why it is more suitable for a member to have to click a link and go to a third party site to download a freebie rather than click a link that takes them to our existing Free Stuff area, since that member is already on the site,

I went over this in depth before, Hope, plenty of others have as well, but here goes, since I know it's been awhile and you have to wade through 20 pages total of posts to find it.

1. Someone might want to host the freebies on their blog, so that other people will read their blog.

2. Someone might prefer to use Dropbox, Skydrive, Google Drive, etc. so that they can link to the freebies on different forums/sites they post at, rather than having to upload them to more than one place.

3. The freebie belongs to someone else, meaning that the user cannot upload it to Rendo Freestuff.

4. The freebie belongs to someone else, and is not easy to find via search

5. The freebie belongs to someone else, and is on their Dropbox, Skydrive, Google Drive, etc. thus impossible to find via search engine.

6. Some people have complained that the freebie upload process is too much of a hassle or too difficult to figure out. (I understand that this, unlike nearly every other problem/grievance, is actually being worked on, by UVDan. Unfortunately, he has been working on it since mid December :( )

7. Some people have complained about the number and size of advertisements on the main page, Marketplace, Gallery, and Freestuff pages, and will only post freebies/galleries elsewhere to avoid it.

8. Many have complained about how slow the main page, Marketplace, Gallery, and Freestuff pages are to load. Not everyone has a fast internet connection, and even some who do find Rendo's pages to be too much of a hassle.

9. Someone might want to host their freebies on an external site to draw people to their gallery, which unlike Renderosity, does not force them to go through the hassle of required thumbnail/image sizes. This is SO MUCH of a hassle that this alone has resulted in plenty of people either refusing to go to the trouble of uploading new gallery images or even deciding to delete their gallery period.

Nine reasons right there. I am sure there are plenty of reasons that I missed. I realize that many of these reasons (e.g. site design) are completely out of your control, which is unfortunate-- esp. since you admins clearly have more sense than TPtB.