DMOZ FAQ - Regional/Europe/United Kingdom

Ireland is not part of the United Kingdom.
Sites that cover the whole of Ireland including Northern Ireland may be listed once in Ireland and once in the Northern Ireland parts of the directory at the discretion of the editor.

by rzan at 2007-03-01 11:25:47

1.1

Localities

Localities are cities, towns, villages, parishes and hamlets that are official or recognised communities. In general most will have a church, school, community centre or similar. Sites for hamlets which are not recognised communities are listed under their parent village, town or parish.

A site which is located in a village may include a nearby town in their postal address. This is the location of the local postal sorting office and may not indicate the correct location.

1.2

Counties and Unitary Authorities

Counties are based upon current political organisation or current ceremonial counties rather than traditional historical counties.

Wales has been divided by Unitary Authority. Some unitary authorities use the name of a former county but they have different boundaries.If in doubt over the correct county for a locality, search ODP for the locality name or consult the list of localities.

Postal addresses often use traditional counties and cannot always be relied upon for identifying the correct county.

1.3

Major Cities

The treatment of major cities may vary as editors try to find the most suitable breakdown for each individual city.

1.4

Districts and Tourist Areas

In some areas there are categories for districts and tourist areas. These exist primarily to hold links pointing to relevant localities. The only sites that will be listed in such categories are sites about the area itself, eg. a tourist guide or the district council offices.

1.5

Regions

England has been subdivided into nine regions. The regions and their constituent counties can be found here. The only sites listed in these categories are those about the region itself, or sites which cover two or more counties within the region.

Q: Overview of Regional/United Kingdom

Regional/Europe/UK is composed of two distinct sections, one topical and one geographic. A suitable site may be listed in both sections.

UK Topical
The United Kingdom level is primarily topical and categories are subdivided into increasingly more detailed topics. Depending upon the topic, UK level categories may contain sites of broad nationwide interest only, or, in some cases, comprehensive nationwide lists of sites.

UK by Geographic Location
UK sites may be listed again according to their geographic location within the United Kingdom. See England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and the categories found below each individual country.

Not every site will be suitable for inclusion in both sections. Editors should consult the United Kingdom Charter for official guidance on UK Topical.

by rzan at 2007-03-01 11:31:55

2.1

Language

Sites should be in English.

Sites in other languages should be submitted to the correct category in World which includes sections for Welsh, Irish andScottish Gaelic.
There is no live World section for Cornish but a site may be suitable for listing in this category about the Cornish Language. There is however a Cornish test category to which sites can be suggested and for which editor applications are accepted.

Sites considered to have worthwhile content in more than one language may be listed by each language.

2.2

Does a site have to originate from the UK?

Most, but not necessarily all, sites listed will originate from the UK.A site must be focussed on UK interests and address a UK audience.

Sites that orginate from the UK but address international topics with no particular UK focus will not be included here but may be listed in the International Topical Directory. Sites about the UK aimed at a non-UK audience are unlikely to be included in Regional/UK.

Q: UK Topical

The United Kingdom level is primarily topical and categories are subdivided into increasingly more detailed topics. Depending upon the topic, UK level categories may contain sites of broad nationwide interest only, or, in some cases, comprehensive nationwide lists of sites. Suitable sites may be listed in UK Topical and by geographic location.

by rzan at 2007-03-01 11:37:11

3.1

Guidelines

The Regional Guidelines provide the ground rules for this part of the directory and should be consulted for advice on suitability, style and other matters. UK Topical is a pilot project covered by the section "Country and State Wide Lists" with the major difference being that, at UK level, such lists are standard rather being created in a "few circumstances".

Editors should consult the United Kingdom Charter for official guidance on UK Topical.

3.2

Can a site be listed in UK Topical and the Main International Topical Directory?

Yes. A suitable UK site may be listed in UK Topical and if of interest to a wider audience, may also be listed in the main topical directory.

This is in addition to any listing within Regional/United Kingdom by geographic location. Some UK sites may therefore, quite correctly, be listed three times.
Not every site will be suitable for listing in both topical sections and depending upon the manner in which the categories are interlinked, listing in both topical sections may be unnecessary.

Q: UK By Geographic Location

In addition to any listing in UK Topical a site may be listed again by geographic location.

The sections of Regional/United Kingdom where sites are listed by geographic location starts at the level of the four individual countries England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, and includes all the categories found below each country.

Not every site will be suitable for inclusion in both sections of Regional/United Kingdom. To be listed by geographic location, sites should have a clear local relevance. Editors should consult the United Kingdom Charter for further information.

by rzan at 2007-03-01 12:47:20

4.1

Geographic Organisation

The geographic organisation for each of the four countries is:

England > Region > County > Locality
Scotland > County or City > Locality
Northern Ireland > County or City > Locality
Wales > Unitary Authority > Locality

4.2

Choosing the Correct Location

Within this section (UK by Geographic Location) sites are listed by their physical location or geographic focus. Some locations have sub categories for topics, others do not, but sites will always be listed in the correct location rather than in a larger location that does have sub categories.

A site which covers, or is for a business based in:
one locality only - is listed in that locality.
two or more localities within a county - is listed at county level.
two or more counties within a region of England - is listed at region level
two or more regions within England - is listed at country level.
two or more counties within Scotland, Northern Ireland or Wales - is listed at country level
two or more countries within the UK - is listed in UK Topical only.

Sites are listed by geographic location once and once only. On rare occasions a site covering two locations may be listed in both locations instead of at a higher level but this is done only for editorial reasons and not on request.

Tip: It is quicker for an editor to move a site up to a higher location than work out where to send a site that should be at a lower location, so when choosing a location category, always err on the side of too low rather than too high.

4.3

Missing Localities

If there is no category for a locality, and it is usually considered to be part of another locality (eg a hamlet that belongs to a parent village), the site will be listed under the parent location.
In all other cases submit to the county. Editors will add localities when a few sites have been added at county level. You can help the editors by adding the information "based in XXXX" to your description.
If in doubt, submit to the county and add location information to the description.

Q: Shopping Sites

by rzan at 2007-03-01 07:13:11

5.1

Online and Distance Shopping Sites

Sites that enable users to purchase from a distance are listed in the UK Topical Shopping Categories.This can include sites offering on-line purchasing, or sites that sell by email, telephone or postal ordering.

Distance shopping sites are not listed again in their geographic locality unless they have a walk in retail premises, are a large local employer offering employment opportunities on the website, or are of a particular significance to the local community.

A site that offers an ordering service but delivers only to the local community will be listed by location only.

5.2

Bricks and Mortar Shops

Sites for shops with physical premises and no online or distance shopping service will be listed by location only.

Sites for chains of shops with multiple locations throughout the whole of the UK, ie. have branches in more than one country within the UK, will be listed in Business_and_Economy/Shopping/Stores/

5.3

UK Sites Shipping to Other Countries

Distance shopping sites based in the UK but who also send goods to other countries (including Europe) may also submit to a suitable category within the main international Shopping section.
For more information on Shopping, consult the Shopping FAQ.