Gotta agree with you on that. And it’s not just a forum but an activist rallying site. Some of the newer FReepers don’t get that.
I occasionally comment on some article at townhall or different newspapers/blogs. It probably takes me 10 minutes or more to find the comment and see if there’d been any responses. And then you find out with some of them that after a few days they close off comments. And on some of them, the thought police will almost automatically delete conservative thoughts and ideas.
Free Republic is a treasure that shouldn’t easily be given up.