I've been browsing the web for some interesting Dmoz-related websites and have come across a few. Whether you agree with them or not, or think they're good or bad isn't the point. The point is that they are interesting nonetheless.
1. Dmoz editor sentenced to jail
Seems back in 2004 a Dmoz editor was sentence to jail for editing a category for a Kurdish group. Interesting because it shows that in some countries there are serious implications about what you do and that everyone doesn't have that freedom of choice.
2. Dmoz T-shirts for sale
This is very interesting because someone has taken the time and invested the money to create and sale Dmoz T-shirts (customizable, lol). Even though I'm a happy Dmoz editor, I can't say that I would be so eager to purchase one to show my love for editing for Dmoz. In fact, if I were to purchase one the only people I know who would actually know what Dmoz is would probably be the IT geeks from my web design classes. I guess you'd have to be a hard-core Dmoz editor junkie to spend your hard earned cash on one. Now, how would I look in a Dmoz t-shirt with my editor name on it? Ah, the image is quickly fading. Insightful idea? Very.
3. Wizard of Dmoz - One man's story of being ousted from the ODP
When I first came across this site I thought it was very interesting. In fact, I enjoyed reading it from beginning to end (sort of). I think it's a very creative concept to insert the use and imagery of the Wizard of Oz into his account of being a Dmoz editor. It's a very original piece of work and I loved the way he broke it up into chapters. The only thing I didn't like was that I couldn't finish it because you have to pay to get the final chapters of why he was ousted as an ODP editor. It's a very interesting and creative way to tell the story. This must have been easy for him since he's a writer by trade (assuming, from what he wrote in his "story").
4. Against corrupt Dmoz editors
This site was very interesting, even though it's still under construction. I read every word on her two pages. In fact, after reading about 5 sentences I kinda figured out who she was, and after reading further, my initial thoughts were correct. This woman went to R-Z a few months back to complain about the title of her website. What happened was that her site ended up getting deleted from the directory for not being unique. So, now she's created a website relating her experiences and how she thinks it was due to Dmoz corruption. Here's the original thread at R-Z that started it all, Who do I complain to?
5. Whitney Anderson becomes editor for Dmoz
This site is where a company posted that one of it's employees had become a Dmoz editor and that she was now an expert on how to submit your site to Dmoz. I laughed because it is quite funny and very interesting. So, since I'm an editor I guess that also makes me an expert on how to submit your site to Dmoz? Maybe so. What a good idea. Maybe I'll add that to my website just for boasting purposes, "Creme de la Creme: an expert on how to submit your sites to Dmoz," lol. That's funny, especially at how some companies are so good with words they can turn anything into a positive to gain more customers; ain't nothing wrong with it. Maybe I can start a forum on the whole topic of how to submit sites to Dmoz. I am an expert now, right?
6. Dummies-guide-to-Dmoz
This site gives a humorous perspective on Dmoz. I wonder if the name of the site would be infringing on the Dummies guide to... copyright? Doesn't matter - until they take a gander - because the site is still interesting.
7. Just some thoughts about Dmoz
Okay, this isn't a website, but more of a link to a forum. I thought this was interesting because this guy came to complain about how his site wasn't listed in a category and a few people brought up the idea that maybe he should apply to edit this category. Well, I have to say that the turn-around time is fascinating. It took him 5 hours to be approved! Wow, and I thought my 1 day waiting for approval was quick.
Current editor stats at the time of this post:
1437 / 386 unique adds / 357 deletes / 225 unreviewed
Sunday, July 23, 2006
Saturday, July 22, 2006
I applied for another category! And, now, I wait....
Today is the day that I finally decided to apply for another Dmoz category. My mood about which category to apply for editing privileges in is always changing. Last night, or was it early this morning(?), I decided that I wanted to apply for another category. At first I wanted to apply for a category I have experience in, but after spending an hour or so looking for some good sites to put on my application, I decided to forget it and began looking for sites for another category I wanted to apply to. Plus, those sites I looked at in the beginning were so boring that it made me realize that I currently have no interest in the topic. But, when I began looking for sites for my second choice category I actually had fun looking for them and reviewing them to put on my application.
I spent several hours last night and this morning looking for 3 sites; two of them I found last night, and the other...I didn't find. Yep, that's right, I only put two sample sites on my editor application, but I can honestly say that sites for that category are hard to find. But, to make finding sites for those types of categories easier I always look in a tried and true place over the World Wide Web. Well, if you can't figure out where I find my sample sites then I'm sure not going to tell ya. Oh, gosh, I'm getting off topic again.
After I found the sites I made sure to thoroughly review them about 3, 4, and even 5 times before I decided that I was going to use them as my sample sites. I did have my reservations about it at first; Are the sites good enough? Will I be rejected because the sites are a better fit for another, more closely related, category? All those thoughts went through my mind as I was filling out the application. Finally, after more self-doubt, I finally submitted my application for permissions in a different category. And, now, I wait.
I don't have any feelings either way about the sites I put on my application. I've only been rejected for a category once since I've been an editor and when I was filling out my application for that category I had my doubts about one of the sites. Well, it just so happened that my doubts about that site were right and that's why my application got rejected. I promptly re-applied for that same category, and now I'm it's listed editor. Okay, enough about the past. With the two sites I suggested today I don't have no good or bad feelings about them. The only way I'll know for sure if they're a good fit for the category is if I get approved for it with no reviewing editor comments; sometimes reviewing editors will send helpful comments while approving you for a category.
If I get rejected, then I'll improve upon my site selections via the rejection comments and send in another application. What I am worried about, besides wondering if I picked the right sites for the category, is if I applied for a category that's too big for an editor with no experience in that part of the directory. I can see how many sites are waiting in review and it's about 5x the number of listed sites. Also, there are a number of closely related categories, so I was careful to review the listing criteria for each of the related categories to make sure the sites I chose shouldn't be listed in them instead. Reviewing sample sites and making a decision on if they're listable in the category is truly a time-consuming task, and hopefully it'll pay off in the end if I'm accepted as listed editor.
