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

Free Republic | 11/28/01 | Jim Robinson

[carenot]

Hello. Who did you used to be?

How ya been?

[austinTparty]

A blood-sucking litigious leech of a whining, sore-loser, idol of idiot-worshippers is more like it.

[Lazamataz]

To Arator: Yep, you blow. Now, you lying little twerp. You had your own site. It is still a home for bigots and has spawned alternate sites in favor or opposed to your peculiar bigotry. You lied on your own site and now you think you have the right to call everyone else a liar? You're useless...but irrelevant, so no harm no foul. I say keep you around with Hairy and the TauKappaEpsilon freak and I'll be able to go easy on Kevin.

(English accent) Well put! Hear, hear!!

[Cyber Liberty]

I prefer your word coinage, for the definition you laid out is a much better fit.

[Cyber Liberty]

The only problem I'd have with that is that I don't want Eschoir soiling my email inbox.

Ash was much more fun to converse with, offline.

[The Mayor]

Free Republic and Rush Limbaugh have made me a different person, and I like what I am and intend to stay. We should make this a payer use forum, I would have no problem with that at all, that would weed out all the whiners. My God I never realized the costs associated with this site. I am not a person of means at all, but I would surely pay to have this site stay. This is my internet home, my only source of the truth in the news.

I think the true freepers will stay and pay for the forum, members only!

[Howlin]

ROFLMAO...........I love the way he posted that under "Takes one to know one!" Duh.

[ohioWfan]

Please, let's all pull together and keep FR online.

I've been thinking about this all day, Billie, and I agree that some kind of regular fee might be the key to solving the financial problems without strapping individuals with in inordinate amount of work.

I certainly am willing to pay more than $1/month for this incredible experience, and I would hope that everyone else is too.

[Z2]

Why don't you post me the linky-poo just for fun. Or freepmail me the link...

You know, I'll do just that when I get some time. Or maybe I'll bump it over at our place and you can drop in and discuss it with us. It will probably be right after Jim gets around to answering all the questions I've posed for him to enable the FReepers to evaluate his credibility. That was a generous invitation that grew into quite a fundraising opportunity!

And thanks for asking!

[ChemistCat]

Let me get my medical crisis behind me and get some money coming in again; we'll be $upporters as soon as we can. I've been furious with you, but that was back when I didn't understand what FR really was, what it can do, and how it is vulnerable. If others took a few days to think about it, they'd realize that their criticisms are generally baseless. What most people really want is some kind of button to push to throw people who annoy them off FR. Then they'd be happy. They can't stand it that someone else makes those decisions; well, they can always start another conservative/libertarian/screaming mimi forum through which to issue their rants and screeds. And good for them if they do so. If what you did here is a worthy thing, then it can only be worthy to do it again, do it more, do it slightly differently. That's the ultimate answer for anyone who's not happy here. Let's just see someone try to sue (and shut up) a thousand conservative websites.

I don't have to like every single one of our President's calls to be with him against terrorism. I don't have to like every decision of the moderators or every brainless flamer to be with Jim Robinson against immoral liberalism.

[elfman2]

"Several problems:
1. Earnings of 501(c) organizations can't inure to the benefit of individual shareholders.
2. 501(c) organizations can't actively engage in politics and influencing legislation.
3. Public disclosure requirements and accountability."

#1 and #3 look simple to solve. Regarding #2, the following is from the regs from what Liberal Classic posted in #1497:

(c) (3) (h)), and which does not participate in, or intervene in (including the publishing or distributing of statements), any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for public office.

Did FR formally endorse a presidential candidate? If so, I don't see any great loss from refraining from doing so in the future. I think FR's mission statement mentions "conservative" but not Republican. Aren't similarly biased (or oppositely biased) organizations structured as non-profits?

[tacticalogic]

Then I'll stay with that. If I have to get PC about it, I may have to revert to "conceptually challenged".

[mykdsmom]

a mom just waits for her kids to finally get to bed so she has a little time to herself - and what do you do... get hooked on FR

You got it, no more useless sitcoms or mindless medical dramas for me. FR is exercise for my brain, something which far too many people get WAY too little of IMHO.

MKM

[Cyber Liberty]

I, being of limited wit, usually just call 'em "Stupid as a box o' rocks."

[Physicist]

Hang in there, my friend. I've stuck up for you, and for this place, through thick and thin, and I'll be here until the bitter end.

When I'm not promoting FR activism here in the Philly area, I try to improve the site by fielding science questions. Where would I take my science writing if it weren't for FR? I spend a lot of time, sometimes, polishing answers and looking up information for FR science threads, but I can't see myself doing that--certainly not to the degree that I do--for another website or newsgroup where I don't care for the readers as I do here.

The esteem in which I hold the vast majority of Freepers makes me a better poster, and I'm sure that's true of many others here. If FR goes away, that invisible salutary influence will go along with it.

[Cacique]

I went back and tried a second time and it went through then. I did receive one thank you note after the second time. If as you say it went through anyway then you have my information twice. you should have a duplicate of my card info then. I have no clue as to what was the reason for the screwup the first time either. Freegards, Cacique.....

[Quix]

You know as well as I do that in almost every case, FR's detractors are the result of simple personality clashes. When a site attracts the number of posters this one does, there's always going to be a lunatic fringe. Folks with delusions of grandeur, paranoia, idiocy, and just plain psychos. Eventually, their madness becomes apparent, people complain, and they get banned. Being the outcasts they are, they can never admit that it was their anti-social behavior that earned them the punishment, nor that they have no inherent right to be where they're not wanted.

Actually, to borrow another line from Dr Murray Bank's old "WHAT TO DO UNTIL THE PSYCHIATRIST COMES," I believe such folk are basically saying:

WATCH ME, MOMMY, WATCH ME!
WATCH ME, MOMMY, WATCH ME!

And when their addiction to manipulated attention is perceived by them to sag, they get more shrill and obnoxious . . . actually reminding me of Shrillfanny and Billdoe.

Maybe we could begin a refrain of merely replying:

WATCH ME, MOMMY, WATCH ME!

whenever they rear their ugly finger work.

[Z2]

Jim,

I was just reminded of another question:

What ever happened to the Free Republic Institute? Remember when you donated the first $5,000 and encouraged others to give $5,000 each? How much money was raised and what ever happened to it? Is FR Institute still an entity? If not, was the money ever returned to the donors, including yourself?

Thanks in advance.

[aquawrench]

It looks like from the response that you guys need to start your own website since you cant get along with this one. That is a pity because Ive read some good posts by all of you.
Let me know if you do, I'd like to check it out.

[Gasshog]

Welcome back Gargantua, IHC, Arator and others...

I'd like to point out one little thing in this debate concerning banning, censorship, etc...

If you dont like what someone says you can

Ignore

them, cant you?

But all of you who think these posters should be banned, WONT will you? No, because we all like to DEBATE, dont we? No - we LOVE it..and thats why most of us are here, c'mon people like to argue so...

The WORST you can do is IGNORE someone. IF any of you kept posting and NEVER got a reply, never got a answer or a ping - HOW LONG WOULD YOU STAY???

Banning a poster just forces them to return under a different handle, anyone can.

So whats the point of banning a poster? None. If anyone is really hated on FR they should be ignored. I dont think anyone should ever be BANNED from any discussion forum.

That's my take.