[throwaway150]

The problem with https://ooh.directory/ is that nobody can tell what gets added and what doesn't. Submissions go through an opaque review process and a lot of good submissions don't make it.

Just try searching your favorite bloggers in ooh.directory. 9 out of 10 times they'll be missing from the directory.

I'd prefer a more transparent directory where we can can tell why something is or isn't added.

[philgyford]

Hi, it’s my site. I’m sorry you don’t feel this hobby site run by one person doesn’t have a sufficiently transparent process. The process is: I add blogs that are interesting, recently-updated, etc, when I have time. And there’s only so much of that in life.

Another problem is that I like to add a variety of sites so that people following what’s recently added don’t get swamped by loads of blogs on one topic. And last time the site got on HN the suggestions (not “submissions”) were swamped with mostly men with rarely-updated blogs about computers. I’m expecting more now :)

I also enjoy searching for blogs that I find interesting and adding those, rather than relying solely on the suggestions. Honestly, I’ve been thinking of removing the suggestions form entirely, because it results in exactly this level of expectation and uncertainty about what gets “approved”.

And, yes, of course lots of blogs are missing! Look how many blogs are in there and try to guess how many blogs there might still be out there!

[danko]

Just wanted to say: thank you for making and maintaining this. I’m sorry that so many of the initial comments on this HN post are from one person complaining that their submissions didn’t get accepted. That’s the thing with the personal web: it’s personal! It’s what that person wants, which happens to be the thing that makes it great. If you don’t like it, the rest of the internet is still there.

[throwaway150]

To be fair, I appreciate the technical effort it takes to build and maintain a directory like this. It isn't lost on me that many people like it. Kudos to the author for creating this. I absolutely don't mean to be negative about it.

But that shouldn't stop me from sharing my experience as a user. That it feels frustrating when I spend time making a bunch of submissions and I never hear anything back. But yeah, it's their website and their rules. Yes, it's one person making the decision. Yes, it's personal. I understand all that.

I was more interested in finding something less personal and more community-ish. where the power to add or reject submissions does not lie with one individual. Wouldn't that be nice?

[johnnyanmac]

>I was more interested in finding something less personal and more community-ish. where the power to add or reject submissions does not lie with one individual. Wouldn't that be nice?

So, Hacker News?

Otherwise, be the change you want to see. if you haven't hit critical mass, the "community" will likely be 1-2 people getting he community off the ground anyway. How and if you want to scale from there will vary based on the ones managing the site.

[threecheese]

We aren’t users here though; we’re visitors.

[jama211]

Great point, but why call it a directory then rather than someone’s personal recommendations?

[telliott1984]

There's no TLD for the latter.

[stackghost]

>I was more interested in finding something less personal and more community-ish. where the power to add or reject submissions does not lie with one individual. Wouldn't that be nice?

This would be overwhelmed with AI slop within days.

[throwaway150]

> This would be overwhelmed with AI slop within days.

Why so? What's the logic? With ooh.directory, one person is curating it. With a community project, 10 people may curate it. What makes 10 people curating the list more susceptible to slop?

[Tempest1981]

I think the challenge would be picking those 10 people, in a way that is satisfying to you and everyone. (Is there a good way to find 9 like-minded people on the internet who have spare time?)

And to prevent commercial and political interests from joining the community, and later overwhelming the original core team.

I think you're asking the author to organize a structure like Wikipedia, with talk pages and topic experts, which would be a significant undertaking.

[lemonberry]

Have you looked at MetaFilter? I've been a lurker there for years, but have never contributed so I don't know what that process looks like. But their tagline is "Community Weblog". It might be worth checking out.

[Kye]

I've only submitted a few things, but never seemed to face a selection process. I think the low paywall is the only barrier.

[xmprt]

> removing the suggestions form entirely, because it results in exactly this level of expectation

I think the expectation is less about the suggestions form and more because of the tagline "a place to find good blogs that interest you". If the tagline was clearer that these were hand curated, then I think no one would care about the process you currently have.

[Kye]

There's always some friction between implicit assumptions of reader and writer. I assumed they were hand curated. I've never seen algorithmic selection produce the kind of variety I see on there.

[listenfaster]

I’ve always enjoyed your curation, especially in the music department. Thanks so much!

[Kye]

>> Another problem is that I like to add a variety of sites so that people following what’s recently added don’t get swamped by loads of blogs on one topic. And last time the site got on HN the suggestions (not “submissions”) were swamped with mostly men with rarely-updated blogs about computers.

Essentially my trouble with every "share your blog" type thing that appears on HN. Some of the blogs do show some interest outside computers, but those posts are quickly swamped by more computer touching.

I appreciate the curation in favor of diversity of interest here.

edit: You can see it in a lot of the suggested alternatives elsewhere. I think it's hard for someone to really get it if computer touching is their life. Curation like this is vital to avoid regression to the mean.

