If the ODP were a garden, then it would be a most spectacular garden, tremendous in size and with expanses of lush, well maintained terrain. Unfortunately, it would also contain large sections of barren desert and dense, impenetrable jungle. There are many editors who enjoy tracking down and listing sites to fill in the barren sections, but it is the jungle that calls to me.

In the very short time that I have edited here, I have taken on three categories with high numbers of unreviewed sites, each more difficult than the last. So if you are a jungle fan and thinking about taking on a new category, or you've already signed up for and been approved for some category desperately in need of help, but you're not sure how to go about tackling this challenge, I would like to offer you some ideas on how to get the most out of this experience.

The first thing you should realize about categories with lots of unreviewed sites is that there is a reason why the sites pile up the way they do -- webmasters keep submitting new sites and, unfortunately, they also keep submitting old sites too. The more badly overgrown the category, the higher, on average, the submitted site rate will be. If you and the other editors working with you can't keep up with new submissions, you will never be able to make a real dent in the total number of unreviewed sites. Down this road lies frustration and burnout -- get more help.

So we're going to assume that you've researched the category you are interested in before applying for it, and you are confident that you can at least keep up with the submission rate. Now what? Well, before you go off half-cocked, don't forget about your other categories. They have few or no unreviewed sites, no errors and the descriptions are all reasonably correct and within the guidelines because otherwise, you wouldn't have gotten editing privileges for the new category. It is your responsibility to insure that they stay that way. You will probably want to have two things in place for your old categories. The first is an unreviewed ceiling. If the total number of submitted sites gets over, say 5 or 10, then you should go back and take care of them - immediately. The second is a schedule
for periodically going through and checking the sites to insure that they still warrant listings and to update the descriptions.

Now you're finally ready to make a dent in the big pile of unreviewed sites. What should one do first? Well, if you're like most people, you'll go for the obvious deletes - duplicate submissions. Actually, this is a good plan for two reasons. First, it is a nice little icebreaker. You can do it without fear of making a mistake, yielding some low risk sense of accomplishment in preparation for the big moves you'll be tackling shortly. Second, large numbers of unreviewed sites load more slowly, putting a damper on productivity. After tackling the obvious deletes, it is time to go for the obvious moves - sites in the wrong language. Here is where you need to look at the "alternate language" links for the category or the ones above it. Use copy/paste to transfer each site to the most specific "alternate language" category that you can find in the World hierarchy.

Unfortunately, you have now finished most of the easy work. Depending upon the category, there may be some specialized type of sites that must be either moved or deleted and with experience they can often be recognized just from their titles and descriptions. In the Shopping categories, I can smell an affiliate site - without even trying. Eventually, even these sites too will be gone.

What I like to do next is to draw two lines in the dirt. The first is my target or goal: the number at which I'd like to see the unreviewed queue. Don't pick 0. You'll get there eventually, but if you're like me and you have work, family and sleep on your schedule then you likely are going to have to work off the unreviewed backlog in small bites. Pick a round number smaller than the current number of unreviewed. For example, in Shopping/Toys_and_Games there are, as I write, 247 unreviewed sites, so my current target is 240. Setting goals and processing unreviewed in small chunks will help you manage things better, and keep yourself from getting overwhelmed.

The other line is, perhaps more important. This line is the ceiling, which represents the largest unreviewed backlog that you are willing to live with at the current time. Usually, I use as my ceiling the previous target that I was working towards. In Toys_and_Games, the ceiling I'm currently using is 250. The ceiling is important because even if you aren't able to work down to the target, at least you know that the category isn't getting any worse. Also, at any time another editor could come in and edit some sites, perhaps even enough to hit the target, but for that to happen you've got to keep that ceiling target to prevent if from getting unruly.

If you are having trouble maintaining the ceiling then either (a) the submit rate has increased and you need to get help, or (b) perhaps you are suffering from some burnout and you need a change of scenery. At one point, I had Toys_and_Games down to 150 unreviewed, but I started losing interest and before I knew it, the unreviewed backlog was over 350. I saw a call for help in another shopping category, and picked up Shopping/Home_and_Garden/Furniture. Since furniture is my last category, I am often able to do little more than maintain the ceiling, but having a change of scenery has re-energized my editing. Remember you don't edit in a vacuum. There is always help available if you need it. Just call CatBusters.

It may take some time to completely eliminate the unreviewed backlog for a category, and get it into a maintenance mode. Large backlogs don't happen overnight so don't expect to get rid of them overnight either. Even after the backlog has been eliminated, your work still isn't done. While you were busy working off the backlog, your category hopefully accumulated a whole pile of new listings and is likely ripe for some subcategories, which will help manage your ever expanding category, and perhaps entice someone new to join and help out.

Happy editing! - Dfmclean