Posted on 06/23/2006 12:27:30 PM PDT by Berlin_Freeper
>... there are people who need to go as their ideas and opinions are detrimental to the Conservative cause.<
But Bee, rubbing the wrong way is STIMULATING and stimulation is good for the brain. God bless FR and long may it be free (of subscription, that is!).
the Kitties would be out of a job
The strong influence of Free Republic would then be diminished immensely.
Now there's a thought. You want to post a vanity, enter your credit card number.
No, it would be a case of FR saying they are electing to run the site differently than in the past. The users don't own the site, the servers or engage in bandwidth contracts with service providers. The owners of the site do. Free membership means that someone else is paying for your user access.
I seriously doubt this site is about money.
If that were the case, it would have shut down long ago.
Agreed. It ain't broke, don't fix it. There's something wonderful about the freepathons, as well.
We're up to 250,000
The one liner that I fired off was in reaction to a poster's comment that this might be a trial baloon. While the poster didn't state what specific ballon he was referring to, I thought the guy might be trying a trial ballon for possibly developing a FR type pay site for himself.
Radio talk show hosts come here to look for ideas. Maybe columnists do as well. I don't think they do that with more narrowly focused sites that simply give out marching orders. Part of the pleasure is finding things that you weren't expecting, and that's rarer on the other sites.
The keywords people add can be kind of crazy, but most of the time, we just ignore them. Charge money and you won't necessarily get a more conservative site, just a duller and less essential one.
Heil Hitler!
Oh gosh, let's see if I can remember, I think it was:
http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/freerepublic
That one redirects you to the present site nowadays.
"The problem with this is that FR has a very specific "target audience" and purpose. Which is supposed to be a thinktank for Conservative Americans and not some kind of general open door chitchat forum. My idea is trying to enhance the intended audience and thus function for Free Republic. So yes, there are people who do need to go as their ideas and opinions are detrimental to the Conservative cause.
"
OK, so you eliminate all the folks who you don't like or agree with. That way you have a place where everyone can pat each other on the back and think they're doing something.
Sounds pretty boring to me. Sounds like a discussion of music by a choir. Sounds like a place I'd not visit.
Here's an idea: Start a forum like you describe and see who signs up. The internet's easy. Who knows, if your idea is a good one, people will line up to subscribe to your site.
"I'm sure there are people who would consider me an "undesirable element" just as there are people who look at you the same way. I could never be a moderator simply because I would ban people who irritate me."
I'm thinking more strategic than that. It's not a matter of it being a personal issue. My idea is that true Conservatives who are the ones that this site is supposed to be meant for and who see the value of it will still be willing to pay the subscription fee because they have been donating anyway. Whereas the undesirable element would be less inclined to do so. Sure, there may be some, but I am certain way less than there are now. And if you truely are an undesirable, wouldn't it be better for you, me, FR and all else involved if you were to be encouraged in one way or another to find a more proper forum to be posting your ideas and opinions in? I think so.
I agree.
I'm an Irishman... something must be worng with me...
You are going hear my opinion anyway - subscription is a stupid idea!!
If you have to ask how much it costs to post in breaking news, you cant afford it.
NO!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.