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World/ gives you great scope in terms of what you find - it's equivalent in scope to almost all the top levels put together (that is, except for Kids_and_Teens/, and Adult/). One question remains, however; and that is, to what extent do we mirror the top level, and also how we use the target language in World/. This is definitely not anything definitive about the first, but rather, I'd like to discuss some of the ideas here.
A question that has come up in various discussions, both in areas I've edited in, as well as other areas ... to what extent do World/ languages need to correspond to the top level?
This is a hard question, and I think there are two sides to balance. On one hand, altlanglinks and the fact that we're trying to build a global directory for everyone means that it is clearly desirable that we don't introduce differences for no reason. English ontology has proven successful and usable for the most part; it is rather "mature". "Reinventing the wheel" is folly. It is also very useful to follow broadly the same scheme, especially for users and editors who are multilingual. For instance it would be most irritating if I was a French Canadian and I'd have to go to totally different parts of the directory to find the same type of content at Top and in World/Français.
On the other hand, following English totally would not make sense either. Firstly, English editors may make mistakes. Secondly, and more importantly, the set-up in English may not make sense in other languages. For instance, languages may have different ways of expressing things. The scope of English words may not be the same as in the target language. Moreover, difference in number of sites may make it bad ontology to set up the exact same ontology. Another problem is that quite a few World/ languages are not global in scope.
We need to strike a balance. And to do so, we might want to look at the top level separately.
At the top level, it has to be appreciated that, firstly, staff has stated that it would not be changed readily -- that it is, to all intents and purposes, fixed. Some of it still doesn't quite fit in with what people might think logical -- Reference/Education being a case in point. It follows that, in spirit, World/ languages should follow the same setup at that level -- that is, the same top levels are used (except for Kids and Teens, and Adult). However, it may still not make sense. Therefore, if it doesn't make sense in the language in question, I think it would still be sensible to create some additional categories at the top level, as long as these decisions are made carefully, and follow the same rules as any other subcategory.
At other levels it is a bit different. Whilst I can't foresee Arts/Music being moved to Recreation/, it is not set in stone like any other category, as I see it. Therefore, I see a case for greater variation at these levels. However, I can't see arbitrary differences helping either. Creating the equivalent of Arts/Music_and_Movies or to place sites in different parts of the directory without real cultural differences leading to a difference would just prevent altlanglinks from being formed, and cause confusion for bilingual users who view the directory. However, again, cultural differences should be respected, and so you should, in my view, not hesitate to be different from Top, but use it as a reference. The same can be said of other similiar World/ languages.
So, in summary, use Top/ as a reference, but it is a reference point, and should not be considered as gospel.
I've seen people in various situations not using the target language properly. A key point to note is that a World/language category, considered with its companion Adult/World/<language> and Kids_and_Teens/International/<language> categories, form essentially a version of Top/ in that language. In that vein, it's not the same as Regional/.
It follows that all sites should be in the target language. English sites on the region where said language is spoken should be placed in Regional/. Bilingual sites, as explained in the guidelines, can be listed in both places. In particular, it may be multiple listed in each language where appropriate. For instance, sites may be listed in all of Regional/, topical and World simultaneously.
However, it is difficult in a sense for some sites. I have seen some (mainly personal pages) where half the content is in Traditional Chinese, and the other half is in English, but the content does not overlap. Now, clearly, this is not a reason to not list it. However, the question is, where do we list it? There's nothing in the guidelines in this, so it's a matter of common sense, I feel. List it where people would be able to read it. Say, most of the Traditional Chinese/English mixed sites are listed in World/Chinese_Traditional, as the English/Chinese mix would be commonly understood by Chinese speakers. However, I feel it also depends on the mix. If it can be mostly understood without knowing the other language, then list it in the language that most of it is in.
Another thing that cannot be stressed enough is the fact that the category itself should be understandable by people who understand the target language. Whilst in some cases, where there is no translation for technical terms, it would make sense to use English terms, it is common sense that all text -- category names, titles and descriptions -- should use the authentic language, except where there is no standard, in which case it should be discussed. Ideally UTF-8 should be used in these cases. Note moreover that search is not a factor to take into consideration, as noone uses it apart from submitters and editors (basically). So, for instance, you should use proper special characters instead of using similiar English letters. As for titles that are not in the target language, use of English can be tolerated, I believe ... use your common sense.
World editors should take care to use the proper language in order to form a version of DMOZ that is, as much as possible, in the target language, with sites in the target language. However, whilst doing so, please take care that this is part of a global directory, and hence consideration should be taken to ensure its cohesiveness.
- yklaw