Join your fellow "hardworking" webmasters by joining in the Petition Against DMOZ!

Ok, it's bad enough that Google started using DMOZ (ODP, the Open Directory Project) as a major factor in deciding which sites get listed highly in their search results, but now MSN too?

MSN has always been known for bringing back the most relevent search results, and they've always been a safe haven for hardworking webmasters that do things the "right way" when it comes to SEO, but now all of a sudden they've decided to jump on the DMOZ bandwagon.

It all started just a few short weeks ago when I noticed that some of my sites, which had #1 spots in MSN for a ton of different keywords, started dropping from their results like flies. I couldn't understand it... I had worked so hard to get where I was... and now all of a sudden all my work seemed to have been flushed down the toilet.

I spent countless hours trying to figure out what the hell made me almost disappear off the face of the 'net, but I just couldn't figure it out. Then I ended up studying some of the sites that were in the top positions where I used to be, using www.uptimebot.com, and I noticed that they almost all had one thing in common... you guessed it... a listing in DMOZ!

I could'nt believe my eyes! MSN, the search engine known for its relevent results, trying to be like Google? We already have a Google, why do we need another one? Say goodbye to your relevency!

I ended up doing a search in MSN for "msn using dmoz", in quotes, to see what I could find, and I found some pretty interesting stuff that I'd never even thought of before.

First, the idea that the ODP's volunteers are corrupt. Check it out here. I can't say that all of them are, but ask yourself this... why do you think "most" people apply to become volunteers?

The answer is power. With the Internet's leading search engine, Google, and now MSN using the ODP for their top results (along with the fact that it's nearly impossible to get listed there), every webmaster on the face of this Earth wants to become a volunteer. Once you're a volunteer for DMOZ, you can decide which sites get listed.

Another thing I saw was how a lot of the volunteers are just plain rude to non-editors. You can see this yourself at their forum, here. I'm not saying that they're all like this, but quite a few are, and this is totally unacceptable.


In Conclusion

In the beginning, the ODP was one of the best ideas ever created, but all good things eventually come to an end. In this case, once the project started to become overrun by power-hungry volunteers, the whole thing started to crumble.

My biggest questions are to MSN... why would you start basing your results on DMOZ when Google already does? Are you really giving up the undisputed title of "Search Engine with the Most Relevent Results", in order to be just like another Major Engine? Isn't one Google enough?

The reason so many people use your search engine is because of your relevent results. What do think is going to happen once you start providing similar results as a less-relevent engine? And on top of that, you gotta admit, the ODP's descriptions suck!

And what about all the people that have given you their praise... people that use you because they know they're going to find what they're looking for.

What about the people that have worked very hard, day and night, in order to get good results on your search engine?

This is why I started the Petition Against DMOZ. I'm hoping that if enough people show that they feel this is a bad idea, MSN might change their mind about changing what they base their most relevent results on. Please go to the petition and leave your comments.
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Webmasters/Publishers: Feel free to use this article as content on your site, newsletter or wherever you see fit. The more people that know what is happening, the better chance we have of getting back our MSN! Please include this resource box so others can spread the word too.