Email: The Future of Free Republic

Email | 06/25/02 | Jim Robinson

[Jim Robinson]

The following email is being circulated to our members by various disgruntled former FReepers:

Subject: The Future of Our Free Republic

Dear Fellow Free Republic Member,

Many of us at Free Republic are distressed by the extraordinary level of censorship that has been so obviously going on. It is very obvious that individual posts, entire threads, and the entire work of members who have been highly regarded are disappearing into a Memory Hole.

Scores of us have organized an e-mail network that is independent of the communication controls presently, and sadly, being used at our Free Republic. We have carefully documented the unmistakeable evidence that most of the posts, threads, and posters that are vaporized completely are overwhelmingly targeted for their political stance on the Right. These are not Leftwingers. These are not even Middle-of-the-Roaders. These are not disruptors. These are not foul-mouthed delinquents. These are fellow patriots on the Right who disagree with the controllers of FR on specific issues that are now hotly debated by the Right. We have documented that FR will parade before you, as if to hide all of the great posters whose work has been destroyed, a straw-man delinquent that has been banned. This is deceptive.

Treating these fellow patriots on the Right so shabbily is not right. As shabbily as those banned into the Memory Hole are being treated, the most shabbily treated of all are all of the good folks on Free Republic themselves. We came here for honest debate. Free Republic advertised itself as a Forum for honest debate. Without that honest debate...everything at Free Republic becomes shabby.

We can do much better. As a measure of how intense the simmering feelings have gotten among members on this unjustifiable use of deleting, censoring, and banning please link to the following thread. You will notice that one simple and sincere plea from one of our finest members has spontaneously touched off a prairie fire of approximately 500 posts in a mere 18 hours. If it isn't Memory Holed this thread may shoot into the thousands.

If you would like to receive anonymous updates of information concerning the hundreds of Freepers who have networked via e-mail to restore the wonderful honest debate to Free Republic, just drop an e-mail of just one or two words if you like for extreme brevity to:

StopCensoringUs@hotmail.com

And, here's that link back to the snowballing thread at FR:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/704701/posts

Thank you so much for giving your thought to this vital matter for our Internet home.

Sincerely, StopCensoringUs@hotmail.com

[Roscoe]

People who donate to charity expect a certain result.

What result were you promised? Your desire to stake a claim on what isn't yours is spinning quite a web.

[Demidog]

You aren't entitled to speak for anyone but yourself. I acknowledge that you have a good imagination. (pat pat). Now run along as I'm done responding to your nonsense.

[UCANSEE2]

It doesn't mean anything more than that and I do not carry any ill-will toward either of you because of this disagreement.

Thank you for being considerate and willing to convey that to me. I am only trying to explain the situation as I see it. We all have our own point of view.

[Demidog]

He has to depend on your hospitality and appreciativeness to keep feeding you and others.

The guests are not hospitable. The host is. "Up yours" is not hospitable. If you would like a better analogy I'll provide it.

You go to dinner at a friends house. There's only bread and butter. You offer to bring funds so that he can offer meat and potatoes. He accepts your money and when you ask "where's the meat and potatoes?" he responds "Up yours, creep. I make the menus here and if you don't like it, leave."

[Roscoe]

You aren't entitled to speak for anyone but yourself.

Exactly. I can be shown the door any time the host sees fit, for any reason or none at all, your contempt for the property rights of others notwithsatnding.

[UCANSEE2]

His use of the word "pay" instead of donate in his attacks shows depth of his dishonesty.

I think assuming you know what goes on in another person's head because the use a particular word, in an argument, late a night, when they are frustrated and tired, may be just the tiniest little ol' mistake. That you can fathom the DEPTH of his dishonesty from this means you have amazing psychic powers or are a GOD. I am not wanting to make you upset. I just believe it is a real reach to call Jim dishonest. The whole pretext of this website is, I believe, to preserve some honesty on the internet, in this country, in our society.

