Dear Fractelle,

Is Polycarp really David Boaz?

Wow! :)

Spikey

“… in my view the daily articles should be the up to the very best standard of opinion pieces found in the quality press”

I think that the article section should be a mix of high quality articles from professors, politicians and all manner of experts and articles from relatively unqualified ordinary people.

Of course a certain level of quality would be required. I think Susan and Graham have got it about right now from what I can tell.

I reckon it is important to have this avenue open to people with no formal qualifications who are passionate about a particular issue, such as the coordinator of a small non-government organisation or the spokesperson for an action group or even someone just sitting at home and putting together pieces that are of interest to them and to OLO readers.

I hope that I can contribute articles one of these days, on the wide variety of subjects that I partake in discussion on OLO. I’m not formally qualified or professionally experienced in most of them, but I still think that I could put together good pieces on various environmental issues, road safety and law in particular, as well as my professional field of botany, ecology and geomorphology….although these don’t fit easily into the subject parameters of OLO.

It could be counterproductive if OLO demanded that only the highest quality articles be accepted. It may turn a lot of potential contributors away.

The subject matter is more important than rigorous professional standards. Short simple articles with no references and no statistics are probably more widely read than long articles full of links and statistical data. I think we need both, and everything in between.

Anyway, articles that are not up to scratch get some pretty heavy responses. An author very quickly gets the message that they need to do better next time.

Spikey, your desire to have only high quality articles is fine. And I think my desire to have an articles section that is accessible by non experts is also valid.

So I wonder what other posters think about this?

Well Ludwig, I'd put my own two bob in, but I think you just summed up my view perfectly.

Thanks Susan

“OLO is an egalitarian space where everyone can stand an equal chance of getting a ‘go’ “.

I fully support that.

But I was actually seeking some feedback on the other current OLO thread (http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?discussion=1954), which has been going for four weeks with no input from the OLO management team.

Good thread Ludwig, and some good responses to it.

OLO is an unusual site (not in a bad way) and is testament to how it is run. We all have opinions (some more so than others) and I have certainly learned a great deal from others input ... whether we agree or disagree.

It is obvious that so many of our personal thoughts and musings are encapsulated in our OLO histories ... a veritable diary of at times a significant part of our lives - who owns copyright? No doubt Graham or some enterprising sociologist could have the makings of a very good book or research topic.

Most of you know where I devote my energies, but that is not to say I don't look at the many other article threads and general discussion topics. I just feel I can't devote anymore time to OLO without severely impacting my professional life and those that I hold most dear.

So, I will be giving OLO a break for a while (I can hear the cheering from here) ... indeed, my "swan-song" posts can be found here, starting half-way through the thread;

http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?article=7669#119580

In a sense, many of us have become a cyberspace family ... is this the real value of the internet? Of course, I can't divulge to you who I really am (sorry Col), suffice to say I am just a grumpy old fart nearing retiring age that knows something about a particular science.

It's a shame that some people are happy with mediocrity - and even worse, actually advocate it.

Ah well! I suppose that's why some people read the Sun-Herald and listen to shock-jocks.

One last comment: there is no disconnect between high quality articles and well-written ones. The best writers know their audience and create simple direct prose. Just because an article is hard to read doesn't make it erudite.