Is Anybody Home In FReeperville?

May 28, 2003 | sweetliberty

[sweetliberty]

When I first joined Free Republic, the single most useful tool to me in becoming familiar with the forum and finding stuff that was helpful was the home page feature. It was nice to wander the FR neighborhood and see what others had bookmarked and learn a little about these people called FReepers. Back then, the pages were somewhat limited if you used the bookmark feature, but still, there were many unique and some very elaborate pages. Browsing these pages I learned about the FR lexicon, the html sandbox and bootcamp threads, I learned about moose and cheese, CPAC, and many other relevant things. I found important links, beautiful graphics and great quotes along with inspirational passages and prayers and hilarious cartoons and photoshop creations. I quickly felt quite comfortable in my new cyber home.

Somewhere along the line many of those fabulous pages got nuked by accident and most were never rebuilt. The most recent change in the format allows for bookmarks to be on a separate page. Jim and John have given us these blank html enabled pages limited only by our imaginations, and the vast majority of FReepers have done nothing with them. If I had happened onto the forum now and tried to familiarize myself with the neighborhood in the same way, I would have to say that FReepers must to be the most boring people on the planet, not even coming close to living up to their "bigger than life" reputation. Of course I know that nothing could be furthur from the truth.

Imagine moving into a neighborhood where all the houses look exactly alike, just these dull, drab, crackerbox affairs with the curtains drawn tight, the only thing differentiating them at all being the names on the mailboxes and, in some cases, the flags flying on the front porch. That is very much what our FReeperville neighborhood looks like these days and that is too bad. Oh, there are some "homes" that have added signs to the front door and some who have posted an embellishment or two. Some have done some work on their pages and a few have gone all out and created a real work of art. Those pages are really enjoyable to visit. Each FReeper could do so much to enrich the forum just by doing a little "home improvement" on his or her profile page. Some of you have obviously done some work at one time but your "homes" have fallen into disrepair. Please take a little time and cut the grass, mend the fence, paint the house, and for heaven's sake, haul off the junk in the yard.

In all fairness, some of you may not even realize that this feature exists. Membership in the community doesn't come with a how-to guide and new FReepers are pretty much on their own. Some may be aware of it and have just not gotten around to it. Others are intimidated by html and still others are afraid of their privacy being invaded. Let's address these issues one at a time.

• To create your home page start by clicking on your screen name in the upper right hand corner of the latest posts page. On the page that opens, select "my profile". Scroll to the bottom to where it says "you can edit this page" and click on it. In that big blank space you can do anything you want (within reason of course).

• For those of you who keep meaning to do something with your home page and just haven't gotten around to it, make the effort. Look at it as contributing to the beautification of the neighborhood and making it a pleasant place to be. It really does add another important dimension to the FReeping experience.

• If you're one of those who doesn't know html and feels a bit intimidated by it, you're not alone. True, there are a lot of techno geeks here, but there are more of us that are learning as we go and there are a lot of useful tools here to help. Most of the basics can be found here and here. Keep in mind that it isn't necessary to use html. You can do your page in plain text. There are any number of directions you can go with that. You can tell a little about yourself, your family, your work, your activism, or you might list some favorite quotes or tell a story. Or you could talk about what brought you to Free Republic. If you want to do something extra and don't know how, just ask. Most FReepers tend to be very helpful. FReepers have taught me most of what I know about how to do cool stuff like posting graphics and links and such. We may snarl and growl a lot, but most of us don't bite.

• Finally, there are some folks who may have a need to remain anonymous because they may be well-known or perhaps because of the line of work they are in, or even just as a matter of personal preference. We respect that, but would still appreciate your sharing. If you're concerned about your privacy, it's really very simple. There are many ways in which to express your individuality without giving away personal details. Be creative.

Use this thread to share ideas or to make or ask for suggestions. Look at other FReeper pages. Most of all, have fun with it.

Check out this interesting assortment of FReeper home pages, in no particular order:

.

Lady GOPLindaSOGmikrofon ppaul SkoozTailgunner JoeTexaggie79AKbearOuachitaAgThornflamefrontGrammy BearJustAmyMama_Bearmtngrl@vrwcSabertoothvelvetJulieRNR21truenospinzonesouthernpatriot_usam1-lightningEnemy Of The StateAdmin Moderatorwesterncanoncpforlife.orgPippinRadixmichiganderRegisteredTootersecurbhjdegeJohnny GagesheltonmaclawgirlST.LOUIE1Alberta's Child ApacheTearbentfeatherdeadheadlowbridgeRevelation 911Victoria DelsoulOvertaxedsavd_rn7PeaceBeWithYouBillierdb32JedismomArchie Bunker on steroidsSAMWolf JamesWilsonNix2Mr. Mullinerthatdewdarchycarlo3b

[thasea]

Thanks for the "ping"

I tell ya, I'm bookmarking this for future reference.
Thats how I'm learning...(other freepers bookmarks)
I've come across some great pages out there.

[Captainpaintball]

Your home page IS quite good!!! And thanks for your service to our country. Keep on Freepin' on!!

[ladyinred]

I love your homepage AM! It is funny, and informative at the same time. Okay,give us a link to your other homepage okay?

Nice try, huh? :-)

[sweetliberty]

"When I get around to my page, I'm gonna need some help with html. I haven't the foggiest..."

