home / contact / Established on 9/1/2007 --- Please send us suggestions for sites to add to this list -- and suggestions on how we might improve the site / Tell your friends about this site: we have no ad budget and depend on happy visitors to spread the word. Please report dead links and errors / Martin R. Carbone / 5123 Don Rodolfo Drive / Carlsbad, CA 92010 / Telephone: 760-603-1910 / FAX: 760-603-1930 / Website <<http://www.alphabeticalist.com>>

Alphabeticalist Topics --- A / B / C / D / E / F / G / H / I / J-K / L / M / N / O / P / Q / R / S / T / U-V / W / X-Y-Z

Q: Is the Google directory the same as the DMOZ directory?
A: It sure looks like it to us.

Check out the Google directory at << http://www.google.com/dirhp >> and, the DMOZ directory at << http://www.dmoz.org/ >>.

They both have essentially the same information -- except Google runs the entries from top to bottom and the DMOZ runs the entries left to right.

Note that the Google directory page has a box at the bottom of the page, where it asks for volunteers -- and a link that goes to "Open Directory Project"

When I first noticed this -- I thought, "Google owns the DMOZ" -- and was satsified that was the truth.

But now I notice Google says nothing on its home page about owning, running or sponsoring the DMOZ.

What is going on?

If you go to wikipedia at << http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dmoz >> you will find a long article that appears to tell everything you could possibly want to know about the DMOZ including the "ownership and management", "license and requirements" and "controversy and criticism". But as far as I can tell -- there is no mention of Google -- except it does say "ODP data powers the core directory services for many of the Web's largest search engines and portals, including Netscape Search, AOL Search, Google, and Alexa."

I am under the impression that Netscape is basically out of business and AOL is a shadow of its former self -- so they can't be doing much to support DMOZ.

I therefor come to the conclusion that Google owns, or at least sponsors, DMOZ and for some unknown reason does not want that to be a well known fact. Perhaps they do not want it well known that they are hedging their bets on their search system being the best way to find information on the internet.

Is the DMOZ and Google directory an Open Source Directory whereby anyone can use the data under a "Open Directory License"? Or is all of the information protected by copyright?