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
The spontaneous show of support on this thread from freepers is most telling. It should give pause to those who seek to destroy the most influential, varied, informative and witty conservative web site in the nation.
Mr. Robinson puts his whole life into guiding and improving this forum and he does it wisely. The other sites that deal in vicious anti-FR vituperative will eventually fall from the weight of their own bitterness and discontent.
LONG LIVE FREE REPUBLIC!
Leni
Is that dude/dudette schizo or WHAT, man...
I won't be chased off the forum by malcontents, RATs in disguise, Bush bashers, et al.
I enjoy the site and appreciate being able to post the Astronomy Picture of the Day,
put in my 2 cents' worth, and post pertinent articles on occasion.
I send donations monthly, and toss a little extra in the pot each quarter.
It's only fair that we support this site we use and enjoy.
Thanks again, Jim, for all your hard work and dedication to this website.
Re: the latter, topical forums such as religion, etc. could be accessed for a nominal fee as stand-alone services or as elective enhancements to the subscription-based resource.
Such would amke available to the FR and to FReepers the best of both worlds.
I'd be glad to discuss this further and perhaps help to implement and promote such a plan, so contact me if you wish....
"UP!"
The only reason these people want to shut your website down is pure jealously. They are jealous of you and they hate you for your success. Just like they wish to foist the "fairness doctrine" on people like Rush Limbaugh they want you to shut up and they don't care how this is accomplished.
Judging from the number of drooling, whining, CINO, populist, wet panty, personality cult types on FR lately.. making it all but unbearable, I wouldn't call an orchestrated attack out of the question. A literal "conspiracy"
Regards Mr. Robinson.
PS: I couldn't care less about your finances or their publication. I would be willing to bet that most others feel the same way. The people who do are just looking for a stick to beat you with, so don't make a mistake by handing them one, imnsho.
Have a nice time over there.
You know what? Purely from reading the comments on "tlf" - if you didn't know the ideology that dominates the place - you might think you WERE reading DU. Their hatred for President Bush is obviously no less intense than the hatred liberal Democrats feel for him.
Strange bedfellows and all that. It's weird. They sound like my version of hell: a bunch of James Carvilles, with that continuous ugly scowl on his face and a constant stream of words coming from the pit of his rancid, hate-filled heart.
Guess I got carried away there for a minute...but it's true. Just look sometime - but make sure there's a shower nearby.
Dear man, you just gave some (probably less than 10) people an outright stroke. Doncha know it drives them up the wall when we say we hope Jim drives a Mercedes and has a neato pool? :-)
Just so you'll know, I got it. :-) Well done.
The man has become (willingly or not.. it's happened) the Rush Limbaugh of the internet..
I hope he flies a lear jet and sticks his tougue out every time he passes over algor's house.
I don't care if he has a monorail system between the front door and the mailbox and I seriously doubt that others do either.
He is successful and real Conservatives reward that.. Socialists don't.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.