Posted on 01/19/2011 10:00:05 AM PST by Jim Robinson
Edited on 01/19/2011 10:21:38 AM PST by Jim Robinson. [history]
I'm placing this in breaking news, because there have been several breaking news complaint threads recently. Guess there are a lot of people not understanding the facts about FR, or what we stand for, where we're going, etc.
First of all, who reads FR and how many accounts do we have? I honestly have no idea and the exact number does not concern me. We currently have over 369,000 registered accounts on FR, but as someone pointed out yesterday, not all of them are active and I have no idea how many are active.
Many years ago we had less than 30,000 accounts registered. Then we hit a hundred thousand, a hundred fifty thousand, then two hundred thousand and three or four years ago we approached and went over 300,000. Every few years as we hit a major milestone in registered accounts, I updated our home page with the current number of accounts on FR. I'll probably do it again after we go over 400,000, then 500,000, etc, and maybe I won't. The number of registered accounts doesn't really mean much. And our growth in the last few years has tapered off anyway for various reasons.
Who actually reads FR? Again, we have no idea, but there are hundreds of thousands maybe even millions of readers. All kinds of people read FR. News hounds, liberals, conservatives, politicians, talk show hosts, religious types, atheists, you and me brother and everyone in between. We serve over 1,000,000 pageviews per day.
So why has our growth tapered off? Well, probably the primary reason is we've narrowed our point of view lately as we've moved away from just talking about the issues and have actually started becoming constitutional activists.
The time for talking is over. Now we need to walk the walk. Our focus has become closer to working on our primary goal which is a return to constitutionally limited government and a full restoration of our God-given unalienable rights.
We can't do that by being big tent, all things to all people, non-principled, two-talking politicians. If we are truly interested in advancing our traditional conservative pro-God, pro-family, pro-life, pro-country, pro-liberty principles and positions then we must reject the politicians and people supporting the other way.
As an organization, we cannot be both for and against homosexuality, abortion, big government, border and national security, etc. I don't know about others, but if we must choose, I choose to be on the right side of each and every issue. Why should FR use its limited resources to allow liberals, homosexualists, abortionists, big spenders, big taxers, big government solutions advocates, gun grabbers, pacifists, isolationists, environmentalists, open-borders lobbyists, etc, ply their trade on FR? Well, more and more lately, we don't. And, apparently, that has pissed off a lot of big tent, true blue RINO types and the herd is stampeding. Let them go.
We who share our common traditional conservative principles, values and goals will be better off in the long run. We need to build on our strengths and attract more traditional conservatives to our viewpoints than to water down and weaken our own. It just doesn't make sense to me to support politicians like Giuliani, Romney, Gingrich, et al, who have RINO/liberal track records. It doesn't make sense to allow abortionists, homosexualists, gun-grabbers, big-government solutionists, etc, to have free rein on FR to target and lambast us daily with their repugnant bile. Let them go.
FR will continue on the traditional God, family, country, life and liberty path. If it means fewer accounts or less growth, so be it. If it means we receive fewer in donations, so be it. We will adapt, improvise and overcome and I believe prosper (God willing) in the long run. And, hopefully, someday we can say that we helped restore our beloved republic and our Liberty!
Well, there you go.
I think this has always been one of the differences between FR and just a 'forum'- something that those who try to make competing forums (some just anti-FR) don't understand. It isn't about just a place to chat, there are millions of those on the Internet, but about activism. Yes, it has peaks and valleys, but when needed, FReepers act while other groups just talk. Some want a forum that is a debate club, FReepers want a forum to act on what we learn. Yes, there is chatting, but it is about acting on your words.
With that said, regarding activism (internet activism), please bring back the Facebook buttons.
IMHO: People who disagree with our platform are welcome to come and view anything, and discuss all the issues.
But when it comes to proseletyzing for Liberalism (whichever is their pet diversion from Conservatism), they can keep their mouths shut, or move along elsewhere.
It’s like (but more thorough) than the Republican Party: This is the home of Conservatives. We own it. Conservatism is and will remain the functional ideology of the party / site. You are welcome to join in spite of your occassional diversions from Conservatism, but we just ask that you not try to make your occassional Liberal dalliance a winning issue.
Full on, 100% Conservatism rules this site, and should rule the Republican Party. Slightly impure hangers-on are welcome, but their heresies are best kept in the closet.
