Posted on 11/28/2001 7:31:29 PM PST by Jim Robinson
Free Republic has had one helluva run over the last five years or so. We helped impeach one president and helped get another into office. We've been active in demonstrations and protests in nearly every city across the nation. We've participated in conventions, petition drives, activism campaigns and projects for dozens of conservative causes.
We've grown from a tiny web site with a few hundred posters and readers from the time of inception in 1996, to one with tens of thousands of participants today. Along the way we've made lots of great friends and, unfortunately, also made lots of bitter enemies.
We've grown from a small web site that I could manage myself on a part-time basis to a huge monster that has totally consumed all of my time and resources plus nearly all of John's time, plus the time and resources of many dedicated FReepers who volunteer or contribute large amounts of their own time and money.
The site is now consuming all of a 10 mbps dedicated line with two servers and we're still growing, and it consumes large amounts of money to keep all this running. In the early years, it only took a few thousand dollars per month to keep Free Republic on the air, but it is now costing over $20,000 per month to cover all expenses.
The major costs include approximately $8,000 per month for bandwidth, 3,000 for systems management and programming services, 7,000 for management, operating and administrative services, plus two or three thousand per month for miscellaneous office expenses, telephone, communications, repairs & maintenance, travel & lodging, postage, rentals, insurance, legal fees, accounting fees, etc., etc.
We anticipate a reduction in bandwidth costs next year as we renegotiate our contract (the market price for bandwidth has fallen recently), however, that will be more than offset by an expected increase in costs of our legal expenses. As most of you know, our pro bono attorney has left us and we've hired a new attorney to continue with our case, plus we have the suit against eschoir to pay for. My projections are that our regular monthly expenses for next year will be running in the neighborhood of $22,000 per month, or approximately $264,000 total for the year. This means we will need to raise approximately $66,000 per quarter.
Talking about making enemies, we've got several ex-FReepers and other detractors who are claiming on their anti-freeper web sites that I am ripping off the donors and that Free Republic is a fraud. Now, Free Republic is what it is, and it is definitely not a fraud. It is a conservative news discussion forum that encourages participation in politics and activism projects. It is not being billed as anything else. We are not selling or promising anything. And I am being up front about our operating costs. The costs of running Free Republic are what I've stated above and they are necessary to keep FR on the air. I do not have the financial wherewithal to operate this site without your help. If the majority of the FReepers feel that these costs are out of line or too much to bear or that Free Republic is no longer wanted or needed, then we will either cut it back or shut it down or do something altogether different.
I've also been criticized about not making our financials public. Well, the reason I do not want to do this is that I have been sued, both personally and as Free Republic, LLC. The people suing us want to bankrupt us and shut us down. They subpoenaed our financial records, but we refused to turn them over. The judge agreed that the plaintiffs have no right to the information, thus I have no intention of making any more of it public than I absolutely have to, until this lawsuit is resolved. You all know the amounts of money we raise if you follow the fundraising threads. It is all above board and out in the open. The totals posted by BadJoe are usually pretty close to the actual cash received and the amounts expended are pretty close to the amounts projected. No one is getting rich here and no one is being ripped off. The funds raised are being used for the purposes stated, and that is keeping this website on the air and that's it. Nothing fraudulent about it. Those who want to help fund us freely do so with nothing expected in return. Those who do not want to contribute do not have to.
There was a thread running this morning where people were making all kinds of accusations about Free Republic "hiding the truth" or whatever. These accusations are being made by Chuck Allan and others and fall along the same line with the accusations being made by some of the earlier banees or AFers including Mojo, Inspector Harry Callahan, Arator, keep U.S. Sovereign, TKEman and others. Some of these people are existing FReepers and some are banned. I am going to reinstate Mojo, Inspector Harry Callahan and Arator's accounts so they can join Chuck Allan, TKEman, K.U.S.S. and whomever else wants to get involved, and I invite them to come onto this thread and make their accusations public. As long as they do not go onto other threads and make a nuisance of themselves, I will let them have their say.
Like I said above, if it is time for Free Republic to go away so be it. Those who want to keep it going speak up. Those who want it to go away, tell us why. But if those who want it to be gone lose out in the debate, then I'd say they should just go away themselves, or, in the very least, shut up and quit whining about it.