On to my current stats at the time of this entry.
1426 / 382 unique adds / 355 deletes / 222 unreviewed
Key:
1426 is my total number of edits.
382 unique adds is the total number of sites I've added to the directory.
355 deletes is the total number of sites I've deleted from the directory (including those from unreviewed).
222 unreviewed is the number of sites I've taken a look at but decided not to list them nor delete them; they still wait in unreviewed.
Summary:
I did try to add some sites to the directory, but mostly I've come across sites that should be either deleted or removed from the public view, which I promptly did. Some of the sites I did add to the directory belong in another category, so it was just easier to review it then publish it in the correct category. I've stopped focusing on deleting dead links from unreviewed - for now, and today was focusing on listed sites that have changed content or went dead. If the site changed content, then I only unreviewed it instead of sending it to the correct category. My total edits did go up by about 41. I keep a watchful eye on my total edits, because, according to some editors, once you reach the 5,000 edit mark you are then considered an experienced editor.
I spent several hours last night and this morning looking for 3 sites; two of them I found last night, and the other...I didn't find. Yep, that's right, I only put two sample sites on my editor application, but I can honestly say that sites for that category are hard to find. But, to make finding sites for those types of categories easier I always look in a tried and true place over the World Wide Web. Well, if you can't figure out where I find my sample sites then I'm sure not going to tell ya. Oh, gosh, I'm getting off topic again.
After I found the sites I made sure to thoroughly review them about 3, 4, and even 5 times before I decided that I was going to use them as my sample sites. I did have my reservations about it at first; Are the sites good enough? Will I be rejected because the sites are a better fit for another, more closely related, category? All those thoughts went through my mind as I was filling out the application. Finally, after more self-doubt, I finally submitted my application for permissions in a different category. And, now, I wait.
I don't have any feelings either way about the sites I put on my application. I've only been rejected for a category once since I've been an editor and when I was filling out my application for that category I had my doubts about one of the sites. Well, it just so happened that my doubts about that site were right and that's why my application got rejected. I promptly re-applied for that same category, and now I'm it's listed editor. Okay, enough about the past. With the two sites I suggested today I don't have no good or bad feelings about them. The only way I'll know for sure if they're a good fit for the category is if I get approved for it with no reviewing editor comments; sometimes reviewing editors will send helpful comments while approving you for a category.
If I get rejected, then I'll improve upon my site selections via the rejection comments and send in another application. What I am worried about, besides wondering if I picked the right sites for the category, is if I applied for a category that's too big for an editor with no experience in that part of the directory. I can see how many sites are waiting in review and it's about 5x the number of listed sites. Also, there are a number of closely related categories, so I was careful to review the listing criteria for each of the related categories to make sure the sites I chose shouldn't be listed in them instead. Reviewing sample sites and making a decision on if they're listable in the category is truly a time-consuming task, and hopefully it'll pay off in the end if I'm accepted as listed editor.
On to my current stats at the time of this entry.
1426 / 382 unique adds / 355 deletes / 222 unreviewed
Key:
1426 is my total number of edits.
382 unique adds is the total number of sites I've added to the directory.
355 deletes is the total number of sites I've deleted from the directory (including those from unreviewed).
222 unreviewed is the number of sites I've taken a look at but decided not to list them nor delete them; they still wait in unreviewed.
Summary:
I did try to add some sites to the directory, but mostly I've come across sites that should be either deleted or removed from the public view, which I promptly did. Some of the sites I did add to the directory belong in another category, so it was just easier to review it then publish it in the correct category. I've stopped focusing on deleting dead links from unreviewed - for now, and today was focusing on listed sites that have changed content or went dead. If the site changed content, then I only unreviewed it instead of sending it to the correct category. My total edits did go up by about 41. I keep a watchful eye on my total edits, because, according to some editors, once you reach the 5,000 edit mark you are then considered an experienced editor.
Does anyone read this blog?
If you enjoy reading this blog and are interested in my daily/weekly Dmoz experiences, then feel free to link to this blog and let your friends know to visit it. Here's the code
<a href="http://dmozgrunt.blogspot.com">Confessions of a Dmoz Grunt</a>
Also, I just joined www.technorati.com and I have no idea what it is, besides being some kind of blog service! I guess I'll soon find out. Anyway, here's my technoratie profile
http://technorati.com/profile/creme
Current editing stats at the time of this post:
1426 / 382 unique adds / 355 deletes / 222 unreviewed
Since I'm posting back-to-back posts again, I'll expand more on these numbers in the next post.
<a href="http://dmozgrunt.blogspot.com">Confessions of a Dmoz Grunt</a>
Also, I just joined www.technorati.com and I have no idea what it is, besides being some kind of blog service! I guess I'll soon find out. Anyway, here's my technoratie profile
http://technorati.com/profile/creme
Current editing stats at the time of this post:
1426 / 382 unique adds / 355 deletes / 222 unreviewed
Since I'm posting back-to-back posts again, I'll expand more on these numbers in the next post.
Friday, July 21, 2006
If anyone sees my missing edits, please return them to me.
I am so frustrated right now. I've spent literally hours going through unreviewed and removing dead links, spam, duplicates, affiliates, you name it, I deleted it. Fine and dandy, right? Except, when I went to check my total number of edits those I deleted weren't included. WHY?!?!?! Was that hours of work with no credit to me? I used the mighty and powerful Apollo tool that lets editors sort through the sites in unreviewed. I first used this tool to sort through a category with only about a [some random number]* unreviewed sites in it. I didn't notice at the time that when I used the tool that those edits I made wouldn't be credited towards me. After trying out the tool for the first time on a few small categories I decided it was time to move on to something bigger, better, and much nastier. The category letter that has the most unreviewed sites in it. Yep, I decided to spend my time going through over [a very large number]* unreviewed sites to delete all the dead links, spam, and sites with no content.
