General advice for newcomers to Free Republic

[JDoutrider]

A DONATION to FReeRepublic would be a great first step in being here!

[Lmo56]

Audie Murphy, one of our most decorated WWII Soldier’s , didn’t learn to be a crack shot in the Army, he learned as a boy in Texas, putting food on the table for his family.

Don't fergit that great Tennessean Sgt. York !!!

[Lmo56]

RE: Terri - how true ...

[FloridaSunrise]

“You are unlikely to get banned for discussing policy issues”.

LOL

[TomGuy]

My edit:

... and thou must not criticize George W. Bush, unless thou intentionally desireth to upset the bushbots

which I like to do frequently :)

[Billthedrill]

I've been here a very long time now. In twelve years I have seen Jim tolerate old-line liberals, starry-eyed progressives, polite anarchists, hard-core right-wingers, moderates, yuppies, hippies, Paulites, believers in most of the major religions, believers in none, and even fans of the New York Yankees. He has even tolerated me.

The issue of what constitutes a "true" conservative is an issue quite apart from membership in FR. But new members do often find that playing a Devil's Advocate is often mistaken for trolling - after all, no one plays the Devil's advocate better than the Devil himself. If it crosses the line into simple baiting, no useful purpose other than mindless controversy is served and that will usually wind up in a trap-door out of here; courteous disagreement will not.

For a model of decorum and gracious manners I'd suggest you look into the Religion Forum or the Civil War or Creation/Evolution threads, and do the exact opposite. It isn't perfect guidance but it isn't bad, either.

[trisham]

A donation is always a good idea! :)

Wanted:
A Few Good FReepers!

What do I mean by "A few good FReepers wanted?"

Well, we are currently delivering over 1.2 million pageviews to over 230,000 visitors per day. That's 40 million pageviews to 7 million visitors per month or 120 million pageviews per quarter, 480 million pageviews per year. We currently have over 330,000 registered screen names on FR. Out of these millions of visits, hundreds of millions of pageviews and hundreds of thousands of registered FReepers and hundreds of thousands of regular lurkers only a relatively FEW actually donate the funds to keep FR alive.

Now I'm not complaining because we've always managed to meet our fundraising goals in the past, but it is taking longer and longer to accomplish the task. And part of that may be because it's mostly the same few dedicated FReepers providing the funds and along with the rest of us I'm sure they're stretched to the limit. Sure would be nice if a few more FReepers and lurkers would lend a hand and send in a few bucks. Doesn't take much. I think our average donation is around $20, but you can send in $5, $10, $20, $30 or more and make it a monthly contribution if you can.

A relatively few good FReepers is all it takes to keep FR on the air so hundreds of thousands of us can join together in kicking liberal butt and fighting for our freedom!!

For example, 1,500 dedicated FReepers and lurkers donating an average of $20 each per month is all it takes to continue delivering these hundreds of millions of propaganda fighting, pro-liberty pages to tens of millions of readers every year. How many concerned citizens and potential voters can we reach for a tiny fraction of a cent per page? FR delivers a BIG bang for the buck!!

If you enjoy posting and or reading FR and have never donated before, please consider doing so today. You can donate by secure server by clicking the link above or send your checks or money orders to:

Free Republic, LLC
PO Box 9771
Fresno, CA 93794

Thank you all very much for your continuing participation and support!!

29 posted on 10/10/2009 4:25:33 PM PDT by Jim Robinson (Follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/jimrobfr)

[ßuddaßudd]

Once I hear it that way,,, it stays in my head for days.
Hilarious

[50mm]

This won’t end well, I fear.

[bvw]

Do you like ska?

[MalPearce]

Hi,

I didn’t get that impression looking at some of the conversations tagged “HomosexualAgenda”.

One such thread is this one:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2613935/posts?q=1&;page=51

There’s a member of FR on that thread who’s been here for seven years, antiRepublicrat, who (as far as I can tell) was being denounced for advancing the Homosexual Agenda.

Simple question: How can any poster, antiRepublicrat included, survive intact on FR for SEVEN YEARS if they are actively pushing the Homosexual Agenda?

Jim Robinson responded on that thread:

“If you continue pushing the homosexual agenda on FR, you’ll find out who the victim is. You.”

Which I thought was an EXTREMELY odd way to respond to someone who’s been posting on his site for seven years presumably without being “exposed”.

Perhaps that poster has been advancing the homosexual agenda elsewhere on FR - perhaps not.

Based only on what I saw in that thread, it struck me as a rather odd intervention.

If a seven year member can be threatened with a ban simply for being a pragmatist instead of a dogmatist, then I do wonder exactly how LITTLE you have to be off-message in order to get the boot.

[Lmo56]

BTW - How do you feel about the UK’s new “Austerity” policy ??? Would be nice for us here at FR to hear a Brit’s opinion ...

THAT would be a GREAT thread to post here, since we MIGHT have to go down the same road if things don’t change soon ...

[50mm]

Oh noes! I’m a double troll most foul!

[AFreeBird]

I didn’t. I was just siting a possibly more recognizable and recent example for someone not from around here.

[SnuffaBolshevik]

Since you’re the greenest of boots, you might want to get your sea legs by starting an innocuous thread, oh, something along the lines of:

“Laz needs Viagra twice a day!” and seeing what transpires.

Make sure it’s posted in Breaking.

[apoxonu]

Hmmm. In a short moment, there’ll be a horde of folks here to give you “advice” and I use that term figuratively, with tongue firmly planted in-cheek.

I’d start by trying to remind folks that you are British. They may tend to forget in the heat of the moment. Aftert all, the word “conservative” and “liberal” mean something completely different in GB than in the USA. Members will be far more understanding if they realize they’re not talking to a fellow “Yank.”

But be subtle about it.

So to that effect, use the aforementioned “noob” as well as the occasional “bloke” or “lad” or “dolly” if and when appropriate. Then a good “Blimey!” or “Bloody Hell!” thrown in for emphasis when you get upset.

Cheers!

[Walts Ice Pick]

No homasectualistical uhjenda at all, please.

[Gator113]

England, the land of jug-earred, chinless stomach-eaters.
Still, they’re not French. Good luck.

[Lmo56]

Since you’re the greenest of boots, you might want to get your sea legs by starting an innocuous thread, oh, something along the lines of: “Laz needs Viagra twice a day!” and seeing what transpires. Make sure it’s posted in Breaking.

Oh ... you're BAAAAD !!!

[aruanan]

What is the tipping point between someone expressing a different or contrary or contraversial YET STILL VALID point of view here, and crossing the line to a point that'll get you banned?

Well, if you should stray into one of the Balkanized threads on religion, you can't mention anything that is contrary to the premise of the thread (even though it's mistakenly labeled ecumenical) or you'll get warned off, even if you're pointing out a perfectly glaring logical or factual error and do it in a non-obnoxious manner.