Email: The Future of Free Republic

Email | 06/25/02 | Jim Robinson

[Jim Robinson]

The following email is being circulated to our members by various disgruntled former FReepers:

Subject: The Future of Our Free Republic

Dear Fellow Free Republic Member,

Many of us at Free Republic are distressed by the extraordinary level of censorship that has been so obviously going on. It is very obvious that individual posts, entire threads, and the entire work of members who have been highly regarded are disappearing into a Memory Hole.

Scores of us have organized an e-mail network that is independent of the communication controls presently, and sadly, being used at our Free Republic. We have carefully documented the unmistakeable evidence that most of the posts, threads, and posters that are vaporized completely are overwhelmingly targeted for their political stance on the Right. These are not Leftwingers. These are not even Middle-of-the-Roaders. These are not disruptors. These are not foul-mouthed delinquents. These are fellow patriots on the Right who disagree with the controllers of FR on specific issues that are now hotly debated by the Right. We have documented that FR will parade before you, as if to hide all of the great posters whose work has been destroyed, a straw-man delinquent that has been banned. This is deceptive.

Treating these fellow patriots on the Right so shabbily is not right. As shabbily as those banned into the Memory Hole are being treated, the most shabbily treated of all are all of the good folks on Free Republic themselves. We came here for honest debate. Free Republic advertised itself as a Forum for honest debate. Without that honest debate...everything at Free Republic becomes shabby.

We can do much better. As a measure of how intense the simmering feelings have gotten among members on this unjustifiable use of deleting, censoring, and banning please link to the following thread. You will notice that one simple and sincere plea from one of our finest members has spontaneously touched off a prairie fire of approximately 500 posts in a mere 18 hours. If it isn't Memory Holed this thread may shoot into the thousands.

If you would like to receive anonymous updates of information concerning the hundreds of Freepers who have networked via e-mail to restore the wonderful honest debate to Free Republic, just drop an e-mail of just one or two words if you like for extreme brevity to:

StopCensoringUs@hotmail.com

And, here's that link back to the snowballing thread at FR:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/704701/posts

Thank you so much for giving your thought to this vital matter for our Internet home.

Sincerely, StopCensoringUs@hotmail.com

[Tijeras_Slim]

Nothing new here. Just seeing the American story being played out. Federalist # 10 sum things up pretty well.

I prefer to think of Free Republic as a particularly jolly tavern. The barkeep has a responsibility to keep breakage to a minimum, and eject any particularly obnoxious patron who can't hold their liquor. I like it here, and should I decide otherwise, I hope to have the class to leave graciously.

[sneakypete]

Nor does that mean that new posters are somehow lesser human beings, unfit morally, and lack the same access to this wonderful forum than anybody else.

Of course it does! You haven't seen the "disruptor/member since yesterday!" screams?

[TLBSHOW]

scan FR all day long and bring back to their mouse holes little tidbits from FReeperdom and they post these little morsels on their forums, scurry around excitedly and condemn the FReeper or FReepers whose posts they find amusing.


This goes on and on until they get bored and then start feeding on each other (mainly because they love to hate, doesn't matter who, hate anyone even each other, I mean we are really dealing with the dregs of life's losers here). Soon they splinter, kill off their forum and start two or three new competing anti-Freeper forums and the cycle begins anew. And Free Republic lives on.

<><>
The above sums them all up!

The AF groups are nothing but a hate filled bunch of losers!

[Catspaw]

Anyway, betcha I know who the author of that letter is. The style is somewhat unmistakable.

Uh huh.

No surprise that it's coming from the Liberty Forum.

[Libertarian4Bush]

Well, I've found that being atheist is grounds for being warned and flamed. I'm not going to allow someone else to tell me whether or not I'm a conservative, and I enjoy reading and participating here. What's a godless conservative to do?

[palo verde]

Hi Johnny
I agree with your post (#47)
I find ''nuke mecca'' posts mindless
Love, Palo

[Bitwhacker]

Malcontents abound
There is no way to change Truth
Sulk, then, silently

[maica]

P.S. We need to spread info on how JR tracks our identities. I'm only a half-ass techie. We need some real pro's to share with us ways to get around whatever cookies, or IP address recognizers, or other red flags that prevent us from getting back in to post after we've been banned. Some of my methods are working. Other things I try fail. But one way or another I get back in. Even if I have to spend a small amount of dough on extra IP services (which I do).

Is this guy obsessed, or what!

[Admin Moderator]

A link to the thread where the dialog you quoted resides.

[isthisnickcool]

I found the email complaining about "censorship" here about as useful as the dark runny contents of a well used baby diaper.

[guitfiddlist]

What about those who propose genocide against certain religions? I have no great love for Islam, but I do not believe anyone should propose slaughtering 1000's or millions of Muslims.

Jim and his moderators would like to state that they do not tolerate any kind of genocide or racist statements, and that they were all out taking a leak when these "kill-all-muslims" posts made it onto the board. They would further like to state that all posters are quite equal at Free Republic, and that in fact, in a major step forward for the concept of Equality, some are even way more equal than others.

[Skooz]

Is this guy obsessed, or what!

Yep. Sounds like the victim of a life-ectomy.

[TLBSHOW]

I see todd fahey is still at it with his LSD induced spew over there.

[kjam22]

I've been a member a long time and I appreciate the forum and the way it is managed. I've never had a post pulled, nor been banned. But without naming names.... I can think of a few names that I'm glad are no longer around.

Thanks for all that you do.

[Rodney King]

What was Fahey's FR name?

[Night Hides Not]

Brilliant analogy, Slim! Just do me one favor: give me a heads-up when its time for you to delver your opus! LOL! :^D

[Admin Moderator]

Some more games.

[TLBSHOW]

One guy calls their last banning from here a classic. What Af fools they are, with no lives but to watch what is said here.

Thanks for the link. It was a riot. Sums up no life people if you can even call them people.