Our official newsletter was originally posted over on Digital Point, but wanted be certain that everyone gets the chance to take a look.



Many, many thanks to those who contributed to the development of the newsletter. And for those curious about what the future holds for DMOZ...click now to learn more. Great insight from our technical team about what is coming down the road.

Interested in becoming a DMOZ volunteer?

Here is another great testimonial from one of our editors in the UK about how they joined and what they've accomplished since. If you have domain expertise, passion for a particular subject and happy to volunteer your time to help create the best directory for that subject...apply!

We have more than 590,000 categories in 80 languages and still more than enough room to grow.

Here is hiraeth's contribution to the DMOZ Blog. Another example to show the passion our volunteers have and how easy it is to join.

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A year ago I had never even heard of the Open Directory Project. My introduction came about by chance because I happened to pick up a couple of books on computers from a box of free books at my local Oxfam shop. Broadband had just come to our area and I had decided to upgrade my computer and join the modern age. I had hardly used the internet previously, having just mucked around with digital photographs, emails and games.

One of these books was the year 2000 edition of the Rough Guide to the Internet, and it helped me to get started. The other was even older and called HTML Publishing on the Internet. I had no idea what this meant but on inspection found there were some quite simple concepts involved with the objective being the creation of a website. I liked the idea and thought I would have a go. The Rough Guide pointed me to an on-line source to assist me and it did not prove too difficult to create a rudimentary site, and use the free webspace my internet service provider supplied.

Proud of my achievement I invited all my family to have a look at the new site, but how was anyone else ever to know it was there? Back to the Rough Guide. An entry in a directory was what was required. Most of these charged for their services but I could try the Open Directory which was free. I had a look at this, tried to find a suitable category and submitted my site for inclusion.

Meanwhile my notice had been caught by the statement at the bottom of most pages, "This category needs an editor". With my site finished I needed something to do, so I thought I would investigate becoming an editor. I read some instructions, found a category that interested me and three sites to submit and put in my application. I was promptly turned down, being politely told that the category was too big for a beginner, and two of my suggested sites were already in the directory.

I had got quite keen by now, so when I had got over my initial disappointment I went back and had another look at the guidelines. This time I chose Animal Behavior (45) in the Science section. I searched for a few sutable sites not already listed, and dusted off my long forgotten qualifications which I had not even bothered to mention the first time round. And this time, success!

My first sight of my dashboard was a bit intimidating, and the actual rudiments of editing took a little time to acquire. My first task was to add the sites I had submitted with my application to the category, and with some trepidation I did so. Now my dashboard showed Animal Behavior (48). Then I got out a book from the library on the subject and started putting suitable words and phrases into my search engine to find new sites. I found the only computer skills I needed were the ability to copy and paste. Meanwhile I had introduced myself on the science forum and been welcomed by other editors.

One day I was surprised to find someone had submitted a new site to my category. There it was on my dashboard in green (1 new). I had a look at the site and decided it was not really about animal behavior at all, but about pets and their whimsical habits. What was I to do? Fortunately help was at hand in the forum, and a kind mentor explained the seemingly complex steps needed to first find a suitable category in the directory for it and then how to send it there. After a couple of days I plucked up courage and followed these instructions and off it went. Whether it got there I don't know but it was a relief to have said goodbye.

By now I had got more used to the procedures involved in listing sites and found quite a few to add to my category. It was time to submit it for a quality check. The same mentor went through it with a toothcomb. I must use American spelling, must not use personal pronouns, and where was the charter? 'What is a charter ?' was my response to this and I learned it was a description of the kind of sites that would be found in the category. Creating a charter was another thing I could do from my dashboard, and after consultation, I did so.

So that was how I started with the ODP. Soon I was applying to edit more categories and widen my experience, and ten months later I am quite addicted to editing and spend much of my spare time at the computer. Not much time to potter with my website any more, and my new grandson may wait indefinitely for his photograph to appear there. And, in case you are wondering, my site never did get listed in the ODP.

Anyone here from Equatorial Guinea? Perhaps Montserrat or the Cook Islands?

