I just tried Mozilla (already open in ie) and it doesn’t work there either. I won’t use google so what other browser would you suggest?
I don’t like the problem either and don’t understand how it keeps happening.
Other browsers: safari, opera, IE, firefox, seamonkey, chrome, etc. Take your pick. Might try searching for different browsers, instead of just throwing up your hands...
Free republic should work just fine on any browser, including text-based browsers like lynx or link, as the site is just simple HTML, with nothing fancy (one of the many reasons that is why I like this site).
The problem you are “experiencing” is related to the number of comments and articles you pull up by default. Go to “account” at the top, then “manage my preferences” and then select 20 for thread pagination and browsing. Should fix your problem. The issue here is related to some coding issues/problems deep in the innards of this custom coded-application, and is most likely not fixable (or it would have been fixed years ago).
You can also cut back on the number of “things” that show up in the sidebar, but I don’t remember how to do that... Perhaps someone else could chime in. That should also help.
I use Safari, but I don’t know if that’s the answer. All I know is other than the slow downs during peak election cycles, I’ve never had andy of the sidebar issues or other things I’ve read people complain about.
I’m not an IT guy either. I wonder, sometimes, if there are liberal hackers that plant cookies in open source browsers to intentionally mess up FR. (paranoia?)
I use Chrome. Same problem here.
If you are selecting something on FR and get a blank page, which sometimes happens, just hit refresh and the page should open.