DMOZ: the Decline Continues
DMOZ meta editor Hutcheson likely a fake posts about the fading of DMOZ:
The biggest decline in the quality of the web in recent years can be traced to the devaluation of ODP, and with it, the esteem of the hard-working editors who created the directory. We’re no longer the kings and queens of the web the way we once were. It is depressing, because while it lasted, being an editor at DMOZ was the mountain-topping experience of my life.Many of use live on disability settlements and workmans comp. DMOZ is a job we can do from home; we feel important and that we are contributing to society; and the volunteer status means any income from the project is off the books and won’t threaten our disability pay.
I truly believed we were the gatekeepers of the internet: those entrusted to identify which sites were worthy. The inescapable truth is that we are no longer as important as we once were, and it is a blow to my self-identity.
I think I was duped ;) hutcheson said it wasn't him.
Published: October 20, 2005 by Aaron Wall in directories
Comments
It is sad to bear witness to this but I guess it's all part of evolution. Searchers are always confronted with this basic question: which gives better search output, pure meta search engines or human edited directories? People seem to think that these search robots, mindless and objective as they are, are better at it than their human counterparts. The thing is, Google, arguably the best search engine there is, gives human factors (ODP, Yahoo Directory, traffic, etc.) considerable weight in its algorithm.
It's not too late for ODP. Search engines like Google, Yahoo and MSN just need to tell the public again and again how much they value ODP data. People will come flocking back.
DMOZ is being replaced by Wikipedia as a reliable map to good sources of information on the Internet. Instead of a handful of editors, the entire community can collaborate in creating high-quality content.
Times change, DMOZ didn't. Large scale directories were a solution to yesterdays search problems, and authority can now be determined more effectively by other data.
The web has moved on.
I think theres a possibility that this was a hoax, they seem to have removed the thread from SEW after some people doubted that it was really written by Hutcheson.
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