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
But but but, I thought the cruise was for the Radio Network and the Radio Network is part of the other FR which has nothing to do with this FR. (grin) Ok...low blow. I'm sorry It's obvious I'm getting punchy and need some fresh air. All these entities are swirling in my mind and no, sorry to the guy with the charity/trust info. Mea culpa. I didn't read everything and my estimation of charity status is worth what you paid for it.
Later...
Thanks in advance.
I'll open a thread over there called "Is Antifreeping a Fraud? Is it time for AFWAA to go away?" See ya there!
Jim, I'm in receipt of two emails from Clarity. I'm awaiting word from him as to whether he has any objections to me posting them. If I get ok, would you be opposed to them being posted here for you comments?
Thank you.
Did you get shamed into crawling out from under your rock?
No. I speak from my own experience with Joe, Jim, and the rest of the hardworking, dedicated, and largely unrecognized people who make this forum the champion of honorable conservatism.
Having said that, you're wrong if you think people should't be aware of "antifreeper" activities and efforts to undermine and destroy a site like Free Republic. In fact, their behavior resembles radical leftists, and there isn't one person at this site who shouldn't be made aware of just how far radicals will go to further their agenda. They will do almost anything to accomplish their goals, no matter what principles have to be compromised. They have none, in fact. Ethics? No. Morals? No. People like this represent a mindset in our country today, and it is that mindset that a lot of us think helps erode our culture.
You may think it's a waste of bandwidth and time to point it out, but not everybody does.
People that participate on FR (thats a FReeper for those that are pretending to be "new" and "just stopping by" and "helping out their mother") are not allowed to engage in ANY OTHER ACTIVITES sponsored by other groups or else it means the organizations are not seperate....gimme a break.
Give it up.
For the thread "Top Ten Brahmin Fusion Drummers," see tomorrow's FR.
To the others posting here, I'm no fool, and the non-connections between FR, FR Network and individual chapters has been explained to my satisfaction.
How often? Every month? Every day? I've seen this same stinking, fulminating, merry-go-round thread a hundred times since I came to this forum. Nothing ever gets resolved, nothing new ever comes to light. But we spend 3,000 posts hashing over the same stale material. And in the end, Free Republic goes back to business, the trolls go back under their bridges, FR grows steadily, and acid eats holes in the opposition's stomachs. Then, a month or two from now, their ulcers flare up and they come in with the same vitriol and we indulge the same stupid exercise all over again.
When is enough enough?
Nice to see you admitting your complicity in Clarity's breech of attorney-client privilege.
Thank you, Jim. imho that would be ideal. I appreciate your reply.
Jim, I offered to voluntarily abstain from any further FReeping on your forum out of deference and courtesy to you. I would appreciate it if you did not take advantage of my offer by lying about me behind my back.
So, I hope you will allow me a quick refutation then I will, as promised, return to voluntary exile.
Just seemed like the thing to do. I do not care much for anti-FReepers.
I am not an anti-FReeper. I do not desire this website's destruction. I only wish it were a place where freedom is valued and FReepers were treated with the respect they deserve.
In case you didn't know, they put in one helluva a lot of time in their activism project, and their only goal and purpose in life is to kill off this website.
"Their activism project"? What the heck is that? Who's "they" and what on earth is their "activism project". Whatever it is, I am not a party to it.
I am just a FReeper who, like many FReepers, after being forcably cut off from friends in a community I value, found ways to maintain contact with same. I set up my own forum, and because I value free speech, I made it open to all comers, including the so-called AFers. And when, due to the limitations of Delphi software and attacks from multiple quarters, that forum failed, the Reunion community continued on as two new Delphi forums, FRU Reunion and Reunion Reformation, the former primarily populated by my Brigadier freinds, the latter by so-called AFers.
Your insistance on lumping us all together as AFers really goes to the crux of the difference between us. You seem to require agreement with yourself before you will even think about making anyone your friend. So, you assume if I am friendly with so-called AFers, I must be just like them and we all must think just alike, just like you demand that everyone think just like you in your circle of associations.
But, that's not the way I work, Jim. I am friendly with and value folks who DON'T think just like me. That's what made FR such an attractive and compelling place for me. So, the fact that I am friendly with and associate with AFer's doesn't make me one, any more than it makes them a "whack-job kooky Bircher/Brigadier", as they like to call me at times.
See, Jim, I know it's an amazing concept for you, but people who disagree on things can actually enjoy each others company and even be friends. Such is the case, with myself and many (though certainly not all) so-called AFers.
And with that, I shall return to my voluntary exile.
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