Humblegunner serves/served a purpose. Too many want a free ride. He helps separate the wheat from the chaff.
That being said, I think many Freepers wander about the contradiction between :
Being asked not to click on the article link (because it’s a blog) because the clicks are ‘money’
AND
Being criticized for not clicking on the link to the article (in order to read the whole thing) even though the clicks are ‘money’.
I’ve been here long enough.
I know how some use this place for their own ends.
it’s possible to “serve a purpose” without being a colossal, irredeemable dick.
One of the things that MADE FR in the early days, I am class of 98, is that many up and coming and exciting blogs and their writers would post their work and links here. God, WND have all of its articles posted every morning by six, and so did a host of others.
Interesting people who wrote and interesting people who read knew to come here to get a broader aggregate of the news and be able to talk about it.
it was a winning combination.