Posted on 11/28/2001 7:31:29 PM PST by Jim Robinson
Free Republic has had one helluva run over the last five years or so. We helped impeach one president and helped get another into office. We've been active in demonstrations and protests in nearly every city across the nation. We've participated in conventions, petition drives, activism campaigns and projects for dozens of conservative causes.
We've grown from a tiny web site with a few hundred posters and readers from the time of inception in 1996, to one with tens of thousands of participants today. Along the way we've made lots of great friends and, unfortunately, also made lots of bitter enemies.
We've grown from a small web site that I could manage myself on a part-time basis to a huge monster that has totally consumed all of my time and resources plus nearly all of John's time, plus the time and resources of many dedicated FReepers who volunteer or contribute large amounts of their own time and money.
The site is now consuming all of a 10 mbps dedicated line with two servers and we're still growing, and it consumes large amounts of money to keep all this running. In the early years, it only took a few thousand dollars per month to keep Free Republic on the air, but it is now costing over $20,000 per month to cover all expenses.
The major costs include approximately $8,000 per month for bandwidth, 3,000 for systems management and programming services, 7,000 for management, operating and administrative services, plus two or three thousand per month for miscellaneous office expenses, telephone, communications, repairs & maintenance, travel & lodging, postage, rentals, insurance, legal fees, accounting fees, etc., etc.
We anticipate a reduction in bandwidth costs next year as we renegotiate our contract (the market price for bandwidth has fallen recently), however, that will be more than offset by an expected increase in costs of our legal expenses. As most of you know, our pro bono attorney has left us and we've hired a new attorney to continue with our case, plus we have the suit against eschoir to pay for. My projections are that our regular monthly expenses for next year will be running in the neighborhood of $22,000 per month, or approximately $264,000 total for the year. This means we will need to raise approximately $66,000 per quarter.
Talking about making enemies, we've got several ex-FReepers and other detractors who are claiming on their anti-freeper web sites that I am ripping off the donors and that Free Republic is a fraud. Now, Free Republic is what it is, and it is definitely not a fraud. It is a conservative news discussion forum that encourages participation in politics and activism projects. It is not being billed as anything else. We are not selling or promising anything. And I am being up front about our operating costs. The costs of running Free Republic are what I've stated above and they are necessary to keep FR on the air. I do not have the financial wherewithal to operate this site without your help. If the majority of the FReepers feel that these costs are out of line or too much to bear or that Free Republic is no longer wanted or needed, then we will either cut it back or shut it down or do something altogether different.
I've also been criticized about not making our financials public. Well, the reason I do not want to do this is that I have been sued, both personally and as Free Republic, LLC. The people suing us want to bankrupt us and shut us down. They subpoenaed our financial records, but we refused to turn them over. The judge agreed that the plaintiffs have no right to the information, thus I have no intention of making any more of it public than I absolutely have to, until this lawsuit is resolved. You all know the amounts of money we raise if you follow the fundraising threads. It is all above board and out in the open. The totals posted by BadJoe are usually pretty close to the actual cash received and the amounts expended are pretty close to the amounts projected. No one is getting rich here and no one is being ripped off. The funds raised are being used for the purposes stated, and that is keeping this website on the air and that's it. Nothing fraudulent about it. Those who want to help fund us freely do so with nothing expected in return. Those who do not want to contribute do not have to.
There was a thread running this morning where people were making all kinds of accusations about Free Republic "hiding the truth" or whatever. These accusations are being made by Chuck Allan and others and fall along the same line with the accusations being made by some of the earlier banees or AFers including Mojo, Inspector Harry Callahan, Arator, keep U.S. Sovereign, TKEman and others. Some of these people are existing FReepers and some are banned. I am going to reinstate Mojo, Inspector Harry Callahan and Arator's accounts so they can join Chuck Allan, TKEman, K.U.S.S. and whomever else wants to get involved, and I invite them to come onto this thread and make their accusations public. As long as they do not go onto other threads and make a nuisance of themselves, I will let them have their say.
Like I said above, if it is time for Free Republic to go away so be it. Those who want to keep it going speak up. Those who want it to go away, tell us why. But if those who want it to be gone lose out in the debate, then I'd say they should just go away themselves, or, in the very least, shut up and quit whining about it.
Thanks,
Jim
FReepers are the wittiest, funniest and most informed people I know! And tin foil! We've got those types too just for fun!
I'm stickin' with Free Republic, Jim and I hope you will too!
I'm ordering everybody to support Jim, Free Republic AND to be nice to each other!
Free Republic Forever!
Good night and thank you all!
The "Rush Limbaugh of the internet." I like it!
I bet you could get some clicking going on this site. LOL You gotta love it.
I know you Jim; we have traveled to Modesto together to FReep Gary Condit, we FReep the peacenics in Fresno every Friday night, we greeted President Bush when he landed at the Fresno Airport on his way to Sequoia National Park. This one thing I know above all others: you are a good, decent man who is a patriot above all. There isn't a dishonest bone in your body.
Free Republic is where I get my news. The networks can't be trusted to tell us what is really going on in this country. The media has an agenda that they are pushing and preserving our free press isn't part of it. Without Free Republic, we wouldn't know what is going on.
I have made friends for life through Free Republic. These are people that I would never have met otherwise.
Long live Free Republic and Jim Robinson! (my contribution is in the mail)
Truth is, FR is one of the greatest boons of my already rich life, and I would grieve and be lost should you fold your tent.
I'll be getting some bread to you, but I have the thought that our casual and voluntary contributions may be too unreliable for your bills to be paid with assurance.
I am wondering if a single, unobtrusive ad would help...a nice, non-flashy link to Amazon, for instance. Us Freepers would swamp 'em, you'd get a little return. I'm unsure how all that works, but it might be a viable, low-impact solution. We're always posting links to them, for Barbara Olson's book, etc.
The clean and spacious beauty of the page, graphics and layout are a class act and I think that could be maintained, even with such an ad/link.
No matter what, you are a blessing to sooooooooo many good people throughout the world.
Muchas gracias, amigos.
Bingo—that's the right answer. Ignoring the fundraising issue, charging for the right to post has some very real benefits. First, it strengthens the "terms of service" contract, since actual money is changing hands. Second, it eliminates retreads, since when you ban an account you could ban any future attempts to register with the same credit card. And third, it weeds out disruptors—at least the ones on fixed incomes. :-)
Hugs, not hits, Fred.
2. Hugh Hewitt just said on his show today that most talk show hosts use FR as their resource for info. (They owe you.)
3. HOW ABOUT A PLEDGE DRIVE with gifts like on PBS. "Free Republic" t-shirts, bumperstickers, mugs, umbrellas-- your special gift depending upon the size of the contribution.
4. Is there any way to cut down on non-fixed expenses?
5. I'm curious to know what percentage of your costs is covered by ads.
6. I don't understand why, if you currently have for-profit status, you would need to justify your budget.
7. Until you just mentioned it, I didn't know there were any anti-FR sites.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.