New to DesiDime and thinking where to start? Find answers to all the common questions below.


Select your category to jump to that section:

• Using DesiDime.
• Understanding the Dime system.
• Making a post.
• User Profile and Settings.
• Community Features.
• Karma and Special Badges.
• Warnings, Suspensions and Content Filters.
• Miscellaneous.

USING DESIDIME

1. What is DesiDime? What good can it be for me?

Answer: DesiDime.com is completely free and user driven online shopping community for the ‘Aam Janta’. It is created to provide a platform for users to Collaborate, make friends and share information in order to make the best shopping decisions.
You can learn more about DesiDime Here.

We are leaving out the benefit part for you guys to decide yourself but we are very confident that we would certainly become a part of your life.

2. I see so many forums. What are these all about?

Answer: To make things organised and easy to access, different forums have been categorized owing to different type of content that can be posted in them. The description posted below each forum tells what that particular forum is used for.

Beside this we also have sub-forums, the sub-divisions of these forums owing to members need and the same can be accessed directly from the main page.

3. How can I search for a deal on any particular stuff of my choice?

Answer: Desidime does provides you the option of searching deals of specific interest. You may do so using any of the methods described below:

Method 1:
If you scroll down a little below on forum pages, you will see a column of “Browse Hottest Deals by Categories”
Select the one that you wish to see (lets take Apparel and Accessories for example) and you will be shown the ‘Front Page Deals’ related to that section.

Method 2:
You can enter the Hot Deals – Online forum.
On the top, there is a filter option. Locate it and choose the category you want to search.
You may also filter the results to a ‘particular store’ and ‘popular only’.

Method 3:
A very handy way is to make use of the search box (located at top right side of page).
Enter your query and hit the ‘Search’ button. You will be shown the relevant topics.



If you still have any doubt related to purchase/deal or want to have the community members/experts advice, you can make a request in Deal Baba thread or discuss in Dost and Dimes section and the members would help you gladly.

4. What in the world is this “Advanced Search”?

Answer: Sometimes there is a limitation with normal search options that too many posts/topics related to a specific search term pops up and it becomes equally frustrating to look out for the desired one like it was before.

Hence we provide users with the option of ‘Advanced Search’ wherein users can make use of customized filters to get exactly what they want. Be it limiting a search to specific forum/specific category/specific store/specific city and even specific user. Not only it does provides an option of filtering results by date but one can also make a search based on user ratings. You can add as many filters as you like, it is completely customizable. So just go and check it out

The link to Advanced search appears once you make a query in regular search box or you can directly access it using the link given Here.

5. How to know about a particular store’s reliability. Any help?

Answer: Certainly. You can always look at the store ratings and user reviews for the store before planning your purchase.

This can be done by Going to the Stores section and selecting the desired store. The rating parameters as well as customer reviews would be seen on the right. Not only this, you can also find the store’s policies and customer support details if you scroll down below.

To make things even more comfortable we have also provided an option to access store reviews and even display the store’s rating in the deal threads itself.

PS: Individual experience from a store will vary.

6. I like a deal. Can I rate it?

Answer: Of course you can rate a deal if you like/dislike it. The rating meter is present on every deal and you can make your selection. We also encourage you to post your comments for the deal using the reply to topic/quick reply button indicating why you feel the deal is good/bad.

The rating of a deal serves as a quick indicator of the popularity of the deal and this can be accessed straightaway from the threads list or after opening the particular deal thread. All you need is to point your cursor on the smileys and wait for a second, the total score would pop up.

7. What is a Front Page Deal? How does a deal get there?

Answer: As the name suggests, Front Page Deal (or FPD) are those top deals from the forums that we choose to display on DesiDime’s front page. We try to handpick the best amongst all deals using an exhaustive process so that the users have access to all those superb deals at one place. As a reward for bringing up such a great deal, the poster is credited with 20 Dimes for each deal that makes it to the front page.

To know all about how FPDs are selected please refer Here.

Since it is a user driven community, we give the members an option to suggest the deals they find awesome as a candidate for the Front page. This can be done by clicking on the “Suggest as FP Deal” button located below the main post.

