Happy New Year! Now that 2009 is officially in the books, it's time to take a look back at the year that was. We've already heard about our editors' many projects and accomplishments this past year, so I thought we'd take the opportunity to look at some of our directory statistics and some trends we've seen throughout the year. As we've highlighted in the past, the DMOZ user base is incredibly international.

Directory & Community Development Greenbust Effort & the Purple Push makrhod headed up two projects to process long-standing edits. During the first, she encouraged editors to process greenbusts that had accumulated over time. The result was that greenbust edits were completely cleared for all directory branches except for World, and even there the number was considerably diminished. In the Purple Push, makrhod again organized editors to process all update requests.

Hey everyone, As we've highlighted in the past, directory searches can be very helpful if you're looking for a broad overview of a general topic. Have you ever thought about how you might be able to use this to learn more about current events? Editor glippitt has put together an article that highlights some of the excellent current events categories available in DMOZ. Emily - - - - - - - - - - According to the front page of the US version of Google News recently,

If you've spent much time here on the blog or over in the public forums at Resource Zone , you've probably seen us mention many different editor titles - meta, admin, staff and editall, for example - but do you know what role each type of editor plays within the directory? There are two basic types of designations for editor titles. One refers to the breadth of editing permissions, and the other refers to a role in directory management. Each is detailed below.

We first met editor laigh nearly two years ago when he blogged about his first month as a DMOZ editor . A year later, we checked in to see how he was doing . Believe it or not, another year has gone by, and laigh is back to give us an update on his second year as an editor - it's been eventful! - - - - - - - - - - - Yes it is that time of year again, the time for me, laigh , to pop in and say hello and let you know how I am getting on and what I have been up to.

For many students, school is now back in full-swing and assignments are starting to pile up. If you )or someone you know( recently returned to school, DMOZ can be a great resource to use as a starting point for projects or research papers for students of all ages. Elementary School through High School As we've mentioned in the past , the Kids & Teens directory contains a wealth of hand-selected information for children ranging in age from pre-school to high school.

A lot of our blog posts are dedicated to exploring the internal workings of the directory or the way in which DMOZ grows, but we don't often talk about how the data is used once it's included in the directory. While the stand-alone DMOZ directory is an excellent resource, many of the information-seekers who benefit from directory content come into contact with it through third-party sites that use the data.

Hi everyone! At DMOZ, we get tons of questions about what editor abuse actually is and how to spot it. In this post, meta editor jensarentoft has provided a very useful primer on the signs and symptoms of abuse, and what to do if you suspect it. Emily - - - - - - - - - - The ODP Editor Guidelines explain the different types of abuse. Examples of abuse that are not tolerated - and may result in account removal - include,

For site suggestors, one of the most important )and sometimes confusing( parts about submitting is determining whether a site's content is unique by ODP standards. For this post, editor crowbar has prepared some tips and examples to help clarify. Emily - - - - - - - - - - - - - You'll often hear us referring to the "unique content" of a site as being one of our main focuses in considering whether a site should be added to the Directory or not.

DMOZ provides a wealth of local and regional resources to users in towns large and small across the US and around the world. In this post, editor crowbar talks about the experience of building out these local categories. Emily - - - - - - - - - - One of the more rewarding tasks of editing in the Regional section of the Directory is to find a small locality )city( with only a few listings,

We occasionally get questions from site owners and directory users who have noticed that previously-listed sites are no longer available in DMOZ. There are three primary reasons that sites might be removed, some temporary and some permanent. The list below explains these in detail. The site was down when our automated tools scanned it. Editors use a number of automated tools to help to keep the directory up-to-date.

Hey Everyone! Editor lisagirl has provided the latest in our series of posts highlighting portions of the directory, this time focusing on the Shopping section. Emily - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - "Hello, my name is lisagirl, how may I assist you??" "Hi lisagirl! Does DMOZ accept shopping sites?" "Why yes, we do accept submissions for all sorts of shopping websites. Have you checked over in the Shopping description section? If you can't find what you need there,

Hard to believe, but it's already been 11 years since DMOZ launched back on June 5, 1998. In that time, it has grown to become the largest human-edited directory on the web thanks to the tens of thousands of dedicated volunteer editors who have collected, sorted and organized millions of websites into categories on topics ranging from Aerospace to Zoology )and just about everything in between(.

We often hear questions from prospective editors who are looking for guidance on how to improve their chances of having their application approved. For this week's post, we've put together a brief tutorial to help applicants tackle the more difficult parts of the application process. Select a Category Selecting the category you'd like to apply to edit is one of the most important - if not the most important - parts of the application process.

Hi Everyone! This week, editor crowbar will provide some background about the role he plays as an editor for the directory. Emily - - - - - - - - - - - Editing is one of several hobbies that I indulge in when I'm not working in my real life business. My business doesn't have or need a website anymore. It was a nice tool at the time, but I found it to be unnecessary. Good service and word of mouth are much more effective. Let me tell you about my hobbies.

Hi Everyone! In today's post we're bringing you the story of how one editor, imrankhan, took the leap from long-time DMOZ user to editor. Emily - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - My association with DMOZ started off back in 1999. I had just started using the internet and even the speed of my 56k modem internet connection was enough to bowl me over. Back then, my online activities were limited to sending/receiving emails and occasional repartee in chat rooms.

Hey everyone! Back in January, we kicked off the new year by introducing everyone to our team . Today, we're excited to introduce our newest team member , Andy. Please join us in welcoming him to the community! Emily Andy McMahon, Product Manager )dciandy( "I first went online in 1989 with a Commodore 64 and a 300 baud modem. I remember when IM's were called OLM's )online messages( and when you had to pay $40 to get the Netscape browser. Yes,

Everybody loves Google, everybody loves Wikipedia - so why doesn't everybody love DMOZ? Ask people how they search the web, and most will tell you what Google does well, what Wikipedia does well - and what DMOZ doesn't do well. When you think about it, that's quite an odd way to look at search vehicles, isn't it? My car doesn't do backflips, but that doesn't mean I stop driving. I also can't take a plane to my local shopping area, ride a bicycle across the ocean,

Several weeks ago, we asked webmasters and general users to submit their questions about DMOZ. While we aren't able to answer every question, we've chosen a representative sample to address here on the blog. Thank you to everyone who participated! We appreciate your thoughts and insights, and your dedication to the ODP community. Emily - - - - - - - - - - - "I just started my first website and someone told me about DMOZ. What is it,

Ever wonder what editors do behind the scenes? What tasks they complete, how edits are made, etc? Editor mollybdenum has provided a great overview of a day in the editing life to help shed some light on the inner workings of DMOZ. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - I have been an editor for about four years. I started out with one small category, and I was approved for more categories, as time went on, and my experience grew.