On Free Republic, their quarterly fund drives last for two months.

[Skinner]

I'm not kidding. There are only 12 months in a year, and Free Republic spends eight of them asking for money. Their current fund drive started on July 1. It's still going on today -- six and a half weeks later -- and they are 20% below their goal. Can you imagine if DU fund drives lasted for two months out of every three month quarter?

Here on DU, we have never held a fund drive that lasted longer than a week.

Even the one time when we didn't reach our goal, we ended the fund drive after a week. Because people don't come to DU for the fund drives -- you come for the discussion. And the discussions are much more satisfying when you don't have to watch the admins begging for money all the time. I wish we didn't have to hold fund drives at all. But we do.

I know that times are tough right now. If you don't have any money to spare, please do not donate to Democratic Underground. For your sake, I hope that the economy starts to get better soon.

But if you have a few extra bucks, we would really appreciate it if you could donate to DU. It only takes a minute, and you'll feel good about supporting this amazing community of progressives. Plus, if you donate at least $10, you'll get to post a sticky note GrovelBot's Big Board.

And you can take comfort knowing that a week from now, this fund drive will be history.

Thank you to everyone who has donated. And thank you for being part of this community.

David Allen
"Skinner"
DU Administrator

[BlueJazz]

1. Well Yeah..But..Mr Skinner...

...You forgot their Highly-Advanced Software.,,only found in the Bargain Bin at Walmart.

[BlooInBloo]

6. lulz.

[EFerrari]

46. Plus they don't know how many months in a year.

lol

[YOY]

2. Bad timing Skinner Old Bean.

Morale is low here...to state the obvious.

I'll see what I can do personally...

Say, doesn't FR get twice the hits we do but only rakes in that much that fast? Cheap bastards...

[Mrs. Overall]

27. Really? Twice the hits as DU?

I'm surprised.

Their site is so simplistic (the content of their posts) and rudimentary (the site's interface), but perhaps the majority of the hits are just people who check-in to see what the crazies are up to.

[badgerpup]

29. True dat...

I know they get referenced on FARK in the comments section quite often.
It's sort of like the cage at the sociological zoo where you can go and look (with horror, disbelief and pity) at the wingnuts, whackjobs, crazies, bigots, wilfully ignorant and genuinely misinformed.


Then you come away and take a shower. With LOTS of hot water and a disinfectant soap.

[Chulanowa]

57. Well, they keep closing the window by accident

"Uh... Alt + F4 will make my penis bigger? Okay!

[muryan]

70. It also takes more page views to read FR

Especially when compared to Dailykos, and to a lesser extent this website. So you have to take that into consideration when you look at the numbers.

[DissedByBush]

53. Here's what Alexa says

DU / FR
Rank: 5,080 / 4,278 (+19%)
Average % Traffic: 0.018% / 0.0231% (+28%)

Happy news their ranking is going down while ours is going up.

The simplicity of the site helps or they are putting a lot into powerful infrastructure or both with this embarrassing figure:

Page load times
DU Very Slow (8.64 Seconds), 94% of sites are faster.
FR Fast (1.582 Seconds), 69% of sites are slower.

Over five times as fast!

[arcadian]

3. Donate to DU and buy me a star!!!

Skinner get's something, I get something, you get something and the puppy that I'm dangling over this bridge won't get dropped.

[Gemini Cat]

18. LOL!

If I had the money I'd donate because I don't want that puppy dropped.

[arcadian]

22. Woohoo!!! Thanks for the star whoever you are, you are teh awesome!

Puppy is safe and sound playing in the back yard with my two kittehs.(He was never in any danger, I just whore him out for fund drives)

[Maine-ah]

26. can I borrow teh puppy?

[katanalori]

28. you're welcome arcadian n/t

[arcadian]

65. Thanks, katanalori!

And unhappycamper too. and to a mysterious third DUer who also donated in my name. You guys are teh awesome!

[Maine-ah]

42. ZOMG teh puppy does work!

thanks for the star whoever you may be

[Oeditpus Rex]

4. Much like PBS

[Lochloosa]

5. I have been checking over the last month to see if they were ever going to reach their goal.

What are they going to do if it runs into their next quarter? Have two drives.

[lenegal]

64. LMAO

I guess so. And their website looks worse than anything you could find in the bargain bin at Walmart.

I am not a web designer, but their website looks like it was designed by a two year old....................

[corkhead]

7. 2 months of a fascist grovel bot? Where do I sign up!11!1!!!!

[maddezmom]

11. LOL

I do like the stickies enough for it to last a bit longer, but 2 months?

[nadinbrzezinski]

8. Grovelator for two months?????

Head hurts....

So when is he starting the rounds anyway?

[CatWoman]

9. I can't donate until Friday....

[Lochloosa]

10. To many cats to feed.

[CatWoman]

34. you got it!!

[onehandle]

77. Stoopid cats.

We're down to three, but they eat for six.