8. Why can’t I suggest a deal to Front Page?

Answer: To avoid fake suggestions and exploitation of the system, only users with above 50 posts can suggest a deal for FP. Also, we have capped the maximum number of suggestions by a single person to 3 (Three). So make sure to choose your picks wisely

Also note that you cannot suggest/like your own deal.

UNDERSTANDING THE DIME SYSTEM

9. What are these Dimes?

Answer: We wanted to give recognition to our DesiDimers, who makes sincere efforts to share best deals they find on the internet and also to encourage our new users to share and experience the joy of sharing. Hence these DESI DIMES (or Dimes) were introduced.

Dimes are a token of appreciation for contributing to the community. They can be considered as a new currency which you can use to buy goodies from our Gift Shop.

10. Cool! So how can I increase my dimes?

Answer: Contribute to the community. Its as simple as that.

You can earn Dimes for the following activities:

• Registration (for a limited period) – 50 Dimes
• Follow us on Facebook – 10 Dimes
• Follow us on Twitter – 10 Dimes
• Posting a new deal that is not a repost – 1 Dime
• Posting a new deal that gets promoted to front page – 20 Dimes
• Posting a product review that gets selected for a blog entry – 200 Dimes
  
  Beside this we keep coming with new contests that enables you to earn more dimes.

(PS: You need to email us desidime user name, facebook profile url and/or twitter id at admin@desidi…om once you follow us on facebook/twitter and 10 points will be added to your account within 48 hours)

11. Fine, so what after i’ve accumulated a billion of them? How to redeem them?

Answer: Congratulations on becoming a billionaire. To redeem just visit our Gift Shop and choose any product from the listed stores (yeah we didn’t want to limit the options). Just fill out a simple form given at the bottom of the page when you are all set to go.

Please make sure you have sufficient dimes to purchase the desired product. Make use of the DesiDime Converter Widget to calculate the dimes required. Since conversion rates for dimes are varied on daily basis we suggest you to keep an eye or make use of the historical graph to make a smart decision.

Also note that Badge holders (discussed later) get a special rate – 0.10 less than the actual rate. So if the current rate is 1.24, the rate for badge holders will be 1.14 .

Last but not the least, you can be a hero and donate your dimes for charity. At present we have two agencies CRY and UNICEF where you can make a donation. Everytime anyone donate dimes to these, we would add 10% additional funds from our side.
Please see that minimum 500 dimes are required to make a charity otherwise it becomes expensive for these organisation to process due to processing cost.

12. Is there any limitations on redeeming Dimes?

Answer: If this is your first Gift redemption you need to meet the following criteria:

• 250 dimes – Minimum Dimes Required to redeem your first gift.
• 300 dimes – Minimum Purchase value of your first gift.

After first gift is redeemed, these limitations are removed.

13. Can I redeem my dimes for Hard core cash?

Answer: Sorry to say but that option is not available.

14. I submit a deal but my Dimes aren’t increasing?

Answer: To maintain the quality of deals submitted and benefit other members of the community, we have enforced a cap on dimes based on your ranking (discussed later). Once you have reached the cap on a given day you will earn no more dimes, however, it does not prevent you for earning 20 dimes in case the deal reaches Front Page.

Deal Newbie can earn 3 dimes max, Deal Cadet – 5 dimes max, Deal Subedar – 10 dimes max and Deal Captain onwards – 15 dimes max.

Also note that dimes are only credited for posting a topic in the following sections:

• Hot Deals – Online
• Daily Deals – Products
• Daily Deals – Services
• Coupons
• Hot Deals – In Store
  
  

15. Hey, I woke up today and somebody stole my Dimes?

Answer: Relax, nobody can steal your dimes. It is just that whenever a default post is deleted (either duplicate, invalid, containing referral links etc), one dime is deducted from the balance (which the user got for submitting that topic). The system is designed in this way. Many a times we just mark the post as duplicate and leave it without deleting for the poster to get the message that he/she made a re-post and then once in a while delete all those accumulated duplicate posts in one go. This sometimes leads to noticeable amount of deduction in dimes of those people who have posted maximum re-posts.

16. I can also see some users with negative Dimes. What does this mean?

Answer: A user displaying -ve dimes indicate that the person already redeemed his/her dimes before mass deletion of duplicate posts took place and thus when his/her duplicate posts were deleted the dimes balance ended up in negative.

