Every directory owner has to do what they believe is right for their directory. Although I have contemplated myself turning ListMyNiche into a totally paid directory, I would never delete free listings. In my opinion, once the offer is made, it should stand. This is a good point that anyone starting a new directory should ponder before choosing to be free or paid. I think consistency is very important where directories are concerned. Make the right choice at the start and stand by your decision. It's also just as important that anyone submitting their web site be aware that free can have disadvantages and they should prepare themselves for what may or may not come. It would seem that your listings are soon to be swept clean from this directory, I am sorry for you if this is the case. Best of luck in the future with your submissions.
I'm surprised at this, considering his post in this thread; http://forums.digitalpoint.com/showthread.php?t=250960 Definately don't expect to be able to cancel a subscription and get that person to start a new subscription with a higher price - doing this just likely to make you loose a valued customer/link purchaser.
This is kind of crap, removing free links from directories to improve paid listings rankings. Not even deep linked, rather spend the money to submit to directorydump, aviva or alive then this one.
umm i would say he is the owner... he was providing a free service which he now decided to end ... what is the fuss about ?? it was his website ... he was giving away free listings and now he can remove it because it was free anyways. Just my 2 cents.
I've seen some directories even wipe out listings without notice. You submit free to them while they are PR0 then when PR comes they take it off and PM you if you want to buy links. At least he has an audacity to notify.
yea,its his site to do as he wishes,although i wouldnt do it..all links submitted on my sites will stay unless the submitter does not want them anymore
Well it's not OK. It's a slap in the face to all of us whom took time to submit, and created content for the site. People really need to keep previous links when/if they go paid in order to stay ethical. If people don't respect that others will stop submitting to free directories. IMHO
I know that dude but what can we do. He's a member of this Forum maybe when he re-surface He can give his side. And Yes I don't agree with that either.
Hello.... Well i would just do regular maintence and prune out the dead links or/and build more catagories for his soon to be or not to be patrons. thx malcolm
If I would be Self Proclaimed Directory Talk Show Host I can be John Stewart. But malconlm here is Howard Stern. Very Funny Malcolm Love it.
Just open new sub-categories and push regular links more deep on the directory tree. Removing the links is not a very clever move, and will not get you a loot of friends.
It bothers me that people think this is OK. Those who submitted to my directories when they were free, added content and would expect it to stay. I wouldn't kick them in the teeth now by removing their sites. The next move will be for people to clear their directories and build bid for placement sites.
Well people can start by searching for voisd.com on their directories and removing the links, this would level the playing field.
I owned a free directory www.gwdir.com, when it becomes paid, I did dump the database for pending links but keep all links approved before...
It is certainly a poor business practice and is akin to spitting in the face of those that helped support you on your rise up. I think this guy is very young and inexperience, so you live-and-learn.
I would think as a practical business solution, he could "grandfather" in the existing sites and just begin charging at the defined date. However, it's his directory so he can obviously do as he pleases. Not that I agree completely with what is being done....there should be some middle ground for those directories already listed. My 2cents
Agree and it does not help when they act in an in-appropriate manner then in the same breath say that you are fortunate and will have considerably helped blah blah Shakespeare http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petard Hoisted by his own petard The guy made his own bed and has laid down in it and his quote http://forums.digitalpoint.com/showthread.php?t=250960 'Definately don't expect to be able to cancel a subscription and get that person to start a new subscription with a higher price - doing this just likely to make you loose a valued customer/link purchaser.'
As an owner of many free web directory myself, I will have to depend Voisd for his effort to write a letter informing them of what's to come ahead, most would not do this, I would not do that if it comes to deleting the free ones from the database. Why not? Because I don't have your email When I get an email from phpLD informing me that there are new submissions and I delete them, except for the Paid ones where I place a Star marking on them. Voisd is only doing the right thing for the Paid listers who deserve a better spot. Why would anyone want to pay and be listed on a directory on a page 6 with no pr or very little when they can go elsewhere and be on a nice page with ranks. Free is never forever and you should realize that by now, Voisd has acted in a professional manner by carefully writting a Dear John letter (I guess you could call it that. lol) and will make room to people who wish to be listed at his quality paid directory. He had given free backlinks for who knows how long and maybe it is time to say thanks by upgrading your free listing to paid, or maybe he can work out a discount for the current free listers to stay on the boat. As for me and my many free directories, so far it has been a constant work for me, the thing that makes me go paid is that *ocksuckers don't go deep within the categories and keeps submitting to the very Top and I just delete those guys from now on I even go further if I recognize that I also approved them on my other free directory I go there and delete them too From Pr0 to new PR. I have seen a new directory from December and comes January's PR update they had gotten a PR4 and in no time they wiped out the entire free listing, this includes some of mine. I just laugh and will probably not want to be listed there as paid, but if he had given my listing more time to soak on his directory and later had given me a Dear John letter like how Voisd just did, I might have considered on upgrading to paid, if not I had a free ride for such's time. Free directories are very good, it gives you a free backlinks and when the time comes you can just say thank you to the owner, because owners of free directories (if you look) really gets nothing in return from you, atleast from me I get nothing from anyone in one in return by giving them a free backlinks. Once in a while someone will place a my link to there homepage without me asking, but pretty rare that happens, when I saw that I made his listing as featured. If you see the listings at nwparks.net (same with netcenter.ws), the date goes back almost a year ago and most of the 1000,s or so that are listed they are free and are still there. A certain categories where being over populated and I have added an alphabetical categories to make room for premium listers, but the free listers are still there and this goes to my other free directories. WWWS.ORG has had many changes and some datas were over written and were lost, but i'm more organize now and will try to save as many free listers as I can and will continue to have wwws.org to be free even if it reaches a PR6 or higher.(I really don't think wwws.org will ever be out of PR3. lol) Yes it's always better to keep the links for free even as !ASK! has noted to maybe create more category to sink the free listers and that is where i'm going, will keep you as it is now, but when it comes to shoving, free gets shoved in the hole.
I 2nd that, descent of him to contact the people he was removing, he didn't have to after all, if I submit to a free directory I don't expect jack, just to get included and have the link spidered is a bonus, if I had a dollar for every directory that had removed my links, well I wouldn't be rich but I would have a good couple of hundred in my backburner.