Freepers. It is Time to Heal Our Wounds

Badjoe | 8-27-02 | Joe Phillips

[BADJOE]

It is time we take a new tack and see if we can heal our wounds. I hear by the grapevine that from this past weekend's discussions that JimRob has two black eyes and a broken arm. I have my head bandaged. I am missing one ear, and I have body bruises from top to bottom.

It was damn near like the old days wasn't it?

I am happy to report that while Willa never considered divorce, homicide did cross her mind a couple of times. The fact that I am writing this is hard evidence that she did not act on those impulses.

As I see it, there is a very simple easy way for all of FR's problems to go away. I have a comment to all parties involved and I will specifically address each of them.

The Free Republic is much bigger than any one man or woman. And it is too important for any dispute, regardless of what it is about to pull it down.

First let me clear one thing up. The next Freepathon would have been my last one regardless. It is too big a job for even me. Freepathons are the only time Willa and I exchange cross words with each other. I love all you guys, but she rubs my back, kisses me on my bald head and on occasion even cooks me dinner. (Except during a Freepathon. I damn near starved to death during the last one.)

In order of importance from least to most .

Badjoe: You are one cantankerous feisty old son of a gun. Usually mild mannered, reasonable, and all the good things, BUT when you think something needs to change you would run over your own grandmother to make it happen.

Other forums like Liberty Post, etc.: Guys you can't build yourself up by tearing the other guy down. Tout your own virtues. It is the only way you will reach the heights FR has. And believe me, I'd like to see 100 successful FR's. If there were a hundred of us none of our problems would exist. Competition cleans up the weak spots.

The DC Chapter: Thank you guys for calling me on the phone yesterday. It was very nice and very moving to speak with each of you personally. Please tear all the old pages out of your book in regard to the Free Republic Network. Neither you nor they will survive if you don't quit nursing old wounds. I have noticed that even when the Network folks say or do good things you react in ways I think are inappropriate. We really are all in this together. Let's please work to survive together. Thank you.

To the Network Board.: You are my friends. The wounds are deep between you and the DC chapter. Please don't say anything about them. At the moment even if you gave them a million dollars each they would think you have an ulterior motive. So please say nothing either way. A year from now you might be able to to have some communication.

To the Moderators: Oh my! I sincerely hope this whole post could make your jobs superfluous, as the Freepers take to heart what I will say to them, so that moderation is rarely if ever needed. I am sure you'd appreciate and like the vacation too. Would not it be nice if you could just Freep and when you occasionally came across an infraction, warn first, went back to Freeping, and checked in later to see if warning was heeded and then if necessary take the minimally possible action. Please let's try to keep our troops intact.

To the monthly donors who have cancelled: I sincerely hope you will consider reinstating your help. I know withdrawing your support is a very effective way of registering your disapproval.

To the monthly donors who have stayed on board: God bless you. FR needs you and can't survive without you.

To JimRob: You are just as damn cantankerous as I am. I sincerely hope you will post the new directions involved in our Saturday night August tenth agreement without the references to me. Apologize to the Freepers for any real or perceived injustices and ask them to hold your feet to the fire on the new directions from that agreement

To the Freepers: You are the most important of all. Without you there is no FR. I would like to see you all prick your finger and write in blood that you will argue all you want to without calling another Freeper a dumb Mofo, etc. If you find yourself in the position of not being able to carry the day in your discussion, or if another Freeper gets close to anger, just go away for a little while and come back to fight later. If you do this moderating will become unnecessary. We all will be free from fear. In the interest of healing these wounds please lay off the mods I singled out. Lay the blame on Jim and I for our failure to effectively communicate with each other. Jim and I have broad shoulders and are willing to carry the load.

I am going to post this first to the moderators through the abuse button to give them time to digest what I have written. This is to be a positive thread. I am requesting that they give an automatic one hour timeout to every Freeper, including JimRob for any inappropriate comment. You are capable criticizing with being abrasive.