Going through [a very large number]* unreviewed sites takes a very long time. In fact, it's been 3 days and I've deleted at least [a smaller number than a very large number]* sites from the category, and I'm still not done! But, that's because some sites make my browser crash and I have to start over again. I learned real quickly that when I go through unreviewed I should delete those sites every 5 minutes before I lose my place and have to find them again when one of those sites makes my browser crash (darn those Java applets!).
Okay, back to why I'm frustrated. I spent a few hours the past 2-3 days going through unreviewed using the Apollo tool and deleting over 100 non-working, non-listable sites only to NOT be credited for them in my total number of edits. Anyone in my shoes would be frustrated. It was nice seeing the number of unreviewed in that category go down, though. I think I can safely say that that letter category is well represented with over 500 listed sites that I don't plan on adding anymore unless I come across them while browsing the Internet, and I don't mean browsing as in searching for them, but more like serendipity - it would have to be a really good site for me to add anymore to this category.
Well, now, I'm going to stay far-far away from this very powerful Apollo tool, especially now since I know that I won't get credit for any edits I do using that tool. It does make it easier to find some things, like duplicate sites, but that's probably the only thing I'll use it for. Now, I'm just going to go through the unreviewed pool like regular editors and delete all the dead links. I used the Apollo tool because you could keep a record of sites you wanted to move to another category or delete altogether. That helped a lot because when my browser crashes then I'll still have a record of those sites that should be deleted, whereas, when I don't use Apollo and my browser crashes then I'll just have to go through all those sites again looking for those that should be deleted. That really sucks.
Here's my current editing stats during the time of this post.
1371 / 371 unique adds / 333 deletes / 207 unreviewed
Key:
1371 is my total number of edits.
371 unique adds is the total number of sites I've added to the directory.
333 deletes is the total number of sites I've deleted from the directory (including those from unreviewed).
207 unreviewed is the number of sites I've taken a look at but decided not to list them nor delete them; they still wait in unreviewed.
Summary:
I've since made 71 edits since my last blog entry, most of them deletes.
As you can see, my deletes are catching up with my adds. That's because I've spent the past 3 days focusing on deleting sites from unreviewed. But, also keep in mind that I'm not credited for over 100 deletions I've made, so my total number of edits is technically over 1500, and my total number of deletes should have surpassed my number of adds by about 100.
This will probably be my last post on the issue since I have other things to do than gripe about my missing edits. I've learned my lesson about using Apollo, or other editor tools, and I'm moving on with my editing life.
*[later editing out almost, but not quite, specifics]
Going through [a very large number]* unreviewed sites takes a very long time. In fact, it's been 3 days and I've deleted at least [a smaller number than a very large number]* sites from the category, and I'm still not done! But, that's because some sites make my browser crash and I have to start over again. I learned real quickly that when I go through unreviewed I should delete those sites every 5 minutes before I lose my place and have to find them again when one of those sites makes my browser crash (darn those Java applets!).
Okay, back to why I'm frustrated. I spent a few hours the past 2-3 days going through unreviewed using the Apollo tool and deleting over 100 non-working, non-listable sites only to NOT be credited for them in my total number of edits. Anyone in my shoes would be frustrated. It was nice seeing the number of unreviewed in that category go down, though. I think I can safely say that that letter category is well represented with over 500 listed sites that I don't plan on adding anymore unless I come across them while browsing the Internet, and I don't mean browsing as in searching for them, but more like serendipity - it would have to be a really good site for me to add anymore to this category.
Well, now, I'm going to stay far-far away from this very powerful Apollo tool, especially now since I know that I won't get credit for any edits I do using that tool. It does make it easier to find some things, like duplicate sites, but that's probably the only thing I'll use it for. Now, I'm just going to go through the unreviewed pool like regular editors and delete all the dead links. I used the Apollo tool because you could keep a record of sites you wanted to move to another category or delete altogether. That helped a lot because when my browser crashes then I'll still have a record of those sites that should be deleted, whereas, when I don't use Apollo and my browser crashes then I'll just have to go through all those sites again looking for those that should be deleted. That really sucks.
Here's my current editing stats during the time of this post.
1371 / 371 unique adds / 333 deletes / 207 unreviewed
Key:
1371 is my total number of edits.
371 unique adds is the total number of sites I've added to the directory.
333 deletes is the total number of sites I've deleted from the directory (including those from unreviewed).
207 unreviewed is the number of sites I've taken a look at but decided not to list them nor delete them; they still wait in unreviewed.
Summary:
I've since made 71 edits since my last blog entry, most of them deletes.
As you can see, my deletes are catching up with my adds. That's because I've spent the past 3 days focusing on deleting sites from unreviewed. But, also keep in mind that I'm not credited for over 100 deletions I've made, so my total number of edits is technically over 1500, and my total number of deletes should have surpassed my number of adds by about 100.
This will probably be my last post on the issue since I have other things to do than gripe about my missing edits. I've learned my lesson about using Apollo, or other editor tools, and I'm moving on with my editing life.
*[later editing out almost, but not quite, specifics]
Wednesday, July 19, 2006
It's been 1 week. What have I been doing with my new permission? pt. 3
Final part of my 3 part series.
