I question the actual independence of the indi sites. Were they truly independent they would have nothing to do with scientology whatsoever. I think they are better characterized as splinter groups, such as the Protestants, etc.
And we know how thorny splinters can be...
Mimsey
"Freezone" (not Free Zone, Capt Bill's cult), meant people doing Scn outside of the CofS. It is supposed to be "Standard Tech", not weird offshoots.
The Independent movement, as far as I know, is/was much the same but thought they were above the Freezoners who'd been around for years.
At some point, maybe after Marty Rathbun stopped auditing in the field, the two seem to have merged. I don't really keep up with this, so am open to correction.
Paul