Posted on 06/25/2002 3:42:21 AM PDT by Jim Robinson
Hardcore socialist rhetoric from a self-exposed fraud.
Paying is on a volunteer basis, you are not forced. If you don't like it leave. Everyone thinks they can always do the job (in this case being the site owner)better, but they don't have the guts to actually do it.
I don't think valid criticism has been ignored, but you have your own opinion and are welcome to it.
Tinfoilers and the blind followers of them were not responsible for the 'success' of Free Republic.
Maybe I have said enough, I am now getting wrapped up in your 'argument'.
Hope you all work this out.
Paying is on a volunteer basis, you are not forced. If you don't like it leave. Everyone thinks they can always do the job (in this case being the site owner)better, but they don't have the guts to actually do it.
I don't think valid criticism has been ignored, but you have your own opinion and are welcome to it.
Tinfoilers and the blind followers of them were not responsible for the 'success' of Free Republic.
Maybe I have said enough, I am now getting wrapped up in your 'argument'.
Hope you all work this out.
I have never claimed otherwise.
If you don't like it leave.
But I can't get a refund. Fancy that. "Up yours creep" is how the management views any and all criticism as to their decisions to censor and pester posters who do not tow the party line.
You all are acting like children, calling each other names and bickering. What a shame. Certainly you each have more pride in yourself, of yourself than that which you are currently displaying. You have let emotion get the best of your reason and intelligence. What a loss.
Time to go to bed. Maybe tomorrow you all can think clearer and begin treating each other like adults.
Even though you no longer pay for a penny of its operation. Do your posters here a favor and post that sentiment right next to "Please: NO profanity, NO personal attacks, NO racism or violence in posts."
The rules are good for everyone but you, eh Jim?
You can believe he 'should' but there isn't any reason for anyone to change their behavior, viewpoints, or their personal tastes just because others donate money to them in an effort to bribe them into giving them privileges. It's his web site and if he wants to be totally arbitrary he has every right in the world to be as partial or as partisan as he wants to be or as impartial and nonpartisan as he wants to be and no, he does not have to answer to anyone nor does he even have to use warning labels or even state his rules in minute detail. He doesn't even have to be consistant- it is his web site. He has the right to change his rules every hour if he wanted to do so, and indeed, this very right to run things -even arbitrarily- insures that he and not lawyers run his site. The last thing a property owner needs is have people talk him out of a simple 'no trespassing' sign and into a 40 page legalistic outline of when trespassing is OK, what circumstances must exist when the owner dismisses you from the property, etc. Falling into that trap merely gives people loopholes to through which they can work against the interests of the site owner.
He has the right to be fair or the right to be 'unfair' and the right to be specific or not to be specific about rules. You have the same rights on your own web site. Try it- you will find that it is very 'liberating.'
I seriously doubt if the average person donates with the intention of manipulating the site owner, any more than the average American donates to the Salvation Army with the intention of coercing them into condoning suicide bombing. Nor do I think the Salvation Army 'should' or would give leeway to suicide bomb advocates if Hamas happened to donate money to the Salvation Army. People donate to the Salvation Army because they like the work they do, not because they intend to force or persuade the Salvation Army to change. When people decide the SA no longer does the work they want it to do, they will simply not donate to it. At no point do any donors to the Salvation Army gain ownership rights to it, its soup kitchens, stores, its Santa suits, or its kettles. Donating is not buying.
Now, if you don't like the way the forum is run, don't donate to it- because by donating you are sending the message "I like the place, keep up the good work." Save your money and donate it to a site which is run just like you want it to be run. If you can't find such a site, use the money to make your own site and then you will have free reign to do things your way, and if you want bribe money, you can let everyone know you will do whatever they want if they grease your palms.
No I'm not. I'm pointing out that the owner is singularly inhospitable and unappreciative of those who provide his bread and butter.
So is it your opinion that people donate here in an attempt to bribe JR? That's quite disrespectful of both Jim and those who frequent the site.
I think it would very hard to do, but would be so helpful and that would be to put yourself in JR's shoes.
You cannot possibly fathom the responsiblity he takes, and the personal sacrifice he makes to keep this site alive. You do not experience the attacks made on him, through private email, phone calls, etc. All these weigh heavily on a person. You maybe can imagine (as it is possible these things may have occurred to anyone) the pressure that LAWSUITS, that the IRS, that all kinds of Law enforcement agencies can put on a person.
JR started this website and has been PAYING THE PRICE.
There is no such thing as a refund when you volunteer. It is like a marriage, for better or worse.
IF you don't like the direction the website is taking, use your intelligence to help redirect it. Use your skills to help yourself and others keep to the RULES that were established. If all else fails, start your own and see what it is really like to be the boss. It sucks, believe me. Everyone, sooner or later, hates you for one reason or another. And they all believe it is completely YOUR FAULT.
YOU aren't entitled to make ANY claim on this site that you have spammed and spit on so incessantly.
Irrelevant to the issue at hand. He's not Jesus Christ and is capable of making mistakes. I believe he is making a mistake when he censors posts here. I'm sorry you and he disagree but that's all this is. A disagreement. It doesn't mean anything more than that and I do not carry any ill-will toward either of you because of this disagreement.
I believe you are taking this wrong. If I may,
You (or any participant on Free Republic) walked into Jim's house, sat down at the dinner table , ate the bread and butter, and then maybe you will give him money, maybe not. He has to depend on your hospitality and appreciativeness to keep feeding you and others. But many want to eat and not pay, many want to throw the food, many want to break the dishes, and steal the silverware, and they don't like it when he asks them to leave the table.
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