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
FreeRepublic.com has become an important part of American freedom, and as such needs to continue. I'd write GWB and ask for a grant, I'd even write to congressmen FR has supported and ask them.....FreeRepublic.com needs to continue.
I for one would welcome banner ads that you make money from, and you certainly have the traffic that would make you solid cash from ads with people like Amazon and the like.
I encourage those who can to donate.
You know as well as I do that in almost every case, FR's detractors are the result of simple personality clashes. When a site attracts the number of posters this one does, there's always going to be a lunatic fringe. Folks with delusions of grandeur, paranoia, idiocy, and just plain psychos. Eventually, their madness becomes apparent, people complain, and they get banned. Being the outcasts they are, they can never admit that it was their anti-social behavior that earned them the punishment, nor that they have no inherent right to be where they're not wanted. So they start to level these vicious attacks against the forum, you, conservatives in general, and places like AF and born of people like Eschoir, Mojo, Nav, DonMorgan, etc.. (The Usual Suspects).
By my way of thinking, you owe them exactly nothing. Their objections to FR are unfounded, and based entirely on their PERCEIVED slights distorted by their own psychological inadequacies. If they want a war, fine, we can give that to them. But you don't have to give them a base of operations.
I am truly saddened to see that Chuck Allen has joined this infernal crew. Why a formerly loyal FReeper would want his name forever stained by association with the Undead, I can't imagine. I would have thought he was a bigger man than that.
Free Republic, now and forever, one and inseparable.
Amen back to you, LeeMcCoy, by the way!
This just about nails it on the head. The people you've mentioned as Anti-FR are not worthy opponents and do not represent what this country stands on; free speech and open discourse.
Do not give up the fight. Please.
And thank you sir for all of your hard work and dedication thus far.
First, It is the only source I know of where one gets complete, immediate news coverage.
Second, I've supported it in the past and will continue to do so.
Third, even if every dime went to your staff, 260 grand a year is not an excessive salary for the size of group that you've assembled. We all know that the head of a philanthropic organization, Red Cross, makes over a million. (If we're looking for a tragic salary, that's certainly it.)
Fourth, every time I've ever had anything jerked off a thread, in retrospect, I've come to agree with the moderator over time.
Keep it running, keep it conservative, and keep it focused on a Free Republic.
Now stop it.
IHC, Everybody should be allowed a mistake or two before being shunned. Even Jim and a few overzealous moderators and the rest of US along with them. Hang around, and don't take things personal. It really ain't. It's just exchanging ideas. Sometimes in what might be called "SPIRITED" discussion, but, it is that "spirit" that sometimes causes the loss of one's "cool". It's written that even Jesus thought that getting angry and physically throwing the money changers and merchants out of the temple would not be the way to "win" in the end. IMHO, he was right. Stay well. Peace and love, George..
Jim and John and Staff =
A sincere thank you for all you have done since I found you in '97. The honesty and integrity you all have shown is proof that the American Dream is a reality, and that there are tyrants that are trying mightily to quash that reality and revert us back to a feudal society.
WRT the WP/LAT et al lawsuits, give them my name too. The First Amendment was not written for corporations to use as a shield for their nefarious disseminations of their select stories, or to grant them exclusive access to the politicians and judges and executives of the governments -- it is to allow the People that access. As they have found, they can't publish only part of the story, or change the timelines, or embellish the facts with lies without some here catching them out and exposing them.
I do agree with others that there should be a minimum charge for the priviledge of posting; that would cut down on some of the riff-raff scumbags that try to hijack threads or start flame-wars just to get them pulled.
"Government is not reason, it is not eloquence, it is force"
(George Washington)"A society of sheep must in time beget a government of wolves"
(Juvenal)
Here's to keeping the wolves at bay.
We are putting together the activism portion of Free Republic right now. It is called Free Republic Network. There should be a chapter near you. If there isn't, we can help you get one started.
This is not something that Jim or the monitors should address. This is a matter for we, the people. In times passed, an idiotic vanity would be shredded within minutes by other posters. Now they live, to eat bandwidth and inspire others to do likewise. To pick a recent thread, how about the "Who are the single FR men?" thread. Is this the caliber of discussion that Jim and John are devoting their lives to support?
The people did this to FR. The people can turn it around. Stop acting like fluff minded liberals with a laissez faire attitude. Demand and offer more intelligent discourse and less pop culture. If we raise the bar, we will find others who aspire to reach the level we set, rather than allow the good time charlie attitude to drag us down to the lowest common denominator.
That's the kind of "ownership" I love to see on this forum. If every conscientious member pounced on these stupid vanities like a duck on a Junebug, we'd soon discourage that crap. Then we could return to a day when the conversation sizzled, the topics were pertinent and as fresh as the morning coffee, and the exchanges generated light as well as heat. Jim can't do it. The moderators can't do it. It's up to us.
Are we willing to surrender this last bastion of hope to the armies of darkness? Because if we are, then we've proven unworthy of its promise. "A Free Republic, sir. If you can keep it." Can we keep it?
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