Someone using ODP as seed for a for-pay directory

[steveb]

I only took a quick look at the FAQ and couldn't find an answer, but even if this is a common thing I thought I should mention it. I just got an email from a company wanting to charge me for a listing in their directory. Their "directory" (as of now) is the ODP dump. They even have the ODP thingee at the bottom of the page. Is this allowed?

[beebware]

Unfortently, as long as they aren't breaking the terms of the ODP data licence they aren't doing anything illegal.

 

The staff at the ODP are aware of people doing this (and, I believe, have consulted with Netscape lawyers regarding a few matters) but the third party (I'm guessing their name starts with 'topsi...') breaches the licence or claims something that isn't true - then we can't do a thing. Sorry.

[steveb]

Yes, that was it. Just wondering. Thanks.

[Guest swisstony]

Are they building a new directory based on a one-time download of the ODP, or are they placing their own results above the ODP results and simply building up some listings in parallel?

 

I can't see how this second option is practical though - when the ODP changes something, like renaming, moving, merging or deleting categories, what happens to the listings that have been paid for in those categories?

[giz]

>> what happens to the listings that have been paid for in those categories? <<

 

Who knows? They may be moved, deleted, or what ever tops... wants to do with them. That would be between the person who paid, and the entity they paid. Caveat emptor surely applies here.

 

In any case, for all those people who don't pay, are they really going to delete every listing? When the next ODP RDF arrives, are they then going to go back and delete everything that they deleted off their own site, but which is still included in the new RDF? I don't think so. Maybe they won't bother to ever take another RDF. In that case, their site will eventually be full of dead or hijacked links. If they start deleting all of those, their directory will eventually be almost empty.

 

Whatever happens, this looks like it is between the web site owner and tops... ; there has been wide discussion of this on webmasterworld and other external fora. I guess that is the correct place to ask such questions.

[Guest swisstony]

I now know who we are talking about. I got my first email spam from them today - 3 separate emails in fact. It is quite a clever scam; make it look cheap so that people don't mind paying, and offer to let you add the site to a couple of other categories as well.

[motsa]

Re: Someone using ODP as seed for a for-pay direct

 

In any case, for all those people who don't pay, are they really going to delete every listing?

The first time I got an email from them, they were charging an exhorbitant fee (several hundred dollars per year). After a half dozen or more emails from them, I wrote them back a really annoyed email telling them to never ever write me again (and telling them what I thought of them). Got a very pleasant email back (after I'd told them not to email me again) telling me they'd removed my listing as per my request -- and sure enough, they did.

When the next ODP RDF arrives, are they then going to go back and delete everything that they deleted off their own site, but which is still included in the new RDF?

I don't think they plan on grabbing the RDF dump again. Their FAQs make it sound as though they collaborated with us to start out (as opposed to them taking a free download) -- makes them sound more important than they are.