On the subject of poorly written web indexes, allow me to direct your attention to the Open Directory Project. This was started by Netscape as an 'open-source human-edited directory of the world's web sites'. The open source means all the work is done by volunteers. The ODP is in use by google, yahoo and others.

The reason I bring this up is because I once submitted my website to the ODP for inclusion in the directory. It was included. Fair enough. But I submitted 'Mountain View Music' three years ago and my company is no longer called that. So I've been trying for months to get it changed (to Sonica Music Company, of course). There are no links to 'correct or update your information'. The only link is to 'add a site'. They state quite plainly that adding a second link to an existing entry is verboten. It could get you kicked off completely. But I can't talk to a human that will actually process the entry and this is the only interface, so I add the new site anyway. That was a few months ago. Nothing ever happened so I did it again. But if you read the rules, submitting the same site twice can also get you bounced. I know from the logs that a human being actually looked because he/she accessed my site from the ODP last night. The editor for the Mountain View Shopping category is in Germany. Go figure. The new entry wasn't added. The old entry wasn't changed. There isn't a human you can talk to and let them know you're trying to correct stale data.

Or is there? Buried in the documentation is a link to an interactive website where you may query the status of your submission. I went and looked. Again, lots of rules. You may query after a week if your site hasn't show up. Somebody will then look into it and write back saying they're looking into it. You are forbidden from asking again for six months. Six months!. At that point you can ask one more time. And then you are forbidden from asking for two years.

I looked at several of the exchanges. Hi, I'd like to ask about the status of xyz.com. We're looking into it. We'll let you know. Six months later. It's been six months, I'd like to ask about the status of xyz.com. We'll let you know. Write back if you haven't heard anything in two years. Hi, it's been two years. I'd like to inquire about the status of xyz.com.

I would say based on this exchange that the ODP is doomed. Their claim is that accuracy will be increased by having humans edit the directory. But it's precisely because humans are editing the directory that it will soon be irrelevant. You can't find Sonica Music Company in it. You probably won't ever be able to.