Zeal
Zeal is a volunteer-built web directory, first appearing in 1999, and then acquired by and incorporated into the LookSmart (q.v.) database in 2001. It now combines the work of paid editors, who act in advisory capacity, with that of thousands of volunteers who profile websites and place them in a hierarchy of subcategories.Paid editors (since early 2004 only in United States, but previously working in several countries) attend to commercial sites and oversee the voluntary work on non-commercial sites. Volunteers work under a highly defined set of Guidelines and are required to pass an introductory level test on those Guidelines before submitting site profiles or edits. As points and experience are acquired, volunteers may elect to take a further exam which, when passed, allows them to "adopt" topic categories of special interest. They can then move up the organizational structure from Community Member to Zealot to Expert Zealot, acquiring additional tools and oversight responsibility at each level. Expert Zealots, who can move or delete some whole categories, monitor the day-to-day operations of the non-commercial portion of the directory and act as mentors to new members.
As of March 2003, Zeal passed the 250,000 listings mark and is rapidly approaching the 400,000 mark due, in part, to the of October 2003. In that contest members raised over $20,000 for worldwide charities by adding sites to the directory. Looksmart is currently in the process of incorporating the former UK, Australia, and Canada directories as well as those in process for India and Singapore into what will be a World Directory database.