MAKING A POST

17. I want to submit a deal, how to go about it?

Answer: We really appreciate that you want to spread the joy of sharing. Creating a topic is pretty simple.

Just open the appropriate forum and click on the “New Topic” button located on the upper right side of the page (below the ‘search box’). This will open up the new topic page wherein you can enter a relevant title and details about your post. Make sure you cover all necessary points about the deal. Now choose a category which best describes your deal and once all done, click on the “Post Topic” button to create it.

18. Is there anything I need to keep in mind while submitting a deal?

To maintain uniformity in the forum and make accessing deals more convenient, we request every members to follow some basic guidelines which are mentioned Here.

This serves helpful for all and we hope you would appreciate it and abide by it.

19. I want to create a thread beside deal submission. How do I make sure I am in the correct forum?

Answer: As mentioned earlier, each forum has a little description that would make you easily identify where to create your post. For example if you need help deciding/buying a product, you can make use of Deal Baba forum; want to hang up with friends, you have Dost and Dimes section; need to share experience of a particular product/website with others, you have Product Reviews section etc.

We suggest you to always post in correct forum to avoid inconvenience to others and have quick response for all your queries.

20. Can I make any changes to my posts or topics?

Answer: Sure, users can edit their posts or titles of the threads submitted by them. However you will not be able to edit posts in a sticky thread.

To edit a post, you need to use the “Edit post” link at the left side of the post (below username & stats). This will allow you to make changes to your post, and once done just click the “Save Changes” button to save it.

Same rule applies to editing the title of any thread submitted by the user. You need to move your cursor on title first which will enable you to see an ‘edit’ link at the end of the title. Click on it and make the necessary changes.

Coming to deleting a post, just enter into the edit mode (as discussed) and clear off all the text. Now when you click on “Save reply” button, it will give you the option to delete the post.

However, kindly note that the edit option is available only for upto 24 hours. Users cannot modify their posts/topic titles after 24 hours have passed by. Also, users cannot delete a topic once submitted by them. This is done for security reasons. You may notify the admins/mods using the alert administrator option or simply comment in the thread and we will do the needful.

21. I see many people adding images in posts and even writing in different modes but all I see is a quote button. How to get these super-powers?

Answer: The different appearance of text you see is done with help of short codes called HTML. Even posting images is done with the help of these simple codes. You can find out how to easily do it yourself Here.
Also, we have a dedicated thread on posting images Here by user neo.

Go and check them out, you will really enjoy it.

22. Help!! The monster ate my post…

Answer: Well we don’t have any monsters out here in the forums, so don’t worry. A post/thread is deleted (or edited) mainly because of the following reasons:

• Making a duplicate thread or re-posting (the most common).
• Violation of Rules.
  • Referral links in post
  • Spamming in forums.
  • Posting objectionable content
  • Abuse in forums
  • Third party links
  • Post having url of websites blocked on Desidime.
  • Posting short urls (links).
  • Ebay deals with seller feedback less than 50.
• Posting same deal/thread in different forums.
• Posting in wrong forums even after repeated notices.

If you feel your post has been deleted while none of the above applies to it, you can always ask us for help.

23. Who determines a re-post? Are there any specific criteria?

A post is tagged as Duplicate by the moderators/admins based on the set of rules mentioned Here.

You can avoid re-posts by making use of search option before submitting any deal. We suggest you to at least search ‘twice’, once with the product name and second with the store url (link). In case of posting coupons, search with the code itself.

24. How can I check the time of any post?

Answer: To know the Exact Time at which a deal was posted, just move on your cursor to the post’s Time Tag, located above the profile pic and wait for 1 sec.
The complete time details would appear in the following Time format

yyyy-mm-dd T hh:mm:ss +5:30

The T denotes ‘Time’ and +5:30 is Time zone of India (in ref to GMT)

25. Hey, I want to share my views on a particular product/ website, how to do it?

Answer: Great thought. Like we say ‘Sharing is Caring’. We have a dedicated review section for the same Here. More specifically this section is meant for reviewing products, but you can share your store reviews equally well.

However, if you want to write a review for a store we encourage you to post it in the Store section. Just select the desired store and click on “Submit a review” button. You will also have the option to rate the store based on different parameters. Please note that the reviews are moderated before posting to avoid fake ones.

