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
When you go out asking for money, you invite scrutiny. "Why do you need $60,000?". "How much are the Robinson's making? What are they paying the people bumping the fundraising? The more you pay, the less you're censored." People were challenging Jim's integrity in this regard back in the spring of '99. It'll never stop.
That financing model has to go. It was necessary during the litigation, but it is heavy-handed, unpredictable and does not force the linking of site use, perceived value, and user payment. Freeloaders have the same privileges and standing as those paying $20 monthly donations. The deadbeats don't cover the cost needed to fund their individual forum use. That's got to change.
Jim and John need to build a business model that involves subscriptions and window ads. Revenue needs to be linked to forum access, because the number of people with forum access will determine operational expenses. They have stats that can tell them what subscription price and advertising package they need to breakeven. It's not a shot in the dark, they need to find out who is willing to pay a standard annual fee up front for using this wonderful resource. I am.
The people who refuse to pay $30 or $50 per year don't value the forum in the first place. That's their choice. I don't want them around. Freepers who will post here can support Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians, Bush, Keyes or Buchanan, or no political party at all - but they have to support Free Republic. Many here don't respect or support the forum, they use it as a diaper for their releif of every oppression or as a platform to poison the view of Conservatives by fomenting ugly dialogue and topic selections. At least they'll have to pay up to do that in the future.
I don't care to see Jim Robinson have to go hat in hand to finance this enterprise, and I don't want to ever again see him have to defend the FR use of proceeds. He's above that.
Well said. At $50 per year the site would only need 6,000 members.
This bump is dedicated to the FReepers of the Jim Robinson variety!!! :D
Hope registered comes back soon.
Great idea. But does the 1000-1200 include us monthly donors? I skip the threads because AmEx takes care of FR like clockwork.
Our Republic has enemies; those who promote the agenda of distorting or undermining the constitution and the sovereignty of the United States. These same people find it necessary to attempt to squelch the font of factual information and conservative opinion that the Free Republic represents. Jim Robinson has effectively prevented these unscrupulous people from achieving their goals. I continue to support Jim's decisions and discretion in protecting the existence of the Free Republic from dishonest people who are determined to disrupt and corrupt the nature of this forum. Would anyone here continue to read, post and support a forum site like this if it descended into the vicious chaos of profanity, spam, and obfuscation that so many formerly popular political newsgroups have succumb? I wouldn't and am confident that few others would. Therefore, I completely support Jim Robinson's decisions to ban those who threaten the FR's integrity and quality. I hope everyone reading this understands this reality and continues to appreciate and support this wonderful contribution to the freedom of speech, discussion, and assembly that a private individual, Jim Robinson, has provided for his country. Thank you, Jim!
That's very true but that's also the way of life.... FreeRepublic has been through it's ups and downs, spats, people leaving and has survived and will continue to survive as long as enough want it. Others such as 'tlf' will serve a place for some and maybe they can be happy there. Rules will be different based upon goals, perceptions, agendas, etc. That was evident when the posting of the same material got two different responses from the two managements. One gave a suspension and 'tlf' gave a public rebuke. So be it.
Now that I've survived dozens and dozens of posts and comments under my new nick, I'm very satisfied. Unfortunately, I tried to make an ongoing donation on the last go around and had to rescing it when I was banned. I'm leary of donating to anyone that would ban a hearty, honest and good-natured conservative like myself.
I think I'll give that "donation" deal another try. If you ever need any marketing assistance, please let me know. That's my expertize and my background.
Isn't this the truth! I can't begin to tell of the number of times I've read articles, threads, etc. on FR in the morning, only to hear Rush, Hannity or Savage speak about the very same things later in the day on their radio shows. I say to myself..."they MUST have been reading off FreeRepublic!" (ha!ha!)
JR, KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!
Of course you don't represent these people but it is OK to have an opinion, isn't it?
And on the one and only trip I have made to LP I saw this sentence you posted here--at LP also:
I address this only because you stated :
Yes..it DOES make one wonder about intentions.
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