jatiN mahindrA doT coM

Debra Mastaler wrote has an excellent interview with the man in charge at DMOZ (Open Directory Project) at Search Engine Land named DMOZ: A Solid Directory Or The Great Pumpkin Of Search?

It really goes into a great number of questions and answers about the iconic web directory. I’ll pull out a few Q&As that I particularly enjoyed:

Debra: Why is the directory sometimes referred to as the ODP and other times DMOZ? Is there a difference?

Bob: The directory’s “official” name is DMOZ: The Open Directory Project. DMOZ means “Directory Mozilla” – the idea was to align the directory with the Mozilla brand, even though it was not actually part of that group. DMOZ and ODP are now used interchangeably to refer to the directory.

Debra: Has there been any discussion about the ODP offering a paid review program?

Bob: This issue has been raised and discussed many times. Paid review really goes against the whole idea behind the ODP. In fact, our Social Contract with the web community takes an especially firm position on this issue.

Debra: Do you think people would be so passionate about being included in the directory if it wasn’t used by Google?

Bob: It depends if you are talking about Webmasters or editors. Clearly, webmasters would not care much about DMOZ if it weren’t for its influence on search engines. Editors, on the other hand, have a different perspective. The reasons editors participate in the ODP are as diverse as the global makeup of its participants.

The interview is a really great read, so go check it out.

Forum discussion at Sphinn.

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