Posted on 07/17/2017 9:48:56 PM PDT by Jim Robinson
Received a copy of the message pasted below that apparently is circulating via freepmail.
In response, all I can say is John is my son and my partner in FR along with Chris and Amy. None of us make a six figure salary. I designed and wrote the original version of FR back in '96, but it was my very first internet project ever. It worked, but codewise it was a dog. And virtually impossible to maintain.
When John came in with me, he rewrote the software and made it work greater than ever before and included maintenance tools that were sorely needed. I never dreamed that a homegrown internet site could handle the traffic and the millions of posts that we do. And even including the few times when we were down hard for more than a day, over the last 21 years we have better than 99% uptime.
And later, when our growth saturated and used up all the resources of our original ISP, John designed and built our multi-server hardware system, negotiated a contract for sufficient bandwidth and installed it at the San Jose data center. I'm not a techie so the hardware and software are John's baby.
And he and Chris are planning on running FR after me and Amy are gone. We are not about to let it die, assuming there's still a need and willing members.
This is about 20th warning being circulated during the last 20 years that FR's demise was imminent within the next year. Someday they may be right.
Lastly, if the guy who wrote the message below thinks he can do a better job than we do, he should go for it. And, for crying out loud, if he thinks he's being ripped off he should stop donating immediately and possibly should start posting somewhere else.
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“I don’t want to answer this question out in public, but I do want to answer it because I believe that many potential donors are in the same position. I have donated fairly regularly, but am becoming increasingly hesitant to continue on.
We see from the numbers that EXCLUDING expenses (collocation, bandwidth, legal, credit card processing fees, etc.) Jim (and I assume John shares) is pulling in a cool quarter million per year from this. Its his baby... he created it, he does what he can from home to babysit it... that’s fine... more power to him. It seems that his son John is the other principal who does the running to the data-center when things need fixing.
I don’t know how much John gets from this... but there’s enough profit there for BOTH Jim and John to make a six-figure salary. John apparently already has a full time job... he gets around to FR issues “when he can squeeze in the time”. If someone’s getting a six-figure salary to mind a system then that system ought to be sort of a high priority, not something that can be squeezed in on weekends now and then.
It is what it is... but here’s where it’s reaching the breaking point for me and I think many others:
Given the frequency of hardware failures, it’s becoming clear that it is now more likely than not that FR won’t exist a year from now. Many of us have suggested that hardware upgrades are becoming increasingly more of a priority... they’re now imperative.
There in NO discussion of this even being considered. I get it that Jim’s a stubborn guy... no one likes change, and a migration is a scary project.
But, without it, this site is going to evaporate... soon. Hardware is cheap... he could get a pair of great servers for $20K... the software is fine, no need to spend a ton of money writing some fancy new system. Just replace the hardware with something modern. Get some of the many experts here to volunteer a few days to work on the migration.
A brand new setup would cost less than one month’s “salary”... but would guarantee that FR survives. If giving up one month’s pay to invest in the future of his site (and the future of his income) is too much to ask, then hold a special freepathon to raise it. I can almost guarantee this money, if it was known that it was being allocated to a legit hardware upgrade plan, would be raised in a matter of a few days.
Perhaps Jim’s plan is to simply squeeze as much money out of it until it dies, then forget about it... we don’t know... he’s not saying anything (at least publicly that I can see). If that’s the case, he should at least be honest about the plan to the people he’s asking to pay his salary. If he has a plan for the site to continue, then he would be better served telling his donors what that plan is.... that would encourage more to be on board with the plan.
I would hate to see FR die abruptly and permanently. The likelihood of that happening soon is becoming very high at this point if these outages and other hardware issues continue on their current trend. If that’s NOT the plan, then I wish Jim would communicate to his donors about it and get moving to prevent that... before its too late.”
>>If the guy who wrote that message thinks he can do a better job, he should write up a serious and proper proposal to fix the glitches. I’m not IT expert, but 32 years in the military taught that if you are going to discuss a problem, bring a potential solution with you.
We’ve had these ongoing problems for many years. Jim has been unwilling to accept any volunteer help from the FReeper community, from what I can tell.
