I was wondering where I put it...
Posted on 01/11/2011 5:28:06 AM PST by paulycy
FYI -
Here are statements from Jim about the future of FreeRepublic.com for those who missed them. They are quite serious.
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"Well, I can say that there are definitely two things that will never happen. 1) Banner ads. 2) Oracle [a completely new database system.] And a third is a total replacement [of the current damaged system.] Don’t have the financial wherewithal."
"To those who wish to leave because of it, see ya."
"If FR dies, that’s that."
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[To: paulycy]
Hey, you want us to get an all new system with all new software and add a few more pricey techs, system programmers and database administrators to keep it all working 100% of the time 24/7/365? Well, start coughing up the big bucks.
It’s going to take tens of thousands of donations and many with at least three zeros each after the comma to accomplish the task. And that would be EVERY month like clock work to make the payroll. Once you take on a big load of expensive overhead, there’s no going back. As it is, we get a couple thousand donations per quarter averaging about $30 bucks each and there’s no guarantees we can cover this quarter’s expenses much less next quarter. We’re on a pay as we go system and we have zero employees.We just ask for enough to pay the bills.
Throwing more money at the problem won’t solve it. [This latest glitch] was a technical issue and we just had to keep troubleshooting until we found it. And no, we’re not going to invite a bunch of strangers in to get their hands on our secure systems. John has been programming since he was 14 and he’s pushing 40 now. He built these systems and he’s an expert in them.
And no, we are not going to throw out our software and rewrite it and no we’re not going to move on to some other database system. There are no guarantees that any other system can do a better job and not without hiring a staff to build and maintain it and that’s for sure. And we don’t have the financial wherewithal to do any of that anyway. Maybe if we had a couple million bucks at our disposal and a couple years to do it in we could build an iron-clad system. And maybe not.
All I can say is, if someone else can do it better and cheaper, then please step right on up and get ‘er done!! I’ll bow out and retire. Thankyouverymuch.
Hit it boys:
https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/
And no, we have no plans of taking FR commercial. I like it the way it is. Not sure I could handle getting rich.
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- Jim Robinson
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2653583/posts?page=168#168
You said: Thanks also for your explication of the funding system for the BBC. However, even though it may not be directly funded by the government, I believe you are grasping at a distinction without a difference.
I don't think I am. Yes the government mandated the licence fee, and punishes people who do not pay it, but that mandate is one that is derived from the consent (or at least the tolerance) of the electorate. And its all open and above board. Every year there is a review of the licence fee, and every year its a delicate balancing act.
The BBC obviously would like more money, but it knows that if it asks for a hike in the licence fee all kinds of arguments over program content and quality and bias and value for money get bandied around, and they also know that they the BBC will get most of the flak. The Government does not want to raise the licence fee because any rise in costs is unpopular with the electorate, but they also know that the less money the beeb has the more constrained its operations become and the lower its viewing figures go. In other words, the very fact there is a licence fee compels a discussion on the activities of the BBC. Which is more than the so-called "independent" channels have to face.
Think of it like this. You are only allowed to drive at 55mph on the highway, in spite of the fact that your car can go much faster. Who mandates the restriction? The Government. Who profides the compulsion? The Government. In what way is that different? Neither is a bad thing because the Government imposition and compulsion is at the behest of the electorate. And if you don't like either, than you can agitate to have either changed. Plenty of Britons do with the broadcasting setup. BBC bashing is a very popular pastime in the UK! /g
The point about funding is that "he who provides the cash calls the tune". Now with regard to TV, I personally would rather the great British public did that, with all its imperfections and even though Governments sticky hands are over the process. It's better than the decisions being made by a bunch of faceless advertising executives in suits, who have zero accountability to the viewers and know nothing about program making. I'm on the sci-fi lists on FR, and there are constant complaints about US TV axing good interesting series that are just beginning to get going in favour of some mindless, cheap pap. Why? Because it's a commercial rather than a creative decision. And that's fine, except that the end result is a lot of TV that people put up with rather than really like.
