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
It's a cry for attention I believe. The adult form of "Look at me! Please look at me! Look at me or I will stamp my feet up and down! Look at me or I will stamp my feet up and down and wet my pants! Wahhh!"
Very sad.
That works so well. You truly have a way with words. VoC and I agree that we worship you! LOL!
Oh well...dare to dream.
If you must prune nasty messages, how about replacing them with an emotionally neutral paraphrasal? You know, like "User 4360 invited user 7290 to go forth and multiply." Or "User 3265 speculated that user 12365's mother wears footgear normally reserved for persons in military service."
It spares me wondering what the heck could have been so horrible that it got pulled in a thread as rough as this one.
As with so many of the myths about the anti-freepers this is false.
The afers (afSS Hamster Gestapo Corps) have several character defects in common. Misrepresentation and bald face lying are two of them.
Next, they lack creativity...even though their TTC Detachment (Tough Titty Collective> was undertaken more to allow its founder to provide a site for him and four of his fellow banned members of the NYT Forum on creative writing. Their idea of creative writing tends toward the homoerotic and beatiality.
That said, Oh, my sides was my contribution to ridiculing the anti-freepers. Later, after the afSS Hamster Gestapo picked it up, Petunia came back with, "Oh my sides, tops, bottoms, ins, outs, ups, downs and in betweens" when responding to the most outrageous claims by the Hamsters (named by Daus---white hat, pirate) to describe their endless pursuit of an elusive lettuce leaf called the destruction of the meanie host of FR who wouldn't let them run the show.
Several Hamsters (all the males are beta-gammas, i.e., closet homosexuals supported by fag-hags, suffering from long term self imposed and deserved unemployment...they just can't get along with anyone very long. Their profile at the FBI Serial Boob Office would simply classify them as jealous lovers too cowardly to be passive/aggressive in person, paranoid that normal folks will discover they are mentally unstable. You will recognize them on the street if you pass by and they are LOLing to themselves. A pathetic lot with no prospects except an eternity waiting for a 404 message.
MANY HAPPY RETURNS!
I would like to start a new fund raising thread so we can all chip in and buy you a clue. If there is enough left over we'll start the "Get Ratatoskr a life" fund.
We do however draw the line at using the money to purchase a date for you. If you actually want to kiss a real girl you'll have to move out of your mother's basement first, but we can't assist you with that.
Ah yes ,the ole AFer line take your meds,come down off your overdose blah, blah, blah. Odd how you have never been there yet mimic them so well.
Did you get off the Keys Bandwagon yet?
You are Head Moderator here right?
I can see the appeal. After all, it's bound to be cheaper than trying to buy you a sense of humor. I think that's one of those "born with it or spend your life boring the arse off everyone" things.
I fully agree...since you've been posting on this thread the collective "arse" size of the average freeper had reduced by half. You could be the next "miracle diet" plan. Start thinking infomercial!
That seems unlikely. I haven't felt the earth tilt on its axis or the magnetic fields reverse polarity or anything.
Judging from this half-assed rejoinder, I suspect you may be generalizing from personal experience.
Perhaps your tin foil needs regenerating. Might I recommend wearing it while bathing with your toaster.
Please don't poke sticks into the cage
:^)
I should leave the tally to the pros....
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