Why aren't we all members of the Free State Project?

[FTL_Ian]

Apparently you just "glossed over" the part about being known by the company one keeps? You have appointed the most vile people on your BBS as MODERATORS?? The ones who post the most attacks and would probably be banned at any decent forum (you will notice they don't show their heads here). This really calls into question your judgment if nothing else...

That's your opinion and I agree that BJ is very vile online, but he's a very nice guy in real life. Regardless, I'm not sure how your opinions regarding the operation of the FTL BBS have anything to do with the other 10,000 members of the FSP that have nothing to do with the BBS or FTL.

 

[ChristianAnarchist]

Just because someone is anti-religion doesn't mean they are intolerant or unaccepting to people personally. I just don't see the divides you seem to think exist, Gene.

Cherry picking your quotes now too? You know I never used "anti-religion" in my posts. I said "rabidly anti-religion" which was the exact term used by a free stater a few posts back. The RABID is the important part. Anyone can be "anti" anything they want, but when one becomes RABIDLY anti something, it clouds their judgment and causes friction which can then erupt into (maybe) violence. For instance, I am "anti" homosexual but I do not deny anyone that lifestyle. I do not choose to participate in it and I will exert a certain amount of effort to avoid people who do, but I am not "RABIDLY" anti anything (well, except maybe murder and slavery).

 

[ChristianAnarchist]

That's your opinion and I agree that BJ is very vile online, but he's a very nice guy in real life. Regardless, I'm not sure how your opinions regarding the operation of the FTL BBS have anything to do with the other 10,000 members of the FSP that have nothing to do with the BBS or FTL.

I guess your attention span is very short so I will put it in simpler terms...

YOU - Big free state project promoter and organizer
YOUR MODERATORS WHO YOU PERSONALLY SELECTED - Big jerks
YOU ARE KNOWN BY THE FRIENDS YOU HANG WITH...

Better?

 

[ChristianAnarchist]

Also - we have a business that we like to see prosper. We have employees who work for us. WE MAKE SURE THEY TREAT OUR CUSTOMERS RIGHT. If they don't, they are looking for another job. I would like to point out that we have super employees who have been with us a long time and our turnover rate is very small compared to other similar businesses in our area...

I will say that this is why your BBS is now defunct with only a handful of posts per day. Your moderators treat many (who they don't like) as trash so your "customers" go elsewhere. It's a hard concept for some, I guess...

 

[Live_Free_Or_Die]

LFOD, I'm glad you didn't take it personally like Gene did, though I'm sorry you think that our phone policy makes our show unlistenable.

I thought the show was very listenable but the reason I do not watch TV or listen to radio is because I enjoy the participation that can be found online. If I am going to listen or watch something I might find myself motivated to participate by calling in. I'd rather not deal with spending a bunch of time on hold. My opinion has nothing to do with whether or not the show is unlistenable. The policy just doesn't fit me personally. This is the first time I have posted about it and I am not trying to take advantage of any opportunity to "gang up on Ian." I just wanted to convey I had a similar experience to the other poster offering up criticism. There are no threads on FTL or FreeKeene.com of me criticizing what you do. I am just conveying the other poster is not out in left field with the hold time aggravation.

I haven't listened lately but I am confident the show is quite listenable.

I hope you can understand that Free Talk Live is an open phones show, and that generally open phones is considered "bad radio" in the talk radio industry. I have implemented policies that help make our open phones show more palatable to program directors in major markets. Perhaps I did a poor job of explaining these policies. If that is the case, I apologize. However, I won't apologize for the policies. They make sense from the listener's perspective, and that's how talk radio should be programmed. Free Talk Live is open phones and focuses on callers, but the show is FOR the listeners. Callers are less than 1% of our total listenership. We do not do the show for the callers, the callers are just the focus of the program.

Here are some of the criteria for deciding what gets aired when:
Familiar callers have to wait until unfamiliar callers get on-the-air before they can get on.
Bad calls get less airtime than good calls.
Calls are taken in order of interest, not the order the calls were made.
AMP lines are not given any priority - they are merely additional lines dedicated to AMPlifiers, which means they are easier to get through on during busy call times.
Radio listeners are more likely to be taken before internet listeners as internet listeners are mostly "the choir".