And its NO COINCIDENCE that as Jim is running off the liberaltarians, the FReepathon numbers are increasing faster than I’ve seen in a long - long time.
Some of these FReepathons can last nearly two months. This current one looks like it may be over and done by month end (one month).
I for one am contributing more to FR as a result of Jim’s position and his showing the door to Libertarians and other RINO’s.
That is very true. When the poster has made a statement which is clearly and factually refuted and reposts it, out that poster can go.
But, just being a liberal is not sufficient, just one who is devoted to actively promoting fascism.
And, in one sense, we who now call ourselves ‘conservatives’ are actually ‘liberals’ in the untainted sense of the word. The ‘liberals’ are ‘totalitarians’, but hold enough of the MSM high ground and get enough politicians to parrot them to maintain the fiction about their honest assessment of who they are.
“He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters.”
Lk 11:23
I’m jobless and broke, but I thought it was time to show my support and step up to the plate.
Thanks for FR :)
And I stand with you Jim. Awesome job you are doing and once again, THANK YOU for Free Republic.
Cheers and God Bless.
I do not support liberals, homosexualists, abortionists, big spenders, big taxers, big government solutions advocates, gun grabbers, pacifists, isolationists, environmentalists, open-borders lobbyists, etc.
Therefore, I will not miss their absence on FR.
I would like to ask those of us who are not in that above group to offer complete analysis of postings and less shooting from the hip.
Name some names.
Aaaaa-MEN!! Thank you, Mr. Robinson! Very well-stated.
I truly believe He has His sights set upon you. I personally love your attitude against RINO's, libs, homo lovers, socialists, etc.
They should ALL be expelled from FR. I have only 1 suggestion, which I believe you have stated you are against.
I think anyone who wants to post an article should have to pay to do it. It will eliminate trolls who sign up, just to "post and run"....and if they truly want to post their dribble, they should have to pay for it.
It will also cut down on those "welfare posters" who NEVER contribute to our FReepathons, but live off those of us who contribute. Just a thought to consider.
Rush has his 24/7 premium, which we pay to have special privileges than non-payers. FR can do the same, in order to post articles. Comments to posted articles can still be free.
Just thought I’d add that degree of characterization. Truth will be a defense here at FR and free speech will not shelter falsehood from causing one’s privilege of being a member here to be revoked.
Which I like.
BTTT
Mr. Robinson, please continue to do whatever you deem necessary to maintain it as such and thank you and your staff for all that they do to keep this site up and running.
“Liberal” was stolen by leftist totalitarians, they sullied the name, everyone hates them now, and “Liberal” is anathema.
Leftist totalitarians own “Liberal”, and etymology or history aside, I say we paint them with their failed ideology and adopted label daily.
Just a guess here but the last 15 years has seen a very steep curve in Internet usage and all that goes with it. With that came the crop of conservatives ditching their news papers and finding Free Republic. But the numbers of "NEW Internet users" numbers have also started to level off because because the civilized world is reaching a point where everyone is in fact already signed on.
I'd also note that Facebook has been sucking the air out of the online world (without commentary here whether or not that is good or bad). That in turn has affected sites like Free Republic where a lot of people come to just read the news or comment on the news. I will confess that in my busy life, Lately I will post an interesting article on Facebook and make a commentary there.
One positive thing I will not about Free Republic's appeal on the increasingly complex web is its convenient and simple formatting that works really well on the new generation of smart phones. My DROID-X loads FR very nicely, far better than the old Blackberry, but pages like Yahoo News have all kinds of messy word-wraps around the ads. I have now returned to FR as my primary source for a variety of news.
I, for one am happy that more and more lately I can come to FR to read a story of conservative interest and not have my blood set to boiling by one of the notorious fifth-column Republicans who used to enjoy poking conservatives in the eye for entertainment. In fact I drifted away for a while because I was trying to reduce the temper-flaring irritations in my life. Thanks for taking out the trash Jim, and thanks for all you do to keep FR a forum for God-fearing, patriotic Americans.
Elect Sarah Palin for President 2012
Re-Elect President Sarah Palin 2016
Among other things, the leveling off of Free Republic’s growth means that it has found its audience. Future growth will come more slowly and through innovations and will vary with the level of interest in elections and political events.
And I feel obliged to add what cannot be said enough: Free Republic is a marvelous accomplishment and a mighty vehicle for conservative activism.
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