First ever category and entry?

[mopar]

Does anybody know what the first ever category was? Also what was the first ever entry and if it’s stil there..?

[jimnoble]

Sadly, we didn't log as much back in 1998 and what logs there were were lost in the great crash of 2006.

[mopar]

That’s a shame I know some might think what’s it matter but you can learn a lot from the past? I thought it might be technology or possibly a news or educational establishment type guess I’ll never know…

[windharp]

As far as I remember what I read about ODP history, the initial directory consisted of toplevel categories derived from the usenet hierarchy. Which would most likely mean that on go-live several categories already existed. So there most likely was no "first category" but a set of them, which (with some changes) resulted in our current toplevels.

 

I tried to read through available history articles, but could not find anything about the first site listed. And as jimnoble said, there have not been any logs at the beginning.

[Ghufran]

What about the first 'volunteer Editor'?

 

How were the Editors in this Forum accepted?

As some of you have been here for a long long time, i assume you guys were accepted by the odp staff or were there any Meta or Catmod Editors at that time?

 

Did you guys instantly become Administrators/Catmods/Meta Editors, or with a passage of time?

[pvgool]

As might be expected DMOZ has a category about ....

yes, you guessed correctly, about DMOZ

http://www.dmoz.org/Computers/Internet/Searching/Directories/Open_Directory_Project/

amongst the listings are articles about the history of DMOZ

 

The first editors were ofcourse the people who created DMOZ.

[Ghufran]

Couldn't find much on my questions but, 'Google and Dmoz: Are they in Love' was hilarious

 

Yes i do know the first Editors were the ones who established Dmoz but my question was about the volunteer editor, anyways thanks for the info

[jorgea]

It's too bad that so much information was lost in the big crash of 2006. One can only guess of what categories existed before that time.

[Elper]

One can only guess of what categories existed before that time.

None of the crashes we've had have really affected categories... Each time it's mainly the logs which buy it.

I dug through what we have left and actually found our first volunteer editor (sadly no longer active)...

The first categories were created from the Usenet structure by the founders (see post #4 above) - an early one is Business.

Our history is documented in a directory format (see post #6 above) here - it starts in 1998.

 

How were the Editors in this Forum accepted?

The editors in Resource-Zone are accepted if they are editors in Dmoz - so one application is good for both.

 

As some of you have been here for a long long time, i assume you guys were accepted by the odp staff or were there any Meta or Catmod Editors at that time?

Apparently in the beginning there was no or little control over who edited what and how, the idea being like Wikipedia, that the directory would police itself. Since those "wild" times, rules (guidelines) have been added to improve the general quality and uniformity of the directory, and an editor application process put in place.

I was accepted (fourth try) by a bravish meta in 2005. Staff can accept editors, but most applications are reviewed by the volunteer metas and catmods.

 

Did you guys instantly become Administrators/Catmods/Meta Editors, or with a passage of time?

With the possible exception of Admins (the list there is out of date) who are directly appointed, the wider permissions are granted by peers following the passage of edits and category reorganizations more than by time... A good working knowledge of the directory is a requirement for higher level permissions, so the "senior" editors have fairly large numbers of edits behind them. The quality is checked by peers, and advice given for areas to improve. Although it might appear similar, it's not a military rank thing.

I must admit that editing is a far from simple hobby. :moz:

[Ghufran]

Thanks Elp

[Ghufran]

Elper,

Are editor awards held every year? (If yes, how exiting for you guys.)

I noticed you won in 2005 and 2008.

Was it a poll between the editors that decided the winner amongst the nominees, or something else?

 

I assume this keeps editors pumped up to do an even better job, eh?

[Elper]

The Mozzies are an annualish event, organized by a dedicated team - nominations and voting are open to all editors...

It's light-hearted, but gives everyone a better idea of what is going on in different parts of the directory, and allows editors to showcase their categories.

Obviously, the nominees make extra efforts to win B)

[Ghufran]

Why not make it an initiative for editors to volunteer?

[Elper]

Do you mean as in "self-nominated" for editors (which a few of the Mozzies are) or for non-editors?

[motsa]

Perhaps Ghufran meant "...make it an incentive for editors to volunteer", as in using the idea of the Mozzie awards as an incentive to lure new editors in.

[Ghufran]

Initiative:

'an introductory act or step; leading action: to take the initiative in making friends.'

Source: dictionary.reference.com/browse/initiative

 

But Motsa has pointed out correctly, the word used should have been incentive. :embarrassed:

[nejuwebtech]

Sadly I don't know about it...

But as I read this forum, it made me more sorry that those details were lost in that crash of 2006...