Is Free Republic a Fraud? Is it time for Free Republic to go away?

Free Republic | 11/28/01 | Jim Robinson

[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

[Grampa Dave]

Just go to this link and sign up for a monthly donation: (Link to donate monthly or just a donation)

[Nick Danger]

The antifreepers are kept locked away in their own little cage, where they can snipe to their heart's content

I have found that you can also snipe at them to your heart's content. It was fun. I hadn't been to a good flame war in a long time... helps to keep the claws sharpened :)

Gotta shower afterwards, though.

There's an old Star Trek episode about some planet where everybody is civil and polite and nice all the time. Turns out they're all wired into some central Admin Moderator that keeps them that way. Except that one day a year, everybody goes berserk and lets it all vent at once. That's what that place is like. Except I think they're like that all the time. Some of 'em have been doing it for years. Maybe they're wired into the Anti-Moderator, and one day a year they're nice. We'll see.

[oceanperch]

I would pay per veiw. When it gets to that. Sure would. OP

[exDemMom]

too bad we don't have some liberal/lefties here that we can engage in dialogue

Actually, there are a few around here. The problem is, once they find out they can't argue against you on the facts or logically, they turn tail and disappear.

[TaZ]

This place ain't what it used to be.

Just another place full of retarded Americans nowadays.

Sorry for the harsh opinion, but I say what I mean and mean what I say.

The REAL questions that should be asked aren't and this place is just another Republican leeming breeding ranch.

BTW, I'm not a Democrat or a Republican, I'm an American that has no one to vote for.

Good luck with the site, I'll drop by again in a couple of months.

[Jeff Chandler]

This place is too much fun to close down.

[Meem the Scream]

Remember the saying, though, about keeping your friends close, but your enemies even closer?

[ArneFufkin]

Why not set up a monthly(annual) subscription plan?

That is the obvious answer. Folks shouldn't have to pay to read the site, but they should pay to post. $20 a year. Just to get in the door. No bitching: cough it up or work your mojo somewhere else. If somoeone is not willing to invest that small amount into a resource they use actively, they're not worth keeping as contributors, because they have no stake in the success. To pay for the lurkers use of the network, set up an access plan that funnel their free entry through some sequence of pages that features an advertising revenue source.

The quarterly fundraisers are tough for everyone involved. The people who use this forum should pay for it in an equitable manner. If there are only 1500 individuals here willing to pay a $20 door charge to post on FR, Jim may not need the data and network resources he needs for 5000 people to post. He may not want to continue hosting the site. Typically, 1000-1200 Freepers contribute something during a typical quarterly fundraiser. Meaning many more folks contribute nothing, though they may post articles and commentary or access the place on a regular basis. If you aren't willing to pay up to support FR, you can hit the bricks.

The forum has to enact a policy of only linking to the source sites hosting the news items - no full article cuts and pastes. Period. The presentation of whole text articles taken form other news sites is just bad business, legally and IMO ethically. We need to pay (through our traffic) for the content we use in our discussions. FR needs to minimize every legal exposure, support our conservative friends whose websites depend on traffic hits, and just generally conduct ourselves as a conscientous and serious community of conservatives.

[Terridan]

To: Jim Robinson

"I am going to reinstate Mojo, Inspector Harry Callahan and Arator's accounts so they can join Chuck Allan, TKEman, K.U.S.S...."

Please don't! Keep the site, and keep them out!!! I have loved this site, and would be lost without it.
Terri

[longlurker]

I hope you can keep it going. I've loved this site for two years and have just now, finally, registered. This is the best place to check the news and to vent about the liberal cancer eating away at our precious republic.

[DaughterOfAnIwoJimaVet]

Thanks for the ping, deport.

I rarely come on these threads, but I am here now and because of what I've experienced the past few days and particularly tonight, I want to say something.

As much as people complain about "censorship" and being moderated here, there are good reasons for every rule. The system is not perfect and occasionally they get one wrong - but I can see very clearly that this place will never be the cesspool other political forums are destined to be, and that there is wisdom in the leadership here.

It's not that way everywhere. Today, I saw that first hand.

Long live FreeRepublic, and long live Jim Robinson. (I'd ping him, but I really mean what I'm saying and I'm not a suck-up - so I don't want to look that way. I just have had an epiphany of sorts - and a brand new appreciation for all he puts up with.) There's no substitute for experience, wisdom, and integrity. Some guys have it, and some guys wouldn't know it if it walked up and introduced itself.

[MeekOneGOP]

Vote now! FreeRepublic stays or goes - I vote stay!

A no-brainer, imho !

[Amelia]

As much as people complain about "censorship" and being moderated here, there are good reasons for every rule.

I think some of those at "the little forum" are finding that out...much to their chagrin. Perhaps they are also learning the wisdom in the old proverb "Never criticize a man 'til you've walked a mile in his moccasins" and gaining a new appreciation for Jim Robinson and what he has accomplished here.

Long live FreeRepublic, and long live Jim Robinson....There's no substitute for experience, wisdom, and integrity. Some guys have it, and some guys wouldn't know it if it walked up and introduced itself.

I thought that bore repeating.

[DeadManRunning]

you don't address those coming to FR for the purpose of disruption. And it is very much a two-way street, isn't it?

Because I do not represent those people. People are coming here to disrupt from all sorts of sources. The Afers have been doing it for years. I can't help it if they can't find a new hobby. The key is, that they do not represent LP in any such way.

It is bothersome to me, to see one of the "faces" of FR management and the chairman of the network pulling such stunts. Makes one wonder what the intention was.

Jim has already used LP and Afer in the same sentence...is this gonna become a habit?

[mlocher]

I read nearly 100 posts on this thread before I realized I was reading posts from November of 2001. Why is this thread still alive??

to quote charleton heston in the movie 'spartacus', "we keep you alive to serve this ship!"

[No!]

Funny though, most of the OLD names are gone!

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...........

[malakhi]

I have found that you can also snipe at them to your heart's content. It was fun. I hadn't been to a good flame war in a long time... helps to keep the claws sharpened :)

LOL!

[iconoclast]

I'm kinda scared .......... I can't imagine life without FR. :o)

[Just another Joe]

FR gives me a service and I pay for it. I could really care less where the money goes.

I also pay for the 'service', and voluntarily I may add.