There is a thread over at Search Engine Watch Forums where a new member asks the question, "Does Yahoo Directory use DMOZ listings as the supplementary listings?" My thoughts, as many who read the thread, was to dismiss it as a possibility. However, Danny Sullivan dug deeper into the topic and revealed a passage over at Overture Web Search Product Overview page. On that page, right below that 'spacy' image, it reads:
Yahoo! leverages the Open Directory Project (ODP) to further improve the user experience on distribution partner sites. ODP title, description and category meta data is used to enhance Yahoo!'s relevant search results.
ODP is the largest, most comprehensive human-edited directory of the Web with a global community of volunteer editors. For more details on the Open Directory Project, please visit dmoz.org.
Danny goes on to say; "My jaw pretty much dropped when I read that. I mean, you'd think they'd at least mention that they also use their own Yahoo Directory and give it a little credibility. Instead, Yahoo is saying on that page that the ODP is bigger and more comprehensive than its own directory." Danny then points to a WebmasterWorld thread from over a year ago, where Tim Mayer from Yahoo! said, in message # 6, "We are using the title and description data in case we cannot generate any from the page or have a title and description available in the Yahoo directory."
You would think that Yahoo! would drop ODP completely after moving off Inktomi technology.
