A recent commenter on this blog “khor” left me a comment with questions regarding his application and subsequent rejection. As I find its not very useful to try and solve this type of issue through comment replies, I have decided to dedicate a post to it.
Dear Shadow575,
The reviewer of my application to become a DMOZ editor might have just broken the record of efficiency in terms of reviewing application submitted. I submitted a rather comprehensive application to DMOZ for becoming an editor of a small sub-sub category in Malaysia 6 hours ago, and 15 mins ago I received an email from the reviewer telling me that my application has been rejected. The reason given is “incomplete application”.
I understand that this matter is rather subjective and my message only constitutes one-sided story. However, to be frank, I had submitted 3 websites which I am not affiliated to in any way (yea, I do *hope* that I have shares in any of the three websites submitted). The first two websites are very useful ones in that particular category with very high traffic (one just has to compare the new posts submitted with other similar websites) whilst the last one is the homepage of the branch of international consultancy in the country. The category I applied to has in fact included some very similar type of websites too!
Do I have to wait for another 14 days before I can resubmit the application? Should I forward the copy of my original application to you via email? Any advice? Cheers.
The first part of the question is probably the more confusing part. Someone disconnected from the situation (i.e. other readers) will read the above and take it as a reviewer not doing a thorough job. However without the benefit of first hand knowledge of the application or the applicant, I can make a couple of factual comments.First of all the comment above that the reason given for the rejection was “incomplete application”, is only a partially true. What the commenter has left is the first line of the most common reasons an application would be rejected. The complete list that would have been included in a rejection letter actually reads:
* Incomplete application. Insufficient information has been provided in some
fields including reason, affiliation and/or Sample URLs.
* Improper spelling and grammar.
* Sample URLs are inappropriate for the category which one has applied to
edit. They may be too broad, too narrow, completely out of scope, poor
quality, or in a language inappropriate for the category. All non-English
sites are listed in the World category. Applications for World categories
that include sites only in English will be denied. Likewise, applications
for World categories that include sample URLs in languages other than the one
appropriate for the applied category will be denied.
* Not properly disclosing affiliations with websites that are, or have the
potential of being, listed in the category.
* Titles and descriptions of sample URLs (and other information provided)
were subjective and promotional rather than unbiased and objective. ODP
editors do not rank or write website reviews. ODP editors provide objective
and unbiased descriptions of websites and their content.
* Self-Promotion. Application which leads us to believe that the candidate is
interested primarily in promoting his/her own sites or those with which the
applicant is affiliated. The ODP is not a marketing tool, and should not be
used to circumvent the site submission process. If this is an applicant’s
motivation for joining, then we ask him/her not to apply. Editors found to be
inappropriately promoting their own site will be promptly removed.
It is absolutely possible that the application was also incomplete, but that was not the complete reason given. Assuming that was one of the reasons the application was rejected, an application would be considered incomplete for a few reasons. The most obvious would be a lack of sample URL’s being included. Another possible reason would be the absence of declared affiliations. It sounds as if sample URL’s were supplied so that would probably not have been the case. If no affiliations were given, or ample amount of undeclared affiliations were found, the application could have been considered incomplete. You have to make a good faith attempt to identify affiliated URL’s, its just a show of honesty.
In regards to the application being rejected within a short period of time from submission, its not too uncommon. From a reviewer standpoint, most unacceptable applications standout like a sore thumb. Keep in mind that when someone is reviewing an application they are not looking for a reason to reject it. They are looking for a reason to accept it. Those reasons are usually based on a showing of honesty and the potential of the application to become a productive and successful editor. An application failing in one or more of these areas is easy to spot and relatively quick to reject.
An application making a good faith attempt to be honest and to follow guidelines and instructions (characteristics crucial to being a successful and productive editor) are the ones that reviewers want to focus on. They are the applications that take the most time to review and determine if they are acceptable or if there is something that needs to be improved upon. These are the applications that a reviewer needs to determine if/where the applicant should be accepted, or whether a detailed response explaining the areas that need addressed in a new application needs to be written.
From experience, I can easily spot and reject 5-6 bad applications (those that could not follow the instructions or guidelines, were obviously being deceptive or dishonest) in the same amount of time it takes to accept 1 good application. When I am reviewing applications, I typically weed out the obvious ones quickly and then work on one or two potentially good ones.
The second part of the question:
Do I have to wait for another 14 days before I can resubmit the application? Should I forward the copy of my original application to you via email? Any advice? Cheers.
The answer is no, there is no minimum wait time for reapplying. Once you have read the reasons, deduced the problems that may have caused the previous rejection and taken the appropriate steps to correct them, reapplying is fine. Note: Resubmitting the same application is going to result in another rejection. Part of being able to show the potential of being a productive editor, is being able to figure out what was wrong with a rejected application and making the appropriate corrections. Most of us didn’t get through on our first try, personally I think it took me two or three attempts to finally get close enough for the reviewer to take a chance. Personally, had I been reviewing my last application I probably would have rejected it again with detailed feedback. Fortunately, the reviewer saw something they liked and decided to give me a change to succeed or fail. For that I am grateful.
As for sending me a copy of the application, it is not necessary. First of all it won’t change the outcome of the reviewers decision. I have every confidence that the reviewer did a complete job and came to the proper conclusions. And secondly, I won’t do independent reviews or walk someone through writing an acceptable application. Working it out for yourself, is part of the process. The applicants that successfully work it out and continue trying, are the ones most likely to prove to be productive and competent editors.
For more information on the topic, I have listed my advice for new applicants at
http://shadow575.wordpress.com/become-an-editor/.
Hope that helps!
I over hauled it a little bit today, changing my background image to my “standard hammered silver”. I also decided to upgrade my tired old red eyes too, with something more modern. I have been using a design someone sent me as an avatar. My tired old eyes were just an amateur free hand attempt, obviously not very good, but hey they came to be recognized as mine though. That was kind of the intent.
I will reply as soon as possible.