I disagree, this is the best message board system out there, and one of the keys to success.
Um, there is a reason it is called FREE Republic.
Just like the country, freedom means that people whom you don't agree with abound, and even crazies can slip through the cracks, like Charles Manson and Ted Bundy among many. We all know that we support true freedom even if it means the free won't necessarily do things we like. And there is plenty of "justice" on FR to take care of anything "illegal."
If your concern is trolls, you are adding to the problem because now a troll can buy his way into FR. He will be harder to get rid of. Not impossible but harder.
If your concern is the "cash flow", I'll wait till I hear from the management.
I say we slap a $5 fee on vanity posts. That'll ease server load.
On the other hand, I can see some possible merit to the idea of donors having some privileges non-donors do not have access to and/or having that based on level of donation, or length of posting history, and maybe exceptions for those posters whose contribution to the board are such that the owner, moderator(s) or members can recommend them for privileges they wouldn't necessarily have otherwise.
Having said that, I love this place just the way it is. Any board is going to have the occasional troll and for the most part, I either ignore them, or laugh at them. I don't much worry about them.
I don't think it's "antiquated" at all. It's laid-out well, clean, easy to use, and most importantly, FAST. No super-complicated browser-breaking styles or frames. Just nice, simple, and functional. I love it.
Plus I can leave it up at work and people don't know what it is. *shifts eyes*
Leave it open for everybody. If Jim wants to make it pay-to-play, that's his prerogative, but I hope he doesn't. I think it's a HUGE plus for us that all sorts of people can come here, post, debate, argue, whatever. Social conservatives, fiscal conservatives, open-borders, closed-borders, paleos, neos, Yankees, Rebels, libertarians, you name it. Pretty much anybody but a troll or a straight-up liberal (usually synonymous) is welcome here. Just bring a thick skin and a willingness to debate.
Free Republic is proof that conservatives TRULY have the "big tent." On any semi-equivalent site that the liberals run, if you step one millimeter out of line, you're zotted. Not so here.
Thanks, Jim, for giving us the greatest site on the web.
}:-)4
No, I don't think it should be a subscription site. People should contribute, and many do. That said, I will admit that I cancelled my monthly payment because of too many raving nutter hate-filled anti-immigration trolls, who were allowed to infest any thread, regardless of the topic.
However, the mods seem to have gotten a grip on them and they are now only on the immigration threads (most of them were probably DUmmies trying to make us look like a hate site, anyway, so they're probably all back at DU), and I'm going to resume my donation.
I think keeping FR open and free is the best thing. People come and go - some post for a long time, some are just here for a few months, and there are, of course, trolls. But the Viking Kitties are after them...
FR is whatever Jim Rob says it is. Until JR says a change is needed it should remain "as is."
Absolutely Not --LEAVE IT ALONE. That would totally change the carachter of the best site on the web. I hate it when new kids come to play our game cause it's so cool and as soon as we let them, they want to change the rules that made it so cool in the first place.
Yes, at the new, alternative free site.
FR is also surprisingly tolerant -- perhaps not of trolls, but there's considerable diversity of opinion, considering that it is basically a conservative / Republican forum. (God help me, I almost wrote "Celebrate Diversity"?!?!)
I would expect FR's breadth and depth to contract, if only the folks willing to cough up a subscription fee were here.
America is great because, among other things, it is free.
FreeRepublic echoes the greatness of America for exactly the same reason.
Yeah, I know, intentionally conflating "free as in speech" with "free as in beer". So what? I like 'em both...
FR gets $5.00 a month from me, well worth it. If FR went subscription, then half the posters I like reading might not be here, and then FR wouldn't be worth my $5.00 so I'd be gone. Law of unintended consequences.
If your m.o. seems to attract stalkers, maybe you should stay off the internet a (long) while. Just a thought.
You don't seem to be happy here.
There's something to be said for institutional memory. Back in the day, anytime there was breaking news, the FR server would crash and we'd all have to head over to the bomb shelter on yahoo for some time. Yahoo is awful; it was be a step backward to try to emulate that over here.
Jim and John have done wonders upgrading FR over the years -- and it was all done on donated money.
Another thing that a paid subscription would curtail would be "celebrity" posters that frequent here. For example, I don't think that Tony Snow would have posted here if he had to pay to do so.
This is on your home page ,I haven't run into the same problem yet.
"Further note: There are a gaggle of Libidiot Trolls stalking me (each with numerous user names), trying to grind me down with a constant stream of moronic replies. Be aware if they are doing the same to you. Their purpose is to frustrate you, in order to stop you from wanting to post on FR. If this is happening to you, then do what I do and ignore those pathetic losers (just like their own families do). Trust me, that's what annoys them the most and eventually discourages THEM from posting on FR.
5/23/06 - Since I added the above note I have noticed a drop in the Libidiot Trolls stalking me on FR. I am leaving the warning as a reminder to other FReepers. Also, I have received an email from a trusted friend about British individuals who work at BBC online and are spending some of their working hours posting here on FR, so just be aware that may be going on.