Regional Category Proposed Reorganization and Guidelines

The purpose of reorganizing the Regional category is to create a standardized, consistent and stable taxonomy that allows searchers to easily find location specific information available on the Internet.  The goal of the ODP Regional category is to create the largest and most comprehensive human-edited directory of location specific Internet resources. The benefits of the proposed reorganization include:

• Providing the user with multiple paths to browse for geographic information and resources. Users can browse through a listing of countries or browse through world regions.  Searchers do not need to know the particular region or continent in which a country is located to browse for it.
• Moving location specific resources into one area of the directory, when appropriate to eliminate duplicate categories between the Regional branch and rest of the directory.
• Standardizing taxonomy to facilitate content development and user browsing between geographic entities

The Regional category contains English language sites about geographical regions of the world.  The subject matter of the sites submitted to this category must be location specific (i.e. a site must be about the area, and not simply geographically referencing the area).

3.0 Reorganization Implementation Schedule

The reorganization of the Regional category will happen in three major phases over the next few months.  Proposals to forums and editor input will be solicited before the beginning of each phase.  All final decisions regarding the reorganization of Regional will be based on the input and suggestions of editors. During the actual reorganization, these guidelines will be edited as needed to resolve problems and questions that arise in ODP fora.

Phase 1

12/14/99-12/20/99

Reorganize the top level of the Regional category according to the arrangement presented in the  Test/Regional  area.  This phase will involve the following:

• Establish World Regions categories, and moving countries to their appropriate locations; create @links for countries that exist in, or can be identified with, more than one region; move sites in defunct categories to new categories.
• Create the Countries category that lists all the countries list in the adapted ISO 3166 standard.
• Create an alphabet for the Countries category at the top level of Regional.

Reorganize geographic taxonomy for each country to conform to the standard geographic hierarchy as described below.

01/10/00-01/23/00

Reorganize topical sub categories for all countries and geographic subdivisions to conform the the standards for building out topical subject areas as described below.

01/24/00-02/11/00

Finalize proposal to move regional categories in the topical areas to the Regional category (Phase II).  Submit plan and schedule for phase II.

Phase 2

02/12/00-03/10/00

When appropriate, move regional sub categories that exist outside of the current Regional branch will be moved under Regional.  Create appropriate cross references (e.g. @links)  from the subject branches to the Regional branch.
 

Example: all sites under Business/Real Estate/Regional will move under the appropriate real estate area of the Regional branch.

Business/Real Estate/Regional/United States/Michigan/Upper Peninsula

will move to

Regional/United States/Michigan/Regions/Upper Peninsula/Business and Economy/Real Estate

The following @ link will be created in Business/Real Estate/Regional/United States/Michigan:

Upper Peninsula  --- this will @ link to Regional/United States/Michigan/Regions/Upper Peninsula/Business and Economy/Real Estate.

Phase 3

TAB

Create and implement standard regional structures and guidelines for the World and Adult categories.

4.0 Geographical Taxonomy

The top level of the Regional category will consist of the following three areas:

1. Alpha bar for all countries in the world
2. Countries category sorted "above the line."
3. Listing of the world's major geographical regions.
 

A-B-C-D-E-F-G-H-I-J-K-L-M-N-O-P-Q-R-S-T-U-V-W-X-Y-Z

The top two layers of the geographical taxonomy are given in the Test/Regional  of the ODP.

4.1 Countries and Dependent Areas

The category for a particular country is physically located under it's appropriate world region category.  For countries that exist in more than one region, @links should be added in other world regions as appropriate.  For example, the Turkey category is physically located in the Middle East region, but is linked in the Asia and Europe categories.

Categories for countries that are territories or dependent areas of independent nations are located in the appropriate world region category, along with independent nations.  Each nation that has a territory or dependent country will have a "dependent areas" category, which will contain @links for all dependent areas. A listing of dependent areas, and standard category names for the dependent area and "parent" country is given here.

The Countries category is a listing of @links for all the countries in the world.  A particular country category lives under its proper world region (see World Regions below).  This list contains countries that are not necessarily nations; it also includes @links for selected dependent areas (e.g. Puerto Rico).  This category is duplicated by the alphabet.  The value of this category is that users can see a complete list of country names in the ODP, and do not have to surf through world regions to find a particular country.

