Is Free Republic a Fraud? Is it time for Free Republic to go away?

Free Republic | 11/28/01 | Jim Robinson

[BADJOE]

You are a genuine pain in the rear.

[Betteboop]

Don't let the few rule the many. I will go through withdrawal if FR goes away. I've made too many friends here!!!!

[fallclassicus]

This thread is hilarious and actually a very clever fund raiser. It reminds me of that TV preacher a couple of years ago who told his congregation that God told him if he did not collect millions of dollars from them very soon, that he would be "called home" (killed). Keep up the comedy.

[Alberta's Child]

Thanks, Jim, for giving me the chance to "vent" a little bit here.

Free Republic is an outstanding website and serves a great purpose as a "meeting place" for conservatives. I became a member in the aftermath of last year's election while I was living outside the U.S., using it primarily as a source of information and to exchange comments about the election controversy.

My one criticism about the site is directly related to the concerns that people have raised here about "banned" posters. While I am generous enough to provide financial assistance as needed (I actually promised some support over the summer but had to address a more immediate charitable need that I shared with other Freepers), I must admit that the thought of writing a check to an organization that can remove me from its site at any time is a little disconcerting.

My suggestion, Jim, is that you develop a business plan that will include some kind of subscriber fee. You are paying $8,000 per month for bandwidth, but we are the ones who are using that bandwidth with our posts, our profile pages, etc. This will mean that a membership in Free Republic will essentially become a contractual relationship between you and your members, which will require a financial commitment from the members as well as a loosening of the content controls by Free Republic. Any poster who is banned from the site would be entitled to a full or pro-rated refund of the membership fees for the current month.

There are three major issues here, as far as I can tell:   1.) What is the optimal subscription rate that will allow you to cover your costs without chasing away large numbers of members?;   2.) Will you have to "dilute" the content of the site to make it attractive to people who are not currently members?; and 3.) Will there be any legal issues related to charging a fee for a site that allows members to post copyrighted stories from other media sources? Item #2 is a particularly intriguing one, since it introduces the possibility that the membership rolls will contain a large number of liberal Democrats.

Perhaps other Freepers can come up with some ideas for a good revenue stream that will allow you to keep any subscription fee to a minimum.

Let me know if there is any way I can help you develop this idea further.

[lepton]

Well, we both know that FR is a fraud. Thank you for making up all of those thousands of screen-names, all of those "local" reports, those logical and illogical arguments (I don't know how you keep more than a few of them straight), and otherwise doing all of this just to entertain me. It is also amazing how you coordinate all of those world-events so that that they correlate to what you've prepared here for me to read.

Thanks, Jim.

[lawdude]

Even considering all the wierdos and "tin-hatters", I would pay $10/mo. Never relent!

[CaptSkip]

Jim,

Just made my first contribution to FR. I wish it could have been more.

FR is much too important to the Nation to back away from the fight.

If it takes more dollars, I'll give as is possible after my kids education costs allow!!

CS

[Ciexyz]

I wouldn't mind if you sell advertising on the site.

[dixie sass]

Ping

[Inspector Harry Callahan]

Hi Dio! Glad to see you again under "these" lights. Didn't think it was actually gonna happen again. It won't last long anyways, they have a new "nuke user" feature and they're gonna test it on me. I'm "Banned man Walking".

It was fun while it lasted.

Best Holiday Wishes to you!
Callahan

[MtnMover]

Sustainability and growth require resources. Freerepublic, apparently has thousands of resources in the form of its subscribers. Direction has previously been provided to it to show how individuals can contribute, not cash, but a few hours of their time to create intellectual property that can serve as a form of equity that could generate cash from sales of services related to politics, law, and information. Such a 'cash cow' could have been a separate but associated legal entity for those freepers who were interested to investing, not cash, but some labor. It was called 'Venture Labor' and it's investment would ultimately yield a cash return to all labor-investors. There is little difference in the value of cash and the value of labor in the information industry. It's likely that the value of labor is worth more than the cash. Afterall, corporations make a profit on labor demonstrating that the laborer is undervalued. So labor can be invested and the investor can receive a financial return on the investment. If you think about it, all you need to create wealth are your inalienable rights, particularly your right to think, assemble, speak, and contract. You can do all these things over the net. And recent government rules have amplified the protections for intellectual property. What freepers need to appeciate is that the 'real farm' and the 'real mine' has turned into the 'knowledge and information farm' and the 'data mine'. What they haven't yet learned is the significance of real trust, real freedom, real entrepreneurship and real innovation.

