As the numerous responses to my first post show, this is one of the most common and controversial questions asked about DMOZ.
To answer this question, it is important to consider what DMOZ isn't.
DMOZ is not set up as a listing service for site owners. Site submissions are only one source for finding quality sites to add to the directory. Some editors choose to review submissions while other editors might prefer to (at first) find sites on their own through search engines, as links from related sites, in newspapers, on television, on highway billboards, etc. So...there are no guarantees that once you submit your site it will be reviewed within a specific amount of time.
There are also a number of practical reasons it can take a while for a site to get listed in DMOZ:
The site is submitted to an incorrect category. Many sites are submitted to categories that are either too broad, too narrow, or unrelated to the content of the site being submitted. Most of the time, incorrectly submitted sites are sent to the appropriate category for review, but that will usually increase the amount of time that a site will ultimately wait for review. Submitting your site to the single most specific category relative to your site's content will significantly improve your chances of getting your site reviewed.
The site is submitted to the wrong language section of the directory. For example, non-English sites are frequently submitted to the English-language section of the directory. As with sites submitted to the wrong category, editors have to redirect these sites to the correct language, which can increase the amount of time that they will await review.
The submitted site does not meet submission or editorial guidelines for inclusion. Quite often people submit sites that are incomplete, don't contain enough content, or consist primarily of syndicated or mirrored content. Uniqueness of content is one of the most important factors editors consider when reviewing a site for inclusion.
The category has a backlog of submissions. This can result when the popularity of the topic, which may attract large numbers of both listable and unlistable sites, doesn't match the interests of active or prospective editors. Submitting to one of these categories may mean a longer wait. (That doesn't mean you should submit your site to the wrong category just because you think it doesn't have a backlog – deliberately submitting your site to the wrong category is never a good choice.)
URBAN LEGENDS ( i.e. popular & fictional reasons ) as to why a site does not gain acceptance into
The category editor is corrupt and/or a competitor is keeping the site from being listed. DMOZ regularly receives allegations of corruption and abuse through its public abuse reporting system. Each report is thoroughly investigated and crosschecked. Most of these claims turn out to be baseless. In the rare case where there may be some truth to the allegation, the matter is dealt with immediately.
No one is monitoring the category. While a few categories in DMOZ may not have a listed editor that doesn't mean there's no one minding the store. All editors listed higher in a category's hierarchy can and do edit subcategories. In addition, many editors have permissions to edit anywhere in the directory.
I'm certain there will be no shortage of comments to this post, but please consider the topics listed above and re-check your submission application again.
And if/when you do submit, please...please....please avoid any claims/jokes/sarcasm of offering money to get accepted into DMOZ. Editors apply zero sense of humor to these types of statements and it is a sure fire way to ensure your site does not gain entry. Ever.
One of my future posts will include best practice recommendations for suggesting sites to editors.
Cheers.
Bob Keating
Managing Editor, DMOZ Staff
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121. I have tried for over a year to get my sites listed in DMOZ .. but nothing yet .. http://www.puremadonna.com has been running over 18 months and I have submitted quite a few times. I also have an adult website http://www.you-tube-porn.com which I have tried to get listed, I hope they get listed soon!!!
Posted at 7:36AM on May 11th 2008 by Emma
122. DMOZ.org is what everybody wants to get in lists including me with my new "Caribana Festival" site (http://www.caribana.info)
I've think I submitted it correctly but this is my 2nd attempt .. so I am not sure what I am doing incorrectly?
[Regional: North America: Canada: Ontario: Localities: T: Toronto: Arts and Entertainment: Music: Bands and Artists ]
If someone could let me know .. that would be appreciated!
Posted at 10:56AM on May 11th 2008 by Dave Morris
123. I’m finding it tricky to work out whether this is still an active, “open”, honest, reliable and therefore valuable resource, or all gone a bit flaky as some of the rumours and a waning reputation might suggest?
If it is active, what happened to the weekly posts suggested in your first post of 24 Sept 2007 Bob? I can see the next on 8 Oct 2007 but nothing since? Or take a look at a category I’ve just offered to edit – Business: Marketing and Advertising: Salesmanship.
An apparently automated reply says it’s either too big a category for a new editor (300 total listings) or already heavily edited (last update 3 weeks ago). It’s a year since we first submitted, and 6 months since the refresher so, assuming that it is heavily edited, I’m guessing at an ability per editor to review what, 10 sites a week = 500 a year, with what, 12 additions in the last 12 months? Hmm. Are all new suggestions/entries really that irrelevant, compared to what is already listed?
Or too big? Well, a quick tally of the main headings from Top:, shows just shy of 3,500,000 sites listed, and I’ve seen it suggested by the SEO blogs that 8,000 might be your current “active” editor total. That would give them 438 each to “look after”, so how can “Salesmanship”, with 300, and a volunteer request at the bottom of the page, be too big?
Or maybe we should take the “mostly spam” warning about submissions through your approved route at face value, and try to find more subtle ways of bringing our sites to your editors’ attention, so that they can then “find” and include sites that have “uniqueness of content”, and genuine relevance to the category for which they submit – like “Salesmanship”, for example!
Kind regards
Neil Warren
Publisher
http://www.modernselling.com
Posted at 1:09PM on May 11th 2008 by Neil Warren
124. We have been trying to be listed now for over 1 year without any results. We are running a website in a resort town in massachussets and it seems everybody else is listed... :( except us... I tried different categories .. that makes me wonder on who is "the Editor" and why are we not getting listed ? so many search engines rely on the DMOZ directory that makes it very frustrating not to be listed after over 1 year .. can anybody help ? what are we doing wrong and how can we verify that an editor even exists for our category ? It might be that nobody is editing and our submittions are just getting lost ? Any help would be appreciated.
Posted at 4:23PM on May 11th 2008 by Robert
125. DMOZ.org is a fantastic site and this is what everybody wants to get in lists including myself with my new "Biographies" site (http://www.oiuu.net)
I've think I submitted it correctly but this is my 4th attempt .. so I am not sure what I am doing incorrectly?lets see what happen.
If someone could let me know .. that would be appreciated!
Posted at 8:31AM on May 12th 2008 by umer
126. The fact that a good site hasn't been accepted into DMOZ is a DMOZ problem, not ours. It is supposed to list the best sites.
The fact that some search engines seem to still value the sites listed in DMOZ is a search engine problem. They are supposed to rank the best sites.
The web is moving 400 times faster than any number of editors - even if they worked 24/7.
Good search engines shouldn't keep giving PR to dead sites that were last updated in 2002 (such as many of the ones a certain category that I know). One site in that category is a dead site with a single jpeg logo for content... c'mon.
Many of the best websites are still not listed, in all
categories. (And before you say, stop whining and become an editor - tried that).
From the outside, DMOZ seems like a boys club for wearers of the "old web school tie". I can't stand the term Web 2.0 but DMOZ seems to be Web 0.2 from where I'm standing.
Posted at 3:02PM on May 13th 2008 by Modern Webmaster
127. I submitted my site to DMOZ myself approx. 2 months ago. Later on, I paid a submission site to submit my url to numerous directories. What I fear is that my site was submitted once again to DMOZ and, therefore, pushed back or rejected because of the second submission. How can I find out if this is so. I've been told that you are THE directory and so I am anxious to be listed. THanks for your response.(?)
Posted at 7:10PM on May 16th 2008 by Karen Burger