DMOZ 2.0 Rumored to Launch at End of March
There have been many reports and rumors about the forthcoming Open Directory Project overhaul, dubbed DMOZ 2.0, from as far back as March 2008. Recent info has hinted at the End of Q1. But just yesterday (Thu. Feb. 11th 2010), there was a strong rumor of a dmoz.org launch that might set one of the last days of March as the Full Launch date.
So what exactly is going to change with the launch of Dmoz 2.0?
Well I’m not really sure as exact details are a little fuzzy. So to find out more I decided to roam around the web and see what I would dig up. From what I could find, which was not much, it looks like this is going to be a complete overhaul of how the data is stored, accessed and presented. This update should allow the directory to evolve in a way that it never really has been able to. And since it has largely been in the same shape for the past 10 years, this can only be a good thing for the once mighty DMOZ.
Does this mean sites will get reviewed, approved and listed sooner?
The short answer is No. 2.0 does not currently appear to provide an update for submissions and editing.
But a deeper answer would be that this may lead to the development of additional tools that could help editors analyze websites and identify higher quality sites based on common non-dmoz data metrics, like say if the URL was also listed in the Yahoo Directory or Best of the Web.
This may also lead to more excitement among editors and spur increased editing time as well as more interest in people becoming new editors.
You never know how this will shake things up at the ODP. But I now have a reason to look forward to the end of March other than the melting of the 2 foot deep snow in my yard and the 4 foot long ice hanging from my roof.
Snow & Ice February 2010
So what do you think about DMOZ 2.0? Is this really going to change things at the Open Directory? Feel free to share your thoughts.
Tags: directories, directory, dmoz, dmoz 2.0, odp, open directory project
This entry was posted on Friday, February 12th, 2010 at 3:36 pm and is filed under Link Building. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
February 13th, 2010 at 6:28 am
Oh, be careful about posting screenshots. I’m pretty sure you will be receiving an email or two about this post.
ODP/AOL tends not like it when people leak this much info.
February 16th, 2010 at 8:24 am
The problem with DMOZ has not been in how the data is stored, but rather how the site is (mis)managed. Any Google search on DMOZ will reveal frustrations by webmasters, allegations of editors being paid off, alleged corruption, and questions as to why Google continues to use their data. And these will date back many years.
I would like to see AOL step up and “take care of their stepchild” to make it a valued online resource; because it does have potential. Most people that I respect in the industry have all but given up on DMOZ. It will take more than “better data storage” to win back the hearts of webmasters.
February 17th, 2010 at 3:49 am
I think DMOZ is a great resource, there are few large scale human edited web directories out there, and having a listing in DMOZ more or less guarentees that the website is not spammy. The only problem that I see with DMOZ at present is that it seems to be quite slow in recognising when the old domains expire or become reregistered by spammers.
February 17th, 2010 at 6:42 am
Myke, Dmoz has an assortment of automated tools that crawl listings to check for 404’s. They automatically tag them as 404, remove them from the active site, and place them back into the review section for an editor to manually review.
Now that does not necessarily account for expired domains that become re-registered and never show up as 404 when there has been no lag time in hosting.
February 17th, 2010 at 8:10 am
in the directory have long to clean up
February 17th, 2010 at 11:54 am
I am a DMOZ editor. I became one 8 years ago approx. and edited practically a complete section. I then got on with my real life and left it for a few years. Recently I re-applied to be an editor again and was accepted (eventually – what a mission that was!).
Anyway, even though most of the edits I did are still there, every new edit or site I have added has been rejected by my supervising editor, and I mean EVERY single one of them. I am using the same style, short to the point sentences. No adjectives etc. etc.
I feel for the many who regularly email me (my email is freely available on DMOZ) complaining that their perfectly legitimate site has been ignored. There is nothing I can do for them.
I REALLY hope DMOZ 2 improves this, though I somehow doubt it. God knows why the site is deemed an ‘authority’s site. The info on most of it is WAY out of date.
February 18th, 2010 at 9:05 am
To be honest, this news would have excited me, say, four or five years ago. At this day, I’d be more happy to hear that having a DMOZ entry or not is ignored by all the major online services – because I do ignore DMOZ since years.
The site’s idea is great, but the way it’s handled is hell. So I prefer to avoid it altogether, and it doesn’t sound like the upcoming relaunch will change any of THESE things.