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Whether it's your first day at the Open Directory Project or you're a meta who has been with the project since the very beginning of "Gnuhoo," chances are somewhere down the line you've taken a break and ventured on over to the Penguin Café. What exactly is the Penguin Café for? Well, as the description of the forum points out, it's "A social club for humor and other non-editing related topics." From bragging about your editing statistics, recognizing those who you appreciate most, or wondering how well your fellow colleagues really know you, the diversity of available discussions in the Penguin Café is endless.
Why exactly is the Penguin Café important? Well, if the above isn't already enough for you, here's more. With the exception of a select few workaholics, no one wants to work on reorganizations, adding new sites, or cleaning up the mess of other editors 24/7. You need a break, take one; any editor who suffers from burnout shouldn't be forced to do more work than wanted. What's more, haven't you ever wondered when your favorite editor's birthday is or if the world REALLY has any sympathy for you and your life's troubles? Chances are, a lot of the time the very questions you want answers to have nothing to do with editing, and hence are largely inappropriate in forums dedicated to house discussion of serious editing issues. The Penguin Café is the perfect solution to remedy such a problem.
As mentioned, specific threads in the Penguin Café focus on a variety of things. First off, there's Regional differences. Editors from across the globe attempt to organize a get together, whether it be in Europe's United Kingdom or North America's USA. Recently, editors have made quizzes of themselves for other editors to gauge themselves on how well they know their colleagues. The thread is pretty packed with humiliating and hilarious experiences, so there is never a dull moment. In addition to the mass quizzing, editors have been discussing the mysterious Green Ball Award that has left everyone from editor Joe to staff puzzled. It seems that each category page that have received an edit lately generates this mysterious green ball award. Those who don't like the green ball award may now perhaps have a legitimate excuse to not edit, and instead spend this extra time in Penguin Café. Use this excuse while you can, as it may pass in the near future. [ed: The true meaning of the green ball has since been revealed, sorry, you'll need to find a new distraction. :)]
On a more serious note, discussions in Penguin Café can get a bit controversial, housing debates and subjective conversations. Editors in recent months have each expressed their own opinions regarding the attacks of September 11th. Anyone with an active interest should feel free to voice their opinions, though it is of course more important to be sensitive and respect the opinions of others. On a lighter note, those who are quite the opinionated ones can also use their thoughts to come up with creative stories by participating in the Word Game. These topics specifically have very little, if anything, to do with editing issues. But what would the Penguin Café be without at least some mentioning of the directory at large? It's for this reason that editors frequently see other threads devoted to DMOZ in general, though perhaps not editing per say. In an attempt to make a grim process a bit more comical, a Fake Removal thread was initiated. It seems like non meta editors can vote to remove in this fake world as well; after all, a few of them have decided that the resident staff editor is a 25-headed hydra. I wonder who will promote these very same people in the future by granting them super editing privileges. In addition to this thread, apparently the difference between real life and DMOZ is virtually nil for some editors. As the thread the "Worse Case of ODP Taking Over Real Life" clearly implicates, editors have developed the uncanny habit of muttering DMOZ-specific terminologies that any non-editor would fail to understand. In extreme cases, some editors are extremely addicted to the concept of the ODP, and freely admit to dreaming about the project in their dreams. The extreme of extremes, however, tops the list in item 17 of this thread for which both the poster and the message will remain anonymous.
As a final pointer to a few closing threads, the latest version of who you appreciate on DMOZ and bragging about your editing statistics should certainly come in handy if you feel recognition is due. With so many great editors in the directory, it is important that we post often in appreciative threads. True, we are all here on a volunteer basis, but there are times when even volunteers wouldn't mind a certain level of applause for a job well done.
The Penguin Café has played a vital role in the management and well-being of a self-regulating community. Not only is it a place to relieve the burdens that editing can incur on our hard workers, it's been an essential component in fostering the process of editors becoming great friends with each other. So why not maximize your possibilities and meet some new people across the directory? The café awaits you. What will you post about today?