This is not the first time this sort of thing has happened.
Never Surrender!
You run the site. If people don’t like how you run it let them go elsewhere, but doing this crap is something I’d expect of Bernie supporters.
thats a great idea. Those that want to pay will, and the others will just read.
You should be receiving royalties from the conservative media who use this sight as a gold source of conservative thought and show prep.
If you frequent this site, posters, respondents, or lurkers you NEED to sign up to automatically contribute monthly. I do!
I don’t miss it at all, and I’m on Social Security. It’s the very LEAST you can do.
EVERYONE (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=deeBa4lX2Bo) can afford to contribute monthly.
You have a computer, you pay for electricity to run it, you can afford to contribute, PAY FOR, the service you are using for FREE. Not right!
Feel guilty yet? YOU SHOULD!
DO IT RIGHT NOW! SIGN UP NOW! You’ll feel so much better.
Nobody likes being a “user”. Become a partner, a contributor, a “monthly”. It’s easy, it’s fun, it’s better than sex! (well maybe not the last one), but it it is satisfying beyond explanation.
I’ve never received this, so I don’t know how many people even got it.
I love FR and read daily. I am lost when it is down- no fault of yours. I am so grateful that we have a forum like FR! God Bless you! I would give more monthly if I could but SS doesn’t go far.
It is sad but I wonder how much of this “ concern” about FR comes from trolls and their wishful thinking. Trolls have popped up for years and many have very old signup dates.
You got some data on that or are you just blowing smoke?
Sounds like someone needs to build their own site somewhere.
You’re stuck with me.
FR is one of the most striking accomplishments we’ve seen since the beginning of the WWW – especially considering that it is a ‘kitchen table’ sort of enterprise.
The technical problems can be frustrating, but I’m perfectly happy with whatever your decisions are regarding your ‘baby’.
It seems to me that every time the ‘disgruntleds’ leave and try to create something like it, they fall flat on their faces. It takes a lot more than technology to create something like this – it requires the kind of HEART that the Robinsons have always put into it. We’ll carry on.
And crude language.
Profanity is used quite regularly these days. In fact, many FReepers’ see nothing wrong with using profane and scatological references. Sewer talk is becoming more and more acceptable on FR and it should stop.
In the past profanity was not allowed and FReepers would self-censor and use alternate spellings or use their creative language talents to express themselves.
Not so today, and that is sad.
Left-wing sites use/permit profanity, after all, those sites are intellectually lazy. We are better than that.
Jim, I have contributed money but not consistently. That will change. I appreciate the format. Am sick and tired of pop ups on Drudge, etc. My wife is always reading something to me from Facebook and I cut her off by saying I read it on FR yesterday. God bless you!!!!
Hopefully an ungrounded electrified rope... just saying
Thanks Jim. You and yours have truly been a blessing to us all.
I recall seeing this a couple of times before. I wonder if its the same guy?
I never get such emails, and do not share the expectation of FRs demise, and think it has the best forum software I have seen, and with mature basic rules and judicious mods, while not being dependent on the "cloud" is wise, and being supported only by donors and without advertising is part of this superior model.
But most important is the stance that it is a pro-God, that of the 66 books of the Bible, out of which flows the opposition to the liberalism and special love for a country with a unique Christian historicity.
Yet while under no obligation, some basic details of where funds go might help raise more funds, and in the light of tech problems, more communication regarding the software issue and interaction with users who have offered help would be encouraging to those who depend much on FR. Thanks.
Just sent in a small donation to help.
My wife (visualops) & I will continue to donate to FR in her name until we are on the other side of the grass.
In my opinion, FR is down less often than the number of times the electricity goes out during storms or heatwaves. We get topics from A to Z without signing on to a kazillion sites, and comments from a lot of really smart people, too. Which keeps my mind sharp. And no zombies - so it's peaceful and polite, even if it gets a bit heated. So I don't care what FR rakes in nor is my business what FR’s operating costs are. As long as the door is open 24/7 most days than not, I'm good.
"....It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat...."
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