More experienced editors, have you ever sat and stared at your screen, taking in a sea of green unreviewed numbers, and wished that you could recruit some help? Not that easy though - the cats in question are too large or too specialised or just plain unpopular, and there are no editors working their way up towards them.
Greenbusters was born as a solution to both of these problems. Pioneered in World/Italiano by albovicamp and ettore, it began life in the English-language directory on 14th September 2001. A volunteer editor applies for a category in Test/ODP/Greenbusters in their name. The administrating editors move small batches of unreviewed sites, from the volunteer's chosen areas, into the Test cat for review. The volunteer reviews the sites and publishes them in their test cat. The administrating editors then check that all is well with the edits, and move them into the live directory. Everybody wins: swamped or neglected areas of the directory have sites reviewed and published which otherwise might not have been; new and not so new editors gain experience in areas they couldn't otherwise reach, boost their edit numbers, and have the satisfaction of seeing their work go live; quality control is ensured by the checks administrating editors do before moving the sites to the live directory; abuse control is ensured by a new system which allows us to account for every single site which passes through Greenbusters.
Currently we have nearly 50 volunteers in the 'main' project, and between them they have so far contributed well over 4000 sites to the live directory and they have cleared hundreds more duplicate unreviewed submissions and robozilla errors. As well as the original project in World/Italiano and the 'main' project, there are also Greenbuster versions running in Kids_and_Teens, where volunteers have published/dealt with over 350 greens, and in several areas of World/. Many volunteers have gained valuable experience in target areas, for which they have then been able to put in successful applications. All are welcome - whether you want to edit a few sites now and then or whether you want to edit a lot, every day. There are no time limits and there's no pressure - volunteers work at their own pace. We're a friendly bunch, and happy to provide one-on-one advice and mentoring to those volunteers who are still refining their skills.
Have questions? The following is adapted from the FAQ:
Q: Can anyone join up?
A: Almost anyone. We prefer that you have at least 100 edits, and if
you have under 500 edits we prefer that you have no current unreviewed sites
in your existing categories.
Q: How do I join?
A: Post in the current Greenbusters action thread (see links) to say
that you would like to join. Administrators will create a category in your name
for you to apply for. Apply to it in the normal manner, and post again in the
action thread to let us know when you are accepted.
Q: How many unreviewed sites will I be sent?
A: If you have under 500 edits, you will be sent sites in batches of
30. If you have more than 500 edits, you can specify how many sites you want,
up to 100 at a time.
Q: Can I choose where the sites come from?
A: Yes, within reason. You can specify various areas of interest - these
could be as general as a whole tree (Arts/ or Business/ for instance) or more
specific such as large 2nd or 3rd level cats. You can also specify your interests
in general terms such as 'Film' or 'Children' or 'Transport' - topics which
cover a variety of cats within ODP. We will make every effort to accommodate
your preferences, but we will not send sites from cats which already have active
editors or are being well cared for by higher level editors, or from certain
abuse-prone areas of the directory.
Q: What if I get a new category and find I have a lot of work to do there?
Is it OK for me to stop greenbusting for a while?
A: Yes, absolutely. 'Real' categories should always take priority over
your greenbusters work. You can leave, or pause, the project at any time.
Q: How can senior editors help?
A: We can always use more hands to help with the administration of moving
sites in and out. Senior editors can also help us out by suggesting areas they'd
like to see Greenbusters working in, and by volunteering to look over edits
destined for parts of the directory like Adult/ or other categories with specific
guidelines.
If you have specific questions, please feel free to ask me or post in the discussion thread. We'll be delighted to have you on board!
Greenbusters Category: http://dmoz.org/Test/ODP/Greenbusters/
Current Action Thread: http://dmoz.org/forum/threaddisplay.cgi?t=Forum1/HTML/003971.html
Current Discussion Thread: http://dmoz.org/forum/threaddisplay.cgi?t=Forum1/HTML/003910.html with the announcement about new guidelines at item#45 of that thread.
- merlin1