Is Anybody Home In FReeperville?

May 28, 2003 | sweetliberty

[sweetliberty]

When I first joined Free Republic, the single most useful tool to me in becoming familiar with the forum and finding stuff that was helpful was the home page feature. It was nice to wander the FR neighborhood and see what others had bookmarked and learn a little about these people called FReepers. Back then, the pages were somewhat limited if you used the bookmark feature, but still, there were many unique and some very elaborate pages. Browsing these pages I learned about the FR lexicon, the html sandbox and bootcamp threads, I learned about moose and cheese, CPAC, and many other relevant things. I found important links, beautiful graphics and great quotes along with inspirational passages and prayers and hilarious cartoons and photoshop creations. I quickly felt quite comfortable in my new cyber home.

Somewhere along the line many of those fabulous pages got nuked by accident and most were never rebuilt. The most recent change in the format allows for bookmarks to be on a separate page. Jim and John have given us these blank html enabled pages limited only by our imaginations, and the vast majority of FReepers have done nothing with them. If I had happened onto the forum now and tried to familiarize myself with the neighborhood in the same way, I would have to say that FReepers must to be the most boring people on the planet, not even coming close to living up to their "bigger than life" reputation. Of course I know that nothing could be furthur from the truth.

Imagine moving into a neighborhood where all the houses look exactly alike, just these dull, drab, crackerbox affairs with the curtains drawn tight, the only thing differentiating them at all being the names on the mailboxes and, in some cases, the flags flying on the front porch. That is very much what our FReeperville neighborhood looks like these days and that is too bad. Oh, there are some "homes" that have added signs to the front door and some who have posted an embellishment or two. Some have done some work on their pages and a few have gone all out and created a real work of art. Those pages are really enjoyable to visit. Each FReeper could do so much to enrich the forum just by doing a little "home improvement" on his or her profile page. Some of you have obviously done some work at one time but your "homes" have fallen into disrepair. Please take a little time and cut the grass, mend the fence, paint the house, and for heaven's sake, haul off the junk in the yard.

In all fairness, some of you may not even realize that this feature exists. Membership in the community doesn't come with a how-to guide and new FReepers are pretty much on their own. Some may be aware of it and have just not gotten around to it. Others are intimidated by html and still others are afraid of their privacy being invaded. Let's address these issues one at a time.

• To create your home page start by clicking on your screen name in the upper right hand corner of the latest posts page. On the page that opens, select "my profile". Scroll to the bottom to where it says "you can edit this page" and click on it. In that big blank space you can do anything you want (within reason of course).

• For those of you who keep meaning to do something with your home page and just haven't gotten around to it, make the effort. Look at it as contributing to the beautification of the neighborhood and making it a pleasant place to be. It really does add another important dimension to the FReeping experience.

• If you're one of those who doesn't know html and feels a bit intimidated by it, you're not alone. True, there are a lot of techno geeks here, but there are more of us that are learning as we go and there are a lot of useful tools here to help. Most of the basics can be found here and here. Keep in mind that it isn't necessary to use html. You can do your page in plain text. There are any number of directions you can go with that. You can tell a little about yourself, your family, your work, your activism, or you might list some favorite quotes or tell a story. Or you could talk about what brought you to Free Republic. If you want to do something extra and don't know how, just ask. Most FReepers tend to be very helpful. FReepers have taught me most of what I know about how to do cool stuff like posting graphics and links and such. We may snarl and growl a lot, but most of us don't bite.

• Finally, there are some folks who may have a need to remain anonymous because they may be well-known or perhaps because of the line of work they are in, or even just as a matter of personal preference. We respect that, but would still appreciate your sharing. If you're concerned about your privacy, it's really very simple. There are many ways in which to express your individuality without giving away personal details. Be creative.

Use this thread to share ideas or to make or ask for suggestions. Look at other FReeper pages. Most of all, have fun with it.

Check out this interesting assortment of FReeper home pages, in no particular order:

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Lady GOPLindaSOGmikrofon ppaul SkoozTailgunner JoeTexaggie79AKbearOuachitaAgThornflamefrontGrammy BearJustAmyMama_Bearmtngrl@vrwcSabertoothvelvetJulieRNR21truenospinzonesouthernpatriot_usam1-lightningEnemy Of The StateAdmin Moderatorwesterncanoncpforlife.orgPippinRadixmichiganderRegisteredTootersecurbhjdegeJohnny GagesheltonmaclawgirlST.LOUIE1Alberta's Child ApacheTearbentfeatherdeadheadlowbridgeRevelation 911Victoria DelsoulOvertaxedsavd_rn7PeaceBeWithYouBillierdb32JedismomArchie Bunker on steroidsSAMWolf JamesWilsonNix2Mr. Mullinerthatdewdarchycarlo3b

[RepubMommy]

Thanx, I hadn't realized in the new format, my old profile got rebunked. Will redo it later today.

