Posted on 06/23/2006 12:27:30 PM PDT by Berlin_Freeper
I am not certain what the legal ramifications would be in changing Free Republic from donations to a subscription service. It seems to me the switch may be detrimental to legal issues such as copyrights. If that is true I'd appreciate if someone could briefly explain that to me. However if that is not the case here is my suggestion:
I have been wondering about this for some time now and have not seen any discussions about it. So I would like to ask: Is it time for Free Republic to become an online subscription service?
Currently, the site is very antiquated. People can easily abuse the "add a keyword" feature and there seems to be a growing number of liberal trolls, foreigners and even pro-homosexual agenda-driven people infecting the site. In order to cut down on the undesirables and enhance FR at the same time, would it be advisable to start charging a monthly fee of about 15-30 bucks to be able to log into the site and post? There could also be different subscription levels like Basic, Premium or Platinum. That way, the more you pay the more features you have access to. Some of these extra-services could include storing photos or FR could be a conservative search engine for the web.
I have seen online sites where people can still read the boards for free. FR could do something like that so it would still be accessible to the Conservative public even if they are not paying members with posting priviledges.
Websites that rely heavily on banner and pop-up ads need as many hits as possible so for them restricting posting rights to subscribers might not be so desirable. However, Free Republic does not work like that. There are no ads other than some book links on the home page so the number of hits is not as crucial to the bottom line which is currently being paid for by donations.
Donations seem to be working well, but I am sure the cashflow could be improved. How many of you people honestly are put off donating money to FR because it is not what it should be? Especially in regards to the undesirable element that can be found throughout many of the threads. Wouldn't this change in format go a long way in eliminating the undesirables? I think so. Plus it would be neat to experience an upgraded more modern version of Free Republic.
Note: If you are a democrat troll, foreigner or pro-homosexual/lesbian then I am really not interested in your opinion and you should not be posting it to me (just the fact that I have to add this note is proof that something is not right).
imho,
FR's formatting and features are light years ahead of all others.
AboveTopSecret.com's also has massive database and it's visual clutter and unnecessary complexity etc. is such a turnoff, I rarely go there any more.
Mad Ivan has left more than once. Poor baby. They comes and they goes
Again?
"I agree. What's the problem with "foreigners"? We have lots of great "foreigners" here. Mad Ivan for one. As long as you are convervative, why be a small-minded bigot?"
I am trying to figure out what kind of small-minded American bigot lives in Berlin?
But let me talk about foreigners because I think this needs to be understood here. Free Republic is above all a political forum for Conservative Americans. I think political being the key word here. Therefore Free Republic should be for Americans. To be honest, if I wanted to talk to foreigners I'd go walk my dog right now. But for me the fact is I sign on FR specifically so I can express ideas and read other ideas from Americans. Yes, Americans.
So again, it's nothing personal. Of course there are many fine foreigners and someone should start a "WeCareAboutWhatForeignersThink" Republic and all those people can be happy over there, which I don't think many will be following. And to be honest, once you make Free Republic subscription-based there aren't gonna be many foreigners who want to pay so they would be leaving anyway. And if a foreigner wants to pay to stay on FR then at least that says something for them right from the start.
An edit button is a bad idea. Once a post is made (especially to a thread such as this one) how many replies could quote your typo before you could get an edit done?
"The Dems would LOVE for Free Republic to become a subscription service."
No they would not, because then they could not be posting here incognito without feeling the sting of being hit in the pocket.
The way I type?
Lots!
But it sure would eliminate the 'Opps' factor!
Yeah, the MSM can do that to a person. I think it's one of the reasons the Bush Admin is not opening up the WMD debate again and just focusing on winning the Iraq War.
And it would give trolls a chance to type something and get a reaction going, then edit it to sound "reasonable."
"Go away."
I am away.
I would rather that FR sell ad space along the sides and bottom if money is an issue.
You've been here longer than me. I remember laughing so hard my stomach hurt. I think our problem is (longtimers), we've pretty much seen it all. You know, it was posted already. But, the newbies are seeing it for the first time. I agree though, too many cute one liners. Some try too hard to be funny, and they just aren't.
A bit more away...
LOL
I personally have no problem with those who don't think like me. I love the debate. Some folks (geez can't think of one at the moment,,,,,)are just so closed minded that unless someone is in agreement with them, then the other person should be excluded from the discussion.
Again, you have a great business model......why not try it?
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