User:Elper/sandbox

Curlie

File:Curlie Directory.png
Type of site	Web directory
Available in	92 languages, including English
Parent	Curlie Project Inc.
URL	curlie.org
Commercial	No
Registration	Required to edit
Users	92,226
Launched	August 25, 2018 (2018-08-25)
Current status	Open
Content license	Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported

Curlie is a multilingual open-content directory of World Wide Web links. The site and community who maintain it were formerly known as the Open Directory Project (ODP) and lastly as DMOZ. It is constructed and maintained by a community of volunteer editors.

History

For the full history of the directory from 1998 to 2017, please see DMOZ.

From DMOZ's closure on March 17, 2017 there was significant downtime needed for the volunteers to adapt the software to a new environment until the official launch of Curlie on the 25th of August 2018.

As of January 2025 only the directory's data output still needs to be fully activated.

Characteristics

Curlie uses a hierarchical ontology scheme for organizing site listings. Listings on a similar topic are grouped into categories which then include smaller categories.

While part of the directory is categorized primarily by topic, the Regional category is categorized primarily by region. This has led many to view Curlie as two parallel directories: Regional and Topical. From a practical perspective, many sites can be listed in both sections.

Several of the top-level categories have unique characteristics. For example, the Adult category is not present on the directory homepage but is available in the Data Output that Curlie provides.

World

Sites in languages other than English are listed under the World category. Recent updates to the software have enabled the top levels in each language to be identified by ISO two-letter codes rather than the previous World/Language format. Multilingual sites can be listed under each language they provide. As of January 2025, Curlie categorises in 92 languages. Other languages are candidates for inclusion, but need at least one active and fluent editor to be published.

Kids & Teens

A special directory within Curlie has been created for people under 18 years of age. Key factors distinguishing this "Kids and Teens" area from the main directory are:

• stricter guidelines which limit the listing of sites to those which are targeted or "appropriate" for people under 18 years of age;
• category names as well as site descriptions use vocabulary which is "age appropriate";
• walled garden architecture limiting links to other unsuited sections of the directory;
• age tags on each listing distinguish content appropriate for kids (age 12 and under), teens (13 to 15 years old) and mature teens (16 to 18 years old);
• Kids and Teens content is available as a separate Data Output file;
• editing permissions are such that the community is parallel to that of Curlie.

As of April 2025, this portion of Curlie included over 25,000 site listings.

Policies and procedures

All of the directories policies and procedures are publicly published as Guidelines, these are periodically reviewed by discussion and consensus in the editor forums, then amended as the community feels necessary.

Directory users

A recent update allows members of the public (i.e. people who are not registered editors) to build and publish their own directory pages on the site . This feature also allows access to a section of the editor only forum for help and advice from the editing community. Registration for this has been simplified over that of becoming an editor, and only requires a verified email address .

Directory editors

Restrictions are imposed on who can become a Curlie editor. Editing accounts are personal, and there is a strict policy of one per person, so company and shared accounts aren't allowed. The primary gatekeeping mechanism is an editor application process wherein editor candidates demonstrate their editing abilities, disclose affiliations that might pose a conflict of interest, and otherwise give a sense of how the applicant would likely mesh with the directory culture and mission. A majority of applications are rejected but reapplying is allowed and often encouraged. The same standards apply to editors of all categories and subcategories. Curlie's editing model is a hierarchical one. Upon becoming editors, individuals will generally have editing permissions in only a small category. Once they have demonstrated basic editing skills in compliance with the Editing Guidelines, they are encouraged to apply for additional editing privileges in either a broader category or else another category in the directory. Mentorship relationships between editors are also encouraged, and the internal forums provide a vehicle for new editors to ask questions.

Over time, editors will be granted additional privileges which reflect their editing experience and leadership within the editing community. The most straightforward are editall privileges, which allow an editor to access all categories in the directory. Meta privileges additionally allow editors to perform tasks such as reviewing editor applications, setting category features, and handling external and internal abuse reports. Cateditall privileges are similar to editall, but only for a single directory category. Similarly, catmod privileges are similar to meta, but only for a single directory category. Catmv privileges allow editors to make changes to directory ontology by moving or renaming categories. All of these privileges are granted by the admins, usually after discussion with meta editors.

