Picture a child standing at an unmarked six-way intersection. One street takes him back where he came from. One is a dead end. Another will take him to a industrial complex. A fourth will lead him to a children's museum. A fifth leads to a playground. But the final route will send him straight into a dark alley where a predator lays in wait.

Are you picturing it yet?

Of the five choices before him, three are a complete waste of time. Two offer a rich and rewarding experience, while the final choice could lead the child to serious harm or even death. The child has to make a choice. He has no way of knowing where the streets lead. He has no map. He has no street signs. And he's just a child--a small, innocent, defenseless child.

Now picture, if you will, a mature guide walking up on the scene. The guide has already been down all six paths. As the child ponders which way to go, the guide magically removes the four streets that offer the child no benefit. Then he kneels beside the youngster and tells him about the two choices that remain before him.

The child contemplates his options for moment, then sprints toward the park. Perhaps he'll try the museum another day.

I like the second picture better. Don't you?

But what on earth does a kid at an intersection have to do with an Internet directory?

Well, the World Wide Web is a lot like an unmapped intersection. Standing in one spot, you have any number of options before you. Some of them are "dead ends," or error pages. Others are shopping sites or business pages--the "industrial complexes" of the Internet. Still others offer fun and games--the "playgrounds"--or educational experiences--the "museums." And then there are the darker corners of the Internet, the "dark alleys," if you will. The predators lurk in these, waiting to do anything and everything. They may be searching for identities they can steal. They may be promoting criminal activities. They might even be searching for their next victim to stalk, to terrorize, and ultimately, to kill.

It's a big world out there, online as well as off. And sometimes it's a dangerous one.

In the original Open Directory Project, we began mapping the vast online world. So far, in fact, we've given identities to more than two million of those nameless, faceless "streets" called web sites.

This past November, however, a handful of ODP editors became part of a new effort--a Kids and Teens version of the Open Directory. We're still mapping those streets. We're still helping travelers find the road that leads to the information they're seeking. But unlike the classic version of the ODP, where we're attempting to tell travelers what's at the end of every street, the Kids and Teens version directs young travelers only to the streets that are both safe and productive for them.

We filter out the dark alleys. We remove the dead end streets. We choose not to list the industrial complexes that, though perhaps safe, offer nothing of interest to younger users. But when it comes to the playgrounds and museums, well, we're building a directory on those. We search the Internet for fun-filled sites that offer kid-safe content. We scour the information highway for exits that lead to rich educational content presented in a kid-friendly fashion.

For those who have edited in the classic version of the ODP, Kids and Teens is indeed a whole new world. It has its own guidelines, available at http://dmoz.org/kguidelines.html . It has its own team of editalls and metas. And it has a structure all its own.

If you decide to join us in Kids and Teens, you'll find that there are certain types of sites we just don't include. Sites that advocate questionable or illegal behavior don't get listed. Sites that include profanity and/or obscene words and phrases aren't welcome in Kids and Teens. Shopping sites, hate sites, and sites that include sexually explicit content will find no home in Kids and Teens. We don't include sites that have adult banner ads or message boards filled with profanity or chat rooms where obscene conversations are taking place.

But those who enjoy searching for sites and building new categories will find no end of opportunities in Kids and Teens. We have literally hundreds of categories just waiting to be developed. And there's abundant flexibility in what can be added. Every listing must be kid-safe,but that doesn't mean every site has to be for kids. If a scholarly site offers contents that could meet the needs of high school students, we list it. And if a chat room geared toward teenagers does not violate guidelines, we include it.

Did you have a favorite subject in school? Check out Kids_and_Teens/School_Time/. Have a favorite sport or hobby? Choose from the many sub categories of Kids_and_Teens/Sports_and_Hobbies/ . Sign up for a sub category of Kids_and_Teens/Entertainment/Bands_and_Artists/ and find listings for your favorite band, or get involved in a sub category of Kids_and_Teens/People and Society/Biography/ and search for sites about a favorite author, artist, or political figure.

The possibilities are virtually endless. Kids and Teens is a whole new world, yes. But it's a new world filled with promise. Open Directory volunteers have already proven that humans do it better. In just a few short years, the virtually-unknown Gnuhoo project has grown into the largest human-edited directory on the Internet. Now we're embarking on a new mission: to create the most comprehensive directory of kid-safe sites on the Internet.

Remember the little boy standing at the intersection. Will you offer to guide him toward safety?

Answers to Frequently Asked Questions about Kids and Teens

1. I forwarded a teen site to you. Why didn't you list it?
The fact that a site is created specifically for children or teenagers does not guarantee inclusion in Kids and Teens. To be listed, a site must conform to the Kids and Teens guidelines spelled out at http://dmoz.org/kguidelines.html . Sites that include sexually explicit content, profanity, obscenity, and so forth will not be listed, even if they are supposedly created for our target audience.

2. This site is created by a kid or teenager. Shouldn't it be listed in Kids and Teens?
It depends. We list only sites that conform to Kids and Teens guidelines. Sites that include guestbooks filled with profanity, chat rooms where sexually explicit conversation is taking place, stories or poems that advocate violence or criminal activity, and so forth, will not be listed in Kids and Teens, regardless of the creator's age.

3. I've already listed x site in the classic ODP. Why did you double list it in Kids and Teens?
While a part of the Open Directory Project, Kids and Teens is designed to be a stand-alone directory. That means that any site listed in the classic version of the ODP may be listed in Kids and Teens as well if it provides information suitable for children or teens. As a side note, we encourage this sort of double listing. If you list a site in the classic directory that seems ideal for Kids and Teens, copy the URL and send it our way as well.

4. This site is already listed in Kids and Teens. I shouldn't double list in the classic version of the ODP, should I?
If a site is clearly of interest to kids only (a third grader's report on the life of George Washington, for instance), then it probably needs to be listed only in Kids and Teens. If a site is of general interest, please go ahead and list it in the classic version of the ODP as well.

5. Hey, why don't you add a related cat link or @link to this classic ODP cat?
Per Kids and Teens guidelines, Kids and Teens cats cannot be linked to any category outside Kids and Teens. The Kids and Teens categories are available to downstream users as a separate RDF dump, meaning that downstream users can opt to download only the Kids and Teens cat. Obviously, links outside Kids and Teens would pose a problem.

6. Well, can I link to Kids and Teens?
There is no problem with classic ODP cats linking back into Kids and Teens. In fact, if you find a Kids and Teens cat that parallels a cat in the classic version of ODP, we would urge you to link to it.

7. I've edited in the classic version of ODP for months. Why won't you accept my application for a first or second-level cat in Kids and Teens?
Kids and Teens is a separate project with separate rules. Therefore, experience in the classic ODP does not necessarily translate into the sort of experience needed to edit in Kids and Teens. Rules for describing sites are much the same; however, editors must review sites much more carefully before adding them to ensure that no portion of the site violates Kids and Teens guidelines.

8. I went to look for information on such-and-such a topic and couldn't find anything listed in Kids and Teens. Isn't this a topic that should be included in a Kids and Teens directory?
More than likely, yes. Please remember that Kids and Teens is in its infancy. For those familiar with ODP history, Kids and Teens is where Gnuhoo was a few years ago. There's a lot of room for growth. If you see a void, please consider volunteering to fill it.

9. Now that I'm an editor, where can I find sites?
We thought you'd never ask. For starters, check out the sources recommended in Test/Kids_and_Teens/Sources/ . Additional sites may be found by mining similar categories in the classic version of the ODP, using traditional search engines, and checking out links pages on existing listings.