[EternalHope]

Bump.

[stanz]

I can't imagine a day without FR. During the period from Sept. 11 until mid-October, my firm was ousted from our building at 1 Libery Plaza across from the World Trade Center. I was without a computer at home and no internet access at our temporary office in mid-town, That was a bleak and unsettling time for me. I couldn't "talk" to my FR friends or hear the latest goings-on from your "no-spin" forum. Watching news reports from CNN or MSNBC (my cable company did not air Fox at the time)was a less than acceptable way to hear the news. I felt isolated and dejected. When we finally got back online, the first thing I did was log onto FR and try to get caught up.
Is FR a fraud? Is it time for FR to go away? Not if I can help it. So my daughter will get one less Christmas gift or we will do without something or another so we can contribute to the next fund-raiser. Judging by the overwhelming response of Freepers, I am not alone in saying that FR has become an institution and must be preserved. Like Badjoe always says, "Eagles Up."

[Bigg Red]

Please ping me for the Freepathon, Badjoe.

Jim, you are a treasure and FR is a guiding light. Please keep the fires burning.

[Z2]

Jim,

1. What arrangements are being made to pay the $105,000 Winston & Strawn bill in the Eschoir matter? Did you have any idea the bill would be this large?

2. What is the status of the appeal in the LAT/WP matter? Who is FR's attorney, now that Clarity has left the case?

3. Why is it costing twice as much to run FR today as it did last March, what with all of John's bandwidth improvements?

4. Did FR raise $7,300 for non-profit filings? If so, how was that money spent?

5. Who owns the forum software?

6. How is FR's revenue reported for state and federal tax purposes?

I have many more questions, but these will keep you busy for awhile. Thanks in advance for your answers, and the opportunity to question you!

[stanz]

Oops! Should have been posted to you!
I can't imagine a day without FR. During the period from Sept. 11 until mid-October, my firm was ousted from our building at 1 Libery Plaza across from the World Trade Center. I was without a computer at home and no internet access at our temporary office in mid-town, That was a bleak and unsettling time for me. I couldn't "talk" to my FR friends or hear the latest goings-on from your "no-spin" forum. Watching news reports from CNN or MSNBC (my cable company did not air Fox at the time)was a less than acceptable way to hear the news. I felt isolated and dejected. When we finally got back online, the first thing I did was log onto FR and try to get caught up.
Is FR a fraud? Is it time for FR to go away? Not if I can help it. So my daughter will get one less Christmas gift or we will do without something or another so we can contribute to the next fund-raiser. Judging by the overwhelming response of Freepers, I am not alone in saying that FR has become an institution and must be preserved. Like Badjoe always says, "Eagles Up."

[robjna]

just gave $200.00 to keep it going. I wil pay more if needed.It is my only source to get information as newspaper and television media cannot be trusted to tell the whole truth. I am proud to say i am a freeper and direct as many people as i can to this site for real info.

[cardinal4]

Jim what ever you do,KEEP IT!You need help,ask!You've got my email,let me know!

[Jackie222]

thanks for the heads up. I believe in FR and ask God to bless America thru it. God bless JR too and his family. Is there someway that JR could figure a price guide for the freepers that are willing to support FR?

Like, 'if every freeper could give ___________ per month we could meet the dead line each month. 25.00........50.00.....what?

[diotima]

I am going to speak out in Harry's defense on this one.

I have NEVER seen Harry step over the line as far as civility goes. Of course I am not on the forum 24/7, only 23/6 *g*. Although people tend to classify Harry as "ecentric", I have never seen him return some of the hostility and nastiness directed at him for expressing his views. This is my opinion.

I think Harry took exception to what he perceived to be a public mischaracterization of his behavior here.