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 hope this is not your "I'm leaving" OPUS. I've seen a lot of "I'm leaving" OPUSes but this one takes the cake ;-). We can't have the owner leave! You CAN'T leave, we won't let you! Long live Free Republic!
2.) membership fees
3.) Advertise for PAYING customers on other sites
4.) charge for vanity posts
5.) HUMP THE MERCHANDISE
6.) Freepathon in streaming video with ANNE COULTER
PLUS - let us know why our threads get pulled so we dont repeat the offense ;)
Thanks for everything
I've learned much (politics of FR, difficulties of running something like this) and must say I agree with your policies.
I'll continue my support.
Thanks for allowing into "your house" these past few years!
Off to bed
Less abuse of the bandwidth with double and triple posting. How hard is it to do a few keyword searches before posting.
Fewer vanities. I lurked for YEARS before I posted a news article. Am I wrong in that NEWS ARTICLES are what we used to be about? Not a dating service or soft porn snicker session?
There is still a lot of value here, but it used to be better. Quality people with inspired minds, discussing events and learning from each other. Now you find 200 post threads with nothing but one liner insults. Sure, that's a steam release vent but is that worth 20 grand a month?
I came here and got involved, responded to calls for action. Where are they? Where is the activism? Lost amongst the flood of light weight dribble and vanities...
This is not something that Jim or the monitors should address. This is a matter for we, the people. In times passed, an idiotic vanity would be shredded within minutes by other posters. Now they live, to eat bandwidth and inspire others to do likewise. To pick a recent thread, how about the "Who are the single FR men?" thread. Is this the caliber of discussion that Jim and John are devoting their lives to support?
The people did this to FR. The people can turn it around. Stop acting like fluff minded liberals with a laissez faire attitude. Demand and offer more intelligent discourse and less pop culture. If we raise the bar, we will find others who aspire to reach the level we set, rather than allow the good time charlie attitude to drag us down to the lowest common denominator.
No one is getting rich hereI believe you, but for a moment, I would love to entertain the idea that you are getting rich. If you were, I would have this response:
So? Good!
As one can probably glean from my screen name, I am a capitalist to the core. I use this site, every day, usually for more than an hour at a time. I get more than my money's worth. Frankly, I am disappointed that the proprietor is not getting rich.
As you said, anyone paying attention to the fundraising threads has a ballpark idea of the site's income. If ALL of that was going straight into your pocket, then I believe that you still would be underpaid compared to the CEOs of companies who provide inferior products and services than you provide here.
But of course, it is not all income.
I have long ago decided that the biggest complainers fall into three categories:
1) People who are upset for other reasons and just look for anything and everything to complain about,
2) People who are against conservatism and as such look for anything and everything to attack us about, and
3) People who have been suckered in by the two types above.
/rant
LOL! Nope!
Let me (us) know what we can do. Brytani
Answer: A 'Whine' cellar.
As long as I've been around - there are days when I shake my head. But not many. We need to stay here for the next Clinton run for the White House.
This growth in FR should demonstate what the Founding Fathers wanted to avoid in government.
When the topics shift from principals to personalities - all hell breaks loose.
Wow, you had a computer in 1966? And you knew that Clinton would be involved in scandals, even though he was still in college then? I'm impressed. Miss Cleo, move over!
Sorry, I know it was a typo, but I thought it was pretty funny! ;)
The law suits and detractors prove one thing for sure. Free Republic is a very powerful and influential entity. I have and will continue to donate to Free Republic, however I wouldn't mind paying a fee to keep the site going if necessary.
Once again, thanks for all the hard work you and John and many others do to keep this site going. I don't say that often enough.
I'm sitting here reading this thread, and you had to remind me of this. Oy! Some of us are still not over the World Series, you know. :(
IF THERE IS A FRAUD OUT THERE, IT IS THE REPENT TO TERRORISTS. IN OTHER WORDS YOU AND FREEREPUBLIC HAVE MY VOTE.
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