Everything about Mail Online is extraordinary - the huge number of hits, the ever-increasing revenues and the sharp-elbowed way it goes about obtaining content.
Its success cannot be denied, as the figures relayed in Mark Sweney's report today illustrate. One eye-popping statistic is that the staffing has increased from 300 in September last year to 460 now (of which 100 are based in the US)
No wonder a Daily Mail friend of mine refers to the serried ranks of Mail Onliners at the Kensington office as "the terracotta army" led by "General" Martin Clarke.
They certainly appear to be winning the digital war in terms of traffic volume, and by a considerable margin. Unfortunately, as with all armies, maintaining discipline is often