DMOZ Open Directory Project Frustrates Webmasters Over Submissions

By: Andy Hodges
Staff Writer
Published: Apr 8, 2009

DMOZ is an Open Directory Project (ODP) which is maintained by nearly 83,000 editors. Adding your Web site to the directory can take a week, or months, or in most cases, many years. For example, we submitted our site in September 2007 and are still waiting.

In order to learn more about the ODP, I decided to signup as an editor hoping to contribute, but my application was denied within 25 minutes. So, on March 16, 2009, I visited their forum to find out if there's anything we're doing wrong which might be the reason why the site isn't listed. We received a response within 30 minutes from Jim Noble, a forum administrator and moderator.

"You might have misunderstood our objectives and how we operate here. ODP is a volunteer organization building a directory as a hobby. Editors edit where they wish, when they wish and as much as they wish within the constraints of their permissions," said Noble.

Is DMOZ really the definitive catalog of the Web?

My questions, asked in a polite manner, never got specific answers. I also noticed a ton of messages from other people asking the same questions. Moreover, there are people in their forums who have waited a few years as we have. I don't know if DMOZ really understands the Web, but a lot can change in two years.

"We have no schedules or systems to force people to do work that they don't volunteer to do. ODP is not primarily a free listing service for website owners and it does not attempt to process their listing suggestions within the time scales desired by them," said Noble.

Does the volunteer system really work as intended?

This makes me wonder if the volunteer system is really working out. The directory claims to have more than 83,000 editors which maintain different categories. However, I still didn't get my question answered.

"Elapsed times can range from a few days to a few years. There is no need to re-suggest your website and doing so could be counter-productive because a later suggestion overwrites any earlier one. Now, can we help you with anything else?," said Noble.

While DMOZ is a volunteer system, I still don't feel it should be a reason to walk over people. I was hoping for more on the response, but since it's a volunteer system, I probably don't deserve it.

DMOZ ODP Offers No Guarantees For Website Listings
We used Yahoo's free directory submission which took 5 months for our site to get listed. If you are ready to give up on DMOZ, as we are, understand that you are not alone.