"If FR dies, that’s that." - Jim Robinson [Jim's reply at post # 588]

freerepublic.com ^ | 1/11/11 | paulycy

[paulycy]

FYI -

Here are statements from Jim about the future of FreeRepublic.com for those who missed them. They are quite serious.

===

"Well, I can say that there are definitely two things that will never happen. 1) Banner ads. 2) Oracle [a completely new database system.] And a third is a total replacement [of the current damaged system.] Don’t have the financial wherewithal."

"To those who wish to leave because of it, see ya."

"If FR dies, that’s that."

===

[To: paulycy]

Hey, you want us to get an all new system with all new software and add a few more pricey techs, system programmers and database administrators to keep it all working 100% of the time 24/7/365? Well, start coughing up the big bucks.

It’s going to take tens of thousands of donations and many with at least three zeros each after the comma to accomplish the task. And that would be EVERY month like clock work to make the payroll. Once you take on a big load of expensive overhead, there’s no going back. As it is, we get a couple thousand donations per quarter averaging about $30 bucks each and there’s no guarantees we can cover this quarter’s expenses much less next quarter. We’re on a pay as we go system and we have zero employees.We just ask for enough to pay the bills.

Throwing more money at the problem won’t solve it. [This latest glitch] was a technical issue and we just had to keep troubleshooting until we found it. And no, we’re not going to invite a bunch of strangers in to get their hands on our secure systems. John has been programming since he was 14 and he’s pushing 40 now. He built these systems and he’s an expert in them.

And no, we are not going to throw out our software and rewrite it and no we’re not going to move on to some other database system. There are no guarantees that any other system can do a better job and not without hiring a staff to build and maintain it and that’s for sure. And we don’t have the financial wherewithal to do any of that anyway. Maybe if we had a couple million bucks at our disposal and a couple years to do it in we could build an iron-clad system. And maybe not.

All I can say is, if someone else can do it better and cheaper, then please step right on up and get ‘er done!! I’ll bow out and retire. Thankyouverymuch.

Hit it boys:

https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/

And no, we have no plans of taking FR commercial. I like it the way it is. Not sure I could handle getting rich.

===

- Jim Robinson

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2653583/posts?page=168#168

[Lazamataz]

Ok not meaning to be a smart as* here but I am paid 6 figures as a web and database programmer and have 3 websites and 13 years experience.

I have your credentials plus some. 25 years, am presently and solely responsible for two major Federal websites, one of which is DHS-used, and am very versatile with .NET, WCF, WPF, Sharepoint, Silverlight, web services, custom controls, SQL at any level.

So with my pedigree stated, I fail to see why this board cost gazllions to run each year.

They employ Jim Robinson, John Robinson, run a server farm, and have many millions of message records, as well as a high-traffic load.

My three websites, 2 of which have dynamic content, shopping carts, stream video and link to most social networking sites, total web hosting cost per month is 150 bucks.

No offense, but this is not very impressive. Shopping cards? Streaming video? Script kiddies can do this.

I would give you a small look into what it looks like to truly DEVELOP, but any details per the architecture of my systems would be a violation of my security agreement with them. Suffice it to say we're not doing shopping carts and streaming video and links to social network sites. Ha.

That The highest end dedicated, unlimited bandwidth server can be had for 1000 per month, and we are talking Facebook like data traffic there.

They aren't using GoDaddy or Small Business Planet. They have their own server farm.

There is no way, probability 0 that this site cost 70k a year in technical costs to manage, not possible. Technical costs cannot cost more than a few hundred per month, if they are are the board founder is getting ripped off.

You know not of what you speak. The board's founder is using his son. Sons tend not to rip off fathers.

For 100 bucks an hour and maybe 200 hours of total development and testing time, some shrink wrap PHP scripts for forums, and some other cheap addons I could write an ASP app that would do it all here with minimum maintenance.

Yeah right. Script kiddy. No offense, but that was buck-ignorant.

[trisham]

It is indeed!

Wanted:
A Few Good FReepers!

What do I mean by "A few good FReepers wanted?"

Well, we are currently delivering over 1.2 million pageviews to over 230,000 visitors per day. That's 40 million pageviews to 7 million visitors per month or 120 million pageviews per quarter, 480 million pageviews per year. We currently have over 330,000 registered screen names on FR. Out of these millions of visits, hundreds of millions of pageviews and hundreds of thousands of registered FReepers and hundreds of thousands of regular lurkers only a relatively FEW actually donate the funds to keep FR alive.

Now I'm not complaining because we've always managed to meet our fundraising goals in the past, but it is taking longer and longer to accomplish the task. And part of that may be because it's mostly the same few dedicated FReepers providing the funds and along with the rest of us I'm sure they're stretched to the limit. Sure would be nice if a few more FReepers and lurkers would lend a hand and send in a few bucks. Doesn't take much. I think our average donation is around $20, but you can send in $5, $10, $20, $30 or more and make it a monthly contribution if you can.

A relatively few good FReepers is all it takes to keep FR on the air so hundreds of thousands of us can join together in kicking liberal butt and fighting for our freedom!!

For example, 1,500 dedicated FReepers and lurkers donating an average of $20 each per month is all it takes to continue delivering these hundreds of millions of propaganda fighting, pro-liberty pages to tens of millions of readers every year. How many concerned citizens and potential voters can we reach for a tiny fraction of a cent per page? FR delivers a BIG bang for the buck!!

If you enjoy posting and or reading FR and have never donated before, please consider doing so today. You can donate by secure server by clicking the link above or send your checks or money orders to:

Free Republic, LLC
PO Box 9771
Fresno, CA 93794

Thank you all very much for your continuing participation and support!!