If you think our show would be better if we just took everyone in the order they called, then you should start your own syndicated talk radio show and we'll see how it works out for you!

I am simply stating the policy does not work for me personally. I have no criticism to make on whether the policy is correct. No one can make 100% of the people happy 100% of the time. I am sure you feel what you are doing is working for you and that is what counts with regard to FTL policy.

Since I am in the choir I will likely continue to hang out with the choir in the various liberty oriented forums floating around the interwet or as you point out start my own syndicated talk radio show and see how it works out.

 

[Mandrik]

Ya, sure... Unless it's one of your pals. They go to the front and get "guest" status. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with it. I'm just saying you are no longer "Freetalk Live". You are now "The Ian Freeman Show"... It's your show, do whatever you want with it, just don't lie about your format. The listeners know . . .

I gotta disagree with this, Gene. In the 16 months I've been listening to FTL I've been on the air maybe 7 times if you include the time I was interviewed at Porcfest, and the time I co-hosted for an hour in studio the Sunday after Porcfest. There were times I called in during Saturday where I spoke to Ian, told him why I was calling, and was put on hold for over an hour. I eventually hung up, but I didn't get upset about it. Mark & Ian are running a radio show. They will take calls in whatever order they want. I get it. Every time I've called in during the week (and it hasn't been a whole lot) I've been put on the air.

Based on my experiences it sounds to me like Ian's policy is true.

 

[Mandrik]

And in defense of BonerJoe -- I LOVE THE GUY! I don't frequent the BBS often, but we talk in chat all the time. Say what you want about him online. He can be very crude. Offline Jay is a stand up dude. Hell, Mark even described him as a "giant teddy bear." We even went into business together at Porcfest. He busted his ass there to make our food stand one of the most sucessful parts of Agora Alley. If it wasn't for him it wouldn't have happened, because he brought all the big stuff, and did most of the intial setup. I'd definitely work with him again if he wanted to.

 

[FTL_Ian]

I thought the show was very listenable but the reason I do not watch TV or listen to radio is because I enjoy the participation that can be found online. ...

I haven't listened lately but I am confident the show is quite listenable.

Sorry, I was under the impression you had stopped listening because of our phone policy. I apologize for my confusion!

 

[ChristianAnarchist]

I gotta disagree with this, Gene. In the 16 months I've been listening to FTL I've been on the air maybe 7 times if you include the time I was interviewed at Porcfest, and the time I co-hosted for an hour in studio the Sunday after Porcfest. There were times I called in during Saturday where I spoke to Ian, told him why I was calling, and was put on hold for over an hour. I eventually hung up, but I didn't get upset about it. Mark & Ian are running a radio show. They will take calls in whatever order they want. I get it. Every time I've called in during the week (and it hasn't been a whole lot) I've been put on the air.

Based on my experiences it sounds to me like Ian's policy is true.

Your experience is not my experience. Sure, everyone gets to hold for a long time sometimes... With me it was EVERYTIME!!! Even when I'd call during the week. It was obvious that Ian did not want me on the air and that's fine but for him to keep denying it is untruthful. I have an email here from another "co-host" who stated something that makes me believe that I'm right but without that person's approval, I will not share it here...

 

[FTL_Ian]

Your experience is not my experience. Sure, everyone gets to hold for a long time sometimes... With me it was EVERYTIME!!! Even when I'd call during the week. It was obvious that Ian did not want me on the air and that's fine but for him to keep denying it is untruthful. I have an email here from another "co-host" who stated something that makes me believe that I'm right but without that person's approval, I will not share it here...

Care to cite an example of this happening? (Like, what day and time you allegedly called) I'd be happy to give it a listen and see what was going on. Otherwise I call poppycock on your claim. I'd have happily taken your call last night, Gene. Phones were empty most of the night.

I've never been anything but nice to you and you still think I have some vendetta against you. Not true. I appreciate your participation and listenership.

