This website located at DmozSucks.org was created/started to shed some light on and be critical of the Open Directory project, located at Dmoz.org. Though the Open Directory Project (ODP) started out as a great idea, based on allowing volunteers editors take care and review submissions/suggestion of the website links in the directory and organizing the directory in such a way to make it easy useful, and authoritative and in finding the best websites in their fields.

This was great for a while, until the Directory started growing and the heavy load was too much to bare, not for the lack of Editors (Dmoz currently boasts about having over 70,000 editors) but for the laziness of the current Editors and the crazy "work/business" model that they try to justify. The biggest concern of most webmasters is that some of the biggest search engines specially Google (where most traffic on the web currently is generated through searches conducted on this search engine) seem to rank-higher and give more importance (though not officially confirmed by Google) to websites listed in the Dmoz Directory.
This issue is one of the most discussed issues in Search Engine Optimization (SEO) forums. So, in reality and contrary to what Dmoz Editors claim that the directory is not directly important or relevant to search engine traffic and results, most competent SEO companies would tell you otherwise.

The directory is not owned by the Editors and the only way to make it better and see it serve the purpose of its creators is for Netscape to implement some changes. There is nowhere else to truly complain and discuss the short-comings of this directory and its negative impact on a lot of websites, except at the resource-zone where as you would guess, you have to walk on eggs as not to dare and say something negative where the Editors jump on you and God only knows what they do to retaliate? I am not sure about this, but my guess is that they may have the power to ban your website from ever being listed. That is why this website was started, We are planning on exposing all the negativity associated with the directory. We will soon start public petition calling for Netscape/AOL to make serious changes to the system currently employed by ODP editors, or just scrap it all together, maybe then legitimate websites will be able to stand fairly on their own without the need to get the near impossible stamp of approval from the kings and queens of Dmoz.

The directory as it is today does hurt quality websites that are not listed in it. Not because the directory itself is anything special, but for the great deal of importance that search engines assign to websites listed in it. Until Google and other Search Engines trash this Directory, and choose to use a different approach that is SEO accessible and attainable by most serious webmasters, this directory will always stick out as a sore thumb in any serious website SEO efforts.

There is still hope that someone in authority will take a serious look at the awful short-comings of this and turn it around and make it what it was originally designed to be. Discussions of the many problems with and concerns about the directory will be discussed in depth at the Web Forums, and in submitted articles with constructive suggestions for improvements. These problems and discussions will make clear the reasons why this website was created. The problems include the egotistic Editors, lengthy waiting list, the dead links, the 70,000 editors wasting time instead of getting things done (I Know its a volunteer issue, but there are many people who are willing to do the job better and faster). Editors should be on a tight and short leash. They are a dime a dozen. This just the tip of the ice burg, more issues in the main website.

Even though we elected to design the website similar in color and layout as Dmoz's own website, We made sure that we have enough visual and of course textual differences to make it very clear at the first glance that this website can never be confused with the Dmoz.org website. we believe that this is a fair use in that will tight it in and make it clear that we are in fact discussing and criticizing and suggesting improvements of the Dmoz website.

FAIR USE NOTICE: This site may contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available as a reference in an effort to advance understanding of issues related to the effects (Adverse and otherwise) on websites and webmasters in relation to The ODP. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml.

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