It's only been about 1 and a half weeks since I got my higher permissions and I'm already getting bored and think about applying for another category. I had a category all mapped out about 1 week ago, but now I've completely changed course (and mood) and went for a completely different category, one that I have experience editing in. I even found three sites in which to apply. So, now, I'm just waiting for the best time to apply to this new category. Maybe I'll try this weekend or sometimes next week. This time I'm applying to the category to gain more experience so I can gain "more" permissions in it. As I've said in my very first post, I'm a very ambitious lady when it comes to Dmoz. I don't want to be stuck editing one category here and one category there. I want to move up. I'll decided what I want to do probably by this weekend. Hopefully, my mood won't change before this weekend comes. My editing is ruled by my mood.
What I Like And Dislike About Editing
Since I've gotten my new permissions I've learned a little about what I like doing as an editor.
Updates: I like. Updates are so much fun and takes very little time. I've heard that most updates are rejected, but for most of the updates I've come across I've taken the time to rereview the site and approve the update - just not exactly how the site's owner wanted it.
Reds: I hate. Reds are something I haven't bothered with since my new permission. I've handled a few reds in my hayday, and I don't like them. Firstly, I should tell you what a red is. A red is a link that is flagged by Robozilla (the Dmoz link checker) as being a dead link and the site is removed from the publics view and it's marked with the color red on our dashboard to distinguish it from the unreviewed and updates; updates also have it's own color to distinguish it from the other sites waiting for review. With reds you have to check the link and if it's working then you can re-list the site, if it's not then you have to take the time to try to find the current domain, and, if you can't, then you can delete it or keep it in unreviewed with the hopes that it'll come back online. The only thing is that you should wait about 2 weeks to see if the site will become working again before you delete it. Something like that. I steer clear of reds, and I'll be the first to tell you that I'm not going to deal with reds anytime soon.
Re-reviewing sites: I hate. I hate re-reviewing sites. It's already been reviewed once, so why review them again? Unfortunately, that has to happen because so many sites change or go dead. It takes up too much of my valuable time to review sites, and the only reason why I do it is because it's part of being an editor.
Approving Greenbusts Greenbusting is when an editor requests a large category but may not have experience to edit in it unattended. That is, with every site they review they'll have to get a more experienced editor to approve it before it'll be listed in the directory. That means the approving editor will have to review the site too, so the site will get two reviews by two different people. Again, it goes back to reviewing. I hate re-reviewing sites. I've only come across one greenbust since I've become an editor and I approved it. Unfortunately, it was from a few years earlier. So, if I do come across a greenbust then I won't let it sit there for a few years because I'll take a look at it as quickly as I look at updates. It would really suck if I were to apply for greenbusting privileges and then not have anyone take an interest in my greenbusts and it waits for years for approval by another editor. I wouldn't want my greenbusts to wait for years, so I'm not going to let anyone else's greenbust wait that long either.
Out of all the things that's involved in editing my favorite part is looking at updates. Second would be reviewing sites for the first time and adding them to the directory. A far off third would be moving sites to another category. Then there's greenbusting, reds, and re-reviewing sites that all come in last, but I do it because that's what I have to.
Anther thing that happened during my first week with higher permissions was getting mail from a submitter. Wow, I wasn't expecting, but I was happy to finally have someone send me feedback. At first I thought that a senior editor was sending me feedback to tell me what a bad job I was doing, but my fears were quickly quelled when I opened the e-mail. It was from someone who wanted to know if I could list a site in Turkish (?). I happily responded to my first ever feedback from a submitter with a No, you'll have to submit it to the correct category under World. I even gave him a link to the category. I was quite happy after receiving e-mail. My higher permissions is already making me feel helpful.
Now, for my current editing stats at the time of writing and publishing this post.
1300 / 342 unique adds / 304 deletes / 198 unreviewed
I'll go through and explain what all the numbers mean:
The 1300 is the total number of my edits. When I applied for higher permissions a little over a week ago my edits were less than 900, so, as you can see, I've really been editing the passed week and a half.
The 342 Unique Adds is the total number of sites I've added to the directory.
The 304 deletes is the total number of sites I've deleted from the directory. I don't know if that number includes sites I've deleted from unreviewed or only the listed sites I've deleted.
The 198 unreviewed is the number of sites I've looked at in unreviewed, but decided not to list for one reason or another, but I also didn't delete them. That number is actually higher, though, because I usually just hit the back button and when I do that it's not counted as my having looked at it (I think).
As you can see, those numbers haven't changed since my last post because these posts were published back-to-back.
It's only been about 1 and a half weeks since I got my higher permissions and I'm already getting bored and think about applying for another category. I had a category all mapped out about 1 week ago, but now I've completely changed course (and mood) and went for a completely different category, one that I have experience editing in. I even found three sites in which to apply. So, now, I'm just waiting for the best time to apply to this new category. Maybe I'll try this weekend or sometimes next week. This time I'm applying to the category to gain more experience so I can gain "more" permissions in it. As I've said in my very first post, I'm a very ambitious lady when it comes to Dmoz. I don't want to be stuck editing one category here and one category there. I want to move up. I'll decided what I want to do probably by this weekend. Hopefully, my mood won't change before this weekend comes. My editing is ruled by my mood.
What I Like And Dislike About Editing
Since I've gotten my new permissions I've learned a little about what I like doing as an editor.
Updates: I like. Updates are so much fun and takes very little time. I've heard that most updates are rejected, but for most of the updates I've come across I've taken the time to rereview the site and approve the update - just not exactly how the site's owner wanted it.
Reds: I hate. Reds are something I haven't bothered with since my new permission. I've handled a few reds in my hayday, and I don't like them. Firstly, I should tell you what a red is. A red is a link that is flagged by Robozilla (the Dmoz link checker) as being a dead link and the site is removed from the publics view and it's marked with the color red on our dashboard to distinguish it from the unreviewed and updates; updates also have it's own color to distinguish it from the other sites waiting for review. With reds you have to check the link and if it's working then you can re-list the site, if it's not then you have to take the time to try to find the current domain, and, if you can't, then you can delete it or keep it in unreviewed with the hopes that it'll come back online. The only thing is that you should wait about 2 weeks to see if the site will become working again before you delete it. Something like that. I steer clear of reds, and I'll be the first to tell you that I'm not going to deal with reds anytime soon.
