At Mercury Center, tech columnist Dan Gilmor wrote an interesting column
today about the "Open Directory Project", which I had never heard of
before. Go to
http://www.mercurycenter.com/svtech/columns/gillmor/docs/dg020799.htm
(excerpt below)
Is there anyone on this list works on the "Open Directory Project"? I'm
intrigued by this. It is similar to a Yahoo type directory but is all
non-profit and volunteer driven, according to Gilmor's article. Check out
http://directory.mozilla.org/
Barry Lee Brisco
ToTheWeb.com
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Netizens raise a virtual barn called the `Open Directory Project'
BY DAN GILLMOR
Mercury News Technology Columnist
BARN-RAISINGS are a relic of times gone by, when a community would come
together to help one of its own. Barn-raisings were about voluntarism and
cooperation.
People are constantly raising virtual barns on the Internet. Much of the
software controlling the Net's basic functions, for example, was created by
teams of volunteers. They came together in cyberspace and they worked at
different times, but their goals were akin to the barn-builders of yore: to
help the community and, by extension, themselves.
One of the most intriguing Net ventures isn't about software, per se. This
one is about sharing information in the purest sense: a directory of World
Wide Web sites, created by volunteers, that is beginning to achieve
critical mass.
It's called the ``Open Directory Project,'' and it looks a lot like the
category leader, Yahoo. The hierarchy of listings is similar, following the
eminently sensible approach that Yahoo's founders dreamed up when they
began their Web catalog.
The Open Directory is especially fascinating because it is now part of a
for-profit company, Netscape Communications Corp. Will its thousands of
volunteers -- dwarfing the professional staffs at Yahoo and other
commercial directory sites -- keep working so hard on a project that
ultimately benefits shareholders of a large company?
More at http://www.mercurycenter.com/svtech/columns/gillmor/docs/dg020799.htm
http://directory.mozilla.org/
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