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
Good to know, eh?
Sorry it's so small, but I just started a parttime job (with no health insurance included for 2 years) and am trying to be careful with the money, as it supports my family of 4. Earlier this year I was laid off the fulltime job I've had for 23 years (or else I would have given more).
Keep up the great work!
Bless you.
Yours in Truth,
JH2 --- when you arrive, please do your thing with your ping lists!
This is a MUST READ and REPLY!
I have seen some posts whining about things and it shocks me, they are selfish and self centered people that do not appreciate Free Republic and I have told them so privately and also in posts to them.They just use FR to do their own thing and then put down the rest of FR.In my opinion their nerve is unbelivable to use this place then to bash it, like a dog that barks and wags its tail at the same time.
To me Jim , you are our Braveheart and our Patriot and I bet if you took a vote a true vote you would find you are so loved and tremendously respected by thousands and thousands of freepers. The whiners and complainers are people that will whine and complain about everything, here or anywhere.They are not the people that make a difference in anyone's life. They are users.
If you need more funds then we can just have a running thread or something to raise funds.Just keep it up all the time and have the logo for it at the Canteen or something as well to try and help as much as possible.
The people that I have seen post that say they do not tell anyone about FR anymore, they are NOT a true FReeper as far as I am concerned. They are just using this place and it shocks me and disgusts me.I thought they were friends but they are not.
Just this last week, I got emails from 3 veterans that saw the Canteen threads I sent to their Vietnam veteran web site each one had. They registered so they could post and are posting at the Canteen and various threads and love it.Now they are writing me saying they are addicted already.
I thank God every day for you and for FR and the friends I have made here.I know you can count on most of us , I hope you know that and know too how much you and FR mean to us.
no, I think JR decides what gets put on his website, they aren't allowed at present to run paid ads, as I recall.
Whew, I hope so. Maybe you're part of the problem, not being able to see the difference between Bush & Clinton, Janet Reno & Ashcroft. You must be way off the scale somewhere, and I'm a Republican/libertarian. Geez.
After such a snotty request, I can't imagine why Bob would give you the time of day, much less the details that, for the life of me, I can't figure out why you would think they would be YOUR business.
If it is a matter of finances any alternative methods of finance available that may be needed should be looked into.
You guys should be getting paid for all the work you are doing.
Get over yourself, will you?
I've been here longer than you have and I have seen it come and go; just because we all don't agree with you doesn't mean WE are wrong.
1966?? wow!! Univac?
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