unreviewed
Joined: Dec 07, 2000
# Posts: 6776
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Posted: 10/20/2005 05:20 am
Or was is SEW ... you decide. Regardless, this very interesting.
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unreviewed
Joined: Dec 07, 2000
# Posts: 6776
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Posted: 10/20/2005 05:26 am
Here is a post supposedly made by meta editer hutcheson
hutcheson – ODP: The Decline
It is time to admit that the Open Directory Project is not as important as it used to be, and to lament that sad fact.
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.
It used to be that people were falling over themselves to impress us and become editors. It was so gratifying to have so many people trying to be like us. I woke up every day and logged in eager to make decisions about who was worthy to be an editor, who should be promoted, which sites should live and die. It was an incredible feeling, unlike anything I experienced in my old job.
I must say that no endeavor I’ve participated in has given me the serotonin rush that being a DMOZ meta has. So many people wanted to be us, to impress us, to have us judge them favorably. This must be what it is like for CEOs of corporations and Hollywood celebrities. I savored the feeling.
We did not get money directly from the project. Any funds just showed up, as I imagine they must for celebrities. Oprah Winfrey probably gets more money just for existing than all the DMOZ editors combined, but it’s the same idea. Money would just appear in the PayPal account, a recognition for our importance and worth in the internet community. I relied on the money, sure, but it was secondary to the tremendous psychic pay I derived from doing my job.
How many people truly look forward to going to work every morning? I did.
But it’s mostly gone now. Declining appreciation gifts, fewer applications to become editors, less frantic appeals for inclusion than ever before. But the big blow is that people use search engines to find websites, and the search engines don’t value us the way they once did. Not so long ago a website couldn’t be in America Online’s search index unless we approved them. And we still form Google’s directory. But nobody uses Google’s directory.
I don’t know how to make the search engines understand the value of ODP, and it appears that they have abandoned us. This is a cause for sadness among everyone who cares about the internet and order.
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SportsGuy
Moderator
Joined: Aug 30, 2002
# Posts: 3550
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Posted: 10/20/2005 06:08 am
...too bad they still turn away good candidates when they apply to become an editor...
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unreviewed
Joined: Dec 07, 2000
# Posts: 6776
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Posted: 10/20/2005 06:20 am
But it’s mostly gone now. Declining appreciation gifts
We did not get money directly from the project. Any funds just showed up, as I imagine they must for celebrities. Oprah Winfrey probably gets more money just for existing than all the DMOZ editors combined, but it’s the same idea. Money would just appear in the PayPal account, a recognition for our importance and worth in the internet community.
No way is this for real. It would confirm all the corruption stories over the years, and as written, would destroy all credibility of the existing Meta Editer base.
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philh
Joined: Sep 14, 2001
# Posts: 3050
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Posted: 10/20/2005 06:34 am
Nobody ever sent me any money
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g1smd
Moderator
Joined: Jul 28, 2002
# Posts: 10060
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Posted: 10/20/2005 06:45 am
That isn't Hutchesons writing style, nor does he ever refer to "the DMOZ" in any prior writings.
I call a fake.
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philh
Joined: Sep 14, 2001
# Posts: 3050
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Posted: 10/20/2005 08:14 am
Hey Un
Let me know when the web cam broadcast goes out
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unreviewed
Joined: Dec 07, 2000
# Posts: 6776
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Posted: 10/20/2005 08:35 am
What kind of wine would one use for such a meal ...
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philh
Joined: Sep 14, 2001
# Posts: 3050
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Posted: 10/20/2005 08:38 am
Very strong wine I think...
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unreviewed
Joined: Dec 07, 2000
# Posts: 6776
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Posted: 10/20/2005 08:52 am
... it's already on ice.
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unreviewed
Joined: Dec 07, 2000
# Posts: 6776
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Posted: 10/20/2005 09:35 am
Looks like I'll not be breaking my diet after all. SEW pulled the thread.
As stated, I think hutcheson's account was hacked. However, I still think it is incredible that no denial or confirmation has yet to be posted on either SEW or RZ
Basically I'm still waiting for a "Say it ain't so" ...
<Added>
BTW - for those of you who missed the thread that SEW pulled, I had promiced to print the thread and eat it live via web cam if the post was not a hack.
... lol, Post by Nick W at TW
Well that would explain why the highest hits from a single source for the last hour have been from the SEW mods area heh...
[ Message was edited by: unreviewed 10/20/2005 09:45 am ]
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cbp
Joined: Dec 25, 2003
# Posts: 181
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Posted: 10/20/2005 03:03 pm
It was not hutcheson. Someone has previously pulled that stunt on another forum a while back. More on it here:
[link]
There is a denial there.
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unreviewed
Joined: Dec 07, 2000
# Posts: 6776
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Posted: 10/20/2005 03:17 pm
Thanks cbp.
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