 

[Austrian Econ Disciple]

ChristianAnarchist it seems like that thread you are pointing to is mostly made up of minarchists. You are aware that Keeniacs are mostly Anarcho-Capitalists, right? It would seem you would make a good fit there. (I will probably move somewhere closer to the coast...I am from Florida and all )

 

[ChristianAnarchist]

Care to cite an example of this happening? (Like, what day and time you allegedly called) I'd be happy to give it a listen and see what was going on. Otherwise I call poppycock on your claim. I'd have happily taken your call last night, Gene. Phones were empty most of the night.

I've never been anything but nice to you and you still think I have some vendetta against you. Not true. I appreciate your participation and listenership.

Yeah right Ian, call me a lier... It's all in my imagination. As if we can "re-create" the events of 15 different nights over the space of several months. It's a good ploy though, throw it on me to "prove" what you did or did not do (and of course if I cannot come up with dates and times, it PROVES I'm a lier, RIGHT?)

 

[tremendoustie]

Gene, the idea of not moving anywhere in a state with 100s, probably 1000s of liberty activists, because one guy, or a handful of guys you don't like also live there seems ... insane.

I'm confident you could live out your entire life in NH, work with many great activists, and never interact with Ian at all.

On the plus side, I've always enjoyed your calls to FTL

 

[FTL_Ian]

Yeah right Ian, call me a lier... It's all in my imagination. As if we can "re-create" the events of 15 different nights over the space of several months. It's a good ploy though, throw it on me to "prove" what you did or did not do (and of course if I cannot come up with dates and times, it PROVES I'm a lier, RIGHT?)

Pretty much. If you're correct and I have some vendetta against you, you should be able to call in this week and be put on eternal hold.

Of course if you called in during the week, you'd get on, which would fly in the face of your conspiracy theory.

You know the number.

 

[tremendoustie]

I've got to agree with ian about splitting the thread. This is for FSP discussion, not FTL drama.

 

[Live_Free_Or_Die]

Sorry, I was under the impression you had stopped listening because of our phone policy. I apologize for my confusion!

I was under the impression I stated I did because sitting on hold for a long time is not "Talk Radio I Control" according to me. The apology is mine for being vague in my previous post about the value I place on participation.

I've got to agree with ian about splitting the thread. This is for FSP discussion, not FTL drama.

No disagreement there because it is drama.

 

[ChristianAnarchist]

"Hey, why don't we all just get along?"

 

[ChristianAnarchist]

Gene, the idea of not moving anywhere in a state with 100s, probably 1000s of liberty activists, because one guy, or a handful of guys you don't like also live there seems ... insane.

I'm confident you could live out your entire life in NH, work with many great activists, and never interact with Ian at all.

On the plus side, I've always enjoyed your calls to FTL

Again, my point is that "The Freestate Project", IN MY OPINION and FOR THE REASON'S STATED, will not prosper. It's my opinion based on 6 years of interaction with certain (NOT ALL) freestaters. It's just my opinion. It is not everyone's opinion. You can take it for what it is... an opinion. Time will tell if I'm right or wrong...

 

[Live_Free_Or_Die]

Again, my point is that "The Freestate Project", IN MY OPINION and FOR THE REASON'S STATED, will not prosper. It's my opinion based on 6 years of interaction with certain (NOT ALL) freestaters. It's just my opinion. It is not everyone's opinion. You can take it for what it is... an opinion. Time will tell if I'm right or wrong...

I think you are correct if the goal is liberty but not for the reason's stated. I think the FSP as conceptualized is not strategically viable. The premise of FSP is that a scattered tireless minority can liberate an entire state. I reject the premise on it's face holding geographical organization requires better strategic planning, starting on a smaller scale such as simply taking over one county, and working up. I am on the other hand rooting for the FreeKeene wing of FSP because it is strategically focused in one locality.

I will happily eat crow if I am proven wrong.

 

[mport1]

I think you are correct if the goal is liberty but not for the reason's stated. I think the FSP as conceptualized is not strategically viable. The premise of FSP is that a scattered tireless minority can liberate an entire state. I reject the premise on it's face holding geographical organization requires better strategic planning, starting on a smaller scale such as simply taking over one county, and working up. I am on the other hand rooting for the FreeKeene wing of FSP because it is strategically focused in one locality.

I will happily eat crow if I am proven wrong.

I'm rooting for Free Keene as well. However, I do believe that upon completion, 20,000 liberty activists state wide would have a real big effect.