29 posted on 10/10/2009 4:25:33 PM PDT by Jim Robinson (Follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/jimrobfr)

[surfer]

They will have to pry my access to FR from my cold dead fingers!!!

PS - Jim - Oracle would be a very bad choice for what you are doing. The cost alone just doesn’t make Oracle worth it.

[DJ MacWoW]

Subscribers - no banner ads

The reason FR has an impact is because ANYONE can come here and read the truth. That will not happen with a closed board.

[djf]

That has always been my thought. I normally send, but not necessarily during FReepathon periods.

But I would see no harm at all if people who were not subscribers in a sense saw banner ads.

[Atlas Sneezed]

We are merely donors. The problem comes in that we *feel* like shareholders in a company and should have the rights of shareholders. But we don’t. That’s the rub. We don’t have a right to know what Jim knows because FR is his private property and not *our* company.

---

We are also the creators of the content for this site.

[Notary Sojac]

some of the hands that have been bitten did feed FR.

Some of them were great posters, with lots of interesting things to say.

Every day when I log onto FR I wonder if this is going to be the day when all Mormons get the zot. Or when self-described libertarians all get the zot. Or when supporters of Mitch Daniels or Chris Christie get the zot.

That wondering does not motivate me to contribute.

[PastorBooks]

“And no, we are not going to throw out our software and rewrite it and no we’re not going to move on to some other database system. There are no guarantees that any other system can do a better job and not without hiring a staff to build and maintain it and that’s for sure. And we don’t have the financial wherewithal to do any of that anyway.”

Sirs, please consider that there is another possibility: Start an open source project.

Remember the advice Moses got when he tried to do everything himself: You have to delegate to others so you can keep your sanity.

There have got to be FReepers who are PHP programmers who would volunteer to create an open-source system that would take the community forward. And there are open-source databases like PostgreSQL that are designed for heavy loads. There are also new databases coming that are “cloud” friendly and scalable.

I am just now getting into PHP so I’m not ready to volunteer, but I know that as large as FR is, we already have dozens of capable people willing to contribute time and code. This is the Open Source era — you don’t have to pay for programming if you’ve got a good cause that will attract coders. And FR is one of the best causes out there!

The look and feel of FR wouldn’t have to change (I really hate all that Javascripty moving menu garbage). A code base could be developed that looks like FR and feels like FR, but is ready to adapt to changes.

There is an excellent open-source project called Symphony CMS ( http://symphony-cms.com/ ), an XSLT-powered open source content management system. It’s lightweight, configurable and capable of heavy loads. The programmers have done a good job making it future-proof. All data comes in as XML and is turned into HTML using XSLT. The codebase is small and learnable.

Symphony is the first CMS that doesn’t make assumptions about how you want your data presented. It could be adapted to look like Freerepublic. It currently runs off MySQL but version 3.0 will allow more databases, and there is talk of adapting it to use some of the cutting-edge databases that are being developed.

Sirs, I would encourage you to consider asking the family for volunteers. The coders are out here.

[Reeses]

some shrink wrap PHP scripts for forums, and some other cheap addons I could write an ASP app that would do it all here with minimum maintenance.

What's really needed is a P2P virtual website technology. The government will eventually seize FR hosted on a physical server.

[republicanbred]

I am totally with you on this. As a Latter Day Saint I have to hold my nose and donate due to all of the Mormon Bashing that goes on. If that ended I could pony up some funds. Not sure if it is allowed because Jm Robinson is anti-Mormon or just gets pleasure from others bashing us. Whatever the reason, I just don’t get it. Now all of you anti-Mormons on here can go ahead and let the hate postings begin...

[sam_paine]

http://sourceforge.net/projects/mysql/

[Marty62]

I monitor Fox most of the day. It’s mot surprising that I se a posting on FR and that same thought comes out of the mouth of a commentator.
Time for those that Professionally benefit from the discussions HERE, to pay for that privilege by donating.

[tarheelswamprat]

I can't resist a few gentle tweaks... /g

I find it odd, considering some of the vehement opinions often expressed on the subject by many people on these boards, that financially FR operations, in comparison to that of KOS etc, are much like PBS versus commercial television!

Yep, Jim and John Robinson have been even cleverer than PBS in hiding all that taxpayer money they've been getting from the government!

As to fixing the problem - the only thing that comes immediately to mind, assuming we want FR to continue to be the BBC to the liberals CNN,...

Are you sure you really want to make that analogy? First, there's that troublesome matter of government funding of the BBC. Secondly, the BBC and its personnel are even deeper into leftist moonbattery than CNN. Although your current profile doesn't show it I seem to recall that you're in Germany, so perhaps your skewed perspective of the BBC is understandable... /g

... is for us the users of the site to introduce it to more of our friends/relatives/associates, with the idea of expanding the user base, and therefore the donator base.

This last, of course, is an excellent suggestion. Increasing the donor base would be the most helpful thing possible.

[writer33]

No offense, but that was buck-ignorant.

Don't give us this I'm an expert routine. Don't you know that everyone is an expert on FR. LOL!

[misterrob]

Freeper businesses, books, organizations, companies with shared values, etc. Some decent ads would generate enough to make this site a lot batter

[DJ MacWoW]

We are also the creators of the content for this site.

Not in the beginning. That came later. FR evolved but Jim still owns it.

[RedMDer]

Free Republic Rocks so let's Roll!

[DManA]

Please, accept advertising. There is nothing inherently wrong with advertising. It is an integral part of free enterprise.

[tomkat]

.. there are plenty of religious forums ..

well said

[DJ MacWoW]

That wondering does not motivate me to contribute.

So you see nothing wrong with using AND complaining about a product that you don't pay for?