We would like to mention here once again that each of those awesome product reviews that makes it to our blog entry will bring you 200 Dimes.

26. Why has my deal been voted down? I will spoil the face of person who did it.

Answer: Don’t get troubled if your deal has been voted down. There are many possible reasons for which a deal gets voted down on forum, some of them being:

1. Your deal is a Repost.
2. It is from a worthless site.
3. A better deal is available for that product.
4. You’ve posted the deal in the wrong section.
5. You are continuously posting “Please vote up and make this deal FPD”.
6. The coupon you’ve provided along with the deal is user specific/invalid.
7. You’ve posted a referral link.
8. Inappropriate title.
9. Personal irony.
10. The person posting the deal/review is a fake profile. More specific in case of reviews.
11. Self Promotions.
12. The person is acting lame or starting fights in his/her thread.
13. Spamming. Especially for dimes.
14. Product mentioned in the deal carries seller/Dealer warranty.
15. Product itself is not good.
16. Past bad experience of users from the store.
17. Poor customer service offered by store.
    (View discussion thread)

We suggest you to act rational. Just avoid the above points and keep posting good deals, appreciation will automatically follow.
Also, we strongly advice not to follow the second statement you’ve mentioned. This is the reason voting has been kept anonymous

USER PROFILE AND SETTINGS

27. I look way better than this monotonous avatar, is there a way to change my display pic?

Answer: We apologise for making you look this way. You can right away change the display/profile picture (avatar) to any image of your choice in few simple steps. And yes did we mention, we support animated gif’s too.

Go to the “Settings” option located on the top right corner

Click on ‘Profile’ tab and you will have the option to change your avatar. You can either upload a file directly from your computer or upload via Gravatar (especially helpful in cases where direct uploading returns error).

If for any reason you are unable to upload the image, you may try the following steps:
1. Make sure your browser has javascript enabled.
2. Make sure to keep your image size to minimum possible. (Try uploading a small sized image. If it does, then problem was with the image size).
3. Log off. Clear off your complete cache and then login. Try changing now.
4. Try on a different browser.
5. Upload via Gravatar option.

28. Can I change my username or registered email ID?

Answer: We DO NOT allow change in username, so take care while choosing one. This is again for security reasons.
The registered email ID can however be changed under the “Sign-In Options tab” once you enter into ‘Settings’ panel as discussed above.
You can also change your password here.

29. Do you guys provide email alerts for deals?

Answer: Yes, we would suggest you to subscribe to our mailing list so that you never miss out on those great deals. This option is present for the daily deals. To subscribe, visit Here. Enter your preferences and click the ‘Subscribe now’ button.

You can also make use of Feed (the link is give at the top) to have a note of all latest updates.

COMMUNITY FEATURES

30. What is the difference between Front Page Deals, Featured Deals, Popular Trending Deals?

Answer: Basically to understand, consider there are three levels of promotion of any deal:

1. Front Page Deals – The highest level of promotion. These are the deals that make up our front page and considered to be the best (well we try to). As a reward the deal poster is credited with 20 dimes (besides his regular 1 dime for the post) for bringing out this ultimate option for everyone to benefit.

2. Featured Deals – This can be considered as next best promotion. Sometimes a deal is good/way above average but not superb enough to make it to the Front Page yet. In such cases, the deal is promoted under the featured deal label. The motto for featuring a deal is just so that it does not get lost in the ever growing flow of threads and is available for members to access. This also make sure that the poster’s efforts are not neglected. There are possibilities that a Featured deal might sometimes make it to the front page in due course of time. Please note that no extra dimes are credited if a deal is featured. Like already said, it is only to make sure the deal does not get lost in the deal threads that we list it under the featured category.

3. Popular Trending Deals – This is the latest addition to our deal categories. All recent deals that are being liked/discussed are displayed in a similar fashion to that of FPDs and Featured Deals. The link to access them is not only given on the Front Page but they also scroll below the forums (just move your cursor down and you’ll see them). This is again to make life easier for those users who are not able to stay on forums for long periods, so that they don’t miss a popular deal and they don’t have to search for deals through the forums once they come online. You may see all above average deals eventually in this category at some or other point of time. No additional dimes are credited for this.

