I enjoy looking in on OLO each day and would hate to see it disappear. One suggestion I could make is, to keep articles shorter, to one page preferably. Very seldom do I click on next page. If the writer cannot make his point by the end of the first page, I give up.

alfred

Dear Graham et al at Online Opinion,

You have all done an outstanding job, I have heartily enjoyed receiving your regular email links for years. I would be quite comfortable with a modest subscription-based model, as clearly advertising alone is not going to sustain your operation. I am amazed you have gone so far on such a shoestring already. I am looking forward to the new developments ... but please, do not drastically reduce the number, editing quality or length of opinions too much! You have just the right mix, it would be ill advised to offer lower quality/quantity and charge at the same time.

It seems fair that you approach us with your idea of what would be a fair subscription for you and your readers. Caroline Storm

Graham/Susan - as I've said before, OLO is a lot of fun. Even the extreme opinion pieces are amusing to dismantle.. I will also say that the GFC seems to have altered the media. the rest of the economy may be coming back, but advertisers are proving reluctant to plunge back into the media..

To be sure, Graham our Online is very valuable, but for one who began farming again after WW2, was lucky enough to have married a military girl who taught me plenty.

Certainly she taught me to be honest, and unlike me with the onset of the Great Depression had to leave school at 13 to drive a wagon team carting bagged wheat the lumpers needing to help me drag the heavy bags to the edge of the wagon to be then taken on the lumpers backs from there.

Then as well as my wife threatening to leave me in our earlier farming days if while clearing the land I did not leave more salmon gums to harmonise with the homestead.

And many years later in our retirement, told me that if I hung around the golf club bar too much, she'd again leave me.

So she forced me to study instead, and after gaining a Post Grad with Honours, began to worry ever since about our global media too much espousing a different point of view that is being taught in academia.

Possibly that was why our Johnny Howard tried to steer our academic reports the way he wanted, even pretty well closing down the Arbitration Court to bring in Work Choices.

So what I am now asking whether our Online thinking is based on academic reasoning, or on possibly fresher ideas that might not only be a waste of time, but possibly very dangerous?

Cheers, BB, Buntine, WA.

I would also like to wish OLO all the best for its future. I do believe that it is one of the best sites against all competition, including paid blogs by journalists in various newspaper sites. I also refer to the excellent feedback provided by comments, both critical and supportive at times. I certainly have gained considerable knowledge from very different perspectives offered on this site.

I also thank Susan Prior for all of here help in recent years in regards to feedback and advice about writing. From the start, Susan has always been very civil, helpful and supportive. I wish her well in her future endeavors.