Administrator admin status can be granted to long serving metas. Admins have the ability to grant editall+ privileges to other editors and to approve new directory-wide policies

All Curlie editors are expected to abide by the Editing Guidelines. These guidelines describe editing basics: which types of sites should be listed and which should not; how site listings should be titled and described in a consistent manner; conventions for the naming and building of categories; conflict of interest limitations on the editing of sites which the editor may own or otherwise be affiliated with; and a code of conduct within the community. Editors who are found to have violated these guidelines will be contacted by metas or admins, and may have their editing permissions cut back, or in extreme cases lose their editing privileges entirely.

Curlie's editor removal procedures are overseen by the admins. Editors can be disciplined or even removed for abusive editing practices or uncivil behaviour. Discussions that may result in disciplinary action against volunteer editors take place in a private forum which can only be accessed by admins and meta editors. Volunteer editors who are being discussed are not given notice that such proceedings are taking place.

Curlie's confidentiality guidelines prohibit any current editors in a position to know anything from discussing the reasons for specific editor removals. However, a generic list of common reasons is given in the guidelines. This can potentially lead to removed editors wondering why they cannot login to edit.

Communication

Communication between editors is via its own private forums, the contents of which are for editors to communicate with each other primarily about editing topics. Access to these forums requires an editor account and editors are expected to keep the contents of these forums confidential. There is also an internal messaging system editor feedback, as well as IRC and Discord channels available. Periodic video conference calls are also organized by the admins.

Ownership and management

Curlie is owned and operated by a group of volunteer editors, all of whom have admin status within the directory, though being an admin is not a requirement. The holding company is Curlie Project Inc, incorporated in the state of Texas, USA. It is uniquely funded by donations.

Maintenance

Directory listings are maintained by editors. While some editors focus on the addition of new listings, others focus on maintaining the existing listings and some do both. This includes tasks such as the editing of individual listings to correct spelling and/or grammatical errors, as well as monitoring the status of linked sites. Still others go through site suggestions to remove spam and duplicates.

QC is a web crawler written to check the status of all sites listed in Curlie. Periodically, it will flag sites which appear to have moved or disappeared and editors follow up to check the sites and take action. This process is critical for the directory in striving to achieve one of its founding goals: to reduce the link rot in web directories. Shortly after each run, certain sites marked with errors are automatically moved to the unreviewed pool where editors may investigate them when time permits.

License and requirements

Curlie data is made available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution license, a free license (and GPL compatible)., which requires attribution on every Web page that uses the data.

Curlie data output

Data is made available through an RDF-like file that is published on a download server. Older versions are also archived there.. New versions are usually generated monthly in XML.

Data users

Recorded uses for the data include the creation of specialized directories, research projects and anything that requires catalogued lists of websites in general. Curlie attempts to record the data users in Category: Sites Using Curlie Data as and when they become known. However, this category will not reflect the full picture of use, as those sites that use the data without following the terms of the license will not be present.

Listings

Sites are added to and removed from the directory by the editors. Members of the public including site owners have the possibility to suggest a site or sites to a category of their choice for free. The suggestions are then held in the unreviewed pool until a volunteer editor reviews them; either publishing, moving or in some cases deleting them. There is no set time scale for this to happen. Curlie editors also have the ability to attach "warning" or "do not list" notes to individual domains but no editor has the unilateral ability to block a site from being listed. These notes are placed following the listing guidelines and serve to identify sites which fail to meet the inclusion section.

Infrastructure

• Software: The Curlie database/editing software is Java based and currently closed source (although work is ongoing to make it Open source).
• Hosting: Curlie runs on US based AWS virtual servers.
• Search: The Curlie site search feature is based on Solr.
• Forums: The Curlie Editor Forums are a modified version of phpBB and the Resource-Zone public forum is on Invision.
• Bug tracking: Bugs are documented and tracked using Github.

See also

• List of web directories

External links

• Curlie (The home of the editable directory)
• The Resource Zone – Curlie Directory Public Forum (maintained by editors)

This page will be placed in the following categories if it is moved to the article namespace.

Categories:

• DMOZ
• 2018 establishments in the United States
• Collaboration
• Internet properties established in 2018
• Open content projects
• Web directories
• Multilingual websites