FAOSTAT FEEDBACK

I've been using FAOSTAT since 2007 and had been fairly happy with its enhancements, the greater availability of data, and the relative friendliness for downloading. In particular, I appreciated the elimination of data quantity that could be downloaded at any one time. As a researcher, a database of this extensiveness and quality is extremely important. My concern is that the new data site is terrible, as several commentators have indicated. I will not go into details, which others have given, but urge you to PLEASE KEEP THE OLD SITE. It does what I ask it to do, unlike the new site which does whatever it wants to do. It also presents the data in a MUCH LESS useful manner. Quite frankly, I am terrified at the prospect of losing FAOSTAT as a data source, as I have no intention of using the new site as it currently works.

Gerardo Otero
Professor of Sociology and International Studies
Simon Fraser University
Vancouver, Canada

Dear Professor Otero,
We thank you for having reported your concerns to us as we always encourage this type of frank and straightforward comments. We are putting a considerable effort in developing and improving FAOSTAT3 (the new version) with the objective of providing more services and products to our users. The site is still evolving and we have included a feedback system (the one you have been using) to make sure that our users are involved in the development and improvement process.
In this context your comment would have been much more useful if you would have indicated the weakness areas and the problems you have encountered, instead of suggesting maintaining the old site. We therefore encourage you to be more specific and indicate the areas of major concern that makes the site unusable from your point of you.
Waiting for your feedback,
we send you our best regards,

The FAOSTAT Team