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When you e-mail DMOZ about the status of
your web site and don't even receive a courtesy response to your
questions, there's a serious problem.
When you have egotistical DMOZ editors
fighting each other to have their own web sites listed, there's a
serious problem.
And quite frankly, I don't see how the
mess DMOZ has created can be fixed. With an apparently endless backlog
of web sites waiting to be approved, how can they possibly catch up. The
answer is, they can't.
But this isn't just a performance issue
we're talking about here, this is a morality issue. The very fact that
it's a matter of public record what DMOZ is doing speaks volumes about
the character of many of their editors.
After all, much of what I've written
negatively about DMOZ came directly from the mouths and/or keyboards of
DMOZ editors themselves. At least they claimed to be DMOZ editors. And
for the life of me, I can't imagine why anyone would want to own up to
that dubious distinction, unless it were actually true.
This is what one DMOZ editor had to
say. "Since I became an editor for DMOZ a few weeks ago (albeit for a
tiny category) I have seen on the DMOZ editors board that there are a
lot of good volunteers there who work hard to try to keep the directory
up to date and useful. Its a shame because there are also seem to be a
lot of editors there who are lazy, or who have let the "power" of being
an editor go to their heads. (The people who DON'T ever post on the
editor message boards, or update their categories, etc.)
I think some method to allow webmasters
to check the status of their site submissions (and to know why their
site gets rejected if it is something fixable, and the site is related
to the category and not just a spam submission, etc) would be an
excellent first step to improving the system. Unfortunately the editor
management system seems to be circa 1998 ... I am only guessing based on
design/functionality, but I assume big changes are not coming any time
soon."
Even Google may have come to the
realization that DMOZ may have finally run its course. Previously found
via its own tab, the Open Directory has been demoted to the "more" page.
This was Google's explanation for the
demotion. "We analyzed what people were using, and that had become less
popular over time. As the web grows, directory structures get harder to
use. It didn't seem to be worth the real estate on the home page." Ouch!
Demoting the directory may also be a
way for Google to eventually distance itself from the Open Directory
Project, which powers it. The volunteer-produced directory was added
back in 2000, near the height of the Open Directory's popularity.
Today, there are often complaints that
the ODP, has not keep up with submission demands. In addition, there
have been delays in getting the most current data out in a format that
ODP partners such as Google can use.
Ultimately, any problem with the Open
Directory--which is not in Google's control--still reflects badly on
Google.
I do have a solution to this whole DMOZ
mess, if anyone wants to hear it. I say nuke the site for morbid, and
put it out of its misery! |
