Darn, this seems like a site meant to uncover and curb corruption.<p>I was hoping it was a site where everyday folks share their stories about when it helps to give a nice tip or innocently grease a few palms.<p>Well known cases would be the "$20 trick" you give to the hotel clerk to get a free room upgrade. Once during an airport emergency, I gave two $10 bills to the bellhop to cut the long line at my hotel taxi stand (the bellhop keeps one $10 bill and gives the other to the taxi stand valet guy, who waved us into the next cab).<p>I remember seeing on Friends that you can shorten your restaurant wait times by giving money to the hostess, and the book Doormen claims you can get lots of perks by over-tipping your doormen. What I need is a menu of all such extra services that can be achieved and the average cost / success rate, so I minimize the chances of looking like an idiot.
I still really like the idea of the zero-Rupee notes circulating in India, created specifically to present to government officials asking for bribes. Apparently, in many cases the official is so shamed on being handed the nil bill that the bribe is effectively paid.<p><a href="http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1353796" rel="nofollow">http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1353796</a>
This is an interesting idea, but it needs some cachet to catch on. Don't get me wrong: India _needs_ this site, and needs it badly. Corruption and graft have become so bad that everyone from the top-most office down to the lowest level refuses to even lift a finger without getting his palm greased. Things have become so bad that officials are willing to cause a loss of billions of dollars to the taxpayer just to make some money (ref. the "2G scam").<p>What India needs is a WikiLeaks. And a "wikileaks" for corruption, where you can list the name, position, etc. of the officials who are corrupt. It would be a pretty long list, I can imagine.
Took me far too long to find the "view stories" link:<p><a href="http://www.ipaidabribe.com/sforms/view_reports_paid" rel="nofollow">http://www.ipaidabribe.com/sforms/view_reports_paid</a><p>It'd be great to have these on a map. I want to see <i>where</i> bribes are most common(ly reported)<p>Though, I suppose this site is so focused on Bangalore, it may not be much use.
Though it is a good initiative, it is not effective yet. In the site the stories are not associated with the name and also there are no proofs. So in a way all the reports are toned down to just say that I had to pay a bribe but not who is taking the bribe. If it has that detail, then that official will be shamed and there is a possibility that corruption can be reduced faster.<p>But the site's aim is to gauge the amount of corruption and try for systemic changes to eliminate it - I would take even that compared to nothing. So all the best ipaidabribe
<p><pre><code> This was never the way I planned
Not my intention
I got so brave, pedal on the floor
Lost my discretion
It's not what, I'm used to
Just wanna try this bimmer
I'm curious how you
Caught me speedin'
I paid a bribe and I liked it
The price of a new macbook
I paid a bribe just to try it
I hope my lawyer don't mind it
It felt so wrong
It felt so right
Don't mean I'm in jail tonight
I paid a bribe and I liked it
I liked it
No, I don't even know your rank
It doesn't matter
You're a corrupt cop
Just human nature,
It's not what,
Good cops do
Not how they should behave
My head gets so confused
Hard to obey
Us yuppies we are so loaded
Soft money, red bimmer, so predictable
Hard to resist, so profitable
Too good to deny it
Ain't no big deal, it's innocent</code></pre>
I'll say it a thousand times, corruption is the cancer of all societies and we really need to find the cure as priority number one. Before going to mars, before sea-steading, before feeding africa.