Ricochet is the best place on the internet to discuss the issues of the day, either through commenting on posts or writing your own for our active and dynamic community in a fully moderated environment. In addition, the Ricochet Audio Network offers over 50 original podcasts with new episodes released every day.
The Mission of Ricochet
In 2011, when Rob Long and Peter Robinson came together, they had an idea. I like to call it “The Mission of Ricochet.” Their idea, and it was revolutionary, was to create a place on the Internet for intelligent people to come together and talk about things. And it worked. Here we are, six years on, and our community is thriving!
Why? Because in a time of national strife and division, in a time of acrimony, people are looking for somewhere where they can talk without the yelling or the screaming or the general air of nastiness that that fills our national discourse.
Or, to put it another way, the market has a need for civil conversation and we fulfill that need. But Ricochet also performs a secondary function that nobody intended when this all began. And it’s something near and dear to my own heart.
If you scroll down the Ricochet home page, you’ll see a lot of familiar names among our contributors: Richard Epstein, Mona Charen, Paul Rahe, Pat Sajak, John Yoo, James Pethokoukis, among others.
However, you’ll also see many other names. Who are all these people? Some are members and some are contributors who started out as members. (And if you go inside, you’ll find many, many more on our Member Feed.)
In addition to promoting civil conversation, Ricochet has the added benefit of promoting new voices to the Right. These are people, of all ages and all walks of life, who didn’t come through the usual New York-Washington pipeline. Some of these members and contributors have gone on to write for other publications, but they found their voice and their footing here on Ricochet.
In addition to being a place for civil conversation, Ricochet also functions as an incubator for writers who might not have been discovered otherwise. And that can only happen because Ricochet is a welcoming enough, friendly enough place to allow these people to find their voice.
So when you support Ricochet with your membership dollars, you’re not just becoming a member of the most intelligent and civil online community around, but you’re helping foster a new generation of writers and thinkers on the Right who will be shaping ideas for decades to come.
Published in General
I too have noticed this ever since I joined.
I keep thinking it is an Internet version of some of the famous writers’ groups such as the Inklings. The Cape Cod Writers’ Conference and the Breadloaf Writers’ Conference have served the same purpose: to encourage writers.
We would not have had Moby Dick were it not for Nathaniel Hawthorne. :)
Thank you very much, Fred. Surely a worthwhile endeavor. And one I (usually) treasure.
Are you missing “sense of humor” in the wider rage-filled society? Well, you will find it here on Ricochet, buckets full!
Not to pick nits, but Ricochet launched in 2010, now 7+ years. Not that I’m counting or anything.
Edit: Ok, I’m picking nits AND counting.
Yeah, I felt like such a newbie in 2011 when I joined… (Feb. 25, 2011)
Nicely written, Fred. You certainly speak for me!
The Mission of Ricochet, Should You Choose to Accept It:
Internet trolls abound most comment section of any given news site, making conversation difficult. Your mission will be to establish a beachhead and create a civil website where people can reasonably comment without excessive fear of personal attack.
This post will self-destruct.
Well said Fred. I’ll go one further- what about the young person looking to test out an idea? Looking to write a little, to gain a little confidence in the squared circle of ideas? In a world of utter nonsense, speech codes, social justice warriors, unbearable conformity, peer pressure, and twitter trolls, where does one go to field test an emerging ideology?
I have no doubt that a future CEO, inventor, writer, teacher, engineer, doctor, or president is reading Ricochet right now, listening to podcasts, weighing ideas, forming (and refining) opinions, and interacting with our diverse membership.
Maybe they’ll get some necessary positive reinforcement from their parents, maybe they’ll gain confidence to defend and articulate our values from a mentor or religious leader. Maybe. And maybe they’ll get it right here. And perhaps they’ll tell a story, many years from now, about discovering Ricochet and the window of knowledge it opened.
The great organizations in the world, from ballet to baseball, have farm systems. They identify talent early, they nurture it, and they give it room to grow and flourish. Ricochet can be that same system for our next generation of leaders in politics and in our nation, by helping them to form the intellectual foundation to carry on our traditions.
The least we can do is pay a few bucks to insure that the field of play exists.
My recurring theme is that these new voices not from the usual New York – Washington pipeline are particularly valuable because they have real world experience in how government policy and regulation affects real people and real businesses.
I made this comment on another thread, but Ricochet really has challenged me to improve my writing skills. I ain’t reely vere lerned bout this here writin stuff, but Is beter than befor.
Oh, and on what other sites can you actually read sane and thoughtful comments? That’s right, no where.
Ok, ok, I know where I’m not wanted.
Yep.
Any way to vote Mona Charen off the island?
No. Didn’t you read what was said about diversity of opinions? I prize everything Mona writes and says.
Stale week old pc idiocy from nro. What diversity?
Ditto, Gary!! Apparently, the purpose of Fred’s post was missed. Ricochet wouldn’t be worth what it is without Mona!
If a vote was taken on whom to vote off the island, I have a thought!
Guys, Mona’s not getting voted off Ricochet. Bickering with each other about it won’t accomplish anything.
You are absolutely right.
I just wanted to register the fact that Fred wrote a delightful piece, praising Ricochet for its openness, and welcoming attitude, and, all of a sudden, we get someone who does not welcome what Ricochet is all about. It is not only abusive toward Mona; it is disrespectful of everything Fred is trying to get across. With all due respect to the Code of Conduct, it needed to be said.