[UCANSEE2]

The rules are good for everyone but you, eh Jim?

I was hoping you would absorb some of what I said.

I think pressure and anger are overtaking you all. You now seem to be calming down, but still are defensive and attacking. You might go back and read your own posts and see if maybe you have been acting exactly like a creep.

I am sure you really are not one, but your behavior on these posts may not be the way you remember it now. Try it. See if maybe you just kept pushing buttons (and not just you, but many others also) until some steam had to be let off.

[Demidog]

Since JR provided none of his own capital for the servers here, how do you figure he owns this place? Were the donations solicited in order to purchase higher speed pops and servers really for JR's own personal use and the users who paid out the funds were getting nothing in return and should expect nothing in return?

If JR had simply pocketed all of the money and responded "up yours" when users complained of slow response, would you consider that ethical?

Obviously that's not what happened. What in your estimation can anyone reasonably expect for their contribution?

[Demidog]

I think pressure and anger are overtaking you all.

I'm not angry nor do I feel any pressure.

[Roscoe]

He reiterated and defended the post, going even further and disingenuously claiming that "People who donate to charity expect a certain result."

There's no "little ol' mistake" about it.

[Demidog]

Roscoe was calling me dishonest, not JR. But the rest of your points are right on target.

[Roscoe]

What in your estimation can anyone reasonably expect for their contribution?

Nothing more than they were promised. What exactly were you promised?

[UCANSEE2]

You go to dinner at a friends house.

Did he invite you, or did you invite yourself?

[Demidog]

Nothing more than they were promised.

Ahhh...the old Roscoe "evade answering a direct question ploy."

You first....on second thought, forget it. I've wasted enough responses on you.

[Keith in Iowa]

Dog, you're lucky Jim is not what all the detractors say he is. If I were him, I would have nuked your behind a long time ago.

[Roscoe]

Do you decide what you're entitled to here?

Have the courage to face the question.

What were you promised?

[UCANSEE2]

The place I work is supported mostly by donations. The founders OWN the place and do as they like with it.

So, I can't see your point as this is the way the world works.

This is the way donation to anything works. Have you ever 'donated' money to the RED CROSS? Do they do exactly as you want? Have they, more or less, said UP YOURS to the people that support them (if you say NO, your really missed a lot that went on this year).

[UCANSEE2]

"where's the meat and potatoes?" he responds "Up yours, creep. I make the menus here and if you don't like it, leave."

P.S. In your analogy, you left out the part where there are people that came in with you who have torn up the furniture, spit on the food, and called your 'friend' a jerk and a commie.

[Demidog]

He invited you. He said it would be a weekly event. And he also asked if you could help pay for the meal. You said, "Sure. And perhaps we could have meat and potatoes."

He says.."Sounds Good."

Then, after receiving payment to help defray costs, you ask about the menu he agreed to, he responds "up yours."

Before you say that nobody here was promised anything like that I'll direct you here:

But, most importantly, visitors are encouraged to comment on the news of the day here, and especially to contribute whatever information they may have to help others better understand a particular story.

[Editor: This is the meat and potatoes that is no longer on the menu:] What is our mission? Free Republic is dedicated to reversing the trend of unconstitutional government expansion and is advocating a complete restoration of our constitutional republic. Listed below are some of the issues we feel strongly about.

Basically, we believe that the Founders designed our system of government in the form of a constitutionally limited republic, with maximum freedom intended for the people and minimum government control or interference into our personal lives and business affairs.

http://www.freerepublic.com/about.htm

[Demidog]

P.S. In your analogy, you left out the part where there are people that came in with you who have torn up the furniture, spit on the food, and called your 'friend' a jerk and a commie.

Most certainly I left it out. That is because I cheered when he threw out those folks. But then I was dismayed because the host called me a commie and threw me out as well.

I was hoisted by my own petard. Cheering the demise of those whom I disagreed with netted me a dose of my own medicine.