Re-reviewing sites: I hate. I hate re-reviewing sites. It's already been reviewed once, so why review them again? Unfortunately, that has to happen because so many sites change or go dead. It takes up too much of my valuable time to review sites, and the only reason why I do it is because it's part of being an editor.
Approving Greenbusts Greenbusting is when an editor requests a large category but may not have experience to edit in it unattended. That is, with every site they review they'll have to get a more experienced editor to approve it before it'll be listed in the directory. That means the approving editor will have to review the site too, so the site will get two reviews by two different people. Again, it goes back to reviewing. I hate re-reviewing sites. I've only come across one greenbust since I've become an editor and I approved it. Unfortunately, it was from a few years earlier. So, if I do come across a greenbust then I won't let it sit there for a few years because I'll take a look at it as quickly as I look at updates. It would really suck if I were to apply for greenbusting privileges and then not have anyone take an interest in my greenbusts and it waits for years for approval by another editor. I wouldn't want my greenbusts to wait for years, so I'm not going to let anyone else's greenbust wait that long either.
Out of all the things that's involved in editing my favorite part is looking at updates. Second would be reviewing sites for the first time and adding them to the directory. A far off third would be moving sites to another category. Then there's greenbusting, reds, and re-reviewing sites that all come in last, but I do it because that's what I have to.
Anther thing that happened during my first week with higher permissions was getting mail from a submitter. Wow, I wasn't expecting, but I was happy to finally have someone send me feedback. At first I thought that a senior editor was sending me feedback to tell me what a bad job I was doing, but my fears were quickly quelled when I opened the e-mail. It was from someone who wanted to know if I could list a site in Turkish (?). I happily responded to my first ever feedback from a submitter with a No, you'll have to submit it to the correct category under World. I even gave him a link to the category. I was quite happy after receiving e-mail. My higher permissions is already making me feel helpful.
Now, for my current editing stats at the time of writing and publishing this post.
1300 / 342 unique adds / 304 deletes / 198 unreviewed
I'll go through and explain what all the numbers mean:
The 1300 is the total number of my edits. When I applied for higher permissions a little over a week ago my edits were less than 900, so, as you can see, I've really been editing the passed week and a half.
The 342 Unique Adds is the total number of sites I've added to the directory.
The 304 deletes is the total number of sites I've deleted from the directory. I don't know if that number includes sites I've deleted from unreviewed or only the listed sites I've deleted.
The 198 unreviewed is the number of sites I've looked at in unreviewed, but decided not to list for one reason or another, but I also didn't delete them. That number is actually higher, though, because I usually just hit the back button and when I do that it's not counted as my having looked at it (I think).
As you can see, those numbers haven't changed since my last post because these posts were published back-to-back.
It's been 1 week. What have I been doing with my new permission? pt. 2
Part 2 in a 3 part series.
NOTE: I've decided to add my editing stats with every blog post so you can watch me grow as an editor; as I get more permissions and more edits under my belt. So, look toward the end of every post, starting with this one, for my most recent editing stats.
Okay, finishing with where I left off in pt. 1 regarding my first week with my new permissions. After handling all the updates (except 1, which was, and still is, in a category with a named editor) and adding, re-writing, and deleting a few posts in-between, I finally went through some of the smaller categories with very few sites listed and waiting for review. I ran a link checker to make sure the listed sites had working links, then I went through unreviewed to add sites and delete dead links. I'd rather go through smaller categories than the categories with 100s of sites waiting for review.
One thing that bugs me about all those categories are the sub-categories that have 1 or 2 listed sites. That really bugs me and is annoying to see. Of course, those categories probably had more sites listed when they were created, but with the evolution of the Internet some sites went dead and had to be removed, but the category stayed - with fewer sites. I've hated seeing those types of categories since I became an editor. So, I went through about 2 letters trying to clean out and delete all the categories that had 3 or fewer listed sites. Pretty easy, but it takes a long time, and at the end of my editing day, I still had a lot of work to do with the sub cats, as far as deleting.
So, after a while of clearing small categories, I lost interest and went through a few categories looking at listed sites that were obviously listed in the wrong category. For instance, sites that were blogs/journals or in the wrong letter had to be moved. Even sites that were incorrectly titled had to be re-written. One thing is for sure, it takes a lot of time editing, and even then you're only making a small dent in improving the directory, but I guess every little bit helps.
Within that week I finally got up the courage to ask something that has been bothering me since my first becoming an editor; sites that very closely match the criteria for belonging in another category. Well, I went to the internal forums with a few questions in mind. I was sure someone would have advice to give about the category in which I edit, right? Wrong. Only one person offered an opinion for my questions. That was surprising. I was hoping to get more opinions on them, but I was also glad that I got that one. I thanked that one person for helping, but a few days later I got another response from a different person, pretty much echoing the same thing as the first responder, but also telling me I could get more opinions from editors in a different part of the directory on where to classify some of the sites. I thanked him/her and went on my merry way - which is what I do anyway.
It shouldn't surprise me that I only got two responses in this particular forum. That forum is like a deserted town. I rarely see people post there, and I'd guess that not many people read that forum as much as they read the New Editors forum or the Arts-related forum. Those forums are active, and I'm sure had I posted my questions in there more people would have offered an opinion (maybe), and it probably would have been moved to the correct forum anyway. Well, I'll keep doing what I'm doing now in regards to listing, removing, moving, and unreviewing sites. I haven't gotten any real feedback regarding them, so I guess I'm doing well. If I do get feedback, then I imagine it'll be along the lines of "you're doing a sucky job; first warning, clean up your act."