[philgyford]

Yeah, from a HN point of view I imagine most blogs are tech blogs. But for me, trying to curate a wider selection, tech blogs should be a very small minority. There are so many non-tech categories that I’m much more interested in populating, never mind categories that don’t even exist yet. A real joy is finding a niche topic where there are loads of current blogs, all linking to each other. Blogspot is full of that kind of thing.

[Eupolemos]

Hey - just wanted to say thank you.

I wanted to make a blog and used your site to find interesting looking blogs for inspiration.

It was wonderful <3

[tinyhouse]

fyi, I just signed up and the confirmation email went to my spam folder (Gmail).

[dpkirchner]

I'm not the site owner but it might help to share some of the content you'll see in Gmail when you hit "show original". That'll show things like SPF and DMARC pass/fail.

[seg_lol]

> I’m sorry you don’t feel this hobby site run by one person doesn’t have a sufficiently transparent process

[_HMCB_]

Perfect reply. Thank you for your efforts. I’ve bookmarked and favorited your website.

[bookofjoe]

FTW!!!

[add-sub-mul-div]

Sometimes I think about making public a utility or data set that I've curated for my own use. I don't necessarily intend to continue it or support it but I think, maybe some people would find it useful in its current state. And then I think about getting these comments all the time and it seems not worthwhile.

[7bit]

And then what? You're looking at a list of hundreds of submissions and why they have been added or not added, which completely defeats the purpose of that website.

I don't get the point of these sites, because it I want a curated list, I visit the front page of hackernews or reddit -- and trust the system.

Ohh.directory I'd the same thing, except for a different selection process.

You either trust it or you don't.

[throwaway150]

> You either trust it or you don't.

don't see why it has to be this way. It doesn't take much to tell us what the review process is like and what gets added and what does not. If I know in advance that the blogs I submit are outside their scope, then I won't waste time submitting them.

I also don't see why there can't be an open directory of websites where the community makes decisions about what to add instead of leaving it to a single individual.

[philgyford]

Give it a rest. The scope is in the FAQ. Blogs get added when I have time.

As you can tell from the site, there are many, many suggestions and I’m not finding time to add many new blogs https://ooh.directory/about/charts/

There is no guarantee any blog you suggest, even if it’s in “scope”, will get added before either of us die. If that’s a problem save yourself all this angst and don’t suggest anything.

[throwaway150]

Appreciate the reply. My submissions fell within the scope though. I think I took the rejections too personally. Sorry for that. I appreciate the time and effort you put into maintaining the site. I will give it a rest.

Sorry for being a pain in this thread. Wishing you all the best with the project going forward.

[philgyford]

In which case they're in the pool of (currently) 2,888 other suggested blogs that I've yet to evaluate.

[Kye]

>> "I also don't see why there can't be an open directory of websites where the community makes decisions about what to add instead of leaving it to a single individual."

Because no one who wants one has made it. Why not be the change if it's something you want?

If your response is anything other than enthusiasm to get started, you understand why it hasn't happened.

[QuadmasterXLII]

Plenty of blog aggravators with transparent curation processes exist, and are terrible. No need to make this one like the other others that are worse than it.

[akoboldfrying]

> blog aggravators

Love it

[_HMCB_]

Why does it have to scratchpad your itch? You’re welcome to create and maintain your own resource. Have at it, nobody is stopping you and maybe you’ll bring your own ideas and perspective to curating blogs. Can’t wait to see what you come up with.

[esafak]

An RSS feed of changes would help.

[philgyford]

There should be a feed of “Recently added blogs” linked right on the home page!

Oh, hang on, what’s that I see on the home page?

[zozbot234]

> Submissions go through an opaque review process and a lot of good submissions don't make it.

That's no different than the old DMOZ.

[pibaker]

So what? This website is just some man's collection of blogs, not a government registry funded by tax money. It does not seem to even take public donations. Why shouldn't its maintainer be allowed to exercise personal judgement in his curation efforts? Why does he have to justify putting one blog up there but not another any more than the New York Times need to justify publishing one article but not another?

It is weird how entitled people can get when it comes to things others create and distribute for free. The same seems to happen with open source software in general too. Somehow the ones who pay nothing, ask for the most.

[throwaway150]

> So what? This website is just some man's collection of blogs, not a government registry funded by tax money. It does not seem to even take public donations. Why shouldn't its maintainer be allowed to exercise personal judgement in his curation efforts?

Unnecessarily aggressive response from you given that you are addressing positions I never actually took. Of course the maintainer is entitled to exercise personal judgement about what gets included. When did I say anything othrwise?

What I am saying is that, as a user, it is frustrating to spend time putting together submissions and then hear absolutely nothing back. I am not demanding special treatment, just a basic acknowledgement or a brief explanation when something is rejected. Expecting that level of courtesy when you interact with a project does not strike me as unreasonable. If that is considered entitlement, then yes, I suppose I do expect basic courtesy from people I engage with.

All I am asking is whether anyone might be interested in building something more community-ish, where decisions do not rest entirely with one individual. If someone creates that, I am happy to support it with my time and contributions. That is the only point I am making.