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
I will read this, and comment later. Until then, here is a MEGA-ping!
I like FR, but I'm just being honest...I'm not sending in any money. If it were a pay for service on certain parts like I described in another post then I may pay on some days or months that I really need to get some info.
Actually, my participation (although lacking for a while) makes FR more valuable (as does your participation). If it weren't for us it would be useless. So how much is Jim going to pay us to post articles?
Here we have learned to voice out opinions, think critically about politics and the media, involved ourselves in all sorts of organizations, and made true lasting friends.
The site has encouraged those who lost loved ones, received joyful news of marriages and new babies, helped people cope with ilness or job loss, and generally lightened our spirits.
Please do not get discouraged with those who are negative and destructive. Often those who cannot create seek to destroy instead.
God bless you for this forum, and thank you for saving my sanity!!
I like your choice of movies.
Deep South Florida.
Best,
Orthodox Presbyterian (formerly Uriel1975)
You've got me in stitches lady. I love the way you write. LOL
The difference is that now I have the facts and education provided by FR to back up what I have felt all along. They have neither, only their "feelings" which we all know change by the minute.
Toooo funny. PIMP
My husband says he enjoys hearing what I've learned from spending so much time on this forum and that I'm so interesting to talk to when I talk about politics. Of course I never go to bed at the same time as him anymore, he's not real happy about that ; )
This is the funnies of all. It's been a long time, but 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. LOL LOL It's just so funny. You're poor husband just might not understand. You're a hoot lady.
He even finds himself quoting me to co-workers and is amazed when they say "Wow, I've never heard that before" or "I never thought about it that way".
And you have the credibility to back it up.... Our own USA leftist newspapers!!!! I'd say those are all excellent reasons why JR should keep FR on line.
I don't EVER want FR to go away. I'm grooming my kids to be FReepers some day.
Hopefully, it will still be around when your children need a little political stimulation ;-)
True, there are a few nasty and rigidly dogmatic people here, but there's lots of down to earth, pragmatic and reasonable people here too.
How much and how many monthly contributors would be an optimal number for the Freep to survive and prosper? If I can get my finances straightened out here, I would be willing to throw in a few bucks a month. I'm sure there are others like me.
As Jake, that exercise guy says,"don't quit".
You're doing a great job, Jim. With the massive size that the forum has grown, so too have the risks grown. It might be wise to start scunizing the "newbies" a bit more (do we really need instant access for newbies? Why not a 5-day waiting period when the forum is flooding with breaking news like contested elections, twin towers terror, and so forth?) and I think you might think twice about letting the Conservatives In Name Only run rampent on this forum if it turns out their sole purpose on FR is to attack anyone with an "R" next to his name (or praise anyone with a "D") Even you got sick of the "I hate Limbaugh" vanities after a while, so obviously the "I hate Bob Barr" vanities or any other "down with a conservative icon" movement might want to try a different website.
Other than that, can't complain. You are king of conservative webmasters!
I mentioned this to my husband, and as he get to watch WWII movies and the History channel nonstop while I peruse FR, he says (opening his wallet)"how much do you need?"
With that caveat, you can rest assured that this old jack-booted statist will proudly help keep FreeRepublic afloat in any way that I can. To paraphrase the words of a long-ago enemy of the state, you and this forum have awakened a sleeping giant and filled him with a terrible resolve. And the result is good to see.
FR Gold sounds cool, but being poor I'd be a bronze.
Maybe we can have ou names on the posts show the level?
-GeronL
LA SLIMES and WASHINGTON POSTAL.
SSHHHHHHHHHH!!!!
Yes, of course.
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