[TexasObserver]

12. Recommend

[loyalkydem]

13. Oh why

does this bring a smile to my face. DU is the shit. It's been one of my favorite sites for years and I will keep coming here until I can't type any more. Freerepublic on the other-hand :: sniff, sniff :: what's that smell?

[JitterbugPerfume]

14. I gave, and my credit card

I DU!

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

15. To be fair, Free Republic probably has a much higher ammo budget than DU.

Probably a much higher Cheetos budget as well, I'd wager.

[reclinerhead]

44. Not only that...

Porta-potties ain't cheap!

Remember, no freeper ever leaves the house without memorizing the location and details of the nearest toilet facility.

You'd think they could get a bulk-rate price, after all this time.

[Bucky]

16. It probably takes more funds to send out web pages through a series of tubes

Also, you don't have their design and layout budget.

[Scurrilous]

17. K & R

[Ohio Joe]

19. K&R - nt

[Gold Metal Flake]

20. I went without a star for a week. It sucked!

Suuuuuucked! TEH suck, in fact.

[Stinky The Clown]

21. I'm betting it is their lack of the Unrec "feature"

I'm kidding, Skinner ..... just kidding.

[lpbk2713]

23. Lately Freepville's site has been down a lot.

Seems like they could spend some of their money on maintenance or on some people with the basic talents required to run a website. The shape their crude website is in is probably directly proportional to the amount of money they have coming in. Either that or their Admins spend it on crack or on trips to the Dominican Republic, emulating their hero.

[Canuckistanian]

32. They NEED to shut down often

In order to scrub their archives of members' posts who have been arrested for committing atrocities.

[lpbk2713]

35. True that.

It must be time consuming for them to keep up with all the arrest sheets.

[krispos42]

68. The hampsters threatened to unionize unless they get more breaks!

[calimary]

24. Hey Skinner - I just wish you'd do the stickies more often! I'd buy more of 'em

to promote my kid's band!!! ACIDIC!!!!

They really rock and not just because the lead singer/guitarist is my kid.

www.myspace.com/acidicband
www.acidicband.com
http://www.facebook.com/pages/ACIDIC/84816532571

Please join their mailing list - they're young progressives!

And please continue to support DU! Just about the only place where progressives and liberals don't get shouted down or insulted or threatened by overgrown weekend "cowboys" with their precious li'l guns. (Always wondered if some of them are so obsessed with guns because the "gun" they were born with is so insufficient... )

[SIMPLYB1980]

25. Grovel Bot deserves a place in this thread.

[subcomhd]

30. I think that's "too munths?" eom

[cwydro]

31. But we would get Grovelbot for two months!

And we LOVE Grovelbot.

[DU GrovelBot]

33. ## PLEASE DONATE TO DEMOCRATIC UNDERGROUND! ##

This week is our third quarter 2009 fund drive. Democratic Underground is
a completely independent website. We depend on donations from our members
to cover our costs. Please take a moment to donate! Thank you!

[cwydro]

37. I'm flattered that Grovelbot heard me

and came to visit!

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

62. Have, you no sense of irony or shame, Grovelbot?

At long last, have you none?

[Maru Kitteh]

36. EVERY time I have gone there they've been in a fund drive. It's TACKY

But in their case, the shoe fits well.

[GaYellowDawg]

38. That's what happens when you ask greedy skinflint neocon bastards for money.

I suppose on Free Republic, it's always time for the tree of liberty to be refreshed with the blood of admins asking for money.

[Mythsaje]

40. LOL...

I literally laughed out loud at that.

Do FR admins bleed yellow? I think they do.

[4_TN_TITANS]

39. Not to mention...

nothing I've ever seen of the Admins indicates that they live lavishly. I can just imagine where internet donations to the party of The WannaBe Rich goes. FR's admins + mistresses in Brazil?

[proud patriot]

41. I remember when Grovelbot was just a baby

[gkhouston]

43. Sounds about right. One week per tooth.

Cut 'em some slack, Skinner. Renting those port-o-potties must cost a bundle.

[graywarrior]

45. It takes them that long to read.

[rustydog]

47. That is because Freepers need mommy to give them their allowance first

[Skittles]

48. I dontate to DU every quarter because it keeps getting better

if a poor freeper was looking for improvement on the freak republic board they would never be past their initial donation

[rasputin1952]

49. They look at it as a "tax"...

creepy how they never updated that stoneage site. The few times I go there, it looks like an old DOS setup, half the time, "scoll" doesn't work.

Regressives v Progressives...they lost that battle in short order, (then again, they always lose)...

[liberaltrucker]

50. K/R

[TheCowsCameHome]

51. That's because they think RimJob meant "send in a quarter".

[Turbineguy]

52. Well yeah,

but then again, look at all the stupid shit they get to see. That kind of stuff we are deprived of here.

