You Say DMOZ Submission, I Say ODP Suggestion - Let's Call The Whole Thing Off?

An oft quoted problem with DMOZ long delays in submissions is the quality of submissions, to the point where some have said that the submission service should be turned off. While i support extreme measures in all forms, I think there is plenty that can be done to make editor's lives easier, and to reduce poor submissions.

The biggest point of influence in the whole submission process is, IMHO, the submission form. A good submission form can cut down on problems. A poor submission form will exacerbate problems.

So, I thought I would do a quick walk through of the submission process, to see if we can't see why there are so many bad submissions, and if we can't offer some suggestions to make it better.

So, lets start with Arizona/Localities/P/Phoenix/ Business_and_Economy/Real_Estate, cause this is an industry prone to bad submissions.

First thoughts: for a page with four things for me to add (URL, title, description and Email address), that is an incredibly long page (in fact, it is about 1,000 words long).

Why is that an issue? Glad I asked.

People, being busy / lazy and all don't read on the web.

They just scan.

People tend to read only the stuff in bold

• and
• Maybe
• A
• List

That is it.

As user just scans, so too I will scan the DMOZ submission page.

So, I am here to submit something, so I look for a "box" to put stuff in. Being impatient, I ignore the yellow and grey stuff at the top (it looks to me like a user license agreement no one ever reads) and look for a box to enter stuff in.

<scanning>OK, there is one. It has Site URL: in bold next to it. That looks about right. I'll put my URL in there (note, I WILL NOT read the points underneath cause they are out of my eye's view).

OK, back to scanning.

Ah, the next box says Title of Site:. I also notice "Please supply a short and descriptive title" underneath. Cool. How about:

"Leading Luxury Phoenix Arizona Real Estate Agent Bob Wilson - Million dollar and Luxury Homes". As a man, my definition of short may vary to yours, but as this fits in the box (trust me, I tried several variations) it must be OK.

Next. <scanning>

Site Description: That is a big box, so i don't notice / read the stuff underneath. If Title of Site: is supposed to be "short and descriptive", I assume I must be able to write quite a bit in this huge area.So I write (and feel free to ignore this, it is boring and long):

"Bob Wilson has been in real estate for years. With over 20 employees and a list of properties that includes Phoenix's premier properties, Bob Wilson Real Estate can help you find the property that is right for you. Our personal touch is what separates us from the rest, with individual agents only dealing with between 2 and 4 properties at any one time. Try us out today and experience the difference our personal touch makes".

Ok, NEXT.

I spot Your E-mail Address:, stick one in, go back to scanning, spot the Submit button and click it.

I bet that submission isn't what DMOZ want.

And whose fault is that? The submitter who followed the instructions he bothered to read, or the person that created a one page, 1,000 word submission form?

I vote a little from column A, and a heck of a lot from column B. Any web professional that doesn't know people don't read on the web should get another career. Oh, Nielsen irks me more than anyone, but Alertbox is still a must read for any web professional, and Jakob bangs on about this reading stuff a fair bit.

So, some suggestions:

Well, for starters, clear out all the dead wood. No one reads, so big chunks of text serve no purpose.

• Want people to read something
• Put a few points in a list

Taking my own advice ;)

• Put all the text boxes together in one area

This makes the form cleaner, and the important elements near boxes will more likely be read

• Make links to help on specific section

Context sensitive help is a good idea.

• Pre-fill text boxes with hints

This is the text most likely to be read.

• Rename some of the elements

"Title of site - Please supply a short and descriptive title"? That isn't really what they want. How about "Business name", which is what most of the "spammy" categories want after all. Even better, make this field something editors can change to suit a category.

Those are all pretty easy to implement, and provide better help in the flow of the task.

Some more advanced ideas that would require more work:

• Make it harder to submit

More hoops to just through will equate to better submissions.

• Make it a multi-pager

1,000 words is to many. Make people enter one field at a time, with detailed advice on each

• Ask for more information

In some places (i.e. Australia) certain categories require a registered business. make them put in an ABN. Easiest way to stop multiple submissions in categories like Mortgage Brokers.

• Force people to confirm their details

That would save on mistakes, and ensure that people don't stuff it up

• Put in an image thingy

Sure, these are annoying, but at least you know the submission was from a real person, not some automated thing.

As one final suggestion, perhaps DMOZ can look at - how - competitors - operate ;)