28 Nov 2000

11/28/00

I revised my Mac OS X and Linux directories. I'm still learning, as many of us are, how to make good directories. At first it sounds easy -- but it's not. Making a directory is easy; making a good directory is a little harder.

It's a good idea to read the DMOZ guidelines. Not all of it applies; some of it is specific to DMOZ. But the parts that do apply are valuable.

Here's what I've learned today:

1. It's easy to over-categorize. If you have lots of categories with just a few links per category, consider flattening the directory.

2. Categories named "Resources" (or similar vague terms) are meaningless. Everything's a resource, right? If you have a category named Resources or Misc. or something like that, you probably want to put those items at the top level of the directory.

3. Consider maintenance. For instance, I had a list of software available for Mac OS X. It would be insane to attempt to make that comprehensive and up-to-date. Instead, I just point to the several sites that do attempt to have a comprehensive list of software. In other words, if someone else is maintaining a list that requires lots of maintenance, point to them.

4. Avoid as much as possible repeating the name of the category in the links. Now, sometimes the category name will be a major part of the name of a website, and you can't avoid it. But when you can avoid it, do so.