4.1.1 Sub categories for Countries and Dependent Areas (except United States)

The geographic hierarchy within each country will depend on the geographic subdivision of the country.  Some countries will have sub categories for administrative regions (e.g. states, provinces, districts); while others will be subcategorized by localities. The following guidelines are to be applied when building out the geographic hierarchy for a country.

1. Each country should be geographically subdivided according to administrative subdivisions.
2. Use the names of the administrative regions given in the FIPS 10-4 Standard for Countries, Dependencies, Areas of Special Sovereignty, and Their Principal Administrative Divisions ( FIPS 10-4 ) as categories directly under the country name. NOTE: FIPS 10-4 will be adapted for use in the ODP, e.g. the ODP will use English equivalents of vernacular names, when available.  The ODP adapted list is currently being constructed, and will be posted along with these guidelines in the near future.
3. Sort names of administrative regions above the line, and topical sub categories below the line.

The sub category names of the administrative regions should be the name commonly used  by the inhabitants of the country.  For example, the first level administrative region for Canada is Province; Spain is Autonomous Communities; Greece is Departments; United States is States.

@links for dependent areas will be placed under the country upon which the are dependent in a "Dependent Areas" category (e.g. Bermuda will be list under Regional/Countries/United Kingdom/Dependent Areas/Bermuda).  The actual term used for the "Dependent Areas" category will depend upon the name of the country.  See here for the appropriate term to use for this category name for your particular country.

4.1.2 Sub categories for the United States

For the United States, under each state, the geographic hierarchy will be

Counties  (for Louisiana,  use Parishes)

Create categories for individual counties in a <State>/Counties category. Each Counties category will contain a Localities sub category that will contain @links for localities located in the county.   For a locality whose geographic boundaries cross over into more than one county, you should make @links in more than one county.  For independent cities, input an link for the city under that county with which the city is identified.

Example:

Regional/North_America/United_States/Florida/Dade County/Localities
--Homstead@
--Miami@
--Miami Beach@

City in two counties:

Regional/North_America/United_States/Texas/Dallas County/Localities
--Dallas@

Regional/North_America/United_States/Texas/Collin County/Localities
--Dallas@

Independent city:

Regional/North_America/United_States/Virginia/Rockingham County/Localities
--Harrisonburg@

Localities

Create an alpha-bar under the Localities category

Create categories for individual localities in the alpha-bar

Create a State/Localities/All Localities category containing @links for all localities listed in the alpha-bar.

Do not create alpha-bars at the State level, and list localities in a separate Localities category.

Example: Regional/North_America/United_States/California/Localities/M/Mountain_View

Neighborhoods:  Editors may create neighborhood sub categories for a particular locality.  The sites input into these categories must be about the neighborhood in general.  If individual neighborhood categories are created, they must be sorted above the line.  A separate <Locality name>/Neighborhoods category should not be created to accommodate neighborhood categories.

Metro Areas

The definition of a Metro Area closely follows that used by the US Census:  "The general concept of an Metro Area is that of a core area containing a large population nucleus, together with adjacent communities having a high degree of economic and social integration with that core."  ODP staff are currently creating an authoritative list of US Metro Areas based on US Census Metro Areas.  Only those Metro Areas given on the list may be added to the directory (although others may be proposed). Each Metro Area listed will give counties that make up the area.  The geographic hierarchy for each Metro Area will be as follows:

--Localities (this category will list @links to all localities encompassed in a the Metro Area)
--Counties (this category will list @links for all counties included in the Metro Area)

The subject matter of sites listed in a Metro_Areas should cover most of the metro area (use the 80/20 rule).

Example:

Regional/North_America/United_States/Michigan/Metro_Areas/Detroit_Metro_Area
--Localities
----Ann Arbor@
----Birmingham@
----Bloomfield Hills@
----Canton@
----Deaborn@
--Counties
----Macomb@
----Oakland@
----Wayne@
----Washtenaw@

Regions

Regions should be built out geographically in the same manner as Metro Areas, and have the following sub categories:

--Localities (this category will list @links to all localities encompassed in a the Region)
--Counties (this category will list @links for all counties included in the Region)

Example:

Regional/North_America/United_States/Michigan/Regions/Upper_Peninsula
--Localities
---Escanaba@
---Marquette@
---Sault Ste. Marie@
--Counties
----Alger@
----Luce@

5.0 World Regions

The alpha-bar and corresponding Countries category provide direct access to a particular country.  Users can access country and regional information via the World Regions categories.  At the top level, the World Regions section "below the line" list the most common searched upon world regions.  The physical location of a country category is under its appropriate world region.  If a country exists in more than one region, it should be placed in one region, and @linked from the others.

