How much would you pay to use Indiamike for a period of 3 MONTHS?

Good to see that indiamike does have a fan or two.

Parvati-Overdrive

I have received and sent cash overseas (small bill amounts only) wrapped in writing paper or a card, sometimes registered sometimes not, from UK and USA, FRance and Germany to Oz and back. And all the cash got through. People could send a few dollars that way. The reason is I used to do some small time selling and buying on Ebay up to this year (stopped a few months back). That's why I got Paypal too for Ebay mostly.

It would be terrible if Mike had to close down the site because it took too much of his time and money. The first week or so I got on the site mid-year last year I sent Mike US$9 as it was just lying in my PayPal account doing nothing. But I haven't sent any cash since as I'm not working right now. But I'ld like to send Mike a few dollars in a couple of weeks when I get some more cash (have spent up to my limit for the moment) as I really get a lot out of this site that there is no way I could get out of Lonely Planet.

It's fantastic that such an informative site as this exists free of charge.

Im very thankful and pleased it is free, it gives me hours of enjoyment and amusement reading the posts.

However, due to the amount of knowledge and good quality information here, I really wouldn't mind paying a fee.

But I think if funds are really needed to maintain or improve the site, or to ensure Mike isn't too out of pocket, voluntary donations or flogging of merchandise would be the best option.

Thank you.

you sound like a real lout. i suppose youve done a through review of my 3-4 posts? which admittedly amount to nothing more than chat. indeed, i would not pay for them either, but this is exactly my point. whose posts WOULD you pay for?

VERY few boards can chrage and in the end -for what? its not the presence of the board, there are DOZENS of free boards. its the info and community folks. people come and go, post incorrect info, dont post at all. i just dont see a value that is specifically provided by the 'owners'/board ops. what am i missing?

its simply the tt without the lame-o's, trolls and spam w/ diligent and fun community of posters.

btw - i dont claim to be a huge knowledge base of india, ive visited 2x -a total of about 9mos and all this prior to 1997. but i will bet my next trip to india (april09) that ive already spent more time in asia than you will in your entire life.

there is nothing special about this board. as i stated before - the links suck, there is no database, no faqs and no hotels review. pay for what?

what DOES make this board special is the PEOPLE that visit and post. THEY are the ones that add value.

freemanx: no, i dont feel cheated if i dont find answer on tt -its FREE. re: paying -im not being hot, its just a point that the info comes from the PEOPLE not the board ops/owners -sorry.

i dont understand why mike would be oop... boards are free. as for board mnt. that can be circulated among aficianados (sp) if its simply online time from net cafe for board mnt.

im a guy that loathes paying for anything, much less information. it also stands that i provide information freely as well.

if mike wants to code a board from scratch, buy sw or pay hosting fees -great. but its out there and its free.

an old hacker credo: information wants to be free *as in freedom AND free of charge.

Keeping in mind that this is a theoretical thread and I have no intention of going the route of charging for anything.

Some points of PO are well taken and many things will be improved in the next few months when the next site upgrade happens. It is a big one and lots of enhancements especially on the search functions and the database.

I don't know about the links though, maybe it's because I never really cared about links section and have always debated just kickin it off to the side. My own surfing habits dictate that if I see a homepage of 'my favorite links' I just move on.

You are correct that what makes the board special are the people that come here and add value to it. They are always the ones who deserve the praise. Seriously. It's means more to me than most people know that so many people come here and contribute to it and have a great time with it. They are what counts here and I am always happy to run into a members in India and be the one to say "let me buy you a beer'' you deserve it.

Mike

Mike, pay no heed.The site's perfect and you do a great job.
I know that if any of us bumped into you in India we'd be getting the beers in no probs!

parvati_overdrive


didnt you talk about buying a "big fat guidebook"?

about mike:
he didnt start this thread. it was started from a member and i think he just was curious about the opinions of other members.

as you may have noticed - im a big fan of this site and its not just information im getting here, its also personal opinions and insight views from indian residants and other travellers who LOVE india. something you dont find in guidebooks.

and in my opinion tt is s**t compared to indiamike

parvati_overdrive if you really take your time browsing this site you might discover what im talking about.

but, no worrys anyway
have a good time and maybe 'see you in india'

ps: im not a big fan of paying for everything but if i really like
something i dont have a problem giving a few euros.

I would agree with Parvati O. that requiring a paid membership would be a death warrant to the site. Paying for added features (indiamike email address, ability to post photos, etc.) would make more sense. Also some of the merchandising ideas.

As for links... a list of well-maintained links can be very useful. See www.jref.com as an example. They also have forums and are very similar to this site in terms of purpose ~ info and discussion regarding a specific country.

mike i offer you a holiday in kerala on my account ,

I can't understand why Parvati-Overdrive says there are no hotel reviews...I really like the section where members post their experiences at hotels. This is personal and experienced first-hand...to me that is more valuable than some LP review. People are so helpful and informative on IM, that by itself makes it so special.
I think $20-25 for three months trial is ok, perhaps if one decides to stay on as a member, the annual fee can be adjusted a bit. I received so much useful information from Bijapuri on travel in Karnataka, and just this morning Natasha-Chanda-Acharya replied to a question I had on Talkad...similarly I have tried to help out with questions on Chennai whenever I could. Thanks again to everyone who responded to my queries before my trip to India, you're the best!

I would pay to remain a member of this website. Paid-up members could perhaps use the private messaging service, email, and ability to post replies and new topics. Non-paid members could not use these facilities - only view what was already posted in the forums. There are sites that operate like this. ......Or perhaps a one-off membership fee after a week's use if the site....I dunno!

I only know that it wouldn't be a problem for me as I know what I've found here. No one would know what belonging to IndiaMike has done for me....and if I was asked to help support it financially, I would do my best to comply.

I haven't read all the replies yet.. but this got my attention..

true.. the information is exchanged between members.. there will be net contributors and net readers. while it may make sense for the readers to pay for the valuable information that they glean from the forums, the contributors really don't have the need to continue contributing, especially if they have to pay. Also, the issue of accuracy of the information comes up. If IM charges, will it then have some responsibility to verify the accuracy of the information offered? i think indiamike (the person) has noted this in one of his earlier posts.

I'd be happy to pay a small fee. I have no idea what it costs to run a website like this but I don't think Mike should be out of pocket.

IndiaMike is better than going to the movies and that costs plenty!