Back in September we made a few changes to our web directory eWebPages.org related to our submission form and I’m quite pleased with the results after 6 months. The quality of submissions have improved somewhat, and I no longer find myself constantly arguing with webmasters about titles and descriptions that are edited prior to acceptance.
Hahaha. Wishful thinking.
They’re just Sitelinks.
They have nothing to do with the status of any web site and everything to do with Google’s search results and their users - the surfers conducting searches.
Webmasters would like to think that the occurrence of Sitelinks bestows a certain status upon their humble web site and that some how, in some way, they’re directly responsible.
Arrogance?
Ignorance?
Maybe a little of both. 
What is Directory Spongiform Encephalopathy?
Directory Spongiform Encephalopathy is a common degenerative web directory disorder characterized by enlarged “directory” sub categories that give the directory a bloated or “spongy” appearance.
Research indicates that DSEs are caused by abnormal, excessive submission to and acceptance of useless web directories. The obsessive feeding of directories to directories mirrors the practice of feeding livestock slaughterhouse waste to livestock under the guise of milk replacers, calf starters and feed supplements.
Feeding ruminants to ruminants resulted in Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (Mad Cow Disease), and the corresponding practice by directory owners will yield similar, fatal results.
Symptoms of DSE vary, but commonly include degenerative internal PR over successive updates, a gradual reduction of SERPs and the eventual domain quarantine (removal from index).
DSEs tend to progress rapidly and usually culminate in death (zero PR) over the course of a few months. There is currently no treatment that will halt the progression of DSE, and attempts to treat the symptoms with the injection of additional citations yield no results.
A few clinical trials are underway in an attempt at finding a cure.
Interesting concept.
You hear mention of this phrase quite often during discussions about web directories. It’s often said that you can judge a directory by its editorial integrity (or lack thereof).
Wikipedia gives the following definition for integrity:
Integrity is the basing of one’s actions on an internally consistent framework of principles. Depth of principles and adherence of each level to the next are key determining factors. One is said to have integrity to the extent that everything he does and believes is based on the same core set of values. While those values may change, it is their consistency with each other and with the person’s actions that determine his integrity.
Something that has really caught my attention is that most general topic web directories promoted at popular webmaster forums primarily feature other directories.
Editors and owners are quick to assure you that they have integrity while fraternal members slip in the side door without the least bit of scrutiny. Web sites that feature little if any content are quickly rejected with insolence but web directories with few listings are proudly accepted.
Directory owners suggest that submissions with keyword stuffed titles or improper capitalization of descriptions will not be accepted, yet listings such as the following are all too common:
Firefox SEO Friendly Paid Web Directory
FireFox Directory Add Your Site Get PageRank Search Engine Optimization [SEO] Search Engine Frendly [SEF] Directory Search.
How can a directory owner think they have editorial integrity when accepting such a submission (especially if there was a fee involved)?
Is it me, or is it becoming easier to distinguish the link pimps from the directory owners?
Back in July, we submitted a site to DMOZ. We walked through the steps of selecting a category, writing a title and description that might be accepted and submitting.
From looking at the last update date at the bottom of the Home - Home Improvement - Furniture category, our suggested site was accepted within a month of submission:
Furniture Care Tips - Short articles on care and maintenance for various types of furniture.
The title was accepted as submitted, and the description was edited. While I may feel that my suggested description was the better of the two, the listed description offers a brief overview about the sites content.
Did following the guidelines expedite our listing? Probably not. At best, we submitted the site at the right time. Just before an editor took an interest in reviewing the submissions within the category we submitted to.
Are we seeing an improvement in the search engine rankings or traffic as a result? Hardly, I’m not seeing a single referral from DMOZ for the month of November so far.
Do we still recommend that you submit your sites to DMOZ? Sure. Just don’t have any expectations when you do. Best of luck with your submissions.