Sources:

• Is Dmoz Getting Smaller?
• Dmoz getting smaller. So what?
• Hilarious post about submitting to Dmoz

Thread says that

• Shopping is shrinking at 1-2% a year (unknown source)
• Categories in dmoz are shrinking
• Lots of dmoz shopping categories need editors
  • It's boring to edit shopping categories
• DMOZ has more limitations to listings (anti-affiliate, etc.)
• Sites in shopping disappear faster than others

Someone says DMOZ is the leader in adding 2467 sites in one month, June 2007!

Monthly category stats used to be published: http://freenet-homepage.de/miscellanea/odp_reports/ before the crash (dmoz crash?)

Why are people concerned and passionate about listing/not-listing in the DMOZ directory?

• It's beleived Google rewards being listed in DMOZ. Does anyone know if this is really true?

Quote from Hutcheson about why dmoz editors don't like to deal with commercial sites Humans don't do such things to give free promotion to anyone, individual or corporate--only to give free expression to ideas and ideals. Express (preferably by example) some kind of altruistic ideal, and these people will come running. But someone who hints (by word or action) that he sees nothing more in all this, than opportunities for self-promotion, has probably lost any chance of sympathy.

Some problems with being an editor:

• 2 of 3 listings aren't listable for various reasns
  • under construction / flash / bad descriptions / duplicate content (difficult to recognize)
• 90% of submissions need editing, submitters seem to think editors are there to clean things up
  • Garnet's Note: Or maybe the skill to make a reasonable submission just isn't as widespread as those who find easy would think.
• 60 minutes to insert 15 sites, but many more submissions than the 40 sites it's possible to look through in a day.
• Difficult to
  • Spot the counterfeits
  • spot pseudonymous doorways
  • anonymous self proclaimed "authorities"
  • "general information" whitewash on ad banner farms
  • "attractive" "quality" promotional pages

Other directories:

• BOTW, Skaffe, [JoeAnt], Ezilon

Hutcheson does a good job ellucidating the difference between ODP and webmasters

• ODP founded to focus on surfers interests.
• ODP feels like it is defending the interests of surfers against webmasters
• Many other sites exist to service webmasters, ODP doesn't need to be one of them.
• Lack of shared interest leads to no communication.

Hutcheson comments on what makes it difficult to become an editor?

• Someone engaging in self promotion rather than demonstrating quality or intentions
• Someone into public-spirited work, fluent, capable of understanding taxonomic, linguistic, logical guidelines, should be able to demonstrate

Hutcheson on "webmaster forums":

• I wouldn't ever think of getting my dose of reality here, although it's a morbidly-fascinating picture into some popular delusions. Someone who only visits this and other "professional webmaster" forums is really going to be out of touch. It's important, I think, to deal with people who are doing, well, different things: and there are all sorts of places where you can find them.

Hutcheson mentions the concept of "the ODP patron". Not sure, maybe this is a reference to whoever is owning ODP, at the moment AOL.

Notes:

• winharp, and Zerotre, are apparently dmoz editors, in addition to hutcheson (likely a meta or senior editor)