When did you join ODP?
Looking... July 15th, 2004.
As long as you're looking, what was your first category?
Why did you choose that category?
Photography is one of my main hobbies and so I picked a category in an area that interested me.
I also noticed there was no editor listed (which I now know is not important), but I also knew of several sites that were not already listed.
What are some of your other interests?
What is your job outside of ODP?
I work for a pharmaceutical company designing new drugs. The specifics of which I cannot really go into. Darn contracts.
Do any of your "real-life" friends know what you do while editing? Do they even know that you edit?
Most of my friends know that I edit, although most conversations start off with "What's DMOZ?" I've tried to explain the concept to them and most
get it once they visit the website. A few are now regular visitors, and they are glad I told them about it. They always explain their frustrations with search results
and find the human edited element a great benefit. Some seemed interested to explore the possibility of applying to edit, but as yet I don't think any of them have.
Hopefully they will visit enough that they stumble on a category that needs editing and will apply!
So you haven't tried to "convert" any of them into editors yet?
I've tried to nudge them in that direction. I have hopes, but as yet nothing has come of my efforts.
 I've still got a few friends who I've not told, so hopefully they will take the plunge and catch the
editing bug.
What was the most important thing you learned as a newbie?
Ask questions! The forums are an excellent resource for help and advice. I encourage new editors to visit them often and never hesitate to post
questions. There is always someone out there who can answer queries or offer advice. |
What is your favorite category to edit? Why?
I have a couple of favourites, I really enjoy editing in the Oxfordshire
category in Regional/Europe/United_Kingdom,
only because it reminds me of home, and also it's fun to see local businesses I used to visit move on to
the web. Of course, I also love editing in Arts/Photography mainly because it's a hobby of mine and it's great to
see other photographers' work. Is there anything you dislike about editing? (If so, what?) If you could change one thing about ODP, what would you change?
I cannot think of anything I dislike about editing (other than how addictive it is. lol). I think if I could change one thing about ODP it would be
how our data is used. I would like to see more people visiting dmoz.org, using our data directly, developing our search feature to be
more powerful, and to offer more search options. Making it more user friendly for the public. What did you do in your free time (non-work) before you were an editor?
Before I was an editor I used to spend way too much time on work related projects. I also
used to spend a lot of time just browsing round the web, so editing has not really affected that much because I still get to do that now, but when I find a good site
I can go and add it to the directory, whereas before it would just sit for eternity in my ever growing
Firefox bookmarks. Which editor(s) do you admire the most?
I admire all the editors who have contributed to the project past and present. Without its editors, DMOZ would not be the largest human-edited
directory on the web.
Has your editing "style" changed since since being granted editall? If so, how?
I don't think my overall style has changed. I think as an editall I have learned to adapt my style depending on which area of the directory I am
working in.
And lastly, and in my opinion most importantly, what's your favorite kind of ice cream?
Mocha almond fudge!
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