I hope all the above folks I have directed my comments specifically to, post a general agreement to try to do what I have suggested. If you say you will, I will participate in the next fundraiser by just running the numbers and getting the necessary funds in. JR gets a copy of what I get without the credit card numbers. He can forward that info to a trusted Freeper volunteer to write thank you's, and to another trusted Freeper volunteer to post recognition of the donation on the fundraising thread or maybe one will do both. This will get FR past its current crisis, reduce the harsh words at Willa's and my house, and make everyone's job easier.

[lodwick]

Did I miss something?

Not really - just some growing pains and/or menopause of FR. ;-)

[BADJOE]

I am sorry you feel thta way.

Why not sit back and watch.

This could make thing better.

I am certain it will not make them worse.

Thank you, Joe

[AppyPappy]

watching an effective vehicle for activists who really want to do something regress to being a bulletin board for endless rants

Physician, heal thyself.

[KS Flyover]

"You are capable criticizing with being abrasive."

Well gosh Joe, if you say so.

[joesbucks]

BADJOE: I watched over the past few days the exchange that has taken place. It was interesting. But the most amazing part is the problem was aired out and both parties are wiser.

An interesting thing is that Free Republic was born from the same problem you voiced......someone pulling an article or post in the old Prodigy White Water Forum. Jim was adamant that full text articles could be posted and that P was simply trying to mute a point of view. Funny how that has changed.

It's too bad so many have come and have gone in a snit. That seems to be a problem among activists. And frankly, I knew that once impeachment had gone it's course and Clinton would serve out his term that participants would begin to focus on other forum participants and that stronger personalities would flame out.

But again, and I believe that since every thought was left on the forum and the thread wasn't locked, a problem WAS worked out. Sure it aired dirty laundry, but dirty laundry never gets clean until it's aired out.

[reform4me]

sean hannity's version of a good ole
freeper is someone who basically is in
philosophical step with him and rush!
i remember a couple of years rush
would mention free republic quite often,he had a purpose of course it
was to duilute staunch constitutional
ism with his wishy washy mainstream
republican yuk. just look at the posts
about suv's and tree cutting etc. etc.
most of you know i am right admit it or not.

[Jim Robinson]

Joe, thanks very much for posting this. I believe this is going to go a long ways toward starting the healing process. I'm hoping that no one blames the moderators for any of our woes. I am the guy who instigated the moderator program, established the rules and set the standards. If there is any blame to place, place it on me. Besides being broad shouldered, I'm hard headed. You can't hurt me. LOl

Seriously, the moderators only act on the rules and guidelines I set forth. They do not randomly ban people and they do not ban people they don't agree with. If a decision has to be made on someone that they've interacted with in the past and they believe there may be some bias, they usually recuse themselves and leave it to others. Furthermore, in most banning situations (except for emergencies or the very obvious), there is a group discussion and a consensus is reached before a banning takes place.

And even them some mistakes have been made and we've ended up reinstating the person. There may have been mistakes made where a person did not get reinstated, but again you can blame me for that. Those decisions are mine.

It is also my decision when any "old timer" gets banned. They're not making them anymore so I don't like banning anyone who's been with us for awhile. Actually, I don't like banning anyone at all, but sometimes there's no getting around it.

We are working on a new observer system and as soon as we get it installed we will select a staff to man it and will be available to explain all of our actions.

[bvw]

politically irrelevant fringe voters

In other words, those who don't vote the approved party line. TO THE PARTY, COMRADE! All great glories!

Hey, o_p_h, if this was 1776 you'd be a Tory.

[FairWitness]

To the Freepers: You are the most important of all. Without you there is no FR. I would like to see you all prick your finger and write in blood that you will argue all you want to without calling another Freeper a dumb Mofo, etc.

O.K., I've done what you asked. Now how long do I have to leave this bloody message on the screen before I can wash it off? Sincerely, my best wishes to you and JimRob, and Long Live FreeRepublic!