Kindly note, since the system is designed to display these deals in a similar fashion, you will see the url would contain the word ‘premium deal’ for each of them. This does not indicate that all these deals are Front Page deals, it is just that the system tags the deals under this url.

Lastly, just to complete the list, there is also a 4. Exclusive Deals category wherein all deals meant exclusively for DesiDime members are listed.

31. What is meant by Popularity score shown in these deals?

Answer: Popularity Score of the Deal is an entirely different parameter to determine how popular the deal is amongst the users. It is present for deals in each of the above mentioned categories and is an automated rating depending upon a complex algorithm based upon no. of views, likes/dislikes, user comments, store rating/reliability and many other factors. This should not be confused with Front Page Deals and it has no role in selecting FPDs. Rather this score is displayed only after a deal is promoted to any of the said categories.

32. I see a tiny check box below search option named “Monitor Topic”. Does this work?

Answer: The Monitor Topic option is a very useful feature to keep an eye on different threads of interest. The topic which you choose to monitor (by checking on the monitor box) will be added to your Monitored Topic Page, the link to which is in your Profile.

It is like bookmarking a thread for ease. You don’t need to search the forums for that particular thread then. Just go to your monitored topics and see it in the list.

33. Can I get email notifications once a person replies to a thread that I am monitoring?

Answer: At present this feature is not available.

34. Do I have the option of sharing private info with specific people?

Answer: Yes. DesiDime does provides an option of Private Messaging (PM). You can send PM to any user by visiting his profile and clicking on the “Send new Message” link (see above picture for location).

In case you cannot find the profile of the person but remember his/her username, you can still send a PM using the “Send new Message” link from your own profile.
Just enter the correct user name (including any special characters or mixed cases) in the ‘To’ column in the message.

However you can only send PM to one person at a time. This is done to avoid spam. For the same reason we also restrict new members to 10 PMs per day.

35. Do you feature active members on the forum?

Answer: We really appreciate the efforts of our members and for this reason beside giving them Dimes, we also feature them on our “Leaderboard” which can be accessed right on the front page, or you can visit it Here.

There are different categories for all our heroes and top 10 people in each category are displayed. The leaderboard is updated on Daily basis.

KARMA AND SPECIAL BADGES

36. Why am I shown as “Deal Newbie” while some as “Deal Lieutenant” or “Deal Captain” etc? How do we move up the level?

Answer: Deal Newbie, Lieutenant, Captain and others are a representation of your activity level on DesiDime. We have 11 levels to reach out for.

All new users will join as “Deal Newbie” and the ranking goes up gradually based on their activeness on the forum. This not just refer to posting deals instead it depends on your overall contribution to the entire community. The ranking is determined by your Karma, a new reputation system that we are working upon. To know all about the Karma system kindly refer Here.
In short just be good, contribute to the community and help fellow members and you will be duly acknowledged back.

Remember the rule “Good Karma always pays”

37. I also see different Titles written under name of some users. What does this signify?

Answer: The titles you see are the “Special Badges” those members have earned though their selfless contributions to the community. It is symbolic of our gesture that we consider them equally special like they consider our community. We have 9 special badges for the members. You can get even all of them.

38. I am good enough for it. How to gain these special badges? whom to contact?

Answer: We thank you for being ‘good enough’. However, please note that special badges cannot be asked/requested/nominated for. The admins and the moderator team select the suitable persons for respective badges after thorough observation, analysis and discussions. The special badges are given from time to time (we are trying to make it at a regular interval of 1 or 2 months) and we only suggest you to keep doing the good job, you won’t go unnoticed.

WARNINGS, SUSPENSIONS AND CONTENT FILTERS

39. Do you really give out warnings?

Answer: Yes we do. To maintain decorum of the forums and prevent spam, we give out warnings to users who fail to abide by Rules and Regulations of the forums. Please remember if you are using DesiDime, you are agreeing to the Terms of Use.
Failure to do so will attract a warning.

40. When do you suspend a member?

Answer: We have a strict “Ban on Sight” policy for:

• Spammers
• Self Promoters
• Fake accounts

Beside this we may also ban:

• Repeated defaulters (even after warnings)
• Members abusing others in the forums
• Referral link posters
  
  

41. I see a freaking message “urlhasbeenblocked”, what does it mean?

Answer: Well as the name says, it denotes that the posted url-has-been-blocked on DesiDime. Whenever you post a link from websites that are blocked here, the system automatically converts the link into the message “urlhasbeenblocked”. Hence you should not post from websites for which this message pops up.

