One surprise was the difference in readers' approach to the Internet compared with a year ago. One reader back then wondered whether the Internet would be a fad. He might now be viewed as a sage by the many investors who pumped millions into dot-com bombs.

Still, nobody this year wrote off the Web as superfluous. Now that the dot-com era is a distant memory, the Web is viewed as a medium for doing business.

Last year was our first attempt to have readers respond to the Salary Survey over the Web. A fairly small percentage took us up on that offer, and we didn't check much to see whether their inputs differed from the comments of those who used the time-tested, paper-and-post method to respond.

This year, more than 300 people responded via the Internet, while more than 500 mailed back paper surveys. We looked closely at the Web responses, partly because we took the unusual step of telling all our readers how to get to the Web survey. That's a marked departure from scientific polling procedures, which allow only pre-selected people to respond. So we wanted to see how, if at all, the Internet responses differed.

After checking a fair number of data points-both the demographics and the responses-we came to a very scientific conclusion: There wasn't a heck of a lot of difference between Web and paper responses. If you ask the same audience the same questions, the medium they choose to reply will not affect the nature of their responses. It's further evidence that the Web is another business tool.

So, what did our respondents say about the issues affecting them-most notably, whether salaries climbed or fell this year? Sorry, you'll have to wait until Oct. 29 to find out. You're in for a surprise, whether you read the information first in print or on our Web site. If you choose the Web, you'll find expanded coverage, as well as plenty of opportunities for you to share your observations on the wide range of matters that interest you.