General FAQs
- Who runs DMOZ?
- What does "DMOZ" mean, and how is it related to the Open Directory Project (ODP)?
- How is DMOZ different from other directories?
- How is DMOZ different from a search engine?
- How can I report suspected abuse of the directory?
- How can I link to the Directory?
- Who runs DMOZ?
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DMOZ is hosted and administered by AOL Inc. It is operated by a very small staff responsible for editorial policies and direction, community management and development, and systems engineering.
However, DMOZ is first and foremost a self-regulating community of net-citizens. Through a system of self-governance, the volunteer editors manage the directory's growth and development, and through a system of checks-and-balances, ensure the directory is of superior quality.
DMOZ is an Open Source inspired, volunteer managed initiative. AOL administers it as a non-commercial entity, and is committed to keeping it a free and open resource via its social contract with the Web community.
- What does "DMOZ" mean, and how is it related to the Open Directory Project (ODP)?
- DMOZ is an acronym for Directory Mozilla. This name reflects its loose association with the Mozilla project, an Open Source browser initiative. DMOZ was historically also known as the Open Directory Project (ODP). It was developed in the spirit of Open Source, where development and maintenance are done by net-citizens, and results are made freely available for all net-citizens.
- How is DMOZ different from other directories?
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Other directories are developed and managed by small paid staffs. DMOZ was founded on the premise that directories with small staffs can not scale to the growth of the Web, and still maintain a quality, current directory.
DMOZ is developed and managed by a constantly growing community of net-citizens who are experts in their areas of interest. Given this vast community of subject expertise and the global nature of the directory, there is always someone working on the directory: processing submissions, resolving dead links, culling out the bad and keeping only quality information, and discovering new topics to add.
Unlike small paid staffs, DMOZ editors are Web searchers creating a directory for other Web searches. This kind of philanthropy and passion creates a directory that is directly relevant to what people are looking for on the Web, and how they search the Web for information.
- How is DMOZ different from a search engine?
- DMOZ is a Web directory, not a search engine. Although we offer a search query, the purpose of DMOZ is to list and categorize web sites. We do not rank, promote or optimize sites for search engines. DMOZ is simply a data provider. Its data users, such as Google, Yahoo, and AOL, install their own search functionality on their site. DMOZ has no influence or knowledge on how these search engines process search queries.
- How can I report suspected abuse of the directory?
- If you suspect that a web site or editor is abusing the Directory, please provide a detailed account of your claim, using ourAbuse Report Form.
- How can I link to DMOZ?
- We appreciate links from other web sites, and have a variety of helpful links and user-contributed banners. Check out the section on Linking to DMOZ for more information. Thanks for supporting us!