The Year in Review  
Let me first thank again all the contributors who have worked so hard to make 'Petticoat Discipline Monthly' the outstanding success that it has become. Within its particular area, this magazine has become one of the most popular publications on the world wide web, and has succeeded beyond my most optimistic expectations. I am so happy to have given people so much pleasure, and very happy that I have had the opportunity to make so many friends.

Since I am far from being expert with computers, it has been a rather stumbling learning experience for me, but I now know how to do computer 'tricks' which last January seemed to me like sheer magic. The first discovery was how to insert pictures on to the page: when the magazine was originally planned, I expected it to be all text - but necessity is the mother of invention. The result has been a much more attractive and interesting production. Generally speaking my design philosophy has been to try to give the site a kind of  old-fashioned, rather fussy, decoupage loveliness, reminiscent of antimacassars and dark ruby velvet curtains. It is supposed to be the kind of paper that you might discover, foxed and faded, at the bottom of your great grandmother's glory box.

Amongst the best contributors have been Peter Farrer and Robin especially, plus Pansy Frills, Panty, Derry, Helena, and many, many others. Two special highlights have been Barry's work on the excellent 'Petticoating in Australia' series (which included some petticoat discipline letters from an almost unknown Australian source), and the superb illustrations of Paul. I am sure Paul has a great future, and am proud that his work was featured in these pages first.

My web space provider (an Australian company recommended by a Melbourne relative - the value of their dollar makes them much cheaper than anything in America or Britain) provides me with all sorts of interesting information, including where readers are linking from, and the search strings which have successfully found the site. I know that we have readers from all over the world, and the site even has a (quite unsolicited!) Japanese edition.

But the most interesting information is, of course, the circulation figures. I have explained why I prefer not to have a 'hit counter' (essentially I regard them as ugly and commonplace) but I think that this is the appropriate place to list the numbers of visitors for the months January to November inclusive. I think that by our first anniversary we will have surpassed a quarter of a million visitors, so this Christmas I think that we all have something extra to celebrate!
Susan MacDonald
Grimsby, December 5 2000

January 1,933
February 8,310
March 10,329
April 13,830
May 21,050
June 20,458
July 26,258
August 25,985
September 27,199
October 28,816
November 36,025

TOTAL 220,193
 
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