Independent Conservative

As of August 25, 2026, I have been a registered member of the Free Republic for 25 years. A few thoughts about my experience on this site follow:

There was a time when being a "Freeper" meant something. Topics of all kinds were researched and debated in grand fashion. I have several DVDs containing gigabytes of old threads that are a joy to reread.

Then the site was hit with the LATimes/WashPost lawsuit that eliminated most full article posts, which happened a long side the ideological purges that gutted lots of 'provocative' discourse through the banishment of certain members and threads.

Innovative decay set in and the site now is a snapshot of the internet of the past. The software states it hasn't been updated since 2008. Entirely text based, FR is a present-day Way-Way-Wayback Machine. The lack of new more modern features has seemingly limited its ability to attract younger members.

It still exists as a very successful money maker, starting at $240,000/yr and climbing to as much as $360,000/yr, for its absentee, now deceased owner. The front page still encourages a visitor to send him an email or give him a call on his cell phone. Presumably, long distance charges will apply.

FR is only a shell of what it was and exists now as an online rest home, where aged members dawdle about, engaging in toothless one-sided 'debates', wasting away until they are all finally added to the Memorial wall of death.

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(Note: Jim Robinson passed away in Oct. 2025, after a long illness.) Chris Robinson has taken over the money drive. He has posted over 700 pleas for donations since 2022.

The wall hasn't been updated since 2021 and there's quite a backlog of names.

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(Note II: The Memorial Wall was updated on 8/2/26.)