Notice that Jim & John have chosen now as the time to fragment FR into multiple forums, to Balkanize FR into special interest areas, effectively cutting out the huge number of very diverse eyes which, in a single forum, would have looked at and commented on almost every thread...
First the fragmented threads made it likely that most people wouldn't read entire threads -- only activists would start at the beginning and work their way forward. This reduced the overall audience and participation in what HAD BEEN the normal exchange of ideas and views around here.
Second the fragmented forums FURTHER reduce the diversity and number of people checking out the overall flow of threads...
Free Republic IS NOT what it was a year ago. Perhaps it will grow into something equally fun and dynamic. Perhaps it has been improved to death.
Either way, it is unfortunate (!?) that when the ideas and views of the widest range of conservatives would be most interesting on the activities of our "republican" president, that the double deconstruction (first threads, then the forum itself) of Free Republic makes it very unlikely that we will have that kind of scrutiny here. Too bad.
(And, for tin foil types, it will be fun to speculate about the timing of the "new" FR coinciding with the general, wide-spread recognition that Bush isn't anything like what we'd hoped he'd be...)
Mark W.
Poor moaners and groaners.
Some posters are already sensing a bit of disconnection and discomfort adding their two-cents to certain forums. The "diverse scrutiny" of the "old" Free Republic "salad bar" operation was more constructive and unique for the reasons you point out.