It's easy to let people know that such and such a site is your own, or was developed by you, and that allows other editors to see that you are treating your own sites in the same way that you would treat others. If we can see that you aren't just listing sites you profit from, and that you are helping the directory, you'll be accepted as a genuine editor. The only people that get penalised are those that don't bother to read/follow the rules. You will make mistakes when you start, but if you're well intentioned, you'll be helped to fix things rather than just punished.

Right now you should sit back, take a rest, sleep on it and see if it still seems like a good idea in the morning.

Editors don't just edit and list sites that are submitted. In the smaller and specialised categories, and in many regional categories, editors actually go out looking for sites, using search engines, newspaper and magazine adverts, billboard advertising, yellow pages, even looking at store-fronts in town to see if anyone has a web address printed above the door or in the window. Regional editors can show worth by building a detailed category covering all the stuff that happens in their town. There have been a few editors who have joined, listed their own site and one or two others that they were affiliated with, refused to add more, or deleted their competitors, and were promptly booted out. There are many regional categories that are an absolute treasure trove of information about that area, and all that happens there.



&gt; 1460H West Main Street Centre

I read that as all as one. It looked like the TOWN was missing from the address, hence dfy's comments about &gt;&gt; all I know about Alabama is that it is very very big &lt;&lt; . I now understand that Centre is the town name.

I am unsure if the cultural differences are a bit testy in this case, but I can asure you, I mean no distasteful remark.

In the Southern U.S., "Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C." was somewhat of a hit TV series in the late sixties. It is representative of many biased views as regards limited intellect in the Southern U.S. I frequently find that a modicum of humility and the ability to laugh at one's self can alleviate some of the tension across cultural lines in the U.S itself.

I am surprised, albeit intrigued to learn that you are British.


The reason for the apparent address disparity is a minor geographical issue. Piemont, AL and Centre, AL are two neighboring communities. My business, originally home based, was first operated from my residence in Piedmont, AL. I am currently incubated(business wise) by a very fine gentlemen who desires to help me start a business that will help our town to step up a bit. His name is Bill Kidder, he is the owner of Mailbox Office Supply in Centre, AL. He is renting me space in which to run my business at 1460H West Main Street in the town of Centre, AL.

I hope this helps to, in some small way, establish credibility. I will have my address changed with my registrar. Please follow up. I will look for your response in this thread. If I have passed muster, I will continue with the editor opportunity.

I hope that you find my personality, if not my address,less distasteful, now. <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" alt="" />

God bless!

A final reply to both giz and dfy.

Thank you both very much for taking your time to help me to better understand things. I will sleep on it.

After reading the last two replies, which were obviuosly crafted at the same time as my last, I am convinced that you are all helpful-hearted people.

It is good to see, not just hear, honor beneath the words.

God bless.

OBTW, please forgive the grammatical error in the town listing of my original post. I had hopes of impressing dfy with my command of the language in my last. Despite my finest southern efforts, the 'gomer'-ism's just keep coming to the top <img src="/images/icons/grin.gif" alt="" />

Be happy <img src="/images/icons/laugh.gif" alt="" />

Good Lord! It never occurred to me that 'Centre' would be a town name. <img src="/images/icons/blush.gif" alt="" /> Like giz I read it all as one line. I apologise for attacking you unwarrantedly. At least you spelled out "Alabama" and didn't use the two letter abbreviation. I hate those, I have to go and look them up every time.

You shouldn't be surprised to find British editors at the ODP. We have editors in most countries around the world. Should you become an editor you'll be learning that you can never assume anything about those you work with. <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" alt="" />

Thanks for the explanation of 'gomerisms', I've never understood that one. Unfortunately my knowledge of US geography is so woeful that I wasn't even aware that Alabama was in the south.

For the record, I am an English editor. I also choke on those two letter state codes, but have got to recognise quite a few of them. There are still quite a few where I make the wrong guess. I reckon that a comma before 'Centre' may (or may not) have averted the original little misunderstanding.

alamax,

With regard to maintaining "transparency", that is, making sure you can't be accussed of bias, there are some specific things to do.

First, as mentioned previously, be fair to your competitors in both who you list and how you craft site descriptions. Creating titles and descriptions is perhaps the most challenging thing for a new editor to learn, but there are several ways (described in the new editor application and welcome) to get some feedback on this. Getting feedback on your edits of you personal sites is very important to do, its where you are most likely to show bias, and will be what higher editors look to first to detect abuse.

Second, all editors have a semi-private "Bookmarks" category for thier personal use. It is now stndard practice for editors who have a commercial interest in one or more sites to create an "Affiliated Sites" directory in thier bookmarks and include there a copy of all sites they are tied to commercially. For example, here is a copy of mine: http://dmoz.org/Bookmarks/R/raymonds/Affiliated_Sites/ Every site there is one I'm connected to, its essentially a duplication of my portfolio page (and it would not hurt to list your portfolio page in your Affiliated Sites area just in case you forget to update it when picking up a new client).

Just so you know, I got started in ODP to clear the backlog in my area, partly to get my own sites listed, but also to improve the internet visibility of my locale overall. It makes good business sense to try to be very fair to local competitors and especially thier web design clients, your name shows up as editor for the cat, and a bad rep is worse than no rep at all. After joining, I went looking for local designers so I could list the sites of their customers to build up the local I was editing. I started editing my county, then later the large city in which our business is based (the city was already too big for a new editor but after I "got my feet wet" I was allowed to move up).

From there, I branched out in the areas I am editing, though not all editors do. I edit a couple of universities I'm affiliated with and am starting to branch into my gardening hobby.

Thanks for the additional insight, Raymond.

From the looks of your links, I am encouraged to try this. First, I must get agreement with my site contact info and whois (to satisfy dfy and my desire to do as I say), then, of course, print and read the editor's literature.

I am unsure of the requirements at this point, but I covet your prayers. I believe this could very well be a God thing. More, however, will be revealed.

To whomever the thread monitor may be:

Please keep this open for a while just in case there are other editors who may be willing to advise during the application phase.

Thank you all.

God Bless

&gt;&gt; I believe this could very well be a God thing.

God ? Uhmmm ... God ... this reminds me something... Ah! yes, you might be interested in reviewing this press release <img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" alt="" />

&gt;&gt; Please keep this open for a while

Threads aren't locked here -- we do this only for duplicate ones, with a pointer to the original one. Which doesn't apply to this one, being this one an original one. Don't open another one, so that this one will be the one where one or more editors may be willing to advise...

OK, we like to have fun, sometimes <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" alt="" />