Application Denied

[Guest Warren]

Hi,

 

My application was denied (WarrenF) and I have no idea why. I spent a lot of time making sure my application was just right. Is there anyway i can appeal the decision? I was really looking forward to participating.

 

Thanks

[windharp]

Reasons for rejection are not discussed in public. And its not possible to look into rejected applications afterwards. If you know you are rejected, you should have received a mail, stating the reason why.

 

Some usual reasons:

- You applied for a category thats to large (including all physical subcategories).

- Your sample URLs where not apropriate for the category or already listed apropriately

- Your spellink or grammar was not acceptable

- You where not honest about yourself

 

As stated above, that are just some guesses. There are a variety of other possible reasons.

[Guest Warren]

I did get an email but it did not say specifically why. It basically mentioned what you said. Wouldn't it be better to get a more specific reason so that the person could "try and fix" what they did wrong?

 

Should I just give up or try again? Do most editors get excepted on the first try?

[sthenbelle]

Hey Warren,

 

While it would be nice if we were able to give in depth replies to each and every application there sheer volume of applications we review make that nearly impossible. Be sure to scroll down to the end of the email, that is where the reviewer comments, if any, are.

 

Actually, many editors are not accepted on the first try and I would encourage you to apply again.

 

'Belle

[John_Caius]

Ooh windharp <img src="/images/icons/crazy.gif" alt="" /> - either that was humour or not a great example to set:

 

- You applied for a category thats to large (including all physical subcategories).

 

that's

 

- Your sample URLs where not apropriate for the category or already listed apropriately

 

appropriate, appropriately

 

- Your spellink or grammar was not acceptable

 

spelling

 

- You where not honest about yourself

 

were

 

<img src="/images/icons/grin.gif" alt="" />

 

A very common reason for rejection is that people go for a category that is too large. Try to find one with 20-50 sites maximum (including all subcategories) and avoid spammy areas of the directory like gambling, where you really need previous editing experience to spot the unlistable sites. Declare your affiliations fully and honestly - having affiliations is not counted against you. Give three new URLs that aren't already in the directory, ideally none of which from your own sites. Write concise hype and keyword-free titles and descriptions according to the guidelines. Spell check your entries in Word before submitting them.

 

You're not expected to be perfect when you first start - there's an internal New Editors forum where you pick up how the system works. But you are expected to show a basic ability to describe a site accurately and without using hype.

 

Good luck! <img src="/images/icons/laugh.gif" alt="" />

[dfy]

John_Caius: You missed one.

 

Go back and check them all again, and then remember that windharp is German, and not a native English speaker, but he was willing to use someone else's language to help them out.

[brmehlman]

Mr. Kettle, I have Mr. Pot on line two with a chromatic accusation.

 

> ideally none of which from your own sites

 

Verb that clause!

[John_Caius]

Oh I'm sorry! <img src="/images/icons/blush.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/icons/blush.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/icons/blush.gif" alt="" /> I'll get back in my hole. Of course I appreciate that windharp is not English and trying very hard to help everyone out here. I honestly did *not* mean to offend.

[windharp]

I think I would be able to post without any spelink-mistages when I was allowed to use german for all my answers. But I guess you dont want me to do that... ;-)

[hutcheson]

nein, danka!

[Guest doomgiver]

Actually, many editors are not accepted on the first try

 

I feel so special... shame you didn't say all but one <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" alt="" />. Would that make me like the chosen on <img src="/images/icons/laugh.gif" alt="" />?

 

I'd guess that you have to 'want' to become an editor, and agree with the higher purpose of the ODP, or at least acknowledge it. A friend of mine just wanted to edit to get his own sites listed, or have some kind of bizarrely inaccurate feeling of power, and guess what... he didn't get in. I just wish I'd been a Meta reading his proposal... I'd love to see what he'd written...

Anyway, I reckon that you should be honest. If you don't agree with the 'uber-directory' idea, perhaps you shouldn't be an editor at all. If you do, let them know when you're applying. And yeah, don't take a cat too big, they have good reason not to give many sites to a first-timer... you can get stuff wrong, and they're the ones who end up correcting it. My first cat only had 30-odd sites in it - you can always apply for more later. Course, I'm not a meta, so I don't know precisely what criterea they look for. Just my two cents (pence, where I live... pence, dammit... msut remember...)

[totalxsive]

Say, doomgiver.... have you ever thought about applying for http://dmoz.org/Regional/Europe/United_Kingdom/England/Shropshire/Telford/ ? <img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" alt="" />

[Guest jdean]

My 2-cent:

You might want to use an instant spell checker called As-U-Type (http://www.asutype.com). It checks and corrects your spelling automatically as you type, so you don't need to stop typing and go back to fix mistakes yourself. It works everywhere including all forums and IMs. Free trial for 30 days, and $30 afterward.

--jdean

[beebware]

Since I tend to use Internet Explorer, I've found IEspell extremely useful. It's free and all you need to do is right click and select "Check spelling" to check your spelling in any Internet Explorer window.

 

Personally, I don't like the "correct as you type" systems as sometimes there are words I type that obviously won't appear in dictionaries...