Posted on 6 October 2015 by BaerbelW

Thanks a lot to all of you who participated in our reader survey, providing lots of feedback for us to sift through and mull over! We'll share some snapshots of the results in this post and include some of your written comments, selected from those responses where you've given us your consent to share them.

Some statistics

We received 314 filled out surveys over the course of a week with most of them coming in the first 3 days after we posted the link. About 30 different countries show up in the results, with the US, Australia, the UK and Canada listed the most often which also makes English the most often mentioned first language.

Some results

Blog posts

Selected comments about blog posts:

"It is the first resource I look for comments and discussions about new research."

"i became aware of your site a few years ago, it's a great resource, helped me understand the science."

"it is in the comments where this blog shines. you are doing it right and the community you have nurtured works well and is something i read often"

"The only reason I did not rate blog posts as extremely valuable, is many are available on other blogs I visit regularly. If SKS was my sole source, I would have rated all as extremely valuable. I do have high confidence in what I read at SKS."

"It's tough not to give you folks top marks - Your articles are straight forward and gear towards the intelligent layperson. The links you offer to back up everything described is most excellent. Keep up the good work."

"I find the site very rewarding. Climate change has been a long time interest and to find the wide ranging content is engaging my interest in an ongoing way."

Rebuttals

Selected comments about rebuttals:

"I use these all the time! It's my go-to source for this info. I love having the beginner/int/advanced versions."

"This survey has made me aware of these three 'lists'. They are potentially an invaluable resource.
The difficulty, as I'm sure you well know, is getting the people who need to read them to read them.
But we are running a local compaign to build popular support for the Paris Conference and I intend to link to them from our social media and web based material."

"It's the blood and vains of SkS"

"Everyone of those features is excellent, and I've shared SkS's various forms of rebuttals countless times."

"Some need to be updated. 2011 is getting to be a long time ago in a rapidly-changing field."

A note from us about the need to update some rebuttals:

Yes, we are certainly aware of this issue and have already started a "behind-the-scenes" activity to get the rebuttals updated in due course.

Resources

Selected comments about the resources:

"Have used history and graphics in my own presentations and talks."

"I am developing talks and short-courses about climate change and sustainability. I find these pages very useful for finding specific information."

"Graphics are really usefuls (given the facts I am a visual guy ^^ ). When you want quickly some clear data on a precise subject, there is a good chance to find it on Sks."

Question asked

"Love the site but one thing about usage bugs me: when I pass over a highlighted word a definition pops up...and stays there, interfering with my viewing. I think the pop-up should be done in some way that it disappears after usage with my having to stop what I'm doing and close it."

You can actually customize the glossary behaviour. How to do that is explained in Bob Lacatena's post announcing this feature.

Comments from those who apparently don't like us much

Highlighting some of these to show how "eloquent" they are. They are also in the clear minority going along with the few 0/1 ratings shown in the charts above.

"Pure CAGW alarmist propaganda"

"Sure, go to hell Crook"

"General alarmist website that left the realm of scientific process a long time ago"

"You are all obviously partisan activists, pretty bored, and too much reiterative."

Appreciative comments

So, much better to focus on and end with some of the many very positive comments you shared and which we greatly appreciate!

"I teach at a University in the Earth Sciences dept. Although climate science is not my speciality, I do teach some 2nd - 3rd year courses. I find your website to be invaluable for uptodate information, but more importantly the diversity of data preparation in graphs and tables.
I always tell my students to visit this site to learn more."

"Big thumbs up.  You are one of three go-to sites for AGW info I use, and the most timely and current. You are essential as a resource and teaching/learning tool, and IMHO peerless."

"You are my first recommendation to anyone who needs reliable information about climate change.
I want to take this opportunity to offer you my deep respect and thanks."

"Keep up the good work - this is a great site for anyone who is between a laymen and those who, like myself, have a pretty good basis in the natural science but without specific expertise/experience in climate-related fields."

"Don't fix something that isn't broken."

"great job, important resource, really appreciate it."

"I Think you guys are GREAT. First thing I go to every day!
Thanks."

"Just keep up the excellent work! By far the best resource out there for climate science information."

"Keep up your good work!"

"Thanks for doing a great job!"

 So, thanks again for participating in our survey and providing all your feedback!