Is Free Republic a Fraud? Is it time for Free Republic to go away?

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.

My solution, Jim is very simple...

Why not go for it and Host web sites and email accounts for a fee.

I would GLADLY move my web pages to an off-shoot of FR, and my current email account has to be on EVERY sucker list, get rich quick CD, and porn tickler list in the universe (lately been getting stuff to do with BARNYARD animals for a small fee and my credit card number)! ! ! I'm now getting 200 or more emails a DAY... (such is the price for being around from day one)... I'm ready to close it down and start a NEW one anyway.... WHY NOT HERE for a fee?

Since it's a full time job anyway, I say LET'S ROLL!

I will GLADLY pay $10, $20, $20, $40 a month to move my personal web pages over "here" and MORE for one or more of my BUSINESS sites... I'm talking shopping carts and the works...

Form a "autonomous" corporation for profit (Like SOOOOO many others have, AARP and their insurance division, for example)

That's my solution.... Free Enterprise! How's THAT for a NAME???

Cordially,
John

Well, I can't speak for Jim, and I don't know what it was in particular that got IHC banned, but I know when he lost me as a possible defender of him.

IHC and I got along pretty good I thought. We debated a bunch, would flag each other to different threads. Sometimes we agreed. For the most part we did not. But we interacted quite a bit.

As a long time freeper (much longer than my signup date indicates as I used to have a different name) I knew all about the travails of Eschoir. Long ago I became aware of some of the AFer sites where Eschoir loves to stir things up, with his obsession with bringing FR down. I watched as Eschoir basically seduced Callahan, eventually getting it to the point where Eschoir would suggest "someone should do this over there" and then IHC would go and do it.

Then over the summer (I think), Jim left a thread up for discussion of something relating the AFers, and IHC posts to it, and does some formatting to make his post look exactly like it does when Eschoir posts on one of the AFer sites, including an imbedded image (of a flag, I think), and a quotation from a Beatles song, done in italics. Either IHC was essentially paying homage to our enemy, or quite possibly IHC was just another incarnation of Eschoir. In either case, I realized IHC was not a friend, not an ally, and not someone I would ever defend.

About 3 weeks later, IHC was gone, and I couldn't have cared less.

Thanks for the ping, Sabertooth.

Fellow FR 3 Stanza Mad Cow Haiku Blues

Was in U.K., ate
Beef in Japanese cafe,
Now Haikus are the thing....

Followed threads one year,
Just joined up to interact.
You *too* were brand new.

Saw Jim's post today.
Sent in my card. Just can't stop.
Mad Cow Haiku Blues.

-bwteim

There was a thread running this morning where people were making all kinds of accusations about Free Republic "hiding the truth" or whatever.

Jim - it would be a shame to let the loonies set the ground rules in this world. By virtue of being a 'Free' Republic, paranoid types are free to spin their strange tales. But to put too much stock in them would be a mistake.

Although our views regarding Klamath and other environmental issues are clearly at direct odds ... and those differences are serious because I view the freedom to use one's property and develop the land without infringing on the rights of other citizens to be one of the fundamental principles (along with free will, self defense and the recognition that all of our unalienable rights are endowed upon us by the Creator ... at the very least not by man) that underlay this nation and all of our liberties ... I say, despite this I can truthfully say that you have always been civil and that it is clear to me that your heart and intentions are sincere. This is something I deeply respect.

I believe any such person has every right to voice their opinion, despite the disagreement ... also, any such person is reachable and I have great hopes for you my friend ... I believe you are one of us waiting to happen, in fact that you are in the process of happening ... LOL!

Anarchy leads to totalitarianism. As soon as you fully realize this, you will be an ardent supporter (IMHO) of our Constitutional Republic and the limited government is was intended to produce and I believe you will stand shoulder to shoulder with us in restoring it.

God bless you and I hope to see you stand with us at the headgates in January in the effort to restore those farmers' their rights ... they are good stewards of the land and I believe you recognize this.

Suggestion for financing Free Republic...

Since lurkers/readers don't generally use storage space, they can contribute during the Quarterly fundraisers.

However, for those with accounts who post, myself included, there should be a fee per post. Maybe $.10/post or .25/post. You'd have a better idea of the cost. On a quarterly basis, either a credit card or PayPal could be used to collect the amounts due.

This would be self-regulating. Someone with bad Karma about Free Republic would be supporting it every time they posted a vanity/whining post. Those who over use it and post asinine stuff would be supporting it. Actual articles posted should be either free, or x number for .25, since content is critically important to keep the site relevant. Replies are what should be priced.

With this system, those who are disruptors, would also pay to run Free Republic. What could be better? Those who are already sending money, could continue, or modify their payments. This pay as you go, is the only way to avoid the constant drain on your time and resources, and will grow with the site.

Jim: The most difficult thing to measure is success. I've been here for a few years now (having become very frustrated about the lack of discussion of real things in the non-cyber world) and find this to be an EXCELLENT source of what's really going on in the world around us. The responses of people with a conservative bent really stimulates the thought process.

Without Free Republic, there would be a lot less understanding of real issues by everyday people. There would be a lot less outrage over things that matter. And, it would be, I fear, the final victory for those who want people to mindlessly accept everything the powerful impose on us.

The overwhelming response makes it difficult to run FR. But, is it necessary? YES!!!!!!

Thanks for the ping, both of you!

Jim, I don't know you well, since I've been around less than a year, but I want to communicate how deeply I appreciate what you do here. Free Republic is a beacon, and many of us depend on it for a lot of different reasons.

I deeply admire you, and I have seen and heard enough to know of your character and dedication to freedom. I will donate today.

Please, keep this going!!!!

It is definitely not time for Free Republic to go away. We have plenty of work to do ferreting out the truth from the liberal left lies and spin and the principles of the founding fathers along with the Constitution and rule of law still need to be safeguarded.

You've done a tremendous service to the country in the creation and operation of Free Republic, Jim. Please keep the fires burning so we can be a voice of influence. We wouldn't have so many enemies and detractors if we weren't making a difference.

I'm ready for the next fundraiser -- so bring it on. FReepers - We're Everywhere! FReep On!

Hi Harry. A long time ago a poster we both probably recall (banned now) raised the question about Selling the Rights to the Software used for FR.

There was commentary earlier, based on Lucianne. com starting and how "the more Conservative Sites, the better".

You'd have thought the poster passed gas in church.

Sounded like there was a fear of competition for the conservatives. Like maybe a central meeting/discussion site was a requirement. Remember?

Wonder if that 'committment' to more conservative sites has disappeared? ;-)

You'd think selling Software would be a priority, huh?

Is Free Republic a Fraud? Is it time for Free Republic to go away?

Dr. F, On the other thread I proposed that there were no stupid questions. Our host has proven me wrong.

JR, There is no other place to go. Keep FR alive.

[I do contribute when I'm able to, not as much as I'd like but I do try]

God Save America (Please)

To do this, all that would be needed would be another "topic" or category which could be used to designate the "chat" style threads (The Guild, ATRW, The Smoker's Lounge, FReepoles, etc), and have an access level or list inplemented in the software to limit access to that category to only donors. Since these threads have no copywrite protections, there should be no fair use concerns.

I've also suggested this idea of a two-tiered system -- one for vanities and one for serious discussion. If Jim could do this and still get around the "fair use" thing, I think it would work.

There aren't many people here who, as least on occasion, enjoy posting on vanities, especially on the weekends when news is slow. But if people had to pay to chat, it would solve a lot of the problem, IMHO. And it is a problem, especially when your time is limited and you find yourself getting frustrated wading through ankle-deep trash just to find the hard news.

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.