What actually triggers the pop-up survey, GrahamY? I got the impression that I must have moused-over something when I first saw it, but I couldn't see what that might have been.

Is the survey only activated for registered logged-in OLO users, or is it capable of being completed by persons simply viewing the site? Would I be correct in thinking that the survey can only effectively be responded to once for each IP address connection to OLO, with the object of minimizing any attempts at deliberately skewing the data?



If users, and hopefully, viewers, can be told where to go for the survey, OLO may get a better response to it.



That puts me in mind of the graffiti campaign waged some years ago when Rudolph Hess was still alive and in Spandau prison. "Free Hess" demanded the graffiti on wall after wall. One response I saw was, "where do you get this free Hess?"

Digressing slightly in the direction taken by Yabby, and mindful of the server problems of recent days, one aspect of cost saving that OLO may be able to implement may be with respect to software licensing fees. New OLO user BrianHowes, who would appear to have some considerable expertise in matters digital and internet-related, has observed, in connection with the recent 'Server error' debacle, that OLO needs a better, more secure, and more robust operating system.



Ubuntu Linux is free. (Like Hess. Hehe.)



For I think primarily security reasons, the French government some time ago adopted the Mandriva Linux distribution as its operating system. By way of contrast, it seems the Swiss government did not, with the seemingly inevitable result. See:

http://www.eda.admin.ch/eda/en/home/recent/media/single.html?id=29701

Free as Ubuntu Linux is, it is not unsupported. Canonical Ltd is able to provide paid professional support for the free OS it sponsors where a professional standard of performance, as, for example, at OLO, is required. Might be worth looking into Graham, not only for possible license fee savings, but for server robustness, aye.

Hi Forrest. Thanks for the suggestions. The survey should only be triggered for each user once. It's not an issue of anyone trying to game it - can't see why they would bother. It is an issue of trying to get a more or less random sample, which is one reason why we wouldn't email current users for whom we have an email address with a url for the questionnaire as that would skew the result.

Also appreciate the promises of support etc from everyone. I'm thinking of putting together some sort of a plan for redesigning the site and pricing it and then doing a fund-raising project to realise that project. I'll keep you posted.

Graham, may I suggest you have a talk to Neil at http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com.au/ for some ideas about designing a robust high-volume site? That's a really excellent example of the genre and he now carries a pretty good volume of advertising without intruding on the user experience in any negative way.

BTW: It was a pretty dumbass survey. There was no option for 'I don't read any of those offline papers' just 'unsure' (or something like that. I'm unsure whether I read the paper?).

Also they cant fathom that someone only reads online news papers? The online list didn't have any of the off-line papers in it. So if you read the Australian or smh online, they don't want to know apparently.

PS: Sorry Graham, but I won't pay for OLO. I will however fill out countless surveys.

How many on-line blogs are there? OLO is pretty good and if Graham sees fit to find out the demographics of "us" in order to better target advertising then that's fine with me. I can't say I respond to such advertising but then I am case hardened resistant ANY advertising.

antiseptic that has to be the ugliest web site I've ever seen. You have misused the word 'design'. It reminds me of Geocities crap.