Posted on 04/20/2005 9:22:15 AM PDT by 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.
Er, um, why don't you do like most people and just ignore the "small, petty-minded, and vitriolic group of posters"? I usually just blithely skate right on by their posts.
Are there actually people on Free Republic who feel they MUST pay attention to threads or posts they do not want to read?
And if so ... Why?
Well, just like f16fighter, you'll be back
Yes. That's been my experience as well. It's unfortunate, but the FR crowd that I joined six years ago is a different group of people from the ones today. Some of the old liners are still around and I thank them for the memories as well as welcoming new participation, but the general clientel of the site has changed since the heydeys I remember.
We haven't always seen eye to eye, but it was always fun debating and agreeing with you.
Have fun in all that you do in the future.
Might you just go into occasional lurk mode until the petty minority that trouble you push too many buttons? I don't understand you (and some of the other relative old timers) totally writing this place off. Oh well. Best of luck out there and keep fighting the good fight...
It's not your imagination. Believe me.
Don't let a small herd of nitwits run you off!
Opus posts are lame. Ever since Willie Green declared his there has been a rash of them. It really screams out, childish rant. Two words. Grow up !
Actually - I think it is a very large herd!
ruiner wrote:
I"m pretty sure this was the type of thing he was referring to.
When I joined I promptly learned to use the ignore feature.
When someone starts getting personal I ignore their replies and do not respond.
It's an easy to use feature and it's free.
What? Willie Green's gone? Man, am I out of the loop...
I have never known you to be a quitter, to walk away when things got tough.
I hope you reconsider before they pull the plug.
Yeah, a whole bunch of people signed up in the fall of 2004, after Rathergate got us publicity. Many of these are disruptive.
JR is going to have to reign in the Cleti - they're ruining what used to be a great forum.
What they may lack in numbers they make up for in shrillness.
I can think of one right now who behaves like a complete screaming banshee, attacking without warning or provocation. I ignore him/her/it.
Thanks for the encouragement & I plan to remain fully active in politics. The issues around here run deeper than that though. Freepmail/email me and I'll give you the scoop some time. I don't want to leave FR on a sour note though
I post substantially less than once I did, but I continue to scan FR daily -- more often, truth to tell -- and still find it very often an excellent source of information. Blogs have lessened the dependence we once had on FR for collating interesting information, but it is still the best source for breaking news in many ways.
Take care.
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