The claim to fame of Yahoo! was, we hire people to look -- originally, not anymore -- we hire people to look at websites and tell you -- if they're in the index, they're good. This, on the other hand, is what 60,000 passionate volunteers produce in the Open Directory Project, each one willing to spend an hour or two on something they really care about, to say, this is good. So, this is the Open Directory Project, with 60,000 volunteers, each one spending a little bit of time, as opposed to a few hundred fully paid employees. No one owns it, no one owns the output, it's free for anyone to use and it's the output of people acting out of social and psychological motivations to do something interesting.
Yahoo! nimetas oma edu saladuseks, et nad palkavad inimesi vaatama... algselt, enam mitte... palkavad inimesi veebisaite vaatama ja ütlema, et... kui need on indekseeritud, siis on nad head. Siin aga on see, mida loovad 60 000 vabatahtlikku entusiasti Open Directory Project raames. Igaüks neist on valmis kulutama tund või paar millelegi, mida nad tähtsaks peavad, et öelda, see on hea. See on siis Open Directory Project, 60 000 vabatahtlikuga, kellest igaüks kulutab veidi aega, vastandina paarisajale täispalgaga töölisele. Keegi pole selle omanik, toodang ei kuulu kellelegi, seda võivad vabalt kasutada kõik ja see on olnud tulemuseks, kui inimesed on tegutsenud sotsiaalsetel ja psühholoogilistel ajenditel, et teha midagi huvitavat.