Thanks,
Jim
OK, I'll try. But let me explain how I consider my own occasional dissent, especially regarding what sort of information is deemed unpostable on this forum. When I offer it, it is never in the spirit of "Jim Rob must do it my way or else." I know this is Jim Rob's site and he is free to do with it what he pleases. It's always been thus. When I offer up an occasional dissent, it is simply to be heard and noted. Jim Rob is absolutely free to reject it and run his forum as he sees fit. What is galling is to be banned merely for expessing one's opinion honestly. Whether Jim Rob (or anyone) agrees with my opinion I care not one whit. They are free to have their own opinions and I respect that. But so to am I free to have mine and I would like that fact to be respected as well. That's really all I've really ever wanted, for me, and for every FReeper.
This website is what it is. No one controls what happens here. Not you, not the moderators, no one. The content, in its voluminous nature, is controlled by the people who post here. If they stop posting, this website dies. If they stop contributing, this website dies. It's something more profound than you or me or Jim Robinson or the moderators. None of us, separately, can begin to replace the heart and soul of this website: the participants.
I agree with you 1000%, which is why it grieved me so to see so many great participants, your friends and mine, routinely cast into oblivion for nothing more than expressing their unique perspective on politics, or failing to conform to the prevailing officially approved group-think of the moment.
If you'll stop your I, me, mine bandwagon, not only will I forgive you (which means nothing in the big picture) but you'll never again be threatened by banishment.
Well, I never considered it only about I and me. There were far bigger issues at stake, like the heart and soul of this website as you so ably described it above. And as far as gaining an immunity from banishment, I don't really want that either. If I violate Jim Rob's original posting rules [no racism, no personal attacks (and hopefully mere expressions of political disagreement will not be regarded as personal attacks!), no spam, etc.], I will deserve to be banished and ought to be banished. I would only ask that I (or anyone) not be banished for expressing an honest opinion about politics or even about the way this forum is administered. After all, it's just one man's opinion. It has no power beyond the force of its persuasiveness, and everyone, as always, is absolutely free to be persuaded by it or not, and that includes Jim Rob. It's his site, and he has every right to run it as he pleases.
This is so surreal. While I was reading your comments I was watching Tomb Raider (a Paramount production I might add!) and they were talking about all this clock of ages stuff. Well you get the picture.
Beware the vortex! It'll suck you in and make you watch PBS, I've heard.
I hope you'll take the time to answer.
Something you should note....I've rarely posted, but have elected to simply read and enjoy the many thoughful articles and comments. So, there may be many more lurkers then you think.
The next two years will be the defining life or death time for many dot-com web-sites. Can this model succeed and flourish when thousands of others will be going bankrupt? I believe it can, because the model is sound, and the dedication of Jim Robinson and fellow freepers is tremendous.
But let's not just survive, let's flourish, grow and take on many other endeavors via the internet! Take Care, Mike
There are far too many multi-syllabic words in this paragraph to digest in one sitting. LOL. Could you translate this into layman's terms, please? ;^)
Since you appeared to miss the obvious: had Bill clinton been just an average guy with his own web site, no one would care, or need to care, about his behavior. Accountability would be between him and his maker, and his ISP.
But here's the difference: Bill Clinton was an elected official, the head law enforcer of the United States- not Joe Sixpack of Peoria, Illinois.
When you ask for 'accountability,' you have a right to demand answers from elected officials and government employees, but you have no reason to expect to be informed of your neighbor's business, nor the financial, political, legal, or personal background of any citizen you feel like harassing.
Posting here is a privilege- it does not imply that you are entitled to anything.
Hey, you're one Neo-con I'd nominate as host, exactly because you do and would tolerate, even embrace disagreement. And I agree with you, having some intelligent liberals here to wrestle with would be fun. We might even be surprised at the common ground we might discover once we peel away the meaningless partisan labels (like anti-globalism, anti-interventionism, etc.). Of course, I'm speaking from a Paleo perspective. LOL.
Yes, I think the term Paleo-con is equivalent to Old-Right. As for the Old-Left/classical liberals, they are so close to the Old-Right in many respects as to be almost indistinguishable. That great classical liberal, Murry Rothbard, for example, was virtually sympatico with and supported the candidacy of Paleo-con Pat Buchanan before he died.
Kind of like the cogency and intensity of your post above? ;^)
Maybe you just left him bewildered, and he wondered off completely confused. LOL.
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