It's been a blast but it's time to say goodbye (GOPcap's opus)

4/20/04 | me

[GOPcapitalist]

I'll keep this short and simple. After six years of membership on FR I've decided to resign from the forum today. I'll keep checking my freepmail for a few days and wind down my posts here, so if any of you wish to contact me please do so there and I will provide you with a means to do so. I hope to continue future posting activities elsewhere - perhaps a blog - but only time will tell.

It's truly been a blast and left me with many fond memories, but all good things had to come to an end. My favorites comprise a long list, the most noted being the exposition of Rathergate, leading freeps of Algore in the 2000 recounts, protesting Hildebeast's book tour, and giving her impeached husband a freeper's welcome to Texas on several of his visits. Thank you to all who made these events fun and entertaining. Unfortunately the past few months have made it clear to me that FR and I are drifting apart on key issues of conservatism. I'll spare the details, pausing only to state that it isn't just the usuals like illegal immigration, but also things like religion, the culture of political correctness, an overall decline in reasoned civil conversation that used to flourish here, and the purposes and uses of the site in general. More concerning, for the past few months I have been unable to even obtain rational discourse and commentary on many routine threads and issues without being personally maligned and attacked - many times out of the blue and on topics unrelated to the given thread - by a small, petty-minded, and vitriolic group of posters who conduct themselves in a manner unbefitting of what this forum used to be when I joined in 1999, and do so with apparent impunity.

I also find that I simply don't have the time to post as much as I once did, and regrettably so.

I'll leave it at that, as my fond memories outweigh the unpleasant ones. A time arises when parting courses on friendly terms is best before something less desirable arises. Therefore I have volunteered my resignation. To everyone who has made my FR experience enjoyable, I thank you and wish you only the best.

[billbears]

Sent some mail your way. Appreciate everything you've done, especially in defense of the cause.

Deo Vindice

[tertiary01]

I call those tenured posters. They reply with a cut and run, then accuse you of stalking if you call them on it.

[unbalanced but fair]

Sorry I didn't reply very quickly, but I just got to work.

I know that new people sign on all the time and there are many more lurkers. I'm sure that FR will go on. But numbers aren't everything. Perhaps it is changing and some people don't like the change. I can't say for certain, since I'm not familiar with the earlier years of the forum.

You seem to be one the reasonable posters on the forum and I appreciate your reply. To be honest, I just don't have a lot of time to post. But at least from what I've read by some posters, I can understand why people choose to leave. JMHO Have a good evening.

[sharktrager]

What I call them would get me banned.

[eskimo]

People (often those whose feelings are easily hurt and/or those that have difficulty defending their positions) can post hooey in opi, and I can call it hooey. Especially if I back up my statement. And you get to not agree with me!

Everyone is entitled to their opinion; but,I'm not certain how one could "back up" one's subjective assessment of what constitutes "hooey".

I am wondering whether I would consider being called "liar" for an opinion concerning a decrease in civility a personal affront or confirmation of what I suspected was true

[theFIRMbss]

>for the past few months I have been unable to even obtain rational discourse and commentary on many routine threads and issues without being personally maligned and attacked - many times out of the blue and on topics unrelated to the given thread - by a small, petty-minded, and vitriolic group of posters who conduct themselves in a manner unbefitting of what this forum used to be when I joined in 1999, and do so with apparent impunity

Young man, I was once in your shoes I said, I was Down and out with the blues I felt no man Cared if I were alive I felt the whole world Was so jive . . . That's when Someone came up to me And said, young man Take a walk up the street There's a place there Called the Y.M.C.A. They can start you Back on your way . . . It's fun to stay at the Y.M.C.A. It's fun to stay at the Y.M.C.A. They have everything For young men to enjoy You can hang out with all the boys . . . Y.M.C.A. It's fun to stay at the Y.M.C.A. Young man, young man, There's no need to feel down Young man, young man, Pick yourself off the ground Y.M.C.A. It's fun to stay at the Y.M.C.A. . . .

[Burlem]

I would be happy to send the original article to you if you like, or you can check it out yourself....

LA Times, April 15, 2005. Titled:
"Lethal injection may not be pain free" There are many responses to the posted article, most said "So What"

[artifax]

I didn't consider asking if you were from Houston {a city of two million plus} was all that personal. I knew a Robert Paulsen in Houston over 30 years ago and simply inquired if you were my old friend. Obviously that question has been answered. My apologies for the imposition....

[beezdotcom]

Take care. I agree this site is no where near the place it once was.

It is what it has always been. It is JimRob's site. When JimRob posts HIS opus, then I'll believe what you say.

[VRWCmember]

I can think of one right now who behaves like a complete screaming banshee, attacking without warning or provocation. I ignore him/her/it.

