It's Official: LAT/WP vs Free Republic Settles

LAT/WP vs Free Republic ^ | June 19, 2002 | Jim Robinson

[callisto]

I'm also hoping that we will develop methodologies to be just as effective without it.

If we want something badly enough we can always save it our hard drive or burn it to a CD-RW.

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

The litigious jihad has ended. We're still here! :-)

[Libertina]

BUMP! Thanks for the ping Cascademountaineer! I am very happy the $ was only 5000, but I can't believe this case was not thrown out by the court. I am thankful Jim is free of this politically motivated attack scheme, though I do wonder about the implications of our posting articles from other sources. My best wishes to you Jim for dealing with all of this. And thank you for Free Republic.

[tpaine]

We were a much tighter group a few years ago when we were all pulling for the same thing. Clinton was the common foe that brought us all together. With him out of the picture, our group has split into dozens of factions with conflicting ideals and goals and we're at each other's throats. It's going to be interesting to see if we can keep it together in order to defeat the liberals at the polls. Even more interesting to see if we can continue growing and start work on our major long term goals: repealing the 16th and 17th amendments, etc., etc.

---

Restoring respect for the constitution is a worthy replacement for opposition to Clinton.

Partisan party politics are not, -- and will tear apart this small free republic, -- just as it has had much to do with the ongoing destruction of our larger one.

[Demidog]

This should really irk a couple of bozo's who were counting on (cue evil music) ONE MILLLION DOLLARS.

Hiya Mojo, Eschoir and Aligyrl. How'd those predictions work out?

[terilyn]

Thanks for the heads up MnM!

Great news Jim. I'm sure it's good to have this behind you!

[He Rides A White Horse]

Free Republic agrees to continue posting only excerpts (as allowed by fair use) and links from any of the LAT/WP or related publications.

I'm sure most of us are capable of clicking on a link, reading an article there, and then coming back to dismantle it piece by piece.

Neither party is awarded any damages, attorney fees or costs except that Free Republic agrees to pay the Los Angeles Times $5,000 and the Washington Post $5,000 (these negotiated amounts have already been paid).

I don't remember the original sum asked for, but it strikes me as being far more than $10,000.

While this is not entirely a win for FR, neither is it a crushing defeat.

I would call it a win. Maybe that's just me.......

[eddie willers]

I'm sure most of us are capable of clicking on a link, reading an article there, and then coming back to dismantle it piece by piece.

Especially if each one of us brings back a paragraph. : )

[Demidog]

They'll figure out something to whine about. What's it been...3 years or more that they've been obsessed with the "failure" of FR?

[meyer]

If we want something badly enough we can always save it our hard drive or burn it to a CD-RW.

bump-ola!

[Tribune7]

Frankly, it's a loss for the Post/LAT.

Remember Freepers if the relevant info can be found on several sites make sure the site you link to is not the WhiPped or the LATtie. Don't give them the click.

[RedWing9]

First, congratulations Jim on surviving this ordeal with your mind well intact. Thank you so much for all you've done.

May I recommend a new Free Republic campaign to thoroughly expose left-wing bias at the Post and the Times, done entirely with short little excerpts and links.

Bryan has hit onto what I was thinking the moment I read John's post about finding a work around to being unable to post full text articles. My simple response would be to post 3 threads containing 1/3rds of an article with a link to each. Although I'm not sure how this could be automated, I'm sure the posting pros could work this into their routine. :o)

Good night and God Bless FR!

[Valin]

Yeah us...and of course boo them.

I am hereby awarding an attaboy to all involved.
ATTABOY

[blackbart.223]

"It's a crying shame that the hallowed words of the WP/LAT will no longer grace our pages, but, somehow, I am sure we will manage to live on without them."

Who needs them?

[ArneFufkin]

I believe in respecting copy rights. If LAT/WP(a'la Drudge) don't want anyone copying there stuff, they shouldn't put it on the internet or in any digital format. They are just whining. If they want to be compensated, they should stick with the printed page. No one forced them to go on the internet. They are aware of the perils. If the risk is too high and they can't control the distribution on the internet, they need to hire more paperboys.

That's beyond stupid. "If they didn't want me to take all the newspapers in the box, they should just dispense them one at a time." "If 7-11 doesn't want their merchandise shoplifted, they shouldn't display it out in public." "If the theatre didn't want me videotaping the movie, they shouldn't have projected it onto a big screen right in front of me." "If they didn't want me to pump gas and split, they shouldn't have put the pump so far from the cashier and allow me to fill my tank without paying first."

Nice attitude pal. Hey, if you didn't want me to come and steal your chain saw, you shouldn't have left your garage unlocked when you were at church. If you didn't want to me to have sex with your wife, you shouldn't have left her alone when I was home next door.

Do you think these pretty colors and images appear on your computer screen from some mystical energy source in another dimension? Do you understand that behind everyone of the items posted here there are businesses and investments and employees and entreprenurial dreams and damned hard work?

These places don't rely on the contributions of patrons like FR. They have a business model that is based on providing content that is interesting enough that people will visit their website to avail themselves of their news. There are advertisements for other businesses on that page. Those ad graphics - those products - are sold by businesses who also have humans and investment and employees and dreams and hard work behind them. They advertise with newsmax.com, for example, with an expectation that their ad will be viewed when someone reads the editorial content they are investing in. When the eyeball numbers don't make plan, Limbacher can't charge as much to keep these folks. If Limbacher loses his advertisers, Newsmax.com may cease operations. If Newsmax.com ceases operations, the writers he features lose revenue, the syndicator loses revenue, the network carrier loses revenue, the utility companies etc etc. Down the line. If someone's getting shortchanged, everybody loses, right?

NOT CWRWinger! Everybody is doing their part to exchange commerce and create value and prosperity EXCEPT FREE REPUBLIC. We're freeloading. We're the exploiters of other people's labor. WE'RE STEALING THEIR PROPERTY. Everybody is pulling their weight but our community here. We're parasites. Our duty is not hard. We don't have to write a check ... we don't have to sit down and bang out an interesting commentary 4 days a week. We don't have to design or maintain a web page, we don't have to sell advertising or negotiate syndication deals or sit in a Network center or buy servers and storage. We just need to double click on the link to the site we are getting the content from to do our share, to pay our righteous way. That's fair payment in this system. That's operating with integrity and responsibility. Not here, not you. Luddite.

[meyer]

Remember Freepers if the relevant info can be found on several sites make sure the site you link to is not the WhiPped or the LATtie. Don't give them the click.

Exactly. If you find an article of interest on these sites, look for an alternative source from which to post. They may own their reporters but they don't own the news. News happens!

[He Rides A White Horse]

It seems to me that Free Republic has come out of this much better than it seemed at times. So we can't post full articles from these sources.

Free Republic: "Demolishing the enemy a paragraph at a time."

Doesn't sound too hard eddie, does it?.......;)

[B. A. Conservative]

"It's going to be interesting to see if we can keep it together in order to defeat the liberals at the polls. Even more interesting to see if we can continue growing and start work on our major long term goals: repealing the 16th and 17th amendments, etc., etc."

Election day is less than 150 days away. After Labor Day, viewers and interest will start picking up.

Thank you and the people who worked on the legal case for all your time and effort. The suit may have had some monetary aspects and some aspiration of surpressing FreeRepublic's political influence, but I would bet the real bottom line was payback for FreeRepublic's role in bringing about the successful Impeachment of WJC.

Long Live FreeRepublic and in due course may it forever subdue the Democratic Party.

[doug from upland]

You got it. JOIN ME IN SONG