[bvw]

TThis phrase "cannabilizing" is a mean spitirted phrase. There is another way of looking at this. FR, like any healthy organism has its white-blood cells, has its immune system. The problem with TV talking heads is often they suffer the equivalent of AIDS in that regard. They are surrounding by enablers, but no rot removers. The enablers insure that once a cancer gets a foothold, it takes over.

Thus best if Mr. Hannity takes a lesson from FR, and not be so rash has as to give one.

[NerdDad]

I read with great sadness as much as I could handle of the last thread as it developed. I do not know what the fight was about but I'm glad at least that the punching and kicking has stopped. It reminded me of fighting with my wife over sex. The nastier it gets, the longer it will take to get what you are fighting about not getting. I also kept hoping that the smoke I smelled was not bridges burning.

Joe: I hope that your backing away from freepathons doesn't mean you are backing away from FR. I look forward to reading your posts for many years to come. Maybe by clearing your plate a little, you will have more time to get down here in the mud, the blood, and the beer with the rest of us.

To both of you stubborn mules, thank you for what you have done to build this wonderful place for us to gather. If I am ever so fortunate as to meet you, I hope I meet you both together and that you will allow me to buy the next round. That would mean the wounds have healed and the relationship mended.

[BADJOE]

Very good Jim.

Communication will always be the key.

Keeping the Freepers in the dark was a problem that is now being resolved.

Now go to bed damn it.

It is good for your eyes. : )

Dr Joe has spoken as Li'l Abner's momma used to sy. : )

[tomkat]

guys, here's one more congratulatory bump for your having reconciled;
may this latest brouhaha be a springboard to better days.

do let's keep our expectations realistic though, shall we ?
the patience of the many will continue to be tried by the juvenility of the few ...

[BADJOE]

I am not going away from FR.

Like Jim, it is my life.

As the fundraiser I felt it necessary to stay in the background and not raise any problems. It was not a real comfortable position, 'cause I like to discuss the issues.

I will be more free to participate and for that I am grateful.

[Jim Robinson]

Ok, Doc. I'm outta here. See y'all in the morning afternoon. Jim

[wimpycat]

Frankly, the only problem I ever noticed with the moderators was a lack of consistency, although I personally never detected an ideological bias on their part. For instance, on one thread, I noticed where a member was banned, but his highly offensive post remained, whereas most of the time such a post is deleted, but the member stays. I think your laying down some basic standardized guidelines for the moderators will go a long way to remedy that, especially if you re-evalutate both the moderators and the guidelines every few months or so.

As part of that, maybe you could post a Suggestion Box or "How am I doing?" type thread on a quarterly basis to get honest feedback. By you yourself setting up an official time and place for the great Whine Festival, you can help keep it under control. Maybe if people have a set place to let off steam about FR housekeeping (Moderators, formatting, etc.) , with your active participation on the thread, they won't clutter up the other threads with it and we won't have to wait for an opus for all the bad blood to be let.

[KLT]

I have been on these threads for 2 years now and lurked for months before tryin to figure it all out....Yes, I've been suspended for a short time, now and then...and it was richly deserved....

But, Freepers are passionate people...we feel deeply about our beliefs, and sometimes we do get a bit carried away...

But eventhough we may sometimes fight between us, we all have one interest in common....the love of our country...

It's time to put our differences aside, and join together to Free The Republic....

FreeGards and Greetings From The Socialist Republic Of NY,

Karen AKA KLT

[Kaslin]

Van Gogh was a he and he was a painter , silly

[ofMagog]

Knock off the racket! Can't a guy get some sleep around here without people banging about and knocking stuff over. I don't want Snow Bunny and Billie to have to take names! They can be tough, no matter what you bums may think. We've got a busy day tomorrow, what with all the stuff the Democraps are doing. Plus, the Ship's Emergency Fund needs some donations. Now, let me get some sleep.

[ofMagog]

Well, you had to go and spill the beans!