Posted on 06/23/2006 12:27:30 PM PDT by Berlin_Freeper
I am not certain what the legal ramifications would be in changing Free Republic from donations to a subscription service. It seems to me the switch may be detrimental to legal issues such as copyrights. If that is true I'd appreciate if someone could briefly explain that to me. However if that is not the case here is my suggestion:
I have been wondering about this for some time now and have not seen any discussions about it. So I would like to ask: Is it time for Free Republic to become an online subscription service?
Currently, the site is very antiquated. People can easily abuse the "add a keyword" feature and there seems to be a growing number of liberal trolls, foreigners and even pro-homosexual agenda-driven people infecting the site. In order to cut down on the undesirables and enhance FR at the same time, would it be advisable to start charging a monthly fee of about 15-30 bucks to be able to log into the site and post? There could also be different subscription levels like Basic, Premium or Platinum. That way, the more you pay the more features you have access to. Some of these extra-services could include storing photos or FR could be a conservative search engine for the web.
I have seen online sites where people can still read the boards for free. FR could do something like that so it would still be accessible to the Conservative public even if they are not paying members with posting priviledges.
Websites that rely heavily on banner and pop-up ads need as many hits as possible so for them restricting posting rights to subscribers might not be so desirable. However, Free Republic does not work like that. There are no ads other than some book links on the home page so the number of hits is not as crucial to the bottom line which is currently being paid for by donations.
Donations seem to be working well, but I am sure the cashflow could be improved. How many of you people honestly are put off donating money to FR because it is not what it should be? Especially in regards to the undesirable element that can be found throughout many of the threads. Wouldn't this change in format go a long way in eliminating the undesirables? I think so. Plus it would be neat to experience an upgraded more modern version of Free Republic.
Note: If you are a democrat troll, foreigner or pro-homosexual/lesbian then I am really not interested in your opinion and you should not be posting it to me (just the fact that I have to add this note is proof that something is not right).
See below for randomly selected posts. Granted, they are not "Question posts" however it includes yours. I don't think you can infer much from the numbers. People can look at a post which counts as a View and Agree with the Post and uet not Reply, they could also Disagree with it and still not Reply, they may have just clicked for the Heck of it, and so on.
Thread
Keyword
Replies
Views
View to Reply Ratio
1
Parody ZOT of Free Republic ^
12,897
40,573
3
2
The Hobbit Hole XXV - Fare you well! Fare you well!
9,837
56,365
6
3
Hurricane Katrina Live Thread, Part VIII
4,247
310,988
73
4
Terri Schiavo: March 30th Day 13 No Food/Water
2,565
37,627
15
5
Saddam Hussein Captured
1,123
4,903
4
6
Updated FR Excerpt and Link Only or Deny Posting List due to Copyright Complaints
563
45,037
80
7
John Couey Confesses t
446
18,060
40
8
Republican No More, I joined this forum got a ZOT! ^
430
10,801
25
9
** Should Free Republic become a paid subscription service? ^
398
6,022
15
10
Jessica Lunsford's body Found
325
13,427
41
11
What exactly is Zot? ^
181
4,718
26
12
Fox: al-Zarqawi [possibly] Killed in Bombing Raids on Fallujah Safehouses
150
9,068
60
13
Britain has prevented Sept 11-styl
114
6,314
55
14
Weathergirl in nude pics storm
79
3,274
41
15
Some Telecommuters Work In The Nude
67
3,186
48
16
Nude Photos of Nancy Ajram
37
1,795
49
17
Pilots Help Guide Planes to Carrier
10
1
0
18
Profile me, please! Joseph Farah thinks planes should land at airports
9
2
0
19
Air Europa Orders 18 Boeing Planes,
2
274
137
20
Playing God: Terri Schiavo
1
248
248
21
5 killed as planes collide in Alaska ^
1
194
194
22
U.S. Planes Bomb Al Qaeda; No Sign of Surrender ^
1
1
1
23
Sept 11 victim found alive ^
0
3
-
Now I understand. Anyone who disagrees with you is a "stalker." Thanks for the clarification.
I just looked to see whether or not you'd gotten zotted. :-)
Well, I was a traditional conservative as a teen and have only become more so.
I'm a stron supporter of he President. I would think i wouldn't have any trouble with those boundaries.
My regrets: there has been a slow decline in number of posters/frequency of postings from some who I considered to have excellent minds or uncomfortable viewpoints that were very topical. I think this place suffers for their lack. A subscription service would only make this forum that much more diminished.
Anyway, I'll put my soapbox away now. As a side note, if you truly wish a subscription type forum, there is nothing stopping you from setting one up. Just don't be surprised if the results are disappointing.
Easiest question I've answered this year. The answer is, "no". The reasons are as obvious as the nose on your face. LOL
If FR were by subscription only, it would be the end of exchange of differing opinions and would turn into a small-ish echo chamber. People paying would not want to read opinions differrent from their own (some of don't want to now!). Eventually, all you end up with is 100 posters all saying "bump" and "you're right".
Sounds like fun. Not.
"If FR were by subscription only, it would be the end of exchange of differing opinions and would turn into a small-ish echo chamber."
Hmm, I gave a differing opinion and let's see what I got...
0000
ALIENS SUCKED MY BRAIN
BEAT IT
BIG CUP OF STFU
BUY A CLUE
CREEPY IDEA
DINGLEBERRY
DUMB IDEAS
FIND ANOTHER FORUM
GO AWAY
HATES FOREIGNERS
HIT THE BRICKS
IDIOT
IDIOTIC VANITY
NAZI LOVER
NEWBIE MORON
PARANOIAC
POSTER IS A CLOSET HOMO
POSTERISTEHGAY
QUEER BAITER
SILLY
SILLY BOY
STALKER BAITER
STOOPID POSTS
STRANGE
TAKE A HIKE
WEIRD
YOUR PANTIES R BUNCHED
And those are just from the keywords that were added. In the thread itself I was called:
Democrat
Troll
Idiot
Small minded bigot
Newb
Retarded
Paranoid
Goofy
Socialist
Nazi
Purposefully destructive
And probably more that I missed from just scanning it now.
Is that your idea of fun?
One thing that I would like to say at the end of it all is that I am amazed at how many people are signed up to FR who think like you do. That FR should be about different opinions. I can get that most any place such as Yahoo. What I come to FR is for like minded people who yes agree with each other but at the same time build on those agreed fundamental concepts of Conservative America.
I hope you will allow that you can still learn something from people you basically agree with. And you can better build on a political platform with like minded people than with the opposite party. That is just the essence of politics. Politics is like minded people gathering together and this is a political site.
If what you are most interested in is fun, then go visit Disney Land.
Nah, happy as a clam. You've validated my impression of you.
Sure hope your imaginary friends had a laugh as they
huddled around your computer and read the responses to
a truly goofy idea.
*clicking heals* Zeig Heil!
As far as I'm concerned, Free Republic already is a paid service. I donate a monthly fee to keep the site going and everybody else who is able to do so should do that as well.
(Denny Crane: "Every one should carry a gun strapped to their waist. We need more - not less guns.")
And what did you expect???
I am neither a democrat troll, foreigner nor pro-homosexual/lesbian but am interested in how you would keep those that are, from subscribing?
I guess us Euros are all evil leftists! ;)
While FR is unique in many ways, it would lose its lustre as a fee-based forum. Membership would fall drastically, as many people would seek other ways to discuss the issues without having to pay for the privilege.
He clearly has an attitude problem!!
If you charge a subscription price, would you enable the site to ban paid subscribers if they "cross the line?" Would they get their money back? A paid site entails a contractual obligation, which could open FR up to legal action.
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