Posted on 08/21/2016 11:42:55 AM PDT by DoughtyOne
Hello my fellow FReepers. I hope your day has started out on the right track. It's August 21st, and we're in the middle of another FReep-a-thon. That is what I would like to talk to you about, FReep-a-thons.
Like some others, I was unable to donate to Free Republic in second quarter this year. I had the pleasure of turning 65 and this year that meant about seven of my accounts were affected. Each of them had the potential to change anywhere from $50 to as much as $200 dollars in my monthly budget. This left me unclear as to whether I would actually make it through the maze still making payments on time. I did and and now I'm on much better footing, knowing exactly why my monthly payments are and will be.. It wasn't easy. I am mentioning this because I know what it is like to have a period where things are uncertain, and you can't participate in the FReep-a-thon. This being said, I know that Jim wants you here. So do I.
There are several main reasons why we procrastinate when it comes to supporting Free Republic. We can't afford it. We get upset. We just put it off. Let's look at each of these.
I already touched on one reason some of us can't pay. We are in a valley when it comes to monthly expenses versus our income. This may be temporary, or a chronic problem. Only you know your circumstances, but I personally think that anyone who comes here, is welcome here. If you can pay, please join those who do. If you can't, plan for a time when you can. And in the over all scheme of things, I'm pretty sure most folks can give $5 or $10 dollars a month, to help complete the FReep-a-thon. Enough on that. Please, no matter your financial situation, know I and others are glad to have you here. I'm just a part of the FReeper community. I want you to be a part of it too.
Lets address the part about getting upset. I know that the supporters of candidates can been disappointed by the turn of events. They don't like their guy didn't make it, and that some other folks got upset and did things that resulted in them leaving. I'm sorry those things happen, but they do just about every general election. People pick someone they really support, they get disappointed, and they have a hard time accepting how things are going. If folks here don't express the proper level of agreement, it's easy to feel ostracized and unwelcome. I understand that. In my opinion, it all boils down to this. In the long term, we either choose to focus on the good or the bad. There are times when we get so close to a problem, that we can't see the 95% of the good that is out there that outweighs the problem. At times like that we need to back off a bit, see the complete picture, and choose to focus on the positives. This can be hard. I know that. The problem is, where else to go. This is it folks. This is the place to be.
As for the last problem, we just put it off. We think, eh there's another two months. I can get it in later. This goes beyond the ability to pay, it's just procrastination. Meanwhile Jim and his team are working hard to put the FReep-a-thon to bed. What takes us a moment to do, is taking Jim and his team two and a half months to accomplish. I know folks mean well, but we really do need to be more understanding of what the team goes through on these efforts. We need to help them wrap up the FReep-a-thons in a timely manner. For this reason I would like to make a suggestion, for those who can.
We know what we donated last time. We now what we're going to donate this time. Lets try a new mindset. This, for those who can, will help to retire the FReep-a-thon much faster. I know we can do it.
I would like folks to consciously refuse to think of their donation period to be two and a half months. I would appreciate it if we could all think of it in terms of one month. Here's what I have in mind.
1. The FReep-a-thon starts. Within five days, we pay the first half of our intended donation.
2. Thirty days later, by the 5th of the second month, we pay another payment, the last half of our donation for the FReep-a-thon.
3. Done!
I like to refer to this as, One One Done!
Those who can't participate in this, I'd like you to think long and hard if you can pay just $5.00 or event $10.00 dollars per month. It doesn't sound like it would be worth the bother, but thousands of people are here. If those thousands would pay just $5.00 monthly, it would add up to a vast amount each month. That would be very helpful to the forum.
Jim has an auto-pay program set up. I think that is the optimal most painless way to pay. I urge FRepers to join it. If you don't wish to participate in that program, please join me in the One One Done Project.
We should be retiring these FReep-a-thons at a maximum of 35 days after they start. I know we can do it, if we think differently and follow through.
Free Republic is a great internet site. It's my favorite. Long may it prosper...
Take care.
Good FReeping...
D1
I’ve thought of that too but it seems a little mean. I was thinking something a little more subtle like having donor’s screen names show up in red when they post. Then it goes back to black after a certain period of time. I’m sure programming something like that won’t be easy.
What seems mean to me is the people that never contribute.
If they are never called on the carpet for it, then they assume that it is AOK to never contribute.
h Here, you can hear our voice.
Paypal is my best friend! :)
“:^)
Excellent.
How do I check my account to see that everything is up to date?
Thanks.
Please send a not to Jim by FReepMail.
I don’t know or I would tell you.
**Freerepublic.com is my newspaper. **
And my TV since the condo association cancelled that coverage to help pay for new roofing. We still had to kick in extra money to get the roofing done. Bah!
bump!
We use our PAYPAL account for a lot of things. It’s easy &
quick. I’ll go over to PAYPAL & send some extra NOW so I
don’t forget it!
Thank you Twinkie. I appreciate it, and I know Jim and his team do to. That was nice of you.
My connection loused up & I didn’t get through on this one.
I’ll give it another try. (I know FREEPERS don’t give up!
There you go...
Thank you.
OK it’s done. Sure hope they can harden against critical outages. And my connection still wasn’t secure.
Some of the links to the payments page are old. They may still be linking to the old site.
Try using some of my current links in my FReep-a-thon posts.
They all link to the most recent donation point. It is now quite secure.
I appreciate your note. Thank you.
Next week starts the next quarter. Sure wish the 3rd quarter Freepathon had met target before this. 98% is not the same as 100% . . .
I agree with you.
Several months ago I broke down and went the monthly route.
I don’t worry about it anymore. It just comes out of my checking account.
A lot of folks are chipping in, so it’s tough to address it. It is still frustrating to see how long this is taking.
Some folks are still stuck on free ride.
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.