Reason why I ask is that the DMOZ team was amazed to see the global reach of our audience. In February, we saw visitors from 200+ "countries" to DMOZ.org. Not a misprint...200+.

That's huge! Everything from heavily industrialized nations to protectorates on far reaches of the Earth with populations of less than 1200 people.

The usual & expected countries are represented near the top in terms of traffic.

Places like the US, UK, Russia, Italy, Japan, Australia, France and Spain. Not a big surprise given the depth of content we have the active editor base in these parts of the world.

What's pretty cool and completely unexpected was the volume of traffic that came from places like this:

South Korea - not so surprising actually : )
Latvia
Uruguay
Jamaica
Cote D Ivoire
Mongolia
Iraq

And then the "long tail" of traffic from places like:

Fiji
Madagascar
Afghanistan
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Rwanda
Cook Islands
Tonga

And a single visitor each from:

Christmas Island & North Korea

There are 180 additional places that we could mention and perhaps we'll start sharing that on a monthly basis if that is something you all would like to see.

What this limited view shows ( to us ) is the impact of our volunteers. We've created something that has global reach and utility. It shows there is a need and genuine preference to access a human edited directory. That some folks here on planet Earth simply prefer the wisdom of experts and fellow countrymen to that of machines to find what they want on the web.

And if it is localized to your part of the world or the language you're most fluent in-even better.

Cheers to all the mozzie fans from Togo to Macau and hope to see more of you in next month's report! And if anyone here is from an interesting global location...say hi and tell us where.

The sun never sets on the DMOZ community : )

And it is always great to share the perspective of our members from around the planet. Below is a translated version of a post from the French DMOZ blog ( linked below ). The POV it provides is that of someone passionate about a specific subject and a mini documentary on the sign up process to capture your Moz. Best practices, key resources and thing to keep in mind when applying to become and editor.

Along with another key point...Humans Can Do It Better Than Machines.

Enjoy and just a warning that desire to contribute could be contagious.

BBQGrant

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Like virtually all web surfers in those web 2.0 days, I decided one day to make the most beautiful site in the world, so busy it would get its host computer quaking... And yes, I did succeed! But once I had achieved this prowess, I devoted myself, like any good amateur webmaster, to SEO my site for the various search engines and the often phony directories of the World Wide Web. I chanced, yes chanced, on Dmoz through a link in a forum. My first step was to suggest my site, no kidding eh... That's what I came for, isn'it? Stumbling on the motto 'Humans do it better', I found the notion interesting after one week of hard thinking. I surfed a few pages, including posts in various blogs about becoming an editor and I thought that it might be fun and that it would intelligently occupy my "available brain time". Yes, but where should I apply? Advice found on Resource-Zone:

1. Choose a category I'm interested in... Why not petanque? I love it and I belong to a club.
2. A quick look in the directory... There is a category called Petanque, that sounds good! There's even one just for the UK ! Moreover, I know sites that are not listed. Frankly, the category is not well developed, one might wonder what these Dmoz editors are doing all day long: unable to find more than a dozen petanque clubs in the ! Were I an editor, I would have completed this category in a dash...
3. Here I go, clicking on 'Apply' at the bottom of the page.

Voila, I'm there... After reading the last piece of advice, I complete the form:

Last Name...

First Name...

Username... 'Kingofpetanque' , yahoo, what a lovely nickname!

"What is my Internet experience?" Uh, there's no need to pretend I'm Bill Gates, isn't it? 'Normal user' should do.

Ouch, it gets serious: "Why am I interested in volunteering to be an editor for the ODP?" - "Because I have free time, because I love petanque, because I find the idea of a directory with a human face interesting and necessary, because there was light so I went in - uh, no, not that...

"My interest in the subject of the category for which I'm applying to edit?" - The person who asked the question never saw my famous 'unroll and jerk with on the spot carreau option' move which sways the frenzied crowd!

"Sites with which I am associated?" - As I carefully read the Tips and Advice for Applying, I know the fact that I write a blog on petanque and that I manage the site of my club is not incompatible with being editor in the 'Petanque' category... It is even an asset, it means that I am very familiar with the topic. So I don't skip disclosing my ties to these sites: It will prevent me being rejected because I have 'forgotten' to do so or to be 'fired' in the future for this same reason. And it's best to be frank at the start of a relationship, isn't it?

