"If someone makes it to the end of your article..." I suggest if you think so little of your work, you never give up your day job.

Of course, you don't agree. You're young. You're not a professional writer. And you wouldn't know.

This is the only site that I have ever been on where people thank you for reading - and I have been published on three continents for 60 years. I also read for somewhere aournd 5 hours eveyr day of my life on many many different websites (plus print), and nowhere does journalists, writers, or authors 'thank you for reading.' I have also been on the web since 1994, and I have written on it since 1999.

No doubt it started off as a public relations exercise by an amateur writer who was trying to establish a readership. I'm old school, and eithert your writing is good enough for people to want to read it, or it's not.

I won't follow anyone who thanks me for reading.