You told us what you like ...

There's a good reason some things are called classic.

They've stood the test of time, winning generations of fans.

The Augusta Chronicle, which can trace its roots back to 1785, is a classic, thanks to its readers. Several of our games, columnists and regular features are apparently classic, too.

We asked you recently to rate some of our standing features, and more than 1,000 of you took the time to complete a survey. Thanks.

We've gone cross-eyed tallying the results, but the final numbers are in. They show that many of our longest-running features are still must-read items for survey respondents.

Metro Editor Bill Kirby, whose musings on his little dog and family, tales of Augusta's past and joke of the day have been part of The Chronicle since his return to Augusta in 1992, is a solid favorite. He topped the list of local columnists.

He is joined on the leaderboard by several regular Chronicle features that have been running in the newspaper for decades: The daily crossword puzzle, which apparently was first carried in The Chronicle in 1929; and comics strips Beetle Bailey (Beetle made his newspaper debut in 1950), Blondie (which made its debut in newspapers in 1930), and the Lockhorns (1968).

There are some relative new favorites, too. Advice columnist Amy Dickinson, who joined the lineup in 2002, topped the voting. The comic strip Zits, which also was picked up in 2002, posted solid numbers, too.

Your least favorite features? The Word Salsa game and the bridge column.

We appreciate the input. We'll take the information into consideration when making some tweaks and changes in the next year to The Chronicle.