So many moments like this.
I’ve been here since 1998 but not with this id.
I turned a ton of people on to FR when 9/11 happened. Everyone in my large office was using it as the primary source of info after the event.
Regarding Ad-free: I’ve never donated a penny. The reason: I’ve never spent money on the internet except for items I seek out specifically, and then only a couple, and in the same vein as one would use a mail order catalog before the web. I also never donated to NPR or any other “listener supported” organization. If they go away, well, they go away. I’ve just never even thought about actually giving to a web site. It doesn’t cross my mind.
The thing is, “ad free” is supposed to mean there is no bias brought in due to wanting to please advertisers. But this site is PLENTY biased. I fit in with the general bias (and learned the hard way to just avoid threads where I might not fit in), but I see it for what it is.
I’ve also never, EVER donated to a political cause. I donate to charity and religious organizations only, or sometimes a local cause/activity. I’ll volunteer time or resources to a politician, but that is about it.
I think the site needs ads.
So many moments like this.
“I’ve only been here for eight years so my opinions surely mean nothing.”
—
9 1/2 years for me. I feel like the kid that wasn’t invited to the party.
“I’ve only been here for eight years so my opinions surely mean nothing.”
Pretty much!
Actually I’ve seen some “noobs” contribute more to some threads on their first day here than some old timers. “Noobs” is one of my absolute least favorite words. Next only to “RINO” or “Rhino” as it’s so often misspelled and - worse - misused.
I spent 2+ years as a lurker before signing up and still consider myself a ‘noob.’ Don’t know how to do some of the clever stuff, or even the simple stuff like bolding and underlying, God forbid I could put up a graphic!
Memory is we went to one of the first FReeps on Capitol Hill, around Halloween time in ‘97 or ‘98-’99. somewhere in there. Went to a few dinners in the Crystal City area, a Christmas party or two at the Orleans House in Arlington. They were all fine, but NOTHING compares to the 2000 post-election FReeping of the VP mansion. Nothing will ever be that much fun. That’s when I finally signed up. Still own a Sore Loserman t-shirt I bought there.
The tone over time has become far more harsh and a lot less clever, IMO, It’s become hard to discuss issues because differences of opinion seem to invite name calling. I avoid religious threads 99% of the time. Just hideous. Always try to hit the prayer threads, and add to my daily prayer list that seems, unfortunately, to get longer every day.
Mostly I try to remember it’s a website, open to the public, and anyone can claim to be anything and to hold whatever expertise their cyberself wants. One has to separate the wheat from the chaff. Whether paid advertising would change that we will probably never learn.