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
Appeal Brief of Appellants.
Case: Free Republic v. LA Times and Washington Post, U.S.
Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, Docket No. 00-57211.
Re: Online copyright infringement and fair use.
Date filed: April 16, 2001.
As set forth in the Statement of Facts, infra, Appellant Jim Robinson started the site as a hobby. The site is supported by contributions from users and Robinson takes no salary or benefits.[27]
Dated: April 16, 2001
Respectfully submitted,
Brian L. Buckley
Attorney for defendants-appellants
Free Republic, Jim Robinson and
Electronic Orchard
I probably should have said "advocate for FR" instead. I didn't mean to imply that you were there in some official capacity.
And truth be known, I had hoped your site would build bridges.
Me too!
The downfall IMO: Eschoir & NIC (aka Mojo)
Yep. And the thousand faces of JenLart, and my inability to moderate 24/7, the limitations of Delphi software, certain FReepers and AFer's bearing ill-will under many uncrackable guises, etc.
It was one heck of a ride while it lasted. LOL.
OK...I promised Jim Rob and myself that I would not freep his forum, so, farewell ANV. Maybe we'll cross pathes "out there" again sometime.
They were working on it at the time. So what if they might have jumped the gun in announcing. IF that's the case, people make mistakes, organizations which are made of people make mistakes, even professionally operated coorperations make mistakes. Where the hell is your commonsense?
On a related point which JR already mentioned, I was informed long ago that an outside law firm was handling the incorporations and knew the approximate figure to do so. The $7,000 something is a little high but not out of line for 3 corps, including tax-exempt filing (which requires a little research) in the state of California. So on that point, I can attest to JR's veracity. Rebuttal?
You have more patience than I do. Time to go on the offense. Let's see their bankrolls!
Pssstt..BTW is the "t" in tpaine stand for "total"? Just curious.
There is a difference between banned Freepers who may disagree w/ your policies.... and hateful anti-FReepers whose goal is bring down Free Republic.
Personally, I wish all of those people who wish to "bring down" FR would just get a life and go away. Their obsession is unhealthy. (Remember...its just the internet, folks! Get a grip!)
Chump change, my friend.
That was an example, -- I wasn't boasting. Are you?
BTW, do you want to be the one who tells the people who really cannot afford to come here using "pay for play" that they can't come on FR?
Nope, and that need not be a probem. - Give everyone a hundred posts a month, before you start the 'guilt meter' running.
You got any better ideas yourself? - Lets hear them..
I give MORE so everybody can come.
Yep, you are so special.
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I'm not special at all. I'm a compassionate conservative, unlike you who wants to limit people's speech on a site you don't even own.
A typical reply. - You ignore my points & questions, and instead make a straw man accusation about 'limiting speech', and finish with an inane remark about owning this site.
Our 'conversation' is over.
(Ya' want me to have to give you a thermonuclear head noogie, or something...?!?!)
;-)
You must be joking or smoking weed. There was no heyday and there was no platform. Your site went into the toilet the moment you let the Afers in. They have NO desire for ANY kind of positive exchange.
And I thought you were the one who started this thread, inviting all this scrutiny and answering all these questions.
Since you seem to be threatening me, this thread is evidence, so please don't delete it.
Have a nice day, Jim.
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