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
Jim, I haven't been on this site for more than two months and I am addicted. Never in my life have I been able to talk with so many other people that hold the same basic ideals and beliefs of mine. This is one big family, and I would hate to see it go away. Though I am currently unemployed, I will look at my savings this January for some spare change to throw your way. Even if it is a mere $5, I will attempt to contribute in some way to the forum that has given so much to me. Thank you, God bless you, and never shut down Free Republic.
"The most intelligent, contentious, thought-provoking, downright hilarious, comforting, galling, addictive place on the entire World Wide Web 'go away'?
"Good lord! FR is more than a site, it is a true community --friends and relations sharing their lives within the big life of the world. The place is genius, is what it is, and it is too perfectly good to do anything but grow."
BUMP!!
Look at the bright side; you've now got a place to tell whiners here to go if they don't like it here.
I think FR is incredibly important to free speech in America, and I'll try to donate even more that I already do.
Thanks, always JimRob, for everything.
Vote for it to stay.
A long time.
Take some samples of webpages; you'll see that most remarks of the larger threads (except this one) are "personal attacks," "flames."
Yet your enforcers mostly "arrest" folks for political content.
I'm betting that you'd save a lot of money by "arresting" the members who are constantly trying to gun each other down in the street.
Thanks. Just leave them with this:
One hot summer's day a fox was strolling through an orchard till he came to a bunch of grapes just ripening on a vine which had been trained over a lofty branch. "Just the thing to quench my thirst," quoth he.
Drawing back a few paces, he took a run and a jump, and just missed the bunch. Turning round again with a One, Two, Three, he jumped up, but with no greater success. Again and again he tried after the tempting morsel, but at last had to give it up, and walked away with his nose in the air, saying: "I am sure they are sour."
I have been a member since 1998- for four years, I have visited this site at least a dozen times a day, because it is the ONLY forum where I can read all of the news that matters to me. Every quarter, I give what I can. Sometimes I could only pay $5 or 10. One time I had a good month and contributed $200.
This site is about our Free Republic, and how to keep it free. I love this site, and will support you in the best way I know how. If I have cash to give, I'll give it. If I have time to donate, I'll donate it. Whatever you need from me to keep Free Republic operating, then I will help.
As for those who wish to tear us down, I have never questioned the financials of this site. I know how much it costs to run a website (I do it every day). Heap on top of that some lawsuits, and to be quite honest it is a miracle this forum lasted as long as it did.
But it only survived through the support of its users! Chin up, Jim! My vote is to keep on truckin'!
F anyone that doesn't like it. Let em go somewhere else.
IMHO this is as important a public service as T.Paine's Common Sense was some 250 yrs ago.......
I will be the first to say that most of the recent changes were irksome to me, but I am not the one making it work so c'est la vie.
IIRC, and I do, isn't this the stickiest site on the web?...That is the only stat that matters.
I'll agree, and my dog & 2 birds will go along with me...
...not sure I'd better speak for my wife--
HOw goes it..? long time no see.
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