The ODP provides tools that make it much easier than building one's own Web page. ODP archives the site and manages its export to search engines and other sites. There are also software tools to help the editor check links and maintain consistency with other parts of the directory. The work one does in selecting and annotating links is not buried within one's personal or classroom page, but is immediately incorporated into a larger context. That context also provides the related links that one often needs.
Proponents accept and applaud diversity.
They argue that people committed to a particular area will produce results whose value far offsets any problems due to lack of uniformity of overall structure. See cathedral model. Proponents argue that the need for consistency and quality control outweigh the advantages of enlisting vast contingents of volunteers. See bazaar model. As an operating system, it enables the user to invoke word processors, Web browsers, and other programs, as needed.