No problem for the three URLs: I know my field, I could provide a truckload of these. But again, I keep in mind recommendations I have read: Exact title; caring about capitalization and punctuation; clear, unbiased descriptions... In short, my first real job as an editor!

"Apply Now"... Alea jacta est!

I waited a couple of weeks before receiving a reply to my application. It seems that the waiting time varies according to the time available to senior editors who handle them. Amazing, isn't it? For volunteers?

By the way, who are those editors who check applications? Rumours are all over discussion forums: they're thought to be scarred and bloodthirsty dinosaurs who have been raging there since the time of punched cards, long before videotex services even existed... Reading some of their posts in the internal Dmoz forums, I got the impression they are humane, sensible, open, and are not eagerly waiting to reject applications with a few curt words. I intend to go deeper into this question...

But it's done anyway, I'm an editor for the largest human-directory of the web. I get a warm welcome in the forum, am offered all kind of help, I even get a case of champagne and a box of chocolates... Erm no, that last was only in my dreams.

After reading the editing guidelines again (more thoroughly this time) I set myself to work. The Petanque category needs a bit of housekeeping! I remove obsolete sites for which I have been unable to find a new URL, I add a bunch of sites about the game in Britain I had kept warm in my bookmarks, I diligently search the web for new sites with interesting content, and I ask seasoned editors for a category check my and for correcting my beginner mistakes...

In short, I edit, I edit, and I edit... It does wonders for my general knowledge AND for the Dmoz directory!

However, after some time I found myself at close quarters in the UK: I found a whole host of sites devoted to the game in the USA and in New Zealand... It would be a shame not to share them with Dmoz users. Listening fearlessly to encouraging oldtimers, I apply for the parent category, namely Petanque . My application will again be reviewed by a senior editor who will check the quality of my edits. I trust to be accepted.

And who knows, one day I may find myself, one promotion following another, editing the German or even the French petanque category or direct myself to other topics of interest to me. To be continued.

December 2nd, 2007 bester
Original version in French

As a follow up to our last post and as a chance to continue allowing our editors the chance to share their experiences with the world at large, here is a post that came to us from a fairly new member of the editorial community.

Unlike the previous post about why folks join, this speaks to a perception of DMOZ/ODP as a group of elitist few or a tribe of warring editors. A popular mis-conception that seems to pop up when whenever DMOZ pops up.

In fact, what the DMOZ community is...is a team. A collaborative group that partners to produce the data and results that so many people around the planet rely on.

Read away and let us know what you think.

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Team that is ODP

I am now three months into my ODP "career" and enjoying it even more than when I started.

My eyes are still being opened daily about the enormity and complexity of the directory but one thing that has struck me most of all is the fellowship and the "team" nature of it all. The team spirit is obvious in many things that we do and very apparent from all people involved from those in staff to editors.

I have chosen my words in my last sentence very carefully and for a reason. You will notice that I did not say something like "...very apparent from all people involved from those in staff down to editors" or "very apparent from all people involved from those in all levels".

The overriding feelings that I get is that we are all in this because we care about the directory. Yes there are different people doing slightly different jobs but the overwhelming care is about the directory and I have met no one that seems only out for their own agenda. Of course there are disagreements about how things should be done, that will happen in any organization which is made up of people from the whole planet, but things are discussed, usually at length, and resolutions are come to.

Over the last few months I have been seeing things from a slightly different perspective than before I was an editor. I can see that many of the accusations made against the ODP are unfounded and sometimes downright wrong.

I do feel that some of the accusations come from people who think that the ODP is a "mutually exclusive club for the few" that no ordinary person can join and that the directory is a place that you would not be allowed access to unless you are part of that exclusive club. I must start off by saying that I am just an ordinary person who liked the look of the directory and applied to become an editor. I did not know any editors and I did not have any sites in the directory.