Now, for my current editing stats at the time of writing and publishing this post.
1300 / 342 unique adds / 304 deletes / 198 unreviewed
I'll go through and explain what all the numbers mean:
The 1300 is the total number of my edits. When I applied for higher permissions a little over a week ago my edits were less than 900, so, as you can see, I've really been editing the passed week and a half.
The 342 Unique Adds is the total number of sites I've added to the directory.
The 304 deletes is the total number of sites I've deleted from the directory. I don't know if that number includes sites I've deleted from unreviewed or only the listed sites I've deleted.
The 198 unreviewed is the number of sites I've looked at in unreviewed, but decided not to list for one reason or another, but I also didn't delete them. That number is actually higher, though, because I usually just hit the back button and when I do that it's not counted as my having looked at it (I think).
Part 3 is coming up next.
NOTE: I've decided to add my editing stats with every blog post so you can watch me grow as an editor; as I get more permissions and more edits under my belt. So, look toward the end of every post, starting with this one, for my most recent editing stats.
Okay, finishing with where I left off in pt. 1 regarding my first week with my new permissions. After handling all the updates (except 1, which was, and still is, in a category with a named editor) and adding, re-writing, and deleting a few posts in-between, I finally went through some of the smaller categories with very few sites listed and waiting for review. I ran a link checker to make sure the listed sites had working links, then I went through unreviewed to add sites and delete dead links. I'd rather go through smaller categories than the categories with 100s of sites waiting for review.
One thing that bugs me about all those categories are the sub-categories that have 1 or 2 listed sites. That really bugs me and is annoying to see. Of course, those categories probably had more sites listed when they were created, but with the evolution of the Internet some sites went dead and had to be removed, but the category stayed - with fewer sites. I've hated seeing those types of categories since I became an editor. So, I went through about 2 letters trying to clean out and delete all the categories that had 3 or fewer listed sites. Pretty easy, but it takes a long time, and at the end of my editing day, I still had a lot of work to do with the sub cats, as far as deleting.
So, after a while of clearing small categories, I lost interest and went through a few categories looking at listed sites that were obviously listed in the wrong category. For instance, sites that were blogs/journals or in the wrong letter had to be moved. Even sites that were incorrectly titled had to be re-written. One thing is for sure, it takes a lot of time editing, and even then you're only making a small dent in improving the directory, but I guess every little bit helps.
Within that week I finally got up the courage to ask something that has been bothering me since my first becoming an editor; sites that very closely match the criteria for belonging in another category. Well, I went to the internal forums with a few questions in mind. I was sure someone would have advice to give about the category in which I edit, right? Wrong. Only one person offered an opinion for my questions. That was surprising. I was hoping to get more opinions on them, but I was also glad that I got that one. I thanked that one person for helping, but a few days later I got another response from a different person, pretty much echoing the same thing as the first responder, but also telling me I could get more opinions from editors in a different part of the directory on where to classify some of the sites. I thanked him/her and went on my merry way - which is what I do anyway.
It shouldn't surprise me that I only got two responses in this particular forum. That forum is like a deserted town. I rarely see people post there, and I'd guess that not many people read that forum as much as they read the New Editors forum or the Arts-related forum. Those forums are active, and I'm sure had I posted my questions in there more people would have offered an opinion (maybe), and it probably would have been moved to the correct forum anyway. Well, I'll keep doing what I'm doing now in regards to listing, removing, moving, and unreviewing sites. I haven't gotten any real feedback regarding them, so I guess I'm doing well. If I do get feedback, then I imagine it'll be along the lines of "you're doing a sucky job; first warning, clean up your act."
Now, for my current editing stats at the time of writing and publishing this post.
1300 / 342 unique adds / 304 deletes / 198 unreviewed
I'll go through and explain what all the numbers mean:
The 1300 is the total number of my edits. When I applied for higher permissions a little over a week ago my edits were less than 900, so, as you can see, I've really been editing the passed week and a half.
The 342 Unique Adds is the total number of sites I've added to the directory.
The 304 deletes is the total number of sites I've deleted from the directory. I don't know if that number includes sites I've deleted from unreviewed or only the listed sites I've deleted.
The 198 unreviewed is the number of sites I've looked at in unreviewed, but decided not to list for one reason or another, but I also didn't delete them. That number is actually higher, though, because I usually just hit the back button and when I do that it's not counted as my having looked at it (I think).
Part 3 is coming up next.
Sunday, July 16, 2006
It's been 1 week. What have I been doing with my new permission? pt. 1
Part 1 in a 3 part series.
Alrighty, so when I got my new permissions exactly a week ago I was so excited that I played around a little with the new interface on my dashboard. The first thing I did was handle the update requests. I actually had fun handling the update requests. I can't remember how many there were, but here were a few. Most of them I approved and one or two I had to reject. Someone wanted his website removed from the directory, but, according to what I've read at R-Z, Dmoz does not remove working links to websites upon request. So, even if someone requests their website to be removed then their request will be rejected if the site is working.
After the update request I went through a few categories rewriting some of the descriptions to be more specific rather than something general like "personal information, resume, and photos." Okay, that's not telling the directory user much. Of course we know it includes personal information because it's in the personal homepages section. Yeah, that's very telling. But, most of the descriptions I've rewritten were done so because they were very generic. I'm a very descriptive person, and that's how I like to write my descriptions; with lots of details. But, while rewriting the descriptions I realized that there were waaaay too many generic descriptions for me to rewrite and if I kept rewriting every description I came across then I wouldn't have a chance to add any sites to the directory. Plus, it's nearly impossible to go through and change every mediocre description. So, now I've decided that I won't rewrite a description unless it was written so badly that it had to be rewritten, or, if I rereviewed the site and it's changed, then I'd have to rewrite it.
