Say you’re looking for free software on the internet. You are quite likely to come across sites like Super Shareware, Shareware Links, Software Files, Download Junction and VCL Components. Ah, software directories. You find a vast wealth of free software options, download what you want, and think about how awesome free software is. So you’ve found what you’re looking for. Or have you?

I suggested in a previous entry that we needed a good FOSS directory, so people who are looking for free and open source software can find it, all in one place, and not get sidetracked or tricked into freeware or shareware. The Free Software Foundation have a great directory, crammed full of the free-est free software. However, and no offence to the FSF, their directory isn’t very… pretty. It doesn’t asthetically grasp the readers attention, like so many of the shareware and freeware sites do. And also, many of their items are NOT suited to the beginner, who wants a clean, user-friendly package that works out of the box.

So we need someone to write a better directory. Or many people to write many directories. And then, the community need to support these directories. We need to get the word out, link to them, get them noticed, by other people and by google.

So that when people search, they don’t find so many of the shareware and freeware sites, and they find more of the FOSS sites. And hopefully one day, the FOSS sites will be all there are.