re: getting onto DMOZ (was back to no-margins vs. clean code)

Hi Lisa,

Some DMOZ categories have 100s or 1000s of submitted sites waiting for
review by an editor, and editors who have a number of categories tend to do
their favourites first. So, if you are unlucky, it may be a very long time
till the site is even reviewed, and then, if the editor decides it doesn't
add anything to his category (e.g. no new info in a non-commercial category,
or an alternative version of a listed commercial site for example), then you
will *never* get listed. Although you can appeal to a meta-editor, you won't
necessarily get a more favourable answer. This can be a real PITA for
publicising a client's site, but it's one of the things that makes DMOZ
useful - some degree of discrimination, even if you do not agree with the
criteria used.

As a matter of courtesy, I'd try to contact a "habitual" submitter if I had
no intention of listing his/her site, to save hassle. But not everyone does,
or has the time. Have you tried contacting the editor personally rather than
via submit? If you click on the name link, you get to the profile where you
can send an email.

As Karen said yesterday, even applying to be an editor can take ages to
process - the volunteer staff are so overworked that even the thing that
would eventually make their life easier is backed up!

Lois Wakeman
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http://lois.co.uk
http://siteusability.com
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