I also spent my time adding a few sites from unreviewed and moving sites from my bookmarks to their rightful places in personal homepages. I did some collecting while I was preparing for more permissions. When I needed to move sites from my letter categories to another letter that I didn't have permissions in I simply forwarded them to the right category then added them to my bookmarks for when I got permissions over all the letters. I did go through some of the smaller categories and checked all the listed sites and reviewed all the suggested sites. But, most of the time that's not going to happen. Some of those letters have hundreds of listed sites and hundreds of more sites waiting for review. The best I can do in the larger categories is either run a link checker and check and remove all the dead links, move the listed sites that obviously don't belong in the category judging from the title/description, and rereview the sites that have stinky descriptions. Then I can go to unreviewed and try to add some sites to the category. The problem with that is that when I go into unreviewed I find that most of the sites either aren't listable, are dead links, or should be forwarded to anther category. That's not a good thing because that means I've spent a lot of time reviewing sites that shouldn't be listed and then I get too worn out that I don't feel like reviewing sites anymore.
Pt. 2 is where I'll continue. I want to break up the posts so that they're not too long.
Alrighty, so when I got my new permissions exactly a week ago I was so excited that I played around a little with the new interface on my dashboard. The first thing I did was handle the update requests. I actually had fun handling the update requests. I can't remember how many there were, but here were a few. Most of them I approved and one or two I had to reject. Someone wanted his website removed from the directory, but, according to what I've read at R-Z, Dmoz does not remove working links to websites upon request. So, even if someone requests their website to be removed then their request will be rejected if the site is working.
After the update request I went through a few categories rewriting some of the descriptions to be more specific rather than something general like "personal information, resume, and photos." Okay, that's not telling the directory user much. Of course we know it includes personal information because it's in the personal homepages section. Yeah, that's very telling. But, most of the descriptions I've rewritten were done so because they were very generic. I'm a very descriptive person, and that's how I like to write my descriptions; with lots of details. But, while rewriting the descriptions I realized that there were waaaay too many generic descriptions for me to rewrite and if I kept rewriting every description I came across then I wouldn't have a chance to add any sites to the directory. Plus, it's nearly impossible to go through and change every mediocre description. So, now I've decided that I won't rewrite a description unless it was written so badly that it had to be rewritten, or, if I rereviewed the site and it's changed, then I'd have to rewrite it.
I also spent my time adding a few sites from unreviewed and moving sites from my bookmarks to their rightful places in personal homepages. I did some collecting while I was preparing for more permissions. When I needed to move sites from my letter categories to another letter that I didn't have permissions in I simply forwarded them to the right category then added them to my bookmarks for when I got permissions over all the letters. I did go through some of the smaller categories and checked all the listed sites and reviewed all the suggested sites. But, most of the time that's not going to happen. Some of those letters have hundreds of listed sites and hundreds of more sites waiting for review. The best I can do in the larger categories is either run a link checker and check and remove all the dead links, move the listed sites that obviously don't belong in the category judging from the title/description, and rereview the sites that have stinky descriptions. Then I can go to unreviewed and try to add some sites to the category. The problem with that is that when I go into unreviewed I find that most of the sites either aren't listable, are dead links, or should be forwarded to anther category. That's not a good thing because that means I've spent a lot of time reviewing sites that shouldn't be listed and then I get too worn out that I don't feel like reviewing sites anymore.
Pt. 2 is where I'll continue. I want to break up the posts so that they're not too long.
Sunday, July 09, 2006
Moving On Up! More Permissions Gained.
This past weekend I finally decided it was best to go ahead and apply for higher permissions, instead of applying for another letter in that category. I thought I had done enough for the letter I was working in and it was time to move on from that category. I spent literally a few hours looking for three good websites to put on my application for more permissions. Now, you're probably wondering why it took so darn long for me to find 2-3 good sites for a large category covering all 24 letters of the alphabet? Now, don't get me wrong, I did come across sites that were suitable for the directory, but they weren't the type of sites I wanted to put on my application. For my application I wanted to find the best sites available, not just any old sites. I wanted the best sites because I didn't want anyone questioning my choice of sites for those categories; I didn't want the "this site would be a better fit for such and such category, not the one you chose. Application denied." So, I spent a few hours over a span of two days looking for some of the best sites to add to my application.
I actually considered for a few seconds of sending in an application with only 2 sample sites. There's nothing wrong with it, and it's perfectly okay to supply 2 or 3 sites for your application, but C'mon, supplying only 2 sites for a category that spans all letters of the alphabet is a bit...lazy. But, that's what I thought about doing when I was becoming exasperated, and almost desperate, to find some really good sites. I've only sent in one application with 2 sample sites because it was hard to find sites for that letter.
I applied for more permissions Sat. afternoon and my application got approved about 24 hours later. It seemed like it was taking forever; I guess that's what it seems like when you're waiting for an answer. Every minute that passed diminished my hopes for having my application approved. Was I going to get the "your edits are not good enough: application rejected" response? Or, the "you don't have enough editing experience to edit all letters under the category: application rejected" response? Every second that passed made me think even more that I was going to get rejected. What were the Meta editors doing? Two minutes had passed and no word on my application? Are they sleeping on the job? Aren't they supposed to be reviewing editor applications? Why has 5 minutes passed and I haven't heard anything? Don't they know I've sent in my application? Of course all those questions went through my mind as I "waited" for a response to my application. I finally came to my senses after a few hours of waiting for a response and decided to forget about it for the day. Plus, I was being unreasonable in my expectations that Meta editors are supposed to cater to my editor needs by reviewing my application as soon as it arrives in the application pool. They do have lives outside of Dmoz, I think.
