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
i say S-C-R-E-W the whining pansies! (i know of a few you can ban too)
i'm on a limited income but i'll give what i can. i'd hate to be without 'word for the day'!!!
This thread, posted on 11/28/01 8:31 PM Pacific -- little more than 5 hours ago, is a little more than a hundred behind. And is slowing, but still moving. Is this one is going to make it?
Bump toward 1,000.
Of course you don't; nor should you use your own funds even if you had money to burn.
The fact you're operating this monster on the $$s you, your son & the other participants are, is nearly a miracle.
One thing, though; there've been some really good, creative ideas brought up suggesting various ways FR could generate a cash flow.
Ideas that, given the situation, are well worthy of a bit of honest consideration by you & your staff.
In any event; my check's in the mail. Period.
1- where else would so many hear our voices? Do you really want to go back to the days of "letters to the local paper?"
2- "Comforting the afflicted, and afflicting the comfortable" is an honorable avocation. Don't give your enemies the satisfaction!
3- the online, realtime commentary almost instantly dissects spin, lies, & propaganda. One day all news will be like this ( maybe! )- stay on the leading edge.
All you I have pinged? Excuse me if I repeat your names, of if you are among the few who have asked to be dropped.... I do not keep a "ping list"- this was made, right now, by going back & copying names from my "self-search," and it's a one-time deal.
John R
Yet often politics and vanities mesh, and stand SHOULDER TO SHOULDER (e.g., "I HAVE A DATE WITH NOAM CHOMSKY--WHAT PERFUME SHOULD I WEAR?").
Of special interest to you might be "WAS GUNGA DIN A CONSERVATIVE?
What would one banner ad, ala Drudge, bring in per month with the amount of hits you get on this site?
Just a thought.
P.S. The whiners can always go to D.U. for their info.
Now I've grown lazy. And I can't remember where it was that I used to go.
By all means keep going.
I sent a private reply of encouragement to our benefactor, JimRob.
This is not the time, the hour, the day, the year, IMO, for FR to lie down and roll over. Let us all encourage Jim with our dollars and our personal support. He is a lion in this winter of political chicanery and corruption. Our nation needs FR whether it knows it or not. WE need FR. Long live FR. God bless JimRob and all who administer this site. May the anointing for fulfilling righteousness and strengthening our nation continue to rest on them and this site.
"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 Robinson
KEEP FreeRepublic.com GOING! ! !Hell, I thought this was a FReeper's OPUS thread too! Sheesh!
In the past you have stated nothing but distain for the WP/LAT lawsuit, so why not do the right thing and post an accountability for your donors? To hell with WP/LAT, you aren't going to give up anything to them anyway, are you?
On the level now, are you so dumb that you'd allow two of your friends to convince you that a blue chip law firm like W&S could be retained to go after Eschoir for a paltry 15K? The story floating about is that you were being "used" I always thought you were sharper than that. Say it isn't so.
Regards
Dan Goodell
(aka Dan Maxwell) age 19
Bull. My position is wholly on the side of ALL property rights; yours is the one that tries to create rights where none exist. By definition, donors don't HAVE property rights over what happens to their property once they GIVE it to someone else. You don't have a right to dictate to grandma that she has to use the electric blanket you gave her. If she gives it to your brother that's too bad, it was hers to give. Once you give blood, you don't have a right to dictate to whom it goes, unless you have a contract that says it is for someone specific. Once someone gets it, you can't get it back, nor can you tell them to quite smoking. The blood is then theirs, not yours.
The donated money becomes someone else's property the very minute you hand it over. If you don't want to lose your right to control your money, you keep it in a mason jar or savings account. Then, it is YOURS. Give it to someone else and it becomes THEIRS. If you want strings attached on how your money is used, make the person to whom you donate sign YOUR contract agreeing to YOUR terms, or don't give them money. This is not a complicated concept.
The money FReepers might donate is THEIR private property to do with as THEY wish.
That's right. But it is their property only so long as it is in their posession.
If they do not wish to donate their money to a forum which subjects them and their friends to ...blah blah blah... that is THEIR call, and they are perfectly within THEIR rights to withhold both THEIR donations and/or THEIR participation until FR stops systematically abusing its guests.
YES, That's right. Now what is it that confuses you? They don't have to donate to any forum that is not run the way they want it to be run. This forum is not run the way you want it to be run. So GO AWAY. Do not donate. Instead, use your money to create your own forum, or donate to those who will do things your way. You have NO RIGHT to demand people run things your way, whether you are a donor, a lurker, or a freeper. You only have a right to keep your money in your pocket. It is your choice to give or not. Your choice, and your 'rights', end there, BEFORE you give.
Don't cry, don't whine, just keep your money, and if you don't enjoy the site, just save some bucks and bug off. You can't force people to take your money AND your orders. If you tip a waitress, you can't dictate to her how to spend the tip. You can only hope that she'll recognize you on another day and do a good job again. At which point, you give her another tip. Hopefully, she'll see you coming next time and you'll be assured of more good service.
If more FReepers would exercise THEIR rights, the present draconian "Anonymoderator" regime could not long stand.
They DO excercise their rights... no one has to give anything. No one can force Jim Rob to give anything either, nor force him to let you be boss. You are excercising your rights by NOT donating. You can excercise even more of those rights by depriving all of us who think you are confused of your company AND your money. That'll teach us. Now DON'T DONATE and GO AWAY, and no one can bother you.
What ticks you off is that you don't want OTHERS to donate THEIR money. You don't want others to excercise their freedom, because when they do, they make you irrelevent because their numerous economic votes beat your lonely vote.
You have deluded yourself into believing that the people who DO donate THEIR money are not excercising their rights. But they ARE excercising their rights every time they decide how to spend.
The only rights people other than Jim Rob and family have regarding FR is in whether we choose to donate or not. We have no other rights here. NONE. We are here only as long as he permits us to be on his property, and he can ask us to leave any time he pleases, whether we brought beer to the party or not. We do not have a right to dictate how the site is run. We do not have a right to dictate to others how to spend their money. We do not have a right to make Jim Rob take our money against his will, nor a right to take his property for a price we dictate. We do not have a right to post on the site at all. We're guests on someone else's property.
It makes you mad that NO ONE cares if you donate or not, because others DO donate, and they do so because they like FreeRepublic.
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