I hardly ever use it, but the "Report Abuse" button is there for folks like that. I'm pretty sure that if someone behaves like a complete screaming banshee and gets reported for abuse a few times, the moderator will call the individual aside for a chat and warn them to lighten up or get the boot.

[Coop]

I'm not certain how one could "back up" one's subjective assessment of what constitutes "hooey".

By providing qualifiers, as I did. I also said, you don't have to agree with them. I don't particularly care either way.

Concerning a lack of civility, you've been here long enough to remember it all. There has been no change in the level of and sometimes lack thereof civil discourse. It ebbs and flows with the times and major topics. But if you could assign it levels and plot it on a timeline from mid 97 to now, you'd see essentially a straight line.

[xJones]

I got it! He's pissed off at A Jovial Cad and Capitan Refugio. One example, start reading around #101.

Dang, GOP, how'd you stay around FR this long with such a thin skin? Don't you remember the bad old days when the Coven, led by Nav, Mojo, DonMorgan, CaL, Deb, etc. would descend on their broomsticks and slam the tar out of any opposing voices? They drove off untold numbers of Freepers until they decided to bail out.

It's difficult to know who to cheer for here, because I don't recall reading your posts before today, and also none at all of your bete noirs' posts.

If you have to go, go in peace, but the classiest Freepers who leave do so without an opus.

[xJones]

CGEB has become a part of FReeper Lore mostly because of the Font she always used when posting.

The rainbow fonts were great, but does anyone know for real if it was true that CGEB was outed as a female impersonator?

[xJones]

CGEB has become a part of FReeper Lore mostly because of the Font she always used when posting.

The rainbow fonts were great, but does anyone know for sure if it was true that CGEB was a female impersonator?

[Syncro]

I have little use for people who spread falsehoods

Then you have little use for yourself.

I called you out on many of your lies some time ago when you and your cohorts didn't have any success for over a year trying to force me to leave FR.

Then you accused me of chasing posters off FR, one in particular you named and accused me of causing her to leave.

I confronted her about that earlier this year in person and she denied that I was the reason.

She signed up two days later under a different name though. You know Chad and Daughter...a retread. Oh sorry; only retreads you don't like are not allowed here.

You were not man enough to apologize for your lies about me.

Now one of your followers (you caught many of them with your FR page singles ad) is supporting you posting personal information here on FR.

Your cowardly action on another forum posting personal information about me that was over 4 years old (how much time did you waste finding that?) was despicable. Maybe DOAIJV will support you on that also.

You are a coward. Posting derogatory statements about the founder of this site on another site proves that.

Why you continue to post here is beyond me; at the other site you are allowed to post your sick sexual desires about prominent conservatives and Freepers and can use all the swear words that you (partially) suppress here.

As I mentioned before, your blatant disregard for the rules here and your propensity to call others on the carpet for doing so is the height of hypocrisy.

It's obvious you are trying to get banned from FR although I hope you aren't.

You would like the martyrdum, wouldn't you?

Daughterofaniwojimavet and the other freeperette babes you caught with your nice hair etc will wail and cry for days if you are sent off.

SerpentDove: Fairbanks is a coward and a liar. He is just baiting.

[4CJ]

GopCap,

Sorry that it has come to this, but I must refer you to Articles Of FreeRepublic and Perpetual Union, superseded by the Constitution of FreeRepublic.com:
You CAN'T secede. It's illegal. I can't put my finger on a clause that prohibits your leaving, but when you signed up it was permanent and irrevocable. If you persist on leaving, we have no alternative but to send armed forces to your home. As long as you send in your monthly donations, no invasion will occur, no obnoxious strangers will be forced upon you. </sarcasm>

Break a leg my FRiend, we'll miss you. You breathed life into this place.

[Not A Snowbird]

I use that button sparingly. It's more fun to ping the RKBA and let them pound the person into the ground like a tent peg. :-)

In this person's case, the tirade has never been directed at me so I left it to the recipient of the abuse to report it if he/she deemed it appropriate.

If it ever is directed at me, though... WHAMO!

[Liberal Classic]

The anonymity of the whole thing makes people a little more bold...

I believe it has to do with the lack of real world consequences. People will put things into an electronic message that they would never dare to say in person. A person's true nature tends to manifest itself in such a consequence-free environment. There's something about double-blind anonymity which brings out either the best, or the worst in people.

[Ichneumon]

I wish that were the case, but, honestly, some of the worst offenders have been long term posters.

That has been my experience as well.

[eskimo]

There has been no change in the level of and sometimes lack thereof civil discourse.

I guess I remember differently. Yes, some crazies have always been here but there was definitely a time when political party groupies were not so rabid and almost no subject remotely related to the preservation of our republic was considered politically incorrect.