Category Selection and other questions

[Jacob Mathai]

Category Selection

 

Hi everyone,

 

I recently applied as an editor of the following DMOZ sub-category ..Computers/Internet/On_the_Web/Weblogs/Personal/J . In part, I was hoping to list my own weblog and then I noticed the editorial vacancy. I thought the category was small enough for a new editor to manage and was hoping there would probably be room to grow after I demonstrated my ability to effectively manage this section.

 

My questions are :

 

1. What type of experience would you expect from an editor in a category like Internet weblogs ?

2. Is this sub-category small enough for a new person to take on ? My feeling is yes, but I just wanted to make sure.

 

Cheers,

Jake

[motsa]

1. We're not really necessarily looking for experience at all. We're looking for someone who can follow our guidelines when listing sites in the category. Weblogs is a fairly general type of category and doesn't really require any special knowledge other than knowing what a weblog is and what constitutes sufficient content.

 

2. http://dmoz.org/Computers/Internet/On_the_Web/Weblogs/Personal/J is a bit too large for a new editor.

[Jacob Mathai]

I see. That is certainly good information and thanks for the reply. I was unable to drill down any further than an individual "alphabetical letter" sub-category for weblogs. It seems the one I applied for had just about 100 listings and I thought it may be manageable. Thanks for the tip.

 

1. Could you perhaps suggest a more suitable category (under weblogs) for a new editor ? In fact, any example would be fine so I can better align my application with your requirements ?

2. Also, I never received a confirmation email after I submitted my request. Is that cause for alarm and should I resubmit ?

 

Thanks,

Jake

[lmocr]

A good place to start is an area that has under 50 listings, that you can find more listings for - I started with 12. Perhaps you could apply for your hometown in Regional, or a neighboring town, or a part of your town - all depending on the size and amount of potential listings.

[Jacob Mathai]

Thanks lmocr .

 

I took your advise and found a smaller regional section for my hometown. I think I'll have to wait to submit the editorial application form until hearing the committee's decision on my original application (http://dmoz.org/Computers/Internet/On_the_Web/Weblogs/Personal/J/ ). I hope they give me a chance on my original submission and if not I shall apply again and follow your advice. Thanks again!

[jimnoble]

I think I'll have to wait to submit...

Indeed. We strongly prefer that applicants only have one application running at a time .

[Jacob Mathai]

Thanks for the help everyone. Unfortunately my application for the http://dmoz.org/Computers/Internet/On_the_Web/Weblogs/Personal/J/ sub-category was denied this afternoon. I can only speculate as to why, and am hoping it has more to do with the number of items in the category than with my application or experience.

 

I am debating if whether I should submit another editorial application for a smaller section (my hometown for instance) to tackle a more feasible category as lmocr suggested earlier.

 

Is it appropriate to reapply for smaller sub-category if I suspect the original section I applied for was just too big for a new editor ?

 

Thanks,

Jake

[spectregunner]

If there was no language in the bottom of the response you received that would suggest that future applications would not be welcome -- then by all means apply again.

 

The ODP has many editors who had to apply, three, four, five or even six times before getting accepted.

 

Just be sure to keep a copy of the application.

[dogbows]

I would like to add that I started in my home town as well as a lot of other editors. You just might find that Regional can be even more fun than topical cats. What could be more rewarding than helping to build your own hometown in the directory?

 

Regional Rocks!

[motsa]

Feel free to apply to a smaller category. Make sure you read the items in default email that you obviously received as at least one of the items likely was an issue with your previous application. You may also want to read the FAQ and General Advice thread in this forum for some additional tips.

[Jacob Mathai]

This has been very helpful. I have taken your advise and submitted to a smaller, regional, category. Thanks for the advise everyone ! :moz:

[Jacob Mathai]

What I have found is that the regional section for my hometown is a well maintained category -- even without a current editor. Most of the relevant listings I'd be interested in adding were there already -with the exception of one which I will submit at a later date.

 

What I did next was to take a look at categories for some nearby towns and see which ones had an opportunity for growth or improvement. I found one (it happens to be the town I grew up in) and I think this ODP category requires more immediate attention and there is a big opportunity for improvement.

 

Thanks for all the tips and advice !

[Jacob Mathai]

Question Regarding Application Confirmation Process

 

I resubmitted an editorial application this evening and received the customary reply from apply@dmoz.org. I replied to the message and have not yet received the confirmation email from daemon@dmoz.org verifying the final submission of the application. I have received final confirmation emails for all previous editorial application submissions -- except for this one. Is this cause for alarm ? Should I consider resubmitting or is this typical behavior? Thanks !

 

 

 

##########################################

(opendir - 18d16519b0af2738816eede159914715)

 

INSTRUCTIONS - please read and follow carefully.

 

To complete your application process, please reply to this message.

This will confirm that we have your correct email address.

###########################################

[motsa]

Have you tried replying to the email again? If it tells you that the ticket number is invalid, then you know the first one went through.

[Jacob Mathai]

Have you tried replying to the email again? If it tells you that the ticket number is invalid, then you know the first one went through.

 

Motsa, Yes I have resubmitted this morning with the same results. (Message is returned to me after 3 hours as undeliverable ) I suspect your mail relay may have run out of disk space.

 

:icon_idea I tried to send the email message using SMTP primitives and here is the message I received from your mail server "452 4.4.5 Insufficient disk space; try again later". I'll wait till this issue is resolved on your end before proceeding.

 

Thanks for replying and merging the threads!

[motsa]

Thanks. We'll look into that.

[Jacob Mathai]

The confirmation process is working as expected. Thanks to NEA, Motsa and everyone else for their responses.

[dogbows]

Way to go, Jacob! A hearty congratulations and welcome to the ODP family.

[hutcheson]

... and thanks for persisting through helping us debug the process also!

[Jacob Mathai]

Thank you dogbows! I'm excited.

 

hutcheson - any time ! :yy: