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Dumping ground. Unwanted sites. Low on content. Crashes your browser. Useless. When you hear these phrases, what ODP category automatically springs to mind? Most likely, you're thinking of Society: People: Personal Homepages. Now that you've finished laughing, I'd like to try to dispel some of these notions, and hopefully introduce you to an entirely new world of editing. Personal Homepages - or PHPs, as they're commonly referred to - are indeed sites that have no other true home in the directory. These sites contain such a hodgepodge of information that there is no one clear placement for them. Not having a definite home, however, doesn't make these sites worthless. PHPs is not a terrible place to edit in, regardless of what you've heard from other editors. Many of the smaller letter categories are perfect for a new editor to start out in, giving him or her experience not only with listing sites, but with accessing and becoming familiar with the ontology of the rest of the directory, since many sites are submitted incorrectly, or would indeed be placed better somewhere else. Despite the fact that editors can gain valuable experience from editing in PHPs, many choose to stay away from this so-called dreaded area. Why? Well, that's what baffles me. Perhaps it's the horror stories told by other editors. Perhaps it's the overwhelming numbers of greens. Maybe it's the extraordinarily long category edit pages. Or maybe it's the even more frightening number of already poorly listed sites. Regardless of the reason, editors seem to feel generally discouraged and rather afraid to edit in PHPs. And that is what causes a problem in PHPs - lack of interest and involvement from other editors, both newbies and senior editors alike. One or two editors cannot control over 7000 sites, regardless of how dedicated or persistent they are. Our progress in cleaning up the category and basically making the world a safer place is being hindered by lack of interest. Descriptions need fixed, new sites need reviewed, subcategories need to be made. I am only one person, as are the other active PHP editors. So, if you find that you're getting a little bored editing for your hometown, favorite band, or for the newest video game, come on over to PHPs. Hey, you might be the coolest guy in Frognot, Texas - but I bet you've never edited in Personal Homepages. Visit the latest thread about Personal Homepages: |
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