Africa
Asia
Caribbean
Central America
Europe
Middle East
North America
Ocean
Polar Regions
South America

In each World Region category, country categories and @links should be created directly under the region name, and sorted "above the line."  All topical categories for the region should be sorted below the line.

The World Region structure has been built out in  Test/Regional

6.0 Topical Areas Under Each Regional Heading

6.1 Standard Categories

Under each world region, country, state (province, district, etc.), locality or metro area, ONLY the following main sub categories and @links may be created.  Some regional categories will not contain all of these topical sub cats.; however, topical sub cats. are limited to those listed below.

--Arts and Entertainment
--Business and Economy
--Education
--Employment@**
--Government and Politics
--Guides and Directories
--Health
--Maps and Views
--News and Media
--Real Estate@**
--Recreation and Sports
--Science and Environment
--Society and Culture
--Transportation
--Travel and Tourism
--Weather

** Because Employment and Real Estate topics tend to be some of the 50 top searches performed on the Web, these have been listed as @links at this level.  The   Employment category lives under Business and Economy/Employment; and Real Estate lives under Business and Economy/Real Estate

6.1.1 Terminology

The Regional branch contains links to English language Web sites, and its user is assumed to have knowledge of the English language.  Similar to other languages, there are regional differences on the use of English language vocabulary to express concepts and category names.  In order for the Regional taxonomy to be consistent, standard, and stable, terms used for category names must be the same across the directory.

6.1.2 Subcategorization of Topics

Editors do have some flexibility in building out their sub categories as necessary to meet the needs of users searching for local information.  These guidelines should be followed when building out the taxonomies for local topical categories.  Editors should use the category definitions and sample sub categories to help guide them classify sites. The subecategories listed under each main category are highly suggested when applicable and when breaking a main category up into sub categories is desirable.    It is not necessary that you build out a taxonomy for every topical sub category.  Avoid over categorization when the main category only has a few links.  Additional sub categories and further build out of the main topical categories should be done at the discretion of the individual editor(s).

Arts and Entertainment:  include sites for regional artistic, cultural, and entertainment activities, events, institutions, organizations, etc

Categories:
--Dance
--Libraries
--Museums
--Movies
--Music
--Photography
--Restaurants_and_Bars@ <-- Links to Restaurants_and_Bars
--Theater

Business and Economy: includes sites covering the business and economic activities of the region; including listings of companies and industries

Categories
--Classifieds
--Directories
--Economic Development
--Employment
--Event Planning
---Conventions
---Weddings
--Financial Services
--Industries
----Construction and Maintenance
----Financial Services@
----Legal Services@
----Publishing
----Transportation
--Internet
--Legal Services
--Organizations
--Real Estate
--Restaurants and Bars
--Travel Services
---Car Rentals
---Travel Agents
---Tour Operators
--Shopping
---Autos
---Books
---Clothing
---Jewelry
---Online Malls

Education: include local educational institutions, programs and opportunities; as well as other location specific educational resources.  The sub categories that you create will be dependent on how Education is administered in your particular location.  For example, an Education in the US category may have a category for K-12, where an Education category in another country may require a Primary Schools and a Secondary Schools category.

Sample Categories
--Colleges and Universities
(this category will contain @links back to the college and university category in Top/Reference/Education/Colleges_and_Universities)
--Home Schools
--Secondary Schools
--Primary Schools
--School Districts

Government and Politics: include regional government, law and military information (e.g. Branches of Government, Law, Military, Politics, Taxes).  Taxonomy development in this category is dependent on the organization of the local government.

Guides and Directories:  include general guides and directories for the location.  Subject specific guides (e.g. travel guides, dining guides, etc.) should be @linked from this category, but should be physically located in under their appropriate subject area.

