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.

Editors often receive a high volume of site suggestions for their categories, so ensuring that suggested sites have clear, concise titles and descriptions can aid greatly in the review process. Editor lisagirl has provided an excellent tutorial in how to make titles and descriptions that stand out in the crowd. Emily - - - - - - - - - - - - - What makes a good title and description? If you ask me personally, all good things involve chocolate.

Hi Everyone, DMOZ can sometimes be tough to navigate because of the many designations used to categorize the site. In this post, editor glippit has prepared an explanation to help clear up the confusion about when and where each is used. Enjoy! Emily - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Although we're one Directory in name, we're multiple directories in fact. Thanks to our large volunteer base from all over the world, we can organize sites by age group , l anguage ,

Hi Everyone, One of the things we want to accomplish with this blog is to improve transparency and open the lines of communications to all of the groups who care about and support DMOZ. With that in mind, we asked editors to submit questions to us and then posted a selection of questions )with our responses( in our Ask AOL post last October. Now we'd like to provide similar opportunities to both the webmaster community and to the general public.

Hi Everyone! If you're on Facebook, you can now become a fan of DMOZ/ODP! We've just created the official fan page to share links, updates and )of course( the blog feed with the Facebook community. We want to make this resource useful, so please let us know if there are additional features you'd like to see included on the page.

One of the most confusing steps in the site suggestion process is often the very first one: selecting the category to which you will suggest your site. Editor hiraeth has provided an excellent overview of how to decide. - - - - - - - - - This post attempts to provide some help to anyone intending to suggest their website to the Open Directory for possible inclusion. To give your site a good chance of prompt attention by an editor,

Last Fall, we introduced you to Mozzie, the little green monster you see at the bottom of category pages. But did you know that Mozzie has an award named in his honor? For this post, editor hiraeth has provided an overview of the awards process. - - - - - - - - - - The beginning of the year traditionally marks the awards season as well, when we recognize the most outstanding achievements of the previous year. For the ODP community,

This week, we're presenting the first in an occasional series of posts that highlight a different section of the directory. Today, we're focusing on Kids and Teens, and editor artisands has provided a great overview of this fantastic family resource. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Kids and Teens was developed as a standalone section of the Open Directory Project )ODP( in November of 2000.

A lot of the feedback we see on the blog actually has to do more with house keeping questions about DMOZ than with the topics we're covering. This week, we hope to clear up some of the confusion by highlighting the great resources that already exist to answer the most common questions. I know of a great site! How do I suggest it for inclusion in the directory?

Happy New Year! You probably see some of us in the forums, but behind the scenes, there are a lot of people working hard on this project, so we thought we'd kick off 2009 with an introduction to our core team. Bob Keating, DMOZ Editor-in-Chief )rdkeating25( A search nerd with a deep love and appreciation for opinionated masses, Bob Keating is the ODP's Editor in Chief, and has been involved with the ODP since joining AOL in 1999.

For our final post of 2008, we're highlighting the accomplishments that the editor community has made over the course of the year. Thanks again to everyone who has contributed his or her time and effort to this project this year! We look forward to a great 2009. International Expansion & Improvements Update to the Vietnamese Category In our ongoing efforts to internationalize the directory,