Category editor says: "site broken"

[ipso]

I've been trying to get my site added to DMOZ for over 1.5years now, so I finally managed to get a hold of the editor of the category that I'm trying to be listed in and after several "re-submits" as per his suggestion, he said:

 

"I'm beginning to think that the system may be broken. Your submission has never shown up. In fact, the category that I edit has not had a new site submission this year - which strikes me as odd."

 

The category is quite popular, so this definitely sounds odd. I also asked if he could manually add a site if I sent him the information by email, and he said:

 

"Their editor interface is a bit privative. From what I can see, the only way to add a link is to go through their form."

 

Is DMOZ still experiencing technical difficulties? Are editors not able to add sites without someone using the form in case of technical difficulties?

 

Thanks.

[jimnoble]

Their editor interface is a bit privative. From what I can see, the only way to add a link is to go through their form.

That's entirely incorrect. Many editors find and add sites themselves all the time.

 

Are you sure you were talking to an editor? If you want to, drop me a PM with the category name and url and I'll check it out. ('Check it out' doesn't mean 'I'll list your website'.)

[crowbar]

Definately doesn't sound like a real editor.

[ipso]

Yes, I'm 100% sure he's a real editor. I used the editor feedback form to contact him, and he responded with his real email address and have since emailed back and forth 5 or 6 times.

 

Is there a place that lists the step by step instructions on how to add a site to the directory manually? I could then forward that to him "just in case". He seems like he is a good editor, and is at least showing interest in adding my site to his category, we just can't figure out why he can't see my submission when I post it through the normal channels, and he isn't sure how to add a site manually.

[chaos127]

Editors are most certainly able to add sites that haven't come through the public suggestion route. Indeed, we encourage editors to go out and find sites on their own, since their own knowledge (eg of a particular topic or place) often yields a better set of sites than gets suggested by the public.

 

If the person with whom your corresponding is an editor and doesn't know how to add sites by themselves, I would suggest that they ask in the internal forums, where someone will be more than happy to explain to them how to do it.

[shadow575]

See jimnobles response earlier. That seems like the most advisable course of action to take. If the editor needs help, he could also contact jimnoble or another Meta editor for advice and guidance on editor functions.

 

Regards.

[crowbar]

Must be an extremely new editor, if he doesn't know even the basics, and he shouldn't be making uninformed statements like that.

[ipso]

Really strange?

 

This seems really strange. I've talked to two editors over the last 1.5yrs and both have said essentially the same thing:

 

<your site> has no edit history and isn't on any block lists.

 

Suggest it again please.

 

Yet I've suggested it more then 5 times at the request of one editor or another. If DMOZ is not experiencing any technical difficulties, does anyone know what could be causing this?

 

I can understand waiting 1-2yrs to get listed, I can understand my site being rejected by an editor, I can understand technical difficulties please try again later, but not having it even show up in the "queue" just doesn't make sense given the above.

[crowbar]

There is a slight time lag between a site suggestion being submitted and our recieving it, and that's all I can say without crossing our confidentiality line.

 

There are a lot of site suggestions waiting for possible review, as volunteer editors get the time and inclination to review them in various categories, you'll just have to be patient, I'm afraid.

[shadow575]

If an editor is telling you to resubmit because there is no edit history (or whatever they mean by not on any block list) they are either new and don't know enough about how dmoz works yet or they aren't the best editors to be seeking advice from.

The fact that you suggested the site 5 times would work against you if anything, for if an editor chose to review suggestions and did so based on submission date the newer submission (or the 5th resubmission) would sink to the bottom of the list as the editor processed the older suggestions.

[ipso]

If an editor is telling you to resubmit because there is no edit history (or whatever they mean by not on any block list) they are either new and don't know enough about how dmoz works yet or they aren't the best editors to be seeking advice from.

The fact that you suggested the site 5 times would work against you if anything, for if an editor chose to review suggestions and did so based on submission date the newer submission (or the 5th resubmission) would sink to the bottom of the list as the editor processed the older suggestions.

 

Shadow575, in this thread you suggested I should follow JimNoble's advice, which I did, I sent him a PM, he said my site wasn't in any block lists and didn't have any edit history, and to resubmit it again... So I did.

 

All I can do is follow the advice of the editors, but if they are telling me my site has no edit history, how can suggesting it again work against me? I understand "no edit history" to be that DMOZ has never heard of my site. It hasn't been rejected, nor has it been accepted, and that it isn't even in the queue?

 

Do you have any other suggestions as to what I should do if my site isn't even showing up for editors when I use the public submission form?

 

Thanks.

[shadow575]

No you did good to follow Jim's advice if that is what he said to do. I miss-understood your comment to be that you had editors over the last year and half tell you to resubmit '5 times'. If someone recently suggested that you should resubmit then doing so once is acceptable. Many sites were lost in the crash and as a result will need resuggesting. If you hadn't resuggested since then, it is possible that yours was one of them and resuggesting it is the advice to give.

 

I apologize for misunderstanding the meaning of your previous post.

[ipso]

I just heard back from one of the editors, saying that my site finally showed up in the queue from the time I submitted it back on March 11th 2007.

 

So apparently it took over a month just to show up in the queue... Strange, but looks like everything is sorted out now.

 

Thanks for your help.

[crowbar]

No doubt that time delay I mentioned, new site suggestions show up daily.