Most of us here didn't start out knowing. There's lots of help available. Would be kinda nice if this site came with a "beginners' guide" though, huh? Actually, there are a couple of links for newbies, but unless somebody happens to tell you about them or you happened across them you wouldn't know it. Allow me. Hope it helps. Happy FReeping.

help

How to search, and other really important stuff

Newcomers Welcome Center and Information Desk

Reference HTML Cheatsheet

VANITY POST: I want some information on a few things Free Republic related and not...

Welcome, and Thanks [Newbies Especially, Please Read]

[rontorr]

some of us just lack the desire, or imagination, to make a personal statement with a personalized hompepage. When someone has the desire they do so, and being a nag does not create interest in such anymore than in mowing the lawn. I like to look at theirs too, I appreciate their efforts and creativity, and notice that some who have been active in the Forum have been FReepers much longer than you or I, such as my brother. at least we post our state, and me my city, which is much more than some do. You can learn much more about a person from what they say in the Forum than you can from what they say on their page. One of these days I will have the ideas to put down, and time to do so, (I am a 52 year old stay at home dad with an ACTIVE 2 year old boy, and can only turn the computer on when he is in bed, and my wife is jealous of the computer and nags me to turn it off any time when she is home, unless she wants me to look up something for her, can't blame her she is not home all that much) until then, you will have to settle for my posts

[sweetliberty]

Awww....whassa matter CD? The idiots getting to you? Nothing serious I hope.

[sweetliberty]

Yeah, that's my next step....learning to do the tables and backgrounds.

[bd476]

"Oh man,I glad you reminded me of that!

You still have his address? LOL!"

The Grinch is alive, so alive is the Grinch, the Grinch is so near, you can open your eyes and clean out your ears.

The Grinch lives you see, in the hearts, minds of many. He lives. Yes, Grinch lives! No deed too uncanny.

It's the address you say, the address you now seek? Of the Grinch you would invite, to your home oh, so meek? Search not for the Grinch, because the Grinch is right here:

http://www.gray-davis.com/

http://www.governor.ca.gov/state/govsite/gov_homepage.jsp

And why, here! Here is the Grinch, too! The Grinch is in Indiana, oh look a site new:

And what do you know? Do you know where Grinch is? The Grinch has much fun, in State Washington:

http://www.governor.wa.gov/

Oh my, oh my, what now you say? The Grinch is in New Mexico, a few days in May:

http://www.governor.state.nm.us/

Day or night, night or day, and you still want the Grinch? Why look! Look, the Grinch is at play:

http://www.democraticgovernors.org/

Still want the address, the permanent address? The Grinch in one place, not here, nor not there? The Grinch lives in what, at what such sweet lair? It's the always address of the Grinch you seek? Shh, a secret to tell, a secret to leak, but first wish a wish so hard it's unique the Grinch will now appear and spoil your week:

Open your eyes and you will see

The Grinch is below, one, two, three:

http://clinton.senate.gov/

[sweetliberty]

I DO understand what it is like to have an active 2 year old around. Drawing attention to something once is hardly nagging. I too enjoy getting to know people on the forum. I guess I kinda look at it like the difference between relating to people in a group in a public place and in being invited to someone's home and getting to know them a little more personally. Both have value and have their place. Thanks for sharing.

[Grampa Dave]

Does my home page meet your approval?

[sweetliberty]

Rather than demanding that others conform to YOUR idea of how the forum ought to be run, why not keep in mind that there are others who have more than one dimension to their personalities and actually enjoy some variety, realizing that "all issues all the time" is not very balanced. That's one of the nice things about FR; there's something for everybody. If it isn't something that YOU care about, a simple "no thank you" would have been sufficient. There was no need to get ugly about it.

[sweetliberty]

ROTFL! Having fun?

[sweetliberty]

Hehe...I enjoy them all when I get a chance to look at them. I just picked a few that I ran across or was already familiar with as examples of what people might do with their pages and the wide range of subject matter and creativity possible. It wasn't a contest or anything. And in answer to your question, I don't need to approve your page. Only you need to do that, but I DO like it. It does what a profile page should do; it shows what matters to you and how you came to be a part of this community God, how I've started to hate that word. But you know what I mean.

[rontorr]

"all issues all the time" is not very balanced. That's one of the nice things about FR; there's something for everybody. If it isn't something that YOU care about,...



I like the way you put that, you must have a lot of time today, this is a really long thread, I haven't had a chance to look at much of it, lotta other things too, like the Oregon thread, active chat today, I have a little extra time tonight to enjoy FR, put the kid to bed early cause he was too cranky, and the wife's late getting home, restaurant must be busy, She works at a Thai restaurant in Salem, OR) i like it when she is, gives me a little more time here, but I miss her, she usually is gone 10amuntil 9:30 maybe as late as 11pm if they were busy and all the Thais stick around to eat dinner and chat

[sweetliberty]

I am on vacation this week. This is how I'm spending much of it.

[sweetliberty]

"I just read this thread about a half hour ago and have been messing with my homepage and FINALLY put something there (insert Twilight Zone music here)."

You have been assimilated.

[bd476]

"ROTFL! Having fun?"

Ha Ha, LOL! Ya think it shows?

Hopefully my poem is what you meant by personal poetry. ;-)

By the way, thank you for starting this thread. You sure have your heart in the right place. After I wrote a bit on my home page, I thought that the least I could do was to try and add a smile or two here.

[GrandMoM]

BUMP

[sweetliberty]

There are many praying FReepers here. Perhaps some of them could include your dad in their prayers and pass it on. May God's grace be with your family.

[bd476]

Thank you, SweetLiberty. Your kind words mean so much.

God Bless you for taking your vacation time to give so much here.