The longest, and perhaps most controversial, reorganization in ODP history was the one that resulted at last in the Regional Guidelines. It was also one of the more successful, in my opinion.

Prior to the Regional Guidelines, it was difficult for us as editors to find our way around various U.S. state categories, with every state using a different standard and many states using no standard at all.

I won't go into the entire history of the reorganization, as any who may be interested can find the threads within the Regional Forum. History is fine, but it is the implementation that is important.

I've heard it said that the Regional tree is unique, that the structure of Regional is something entirely different from the rest of the project. It is true that the Regional tree is unique. Within the ODP subject categories, the primary focus is on the subject or topical nature of the site. The primary focus in Regional is on the location or region.

Since Web sites are developed by people, either as individuals or as part of a company or organization; and since people, companies, and organizations usually exist in some particular place, it can safely be said that most sites can be listed twice in the directory - once in a subject area and again in Regional.

This is one area in which Regional is unique. Another unique trait has to do with where we list sites within Regional. Within a subject category, such as Home, the focus of the site is the primary determining factor in site placement, while in Regional it is the location of the business, organization, or individual. Within these geographical categories, sites may be subcategorized according to subject, but only as a secondary measure.

Since few companies, organizations, or individuals reside within buildings large enough to encompass more than one locality, the proper location for a site within the Regional category is usually within the Localities category that corresponds to a city, town, or village. In fact most of the site listings within Regional are actually within the appropriate Localities/ categories.

While a county government office may reside within a specific locality, the fact that it is a county government office might imply that it would be more appropriately listed under the corresponding County. The same may be true of state government sites, those relating to metropolitan statistical areas, and others in which the actual location of the office may be of only secondary importance to the user.

Generally, a site should be listed only once in Regional. In determining the one best location for a site, we can safely assume this will be within a Localities/ subcategory. When faced with a company having brick-and-mortar locations within multiple cities or towns, we need not list it in multiple Localities/ categories. Instead, we should find the one category that is best. For example, if each of the localities in which it has a location are within the same county, we might choose to list it under that county. If its locations spread through two or more counties, perhaps a Metro_Areas/, Regions/, or (rarely) a State-level subject category would be best. Rarely will a site be appropriately listed in more than one Regional category.

It is also important to remember that exceptions to the rule are just that...exceptions. They should not be made lightly, nor should they be made without discussion within an appropriate Regional Forum thread.

There are, however, some cases in which the exception has become the rule itself after being decided upon in the Regional Forum. Real Estate is the most notable example. Because a REALTOR or real estate agent usually serves an area much larger than the city in which his primary office is located, they will often submit to each of the Localities/ for which they have listings. After discussion, it was decided that we would list their sites only once, within the Localities/ subcategory that corresponds to the actual location of their office. We also established a template for listing real estate sites. These can be examined in more detail within the Real Estate Guidelines.

Although there are some sites that can be more appropriately listed within these categories, State-level subject categories, Regions/, Metro_Areas/, and Counties/ categories are mostly intended to house @Links to the categories in which the sites are listed; within Localities/ or in the larger Subject categories. These @Links permit the user to find what he is looking for regardless of where he opts to begin.

With the exception of some of the smaller ones, each of the Localities/ categories are subcategorized according to a template based on staff guidelines and editor discussion. These subject subcategories are created as needed for proper categorization or @Linking purposes. Where there may be only one site to list within a subcategory, the creation of that subcategory would be unnecessary unless required for @Linking purposes.

When it becomes necessary to further subcategorize beyond the limits of the official guidelines, you may refer to the more dynamic Topic Subcategories and Beyond template, which stems from the Beyond the Template threads in the Regional Forum. Please feel free to participate in these very important discussions.

Within Regional, not all countries are structured identically. Certain insurmountable differences have resulted in two basic models for categorization. A review of the Regional Guidelines will reveal that these models are very similar, and that they do not detract significantly from the overall standardization of the Regional tree.

Appropriate modifications have been made even within the United States portion of Regional. United_States/Louisiana/, for example, uses Parishes/ instead of Counties/, while United_States/Alaska/ uses Boroughs/. The United_States/Hawaii portion of the tree differs also, reflecting the uniqueness of this multi-island state. United_States/Rhode_Island, on the other hand, isn't large enough to be divided into Regions/ and Metro_Areas/. These logical and minor differences serve to enhance rather than to detract from the standardization of Regional.

While Regional is indeed unique, it is not entirely different from the rest of the directory. The Regional Guidelines serve to supplement, not supplant the general Editorial Guidelines, just as Regional enhances but does not take away from our subject categories. This is one project, and this is one directory.

I recognize that I may not have answered all of your questions, and will concede that it might even be true that I have increased your level of confusion regarding Regional, but I hope that this has been of some assistance. For answers to more specific questions, you should feel free to contact me. If I don't have an answer, I'll make something up.