Well, when Sunday came I had other things on my mind that I was doing, but since I spend most of my time on the Internet I always log into Dmoz.org whether or not I edit anything. As the day progressed I noticed that my application for more permissions was accepted. Yippee! I was so ecstatic and I cried some. Wait. I actually cried? Me? A Dmoz editor crying over getting more privileges? What kind of sap am I? What a lame thing to cry over! There's world poverty and all the starving little children, the homeless, disabled war vets, and I cry over getting more privileges? Maybe they were tears of joy? Yeah, they were tears of joy, that's what they were. I was so excited that I even threw my hands up in the air as if my favorite team had won the Super Bowl. After my many minutes (yes, minutes) of euphoria ended I jumped right into editing, but not before I enjoyed playing around with the new interface on my dashboard.
It's quite nice. Once I log into my Dmoz account, instead of having the individual letters listed on my dashboard (where I am/was listed editor) I now also have the link to all the letters of the category, and when I click on it it takes me to all the letters, which, from there, I can click on individual letters to edit in those sections. Pretty nice, for a first-timer. So, I played around with that a little. Taking a peek inside every letter and click back and forth here and there. Once I got used to my new dashboard interface I quickly jumped into a little editing, then promptly removed my name from the few categories in which I was a listed editor, since I can now edit all letters. I'll let someone else who's interested in those individual letters apply for those categories (and, yes, there can be more than one listed editor for any given category).
My next post will be about how I went about editing with my new permission.
I actually considered for a few seconds of sending in an application with only 2 sample sites. There's nothing wrong with it, and it's perfectly okay to supply 2 or 3 sites for your application, but C'mon, supplying only 2 sites for a category that spans all letters of the alphabet is a bit...lazy. But, that's what I thought about doing when I was becoming exasperated, and almost desperate, to find some really good sites. I've only sent in one application with 2 sample sites because it was hard to find sites for that letter.
I applied for more permissions Sat. afternoon and my application got approved about 24 hours later. It seemed like it was taking forever; I guess that's what it seems like when you're waiting for an answer. Every minute that passed diminished my hopes for having my application approved. Was I going to get the "your edits are not good enough: application rejected" response? Or, the "you don't have enough editing experience to edit all letters under the category: application rejected" response? Every second that passed made me think even more that I was going to get rejected. What were the Meta editors doing? Two minutes had passed and no word on my application? Are they sleeping on the job? Aren't they supposed to be reviewing editor applications? Why has 5 minutes passed and I haven't heard anything? Don't they know I've sent in my application? Of course all those questions went through my mind as I "waited" for a response to my application. I finally came to my senses after a few hours of waiting for a response and decided to forget about it for the day. Plus, I was being unreasonable in my expectations that Meta editors are supposed to cater to my editor needs by reviewing my application as soon as it arrives in the application pool. They do have lives outside of Dmoz, I think.
Well, when Sunday came I had other things on my mind that I was doing, but since I spend most of my time on the Internet I always log into Dmoz.org whether or not I edit anything. As the day progressed I noticed that my application for more permissions was accepted. Yippee! I was so ecstatic and I cried some. Wait. I actually cried? Me? A Dmoz editor crying over getting more privileges? What kind of sap am I? What a lame thing to cry over! There's world poverty and all the starving little children, the homeless, disabled war vets, and I cry over getting more privileges? Maybe they were tears of joy? Yeah, they were tears of joy, that's what they were. I was so excited that I even threw my hands up in the air as if my favorite team had won the Super Bowl. After my many minutes (yes, minutes) of euphoria ended I jumped right into editing, but not before I enjoyed playing around with the new interface on my dashboard.
It's quite nice. Once I log into my Dmoz account, instead of having the individual letters listed on my dashboard (where I am/was listed editor) I now also have the link to all the letters of the category, and when I click on it it takes me to all the letters, which, from there, I can click on individual letters to edit in those sections. Pretty nice, for a first-timer. So, I played around with that a little. Taking a peek inside every letter and click back and forth here and there. Once I got used to my new dashboard interface I quickly jumped into a little editing, then promptly removed my name from the few categories in which I was a listed editor, since I can now edit all letters. I'll let someone else who's interested in those individual letters apply for those categories (and, yes, there can be more than one listed editor for any given category).
My next post will be about how I went about editing with my new permission.
Sunday, July 02, 2006
Just finished re-reviewing the listed sites!
Whooo! What a sense of accomplishment! It took me about 1 1/2 months to go through that category and re-write the descriptions/titles and re-review the sites. I was first given permission into the category on May 9th, and today I'm finally getting through all the listed sites and deleting all the sub-categories that are of no real use. All of that took about 1 1/2 months to accomplish. I started out with 698 edits when I got that category, and now I have 908 edits (only a few are superfluous). I also had to move sites to other categories, delete some, and unreview some for one reason or another. When I first got the category it had almost 200 sites listed ( > 190 ) and now it has 107 listed sites with over [semi-big number]* in unreviewed, including the ones I unlisted.
Now that the already listed sites are finished I'm going to go plow my way through the unreviewed - all [semi-big number]* sites (some I sent to un-reviewed that probably won't be listed). I'd rather go through sites that haven't been reviewed yet than go through sites that are already listed. Lets see if I can get this category up to 200 listed sites before I'm ready to move on to other things. Also, I think I'll be able to get my edits above 1,000 when I'm finished. Now that would be awesome!
*[later editing out almost, but not quite, specifics]
Now that the already listed sites are finished I'm going to go plow my way through the unreviewed - all [semi-big number]* sites (some I sent to un-reviewed that probably won't be listed). I'd rather go through sites that haven't been reviewed yet than go through sites that are already listed. Lets see if I can get this category up to 200 listed sites before I'm ready to move on to other things. Also, I think I'll be able to get my edits above 1,000 when I'm finished. Now that would be awesome!
*[later editing out almost, but not quite, specifics]
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