Newsletter Survey Results Summary March 2003

Results are listed from lowest number of responses to highest. The number of responses is indicated at the start of each option and is rendered in bold.

1. Gender
259   Female
332   Male

2. Age
7   16-20
32   21-30
94   31-40
132   51-60
136   41-50
191   0ver

3. How often would you say you read the Actrix newsletters?
2   Never
35   Every now and then
152   Most months
402   Every month without fail

4. Please choose the type of newsletter content you find most useful, or enjoy the most.
14   Cyberspace News Snippets
128   Articles about what's happening at Actrix
182   Interesting Sites
267   Articles about web-related topics

5. Please choose the type of newsletter content you find second-most useful, or enjoy the most.
39   Cyberspace News Snippets
165   Interesting Sites
171   Articles about what's happening at Actrix
211   Articles about web-related topics

6. Please choose the type of newsletter content you find third-most useful, or enjoy the most.
74   Articles about web-related topics
130   Cyberspace News Snippets
171   Interesting Sites
207   Articles about what's happening at Actrix

7. How many times in the last year would you estimate you have visited the "By Article" archive page (http://editor.actrix.co.nz/byarticle/) in order to look up a past article?
20   More than 10 times
55   5-10 times
67   Didn't even know it existed
205   Never
244   1-5 times

8. Do you find the newsletters download for you at an acceptable speed?
4   They always take too long to download and I wish you could speed the process up.
4   They take too long to download, so I rarely bother going to the site.
37   Sometimes they take a while and I begin to get impatient.
44   I get the e-mail text-only version, so I never experience the download conditions.
497   Yes, there's a short wait, but I find they usually download before long.

9. The newsletters come to you as a service rather than as a marketing tool. Thus newsletters have always had a (virtually) no advertising policy. This is unlikely to change, but we thought we'd ask anyway. How would you feel about occasional advertising content in the newsletters?
16   Actrix customers should be allowed to advertise their businesses in the newsletter.
23   It would be good to see some advertising for local products.
246   Ads would lessen the value of the newsletters to me.
304   The odd ad would be okay but don't overdo it.

10. How do you feel about the content of the newsletters?
1   It's the same old boring tripe over and over.
2   I rarely see an anything there that interests me.
174   Sometimes it's good and relevant to me. Other times it is not.
409   Always varied and interesting. There's usually something that interests me in each issue.

11. How do you find the writing style of the articles?
7   I rarely bother with the articles because they are so technical.
16   I'd prefer a greater depth of technical detail.
177   Usually I have no problem understanding, but occasionally they get a bit too technical.
384   The articles are well-explained, engaging to read and mostly easy to follow.

12. How easy are the newsletters to navigate?
6   The layout is confusing and I never know where I am in the newsletter.
568   I find the layout easy to use. I click the heading on the left and the article pops up on the right!

13. How do you find the layout, look, feel and artwork in the newsletters?
1   The colour combinations make my head spin and stomach turn.
2   I find the colours unpleasant or a little hard read
15   Too much writing, not enough pictures
107   I don't care about the look and feel of the newsletters all that much.
107   The artwork is okay, but it could use a little more variety.
338   The artwork is easy on the eye and adds to the pleasure of reading the newsletter.

15. How do you feel about Actrix advertising its services and products in the newsletter?
4   If I see one more word about Actrix, I'm not reading the newsletters anymore!
13   I have no interest in what Actrix have to offer besides my connection. Just give me the articles about how to make the most of the web.
241   Good idea. It's nice to know what's going on at my ISP.
328   Fair enough. The newsletters are free, so some advertising of Actrix stuff would be acceptable.

16. What content would you like to see more of?
33   What's happening in the IT world
50   Security online
90   Viruses and Spam issues
127   Stuff to entertain and/or inform me.
283   Good practices to enhance my Internet experience

17. Which of the following articles did you find most useful or interesting?
25   All About Online Dating
34   New User Home Page Tool
50   An introduction to GNU and Linux
50   Deciphering Mail Headers
51   Your Actrix Personal Web Space
62   Using the BCC Field in E-mail
62   What Are We to Make of Microsoft?
69   Dealing with Disgusting Spam
127   Using Mailwasher to Manage E-mail and Combat Spam
152   Delete Spam Immediately with Outlook Express
158   Actrix WebMail - New and Improved!
169   Actrix and Server-Based Virus Scanning
216   Just How Safe is My Password?
248   Twenty Miscellaneous Internet Tips
270   Is It Safe to Use Your Credit Card Online?