[Obama2012]

54. This is a damn good site you've built, I'm glad I found this place

I don't really have any extra cash right now to donate, since I'm recovering from being laid off for awhile, but I'll definitely donate next time around.

[mod mom]

55. Probably because they're all shopping @ Whole Foods because of the liberal boycott.

[lakercub]

56. I actually researched this

showing I can have waaaaay too much time on my hands.  I got
the idea when I went to an evolution site made up of
ex-freepers.  One of them stated that since RimJob had been
chasing people off, especially those who cared about science,
the freepathons were starting to go longer and longer.

Freepathon Results:
  Month/Days    Yr  Duration  Target($)  Target/Duration
10/01 - 10/19  2006  19 days   70000       $3684.21/day
01/01 - 01/19  2007  19 days   70000       $3684.21/day
04/01 - 04/21  2007  21 days   70000       $3333.33/day
07/01 - 07/28  2007  28 days   66000       $2357.14/day
10/01 - 10/25  2007  25 days   66000       $2640.00/day
01/01 - 01/28  2008  28 days   70000       $2500.00/day
04/02 - 05/02  2008  31 days   80000       $2580.65/day
07/01 - 08/06  2008  37 days   76000       $2054.05/day
10/01 - 10/24  2008  24 days   80000       $3333.33/day
01/01 - 02/12  2009  43 days   80000       $1860.47/day
04/01 - 05/28  2009  58 days   80000       $1379.31/day
07/01 -        

You will note the only duration shrinkage has been the
October time-frame when actual elections are going on. 
Otherwise the number has trended upwards every quarter.  For
this quarter they are at 48 days and are still over $10000
from their goal.

I had to parse many of their freepathon threads to come up
with this...it has been disgusting work.

[pengillian101]

67. I actually appreciated your research, lakercub.

Funny, ain't it, how FR's target dollar creeps up $10K over 3 years with no improvements to the site, eh?

$320,000 per YEAR! Unbelievable the suckers donate that much money to a message board so RimJob can dine endlessly on breadsticks at the Olive Garden.

Oh wait - they are not only looking for FR donations --- send money NOW to attend the DC event. That looks like it would be about $500 additional with the hotel, eats and all -- and travel to get there.

Gads, what a money-making racket!

Thanks again for your interesting research, pal.

[saltpoint]

58. Plus, DU sends the naked dancers over in lieu of the bumper stickers and

thank you notes.

Now don't get me wrong, the bumper stickers are a fine gesture, and very handsome bumper stickers.

But the initiation of sending naked dancers over -- 24/7 no less -- just puts DU a cut above the other sites.

[lakercub]

59. Out of curiosity

how much do you contribute?

[saltpoint]

60. LOL!

[Gman]

61. FR banned everyone that gave any money

and they complain about taking so long to raise their goal. I think the institutional dollars aren't there either.

[varelse]

63. done

I'd terminated my monthly donation after leftchick was banned, but since I spend hours a day on this forum, it's only fair that I should continue to contribute to the costs of maintaining it in good working order.

[Tab]

66. Watch out for the evil dog

its name is "Hubris"...

Just sayin'...

[Gman2]

69. A guy named David Allen cant be all bad. My name too.

[tomm2thumbs]

71. long time listener, first time donator

wish it could be gadzillions!

[Enthusiast]

72. Skinner, you know what it is?

The Freepers are mostly made up of these ignorant poor white men that traditionally vote against their best interests. See, they actually can't afford to donate.

[DainBramaged]

73. Typical Free Republicturd donations

[Frisbee]

74. Hey Skinner...

How come I don't see a star by your name!

[Skinner]

75. Uh oh. I'm busted.

Actually, the reason I don't have a donor star is because I want to be able to see the ads. I want to be able to see them just in case I might need to block an ad.

[tomm2thumbs]

83. If donating blocks ads, maybe folks would want to know it'll speed up their DU experience

Ads take extra time to download and also have to go to their server to choose an image after noting the subject of the particular post they are placing. Folks with slower connections might think it a good deal to speed up their ability to enjoy the website. I didn't know about the ads till after I donated. Just an idea.

[Th1onein]

76. I usually give a nominal amount to DU during the fund drives.....

I don't like giving to organizations. I'd much rather give to people, themselves, on a personal basis.

But I'm going to hike it up a bit this time. DU is a wonderful place for progressives; it's a great place, period. I'm so glad you're here.

[Lorien]

78. I'd love to, but it would be just another check that bouced.

no income and no credit tends to lead to bounced checks if I write them.

[montanto]

79. 'Cuz when you say "quarterly fund drive"

The freeps send in a quarter.

[subsuelo]

80. K&R!

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

81. Takes 'Em 2 Months Cause It Takes That Long For The Users To Figure Out How To Navigate The Buttons.

[samsingh]

82. okay - i'll donate again.

[Dulcinea]

84. Well...

...it does take a long time for freepers to dig enough change out of the couch and from under the car seats.