And so it goes with FR. People log on here to share views re conservative issues, not to buy haemmeroid cream or whatever. If advertising is introduced, at the least it will detract from the basic core function and most likely it will discourage folk from joining in. Maybe funds could be raised by selling FR type products - tee shirts, cups etc with FR logos. Or even books filled with the collective wisdom and pithy sayings that fill the message boards - "the best of Free Republic", "Free Republic on AGW", "Free Republic on liberalism" - Hey Ann Coulter does all right with that kind of thing :)
It would take me days to go back page by page to delete my old FReepmail. If there is a method to select ALL of it to delete at one time, I'd sure like to see it.
ROFL, that is funny and true.
Mine too, and I suspect that is true for T as well.
After two comments on it I had to check out the tagline.
Best tagline ever.
I’m still laughing ;0)
MrR laughed so hard he nearly had an asthma attack.
“I’m asking for a very personal set of multi-dimensional snapshots at a variety of congregational types”
I just remembered something similar from the distant past. Maybe this can serve as a starting point [place emotive here]:
CHANGING A LIGHT BULB THE CHURCH GOER’S WAY
How many does it take to change a light bulb?
Charismatic: 1
Hands are already in the air.
Pentecostal: 10
One to change the bulb, and nine to pray against the spirit of darkness.
Presbyterians: None
Lights will go on and off at predestined times.
Roman Catholic: None
Candles only.
Baptists: At least 15
One to change the light bulb, and three committees to approve the change and decide who brings the potato salad and fried chicken.
Episcopalians: 3
One to call the electrician, one to mix the drinks and one to talk about how much better the old one was.
Methodists: Undetermined
Whether your light is bright, dull, or completely out, you are loved. You can be a light bulb, turnip bulb, or tulip bulb. Bring a bulb of your choice to the Sunday lighting service and a covered dish to pass.
Nazarene: 6
One woman to replace the bulb while five men review church lighting policy.
Lutherans: None
Lutherans don’t believe in change.
Amish: n/a
What’s a light bulb?
Unitarians: n/a
We choose not to make a statement either in favor of or against the need for a light bulb. However, if in your own journey you have found that light bulbs work for you, you are invited to write a poem or compose a modern dance about your light bulb for the next Sunday service, in which we will explore a number of light bulb traditions, including incandescent, fluorescent, 3-way, long-life and tinted, all of which are equally valid paths to luminescence.
Mormons: 5
One man to change the bulb, and four wives to tell him how to do it.
Agreed!
It takes a seriously twisted mind to come up with something like that. I really respect that... /g
If you have ever been on any of the more up-to-date forums, you would know this isn't an issue(e.g., the quote auto-capture function that edit can't erase). Also, more often than not the edit button is used to correct mistakes. Your concern is a non-issue and only helps to drag this once-fine forum down into the realm of has-beens.
JMHO
I was wondering where I put it...
It’s still fine. FR is not going down the tubes for lack of an edit feature. That’s just silly.
But if you don’t like it, go join one of the ones you think is better.
Nobody is forcing you to stay here.
I regularly go through my old FReepmails and delete stuff.
I especially clear out my sent mail. There are some in my inbox I like to keep.
Yeah, it takes time, but it’s like eating an elephant.
Groovy!
Those who yell the loudest are those who are not secure in their own belief system and perceive the intellectual questioning as personal attacks. They are still looking for validation from other people instead of being secure in the salvation of Christ, who said there would be persecutions and tribulations as part of the cost of following Him.
I was going way back clearing out some old FReepmails that I had saved and found this one that you had posted a link to.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1725737/posts?page=1586#1586
“On a serious note, in case you missed this a couple of months back, please see THIS as a reminder of why democrats must not gain control of the House or the Senate.
The linked posting is Indy Pendance’s.”
THIS is why we can’t let FR die.....
America Attacked 9/11
http://www.gunstuff.com/america-attacked.html
“they are sure using this board for their porpoises.”
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You mean...IMMORTAL porpoises?
“they are sure using this board for their porpoises.”
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You mean...IMMORTAL porpoises?
Elsie, dear, I know I'm not alone in wishing you would not do it on this thread dedicated to an entirely other issue of critical importance to every one of us regulars.
It's hard work to read a 1,000-plus-posts thread, without the pixel-gobbling, lengthy diatribes about an entirely other issue. Please stop with the hijacking of this thread, sweetie pie.
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