Anybody can apply to become an editor and as long as you have the skills to do the job then you will be welcomed. I have seen posts from people that have been rejected and are quite upset by this. We are very proud of this directory that we are all helping to build so it is without reservation that I say, the integrity of the directory has to be protected or it would just end up in chaos and would not be an entity worth doing. Some people are better at some things than others. Some people have the right skills for editing, some do not. That is no reflection on them as a person, which is how it is seems to be taken.

I would be willing to wager a lot of money that they will be capable of doing things that I am not. For instance, I am totally inept and drawing and artwork. Where would we be today without all the wonderful artists in the world. If I applied for a job as an artist, no matter how much I wanted it, I would be rejected. There are also many places within the directory that I could not edit in. The many parts of the directory that are not in the English language are out of bounds for me personally as I cannot speak any languages fluently enough to edit in them. If I applied to edit in these parts of the directory I would be rejected quite obviously.

There are some people out in Internet land that are vehement ODP haters and no matter what anybody says that will be their attitude. That is their business. I have also seen many folk slagging off the ODP and using unsubstantiated claims to forward their point of view. The ODP team has an official way of dealing with any claims of wrong doing and if substantiated these instances are dealt with both severely and unequivocally.

I would like to say that if you see anything that does not look right, DO NOT HESITATE to report it and the matter will be investigated. No one person is above ODP.

I have really enjoyed being part of this team and I would cordially invite all those who would like to be part of it as well to become editors. It is a really rewarding hobby and I would recommend it to anyone. I would also say to those that do not want to become editors but want to participate that your help is also most welcome. Please feel free to submit sites that you find on the Internet and are not listed and as discussed above please do not hesitate to let us know of problems that you find. Together we can make a great directory and the Internet a better place.

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While this editor has remained nameless, feel free to ping me directly from this site :)

BBQGrant

Over the history of the project, DMOZ has had more than 70,000 volunteer editors worldwide. On average, there are approximately 6,000 active editor accounts at any given time.

What's impressive (at least to me) is that we do this out of a pure sense of giving back to the Internet Community. Editors take the time to organize and create useful resources in categories and topics that are of interest to us, not for money (side bar: looking forward to typically useless comments on that item) but for the sheer enjoyment of gathering quality information to help people find what they need-faster.

On average, DMOZ accepts 78 new editors per week, which is great. At the same time, we're interested in adding more. Specifically, we are interested in hearing from people who can continue to improve the data we provide for all of our users around the world.

So, while you're here, is there a topic that you're passionate about? Do you know of, or can you find, three sites that are perfect for that topic that aren't already listed? Would you like to be seen as a category expert and contribute to a global volunteer community that is relied upon by millions of searchers and many of the leading search engines on the planet? Then, we invite you to volunteer. : )

While you're here, type a query into the search box at the top of the page (make sure you click on the DMOZ.org tab before you click Search) and see if we have a category that interests you. If so, follow the steps mentioned at the bottom of that page and apply.

More information about becoming an editor is available at:

http://www.dmoz.org/help/become.html

and

http://www.dmoz.org/cgi-bin/apply.cgi

We look forward to hearing from you.

Yesterday the internet was all a flutter with reports and wide ranging theories as to why searches for "DMOZ" in Google were not returning the usual results. If you happened to miss those, I've included a couple of examples that can be found here, here, here and here.

While these made for great headlines and no shortage of comments and link backs...they were 100% off the mark.

Truth is, this is just one of those things that happens from time to time in the world of search.

We made some significant upgrades to our back-end systems to improve the stability of DMOZ. One of those changes required changing the root domain from dmoz.org to www.dmoz.org. What we all witnessed yesterday and what was reported by the great sites above was part of an index recognizing, adjusting and updating in real time. This was confirmed in discussions we had with Google and everything should be running smoothly now.

So go ahead and try a query for DMOZ. And if you don't see our site, clear your browser cache and try again.

Here is a screen grab taken 5 minutes ago.


You can also give it a shot in the search box above ( click the web link & enter query ).

DMOZ is not dying folks. We're growing every day. Globally.

Feel free to use that sound bite from now on in your future posts : )