42. Very good now tell me why are those urls blocked? Where can I see the list of sites that are banned on DesiDime?

Answer: Basically, ‘urlhasbeenblocked’ appears for our competitor (or whatever you may refer it) sites. Competition is tough, isn’t it?
However, kindly note we do not display any such blocked website list on the forums (for internal reasons). We have instead designed the system in such a way that you will end up getting the ‘urlhasbeenblocked’ message for links from all those websites.

43. Can I post anything in Dost & Dimes forum? After all it is Dost & Dimes.

Answer: Objectionable or inappropriate content in any form will not be tolerated in any of the forums. Doing so will attract a warning (we are going to be very strict for this now).
So we suggest you to avoid posting such stuff even if done for humour.

44. I want to report an inappropriate content/user, whom to contact?

Answer: If you wish to report any content posted by a user or even a user for that matter, you may either make use of the ‘Alert Administrator’ button or send us the link via PM (Private Message) or simply comment in the thread itself and we will do the needful.
Please don’t forget to mention the link to the post or user profile.

45. I just received a re-post warning. Help me lord!

Answer: Calm down , we are not going to murder you. The re-post warning is a reminder in case you have stopped using the search feature. Nobody likes to see duplicate posts all around and hence repeated defaulters are given warnings. It may not matter much if it is your first warning, but we suggest you not to ignore warnings and avoid posting duplicates since, getting repeated re-post warnings will lead to fall in your Karma/activity level and finally might lead to account suspension as well.

MISCELLANEOUS

46. I am a merchant. Can I bribe you to feature my deal on the Front Page?

Answer: No way! We have made a promise to ourselves and to our users that we will never post paid advertisements for the front page deal.

47. I am a user. Can I bribe you to move my deals to the Front Page?

Answer: If you love bribing, we love suspending!

48. I am interested in partnerships. Whom to contact?

Answer: If you mean real business, you may reach us at links given below

• Daily Deals Merchants contact Here.
• e-Commerce Merchants contact Here.
• If you want to become an Affiliate contact Here.
  
  

49. Do you guys have any job opportunities?

Answer: As we are continuously expanding, we do keep hiring from time to time. You may send us your resume at jobs@desidi…om and we will get in touch with you. Job opportunities can be seen Here.

50. My wife/hubby left me coz I’m on DesiDime 24X7.

Answer: Don’t worry, we’ll search you a better deal.

Jokes apart, we advise you to use your time wisely. DesiDime is highly addictive and even we can’t help it!

Happy DesiDiming!

Great thread by DM bro.
I request Admin sir to make it sticky!

Superb Intro For The Web Site ! Gud Work D.M Bhai

gud work… keep it up Bro….

great work!!
can we ask our questions here ??

You are awesome man
super hardworking.
it must have taken you days…!!!
+Sticky

Great Job Sir

Great work buddy !!

Wonderful Job SIR

I’m speechless … DM bro, hats off to you… I bet even a technical writer can’t write such an explanatory article … Just awesome

awesome work DM bro

U ARE THE BEST….

Thanks a ton cm4444, M.K.A.N.K, Shopaholic, D@!LY B0N@NJ@, tycoon74, Binit, honeysethi23, #DJ#, ashik94, Bajwa, shalok, sweetpulp2004 bros

Really glad you all liked it. Thank you so much for the appreciation guys… I’m highly obliged

Hope it will be of some help for the members

D!LY B0N@NJ@ wrote:@

great work!!
can we ask our questions here ??

Yes you can bro, there is no such restriction or you can continue to make a topic in Site Questions, Issues or Suggestions section like always.

gr8 work & very usefull info for newbies

if system allows , admin. should try to re-direct to this thread to each & every member who register 1st time on DD ……

Finally a post for a newbie for all the doubts
Gr8 work

Finally got to see something exceptional on DesiDime.
Excellent job mate hats off to you.

EXCELLENT !!!!!

Superb and awesome work @Discount Maniac

Best Faq I liked is Question NO.50

Superb bhai

Awesome Bro…