Thanks for this post!
I suggest interested folks take another look at "The Open Directory" (
http://www.dmoz.org/about.html ), compiled and managed by volunteer
"net-citizens." Yes, it's menu structure may frustrate those wedded to
"3 click or I'm done with this site." But its information is quite
credible, and its philosophy is quite refreshing. As stated in its
"About" page:
"... The Open Directory follows in the footsteps of some of the most
important editor/contributor projects of the 20th century. Just as the
Oxford English Dictionary became the definitive word on words through
the efforts of volunteers, the Open Directory follows in its footsteps
to become the definitive catalog of the Web. The Open Directory was
founded in the spirit of the Open Source movement, and is the only major
directory that is 100% free. There is not, nor will there ever be, a
cost to submit a site to the directory, and/or to use the directory's
data. The Open Directory data is made available for free to anyone who
agrees to comply with our free use license. The Open Directory is the
most widely distributed data base of Web content classified by humans.
Its editorial standards body of net-citizens provide the collective
brain behind resource discovery on the Web. The Open Directory powers
the core directory services for the Web's largest and most popular
search engines and portals, including ... Google ... and hundreds of
others. ..."
The next time you something that looks like a Web directory on the home
page of a search engine, take another look. It's probably The Open
Directory.
Laura Ray
Educational Programing Librarian
Cleveland-Marshall College of Law
Genie Tyburski wrote:
>>All.info is a searchable directory of topics focused on web site
>>credibility. Our directory provides searchers with additional info
>>provided by the sites producer. This information helps our searchers
>>better find and evaluate sites.
>>
>>
>
><snip>
>
>
>
>>All.info is the first search directory to tackle the issue of site
>>credibility in a scalable system. Aside from a proprietary ranking
>>algorithm, All.info uses the information provided by web site producers,
>>who know most about their sites, to help users better find and assess the
>>credibility of these web sites.
>>
>>
>
>MedicalMatrix <http://www.medmatrix.org> and a few others might dispute the
>claim that All.info is the first to index credible Web sites. That aside,
>obtaining "information provided by web site producers" does not ensure
>credibility. What it ensures is that sites will be listed in the directory as
>they want to appear.
>
>Genie
>--
>Genie Tyburski
>Web Manager, The Virtual Chase
>http://www.virtualchase.com
>
>
>
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