[westerncanon]

Hi y'all...I don't know how you found me! Thanks for finally getting me to post...hehheh

~lurker mode turned back on~

[RepubMommy]

Thanx, I hadn't realized in the new format, my old profile got rebunked. Will redo it later today.

[Constitution Day]

Awww....whassa matter CD? The idiots getting to you? Nothing serious I hope.

Nothing more than an acute case of ScottPeterson-itis and Advanced Reality Show Fatigue.
I'm sure I will get over it eventually. :)

[sweetliberty]

Your page doesn't have to meet with MY ideas or agree with me. If whatever you put there passes by the moderators and you're happy with it, that's the important thing. But just as putting a swastika on the front door of a house might draw an adverse reaction from the neighbors, posting something that might be seen as opposing the goals of this forum and then drawing attention to it could have similar repercussions.

[sweetliberty]

"Well according to Scotto they're just for makin' weather balloons!"

I think Scottie is hoping we don't find any of those pictures that Uday probably kept around to amuse himself. Does this idiot have any idea how ridiculous he sounds in light of all that has occurred? He is about as credible as Baghdad Bob.

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"America is in a quagmire I tell you. They are commiting suicide on the streets of Baghdad. Scott Ritter is an honest guy. He didn't have anything to do with those little girls. It is an evil lie."

[sweetliberty]

"I get a LOT of pings to articles that are not MY hotbutton issues."

Same here. I live with it, and if it gets too bad, FReepmail works pretty well too. I've never had a FReeper refuse to remove my name from a ping list when asked. Some people just aren't happy unless they're b*tch*ng about something. These are the same people that will go out of their way to click on a thread they're not interested in just to criticize those that are. Don't you hate it when a skunk shows up at the picnic?

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[sweetliberty]

"Nothing more than an acute case of ScottPeterson-itis and Advanced Reality Show Fatigue"

Ahh yes. Enough to make you long for the days of Baghdad Bob and Scott Ritter at Burger King. Oh well, this too shall pass, as soon as the next idiot steps in front of the camera for his 15 minutes hours of fame.

[stainlessbanner]

Is there a FR house cleaning service? < grin >

[MeekOneGOP]

These are the same people that will go out of their way to click on a thread they're not interested in just to criticize those that are. Don't you hate it when a skunk shows up at the picnic?

hehehe ! Or when someone lets the dogs out.

well, actually lettin' tha dogs out is kinda FUN !!! :O)

[Tall_Texan]

If it isn't something that YOU care about, a simple "no thank you" would have been sufficient. There was no need to get ugly about it.

NO THANK YOU. And DON'T ping me. Ever. Thank You.

[STOCKHRSE]

Thank you for the images, I don't kow how to fool around with them myself.....Maybe one day(I guess it's some kinda man thing stopping me from giving priority). I love your page and Share your outlook and preferences.

Whent fishing off the Barrier Islands in Long beach Miss. last 2 days. good catch and good time had by all ....;-)

Thanks again...
Ray

[STOCKHRSE]

Thank you for the images, I don't kow how to fool around with them myself.....Maybe one day(I guess it's some kinda man thing stopping me from giving priority). I love your page and Share your outlook and preferences.

Whent fishing off the Barrier Islands in Long beach Miss. last 2 days. good catch and good time had by all ....;-)

Thanks again...
Ray

[STOCKHRSE]

Sorry about the double....;-)

[unspun]

Well thanks but looking at it from this angle, the honor is mine.

[Ms. AntiFeminazi]

Bump for a very nice thread! Thanks for the post sweetliberty and thanks for the ping MeeknMing. I'm bookmarking this one.

[Budge]

Search not for the Grinch, because the Grinch is right here:

ROTFLMAOPIMP!!!

Never, NEVER would I now invite the Grinch...especially after seeing who the Grinch is! Like the Hildabeast!

Oh my, oh my no!!

[Budge]

You mean "that jackass, Scott Ritter," don't you??

Man, has he ever changed!

I guess Iraqi "under-the-counter, hush-money" will do that to a person ... assuming Ritter is still classified "person."

[SerpentDove]

Check out my profile page.

[NYC Republican]

Thanks for the nudge, and the wonderful (initial) post. I'll make it a goal to "beautify" my home page within the next 2 weeks.