Remember this? (Unless you’ve been reading me since March 2002, you won’t remember it.) Well, now I’m up to this. My first 10k took three years and three months, and my second 10k took four years and nine months. I’m surprised it was that close at all, given that I haven’t edited as much in the past few years as I did in the first few - I even won “Laziest Editor” in fall 2005 - although it’s now easier to do random little edits here and there because I’m a higher-level editor. (I joined in November 1998, became an editall in December 2001, a catmv in May 2002, and a meta in March 2004.)

I hope I’m doing the right thing over at ODP. For several months I have been participating in threads about what should happen to the weblogs category. Many careless edits have been made there in the past, so the category definitely needed help. I figured out that rather than duplicating the entire directory structure within the weblogs category, it would be more appropriate for small weblogs categories to appear throughout the directory. I even started a discussion in a quasi-hidden section of the forum (restricted to those with certain higher privileges), and most of the feedback I got from that thread was quite positive…but minimal. After six weeks with nothing but positive feedback (though again, not much of that), I decided to go ahead and announce the reorganization.

I’m working on it now, and I am scared that I’m screwing things up. I have been working at ODP for longer than most editors - since late 1998 - and I’ve risen high in the ranks with primarily positive comments about me, but I still worry that I’m not doing the right thing. I’m trying to tell myself that I know how the directory works, and that I am being careful to maintain a holistic approach, but I just know there will be editors who will question what I’m doing. I’ve started with a very tiny category to break up - the sports blogs section. I am mostly sending them to “news and media” and “fan pages” sections, because in the case of sports most of these blogs are either news updates or fan pages. And yet part of me still worries.

I wish I could get some other people to help out with the project, but the editors who have been involved in editing there in the past are also known to be controversial, so I’m afraid of asking for their help for fear that they’ll just tell me I’m doing the wrong thing. Other editors who I think would make great assistants on the reorganization project simply don’t know enough about weblogs to understand what to do. (I would venture a guess that I’m one of ODP’s most knowledgable editors when it comes to weblogs.)

I just hope I’m doing the right thing. And even if I’m not, I hope I’m caught early enough that going through my edit history isn’t a huge chore.

The e-mail situation is resolved. I didn’t get my messages back, but I’m okay with the result.

I’ve been doing a lot of work lately in the the Canoeing and Kayaking category at ODP. As a kayaker, it was frustrating to see such disarray in that category. I decided to make cleaning it up a project, and I sent a proposal to the editors in the category above (Water Sports). Only one of them responded, but we exchanged e-mails and I got the go-ahead. I’ve been doing a ton of work and I was really pleased with myself.

Yesterday I got a praise-filled e-mail from a meta editor who has done a lot of work in C&K over some time, but who isn’t directly responsible for the cat. I was really delighted to hear something good and tonight I sent a message back saying thank you. I also mentioned that I had made some other changes, and I just got a response that sounded really angry and said I shouldn’t have done that, and ended with “Please do not do this again. I must not say any more right now.”

This is the first time in more than five years this has happened. I have never cried because of editing ODP before. I’m stunned and hurt. I love ODP dearly but I’m scared I may have to quit now. I guess that’s mostly because I still feel the changes I made were the right thing to do. And if my way conflicts with the right way, then maybe I don’t belong there anymore. I don’t want to stop, but I’m not sure what to do in the wake of this letter.

According to the Net-Sweeper software used to block objectionable sites at the middle school where I worked today, http://dmoz.org/ is a Sex Site. Now granted there is an Adult section, but it’s a directory. It definitely should not be blocked; it even has a Kids & Teens section! Grrr.

I knew I’d been nominated for Cutest Editor because I begged for that nomination, but I didn’t expect to be leading the results! It’s bound to change, but right now I have 22 votes which is 17.5% (there are fourteen of us in the running). I do hope I win that one, it would be a self-esteem boost if nothing else. (After all, you don’t have to be a good editor to be the cutest.)

I was surprised to see that I was nominated for Hardest Editor Name to Pronouce…there are others much more confusing than mine! I only have 3 votes (1.7%), but how can I compete against fertighausfachberater, icxcnika, rfgdxm and rd400d77?

I am making an attempt to be back at ODP. Hooray! I haven’t been a proper editor there for a couple of years, even though I was one of the first few editors to sign up way back in 1998. After running a Cafepress shop for ODP products for two years, I have finally been recognized as the person to take care of such matters. Another editor has set me up with a domain name and great hosting, and I will actually get to make a good shop. I’m really looking forward to this. A has training in Boston this week, so I will have plenty of time to work on it (but alas no laptop, so I’ll be in the kitchen on the desktop).

Sometime after carguy’s site about DC Transit systems dropped off the face of the Internet, I went looking for it but had no luck. Tonight I was going through the greens on my ODP dashboard and noticed it was still in the unreviewed of the DC subways category, so I set about trying to find it once again.

To my surprise, the site was back! Now located at clouse.org, it appears the same as it did long ago. It was apparently last updated on 1 Dec 2002, so it’s been around for two months. The site is a truly wonderful resource, with extensive information about the Metro, the old D.C. Transit service, the local heavy rail system, and even the Capitol subway. If it’s not already apparent, I’m thrilled the site is back.

I was so happy when Linnea asked me to answer some questions about ODP. I’ve been there longer than probably 90% of current editors, and I’ve finally worked my way up to editall/catmv, but I still don’t seem to be noticed very much. (I would probably have meta by now if real life hadn’t interfered a few years ago.) She asked the questions in her own journal and asked that I post the responses here, but I’ve included her questions as well.
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Oh my goodness. I have found the youngest editor at ODP. He will turn 13 three days before Xmas. I feel positively paleolithic.

My delightful work schedule continues. Today I am interpreting for two and a half hours in Capitol Heights; MapQuest’s directions route me straight through the city and claim I’ll need 59 minutes to go 28.1 miles. I may just take the Beltway…I think going around the south way would be better at this time of day, but I’m not sure. Alternately I could take the same route I do to get to my elementary school - today’s job is near there. After I finish that at 3:30, I have to hustle over to the mall and work there from 5:00 until closing, which means I’ll be done around 10:00pm.

Tomorrow morning I’m going to the airport to pick up a good friend I haven’t seen at a while. Unfortunately, he’s flying JetBlue, so he’ll be getting in at 7:15am! (Did I mention he’s a good friend?) Then I’m working noon to 4:00pm tomorrow, and after that my friend C is coming from New York; we don’t know yet what time his train will get here. Busy busy busy.