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:

.

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

[cherry_bomb88]

:o)

[cherry_bomb88]

LOL...your tag line should be "home page for rent-cheap"

[Texaggie79]

Ever since flash was disabled, I don't consider my homepage anything to look at....

[Nita Nupress]

Good idea.

[cherry_bomb88]

ROTFL...nice ad! That was a very clever idea...wonder who thunk it up ;^)

[Greybird]

But just as putting a swastika on the front door of a house might draw an adverse reaction from the neighbors [...]

You said this by way of analogy, true enough, but this kind of analogy is needlessly inflammatory, and you should be thoroughly ashamed of yourself for using it. (I could invoke "Godwin's Law of the Net": When one party to a discussion brings up the Nazis, either directly or by analogy, he has lost the argument.)

Not one statement on my home page remotely endorses statism. Exactly the opposite. You're suggesting, indirectly, that I am doing so.

And as for the sense of "opposing the goals of this forum," I never divined that one of the official goals was, instead of the emblazoned "defending the Constitution," rather to support the current President in all wars he cares to undertake, foreign or domestic. That may be what Jim Robinson wants in fact, and by practice, but it is hardly official.

[sweetliberty]

I was not suggesting in any way that anything on your profile page implied Nazism. As you said, it was simply used as an analogy in the sense that words could be inflammatory and invite harsh criticism in the same way that such a sign might. Why should I be ashamed of it? It was an innocuous post aimed only towards you. You understood my meaning didn't you?

[sweetliberty]

International ping!

[sweetliberty]

I love it! I hadn't seen this one before.

[Admin Moderator]

Nah. More like the power of Zit! Not nearly as permanent.

[sweetliberty]

LOL!

[b4its2late]

Uh oh. I have a feeling you might be starting something here.........

[MeekOneGOP]

I wouldn't dream of it, and btw, I didn't ping you in the first place, but I'm sure Meek would be happy to oblige.

Hey, Tex, it WAS my ping. I'll remove you. My ping list is easy to get off, and are always just FYI. I never ping to cause anybody aggravation. See you later.

[frosty snowman]

OK, I'll get on it. Just gimme some time, I'll put it on my weekend list :-)

[sweetliberty]

[kancel]

OMG- I hadnt even noticed that I can't even find my bookmarks- where are they? Did mine get totally nuked?

AAcckkkk!!

Sometimes things are better left alone...

[sweetliberty]

Relax, the bookmarks are still there. You have to click where it says "links" on your profile page. Actually, the change is great. Gives us more options with our profile pages. I'm not crazy about the purple header, but can't have everything.

[floriduh voter]

I can't find my bookmarks any more. They used to be on my profile page. Is there an easy way to find my stuff? Some is mine and some is relevant to Campaign 2004 from other freepers. I read your post but it's gettin' late, sorry I can't recall if you addressed this. FV

[sweetliberty]

See post #277.

[WVNan]

Bummer. My page didn't make the cut. And I thought it was oh so special.......