Methodology
How every number is measured
Liveness
We fetch each directory's listing pages on a regular schedule with an identifying user agent (LineofsitesBot). A directory is alive when its listing pages respond, dead when they stop, and blocks crawler when it refuses automated access (403/429). Being blocked is itself published signal; we never work around a block.
Dofollow or nofollow
We read the actual rel attributes on product links found on real listing pages. A directory counts as dofollow when the majority of observed product links carry no nofollow/sponsored/ugc attribute. Claimed link policy is ignored; observed markup wins.
Indexation rate
The share of a directory's listing pages that Google has actually indexed, from a rolling sample of listing URLs per directory (rechecked at most every 30 days, sample sizes shown as they grow). A listing that was never indexed sent nobody anywhere; this number is published nowhere else and it is the one to watch.
Listings and link loss
Every observed product link is a timestamped record: first seen, last seen, and (when it vanishes for two consecutive crawls) disappeared. History is append-only; we never rewrite it. That is what makes "your link quietly died in March" answerable.
The rating
Each measured directory gets a score out of 100, so the table answers "is this worth submitting to" instead of leaving you to weigh four raw numbers. The weights are indexation 45, link value 25, reachability 15, corpus size 15. Link value is multiplied by indexation rather than added beside it, because a followed link on a page Google never indexed passes no authority; a floor remains for the visitors who still click it. Corpus size is log-scaled, so a directory with six listings does not score like one with six hundred. A directory we have not measured is shown as "not rated" rather than given a default. There is no editorial adjustment and no paid input: a directory that pays for faster review scores exactly what its data says.
Domain rating
DR is third-party data shown for orientation only, always labeled as such. We do not verify it and we never sort by it by default.
Corrections
Directory operators can claim their listing and file corrections; those show as "operator-reported" until the crawler re-verifies them. Spotted an error? Tell us and we fix the data, not the story.