Integrity, independence, respect are us.

Can you imagine what it takes to bring you this magazine every week? Even when it's just a background, some text and sometimes some jpeg's ? Even with the great (and more than welcome) help of readers, contacts and some reporters ? Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining, in the end I chose this myself. And sure, this isn't the most "flashy" site on the web. But it was never intended to be that in the first place, even if  I mastered the stuff... 

Oh, yes I know I said this was meant to add to the fun of using AW. But sometimes I wonder....... does it add to the fun? Does it offer the extra thing ? Someone suggested to me to include a contest in AWWoS, to find out what the profile of the readers of AWWoS was. But a contest would include prizes..... 

An e-mail landed in my mailbox last week, with a question. If I would like to write for another magazine. I must tell you frankly, my first reaction was : "YESSSSSS, AWWoS gets recognized!". But then suspiscion arose. Write for another mag? A mag that is sponsored... with a lot of attention to the layout (which by the way is very professional and looks great) ? With apparently enough influence to get a stand on AW GZ ? 
All those questions were popping up like the annoying pop-up window on these pages. My suspiscious side saw "DEFUSION" written all over it. I figured this : what if anyone (let it be COF or any other organisation or person having commercial or other intrests in AW) wanted to make AWWoS harmless? This would be a way to do it. 

Five minutes later, I thought it was pretty "blasé" of me to think such an organisation would even care to shut up AWWoS. Why should they bother ? AWWoS had only about 700 hits in a month........ and most of its contents is just absurdity and useless. And looking at it that way I was tempted to ...... never mind. 

So, I guess you feel my dilemma. I want to protect this baby of mine. I want for AWWoS to mean something, as little as it might be. And I know that that shouldn't be my ambition, but hey...... you might think otherwise, but I'm human and so are the other writers of AWWoS. 

I guess, what I'm saying is, AWWoS will die if  it has to compromize. You don't like it? You don't read it, full stop. But AWWoS will keep it's independence from whatever organisation and from commercial intrests. The people who write for this magazine do so at their free will. Their only reward is my gratitude and respect. 
You, dear reader, can be sure of this : integrity and respect for people aren't idle words to us. We only expect from you some common sense. 

Have fun, reading AWWoS. :)