Sample Categories
--@Dining Guides <-- link to Business/Restaurants and Bars/Dining Guides
--Event Guides
--@Travel Guides <--@ link to Travel and Tourism/Travel Guides

Health: includes health and medical resources specific to the region

Sample Categories
--Alternative Medicine
--Associations
--Care Providers
--Conditions and Diseases
----AIDS
--Dentistry
--Consultants
--Emergency Services
--Employment
--Hospitals
--Mental Health
----Counseling Services
----Psychologists

Maps and Views: include links to maps, photograph sites, live web cams, satellite imagery ... any visual representation of the area.

Sample Categories
--Photos
--Web Cams

News and Media: include news and media sites specific to the region (e.g. Magazines, Newspapers, Radio, Television)

Sample Categories
--Magazines
--Newspapers
--Radio
--Television
--Weather@ <-- links to main Weather category

Recreation and Sports: include all hobbies, sports and participatory recreational activities specific to the region; including local recreation organizations

Sample Categories
--Antiques
--Baseball
--Basketball
--Boating
--Birdwatching
--Bicycling
--Fishing
--Football
--Gambling
----Lotteries
--Golf
----Courses
--Outdoors
--Skiing
--Soccer

Science and Environment: includes information about the region's natural environment; as well as scientific activities specific to the region

Sample Categories
--Botanical Gardens
--Earth Science
---Earthquakes
--Lakes
--Parks <-- links to Travel and Tourism/Parks
--Rain Forests
--Weather@ <-- links to the Weather category
--Wildlife
---Birds
--Zoos

Society and Culture: closely mirrors that of the main ODP Society category; includes sites that reflect the make up of the region's community: it's people, it's history, and resources and institutions that serve the people of the region

Sample Categories

--Activism
--Churches and Religion
----(subcategorize by faith and belief if necessary)
--Disability Resources
--Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual
--Genealogy
--History
--Human Rights
--Kids
--Men
--Personal Homepages
--Teens
--Women
--Seniors

Transportation: include area transportation resources for those traveling to and from, and within the region

Sample Taxonomy
--Airports
--Car Rentals@
--Buses
--Highways and Roads
----Traffic
--Limousines and Shuttles@
--Mass Transit
--Railroads
--Taxis@
--Traffic@  <-- links to Transportation/Highways and Roads/Traffic

Travel and Tourism:  include area attractions and resources for those traveling in the region, including tourist guides.

Sample Taxonomy
--Attractions
--Camping and RVs
--Lodging
---Bed and Breakfast
---Hotels
---Motels
---Hostels
---Resorts
--Parks
--Restaurants and Bars@ <-- links to Business/Restaurants and Bars
--Transportation@  <-- links to main Transportation category
--Travel Agents@  <-- links to Business and Economy/Travel Services/Travel Agents
--Tour Operators@ <-- links to Business and Economy/Travel Services/Tour Operators
--Travel Guides

Weather: include all weather related sites for the particular region or locale

Sample Categories
--Allergy and Smog Alerts
--Disaster Preparedness
--Hurricanes
--Ultraviolet Forecasts

6.1.3 "Free-Floating" Sub categories

The following sub categories describe the form of the resource being described, and should be used as sub categories under any topical area when necessary and applicable.  This is only a partial list of may different possibilities.  Editors are free to add their own "Free-Floating" Sub categories that do not appear on this list.

--Chats and Forums
--Employment
--Events
---Event Guides
--Guides and Directories
--Magazines
--Organizations
 

6.2 Specificity

When classifying sites, it is important to put the regional oriented site in its most specific regional sub category.  A site that covers a specific regional area should not be categorized in a "broader" regional category and vice versa.  Categorizing sites that cover more than one locality can prove to be challenge. Some sites can cover more than one city, county, region, or state. The general reasoning for categorization should be:
 

• more than one city ---> classify county or metro area (if cities reside in the same metro area)
• more than one county in same region ---> classify at the region level
• more than one region or counties in several regions ---> classify at the state

Example:  A newspaper for Marin County, California should not be listed under

Regional/Countries/United States/States/California/News and Media/

but under

Regional/Countries/United States/States/California/Marin County/News and Media/