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May 25, 2005

Should ODP Close Up Shop?

Seems like more people are beginning to think so. Following ODP's decision to discontinue site status checks effective May 21, 2005, many have raised the issue of whether ODP still has a role to play.

Given the fact that it often takes a year or more to get a site listed in ODP, it seems that the Internet may have left ODP behind. It's no longer an accurate reflection of what's available online.

I've always felt that the submission status check was a bit silly. I get so many questions from webmasters who want to know how long it takes to get listed in ODP. Answer: A really long time.

It's one of those things that you do and then just forget about. If you happen to check back a few years later and you've been accepted, then that's great. If not, who cares? You can't usually do anything to speed up the process, so why worry about it? Move on to other things.

I can't be too upset with ODP editors. They've got a huge task to accomplish with very limited resources. It's just that the era of the directory may have drawn to a close. Are they ever even used anymore except by webmasters looking for easy places to boost their link popularity?

Danny Sullivan's thoughts, and a bit more by Peter Da Vanzo.

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