DMOZ

When you search for stuff on Google, where do the descriptions on the results page come from?

In many cases, they come from a web directory called DMOZ - The Open Directory Project.

DMOZ lists over 4 million web sites. Each site has been reviewed by one of 65,000 volunteers.
The results of this industrial-scale voluntary project are used by Google, Altavista , AOL UK and Excite UK.

I edit the UK Conservative Party bit. It's tough. After you've seen 500 Conservative sites you begin to think...
Oh god, not another web site with a chairman's message, a list of association officers, local propaganda, councilor contact details and an out of date events calendar.

But once in a while I come across a site that reminds me why I volunteer my time. This week, I added the Conservative sites for Bexleyheath and Crayford (I lived in this constituency for  13 years), Bromley and Chislehurst (I live in that constituency now), Greenwich (I walk through it on my way to work every day), Dulwich and West Norwood (canvassed there), Edmonton (ditto), Eltham(ditto, plus used to pass through it on my journey to school for years), Hammersmith and Fulham (canvassed) and Lewisham West (canvassed).

That really brought home that whilst I may edit in an American-run project, stuff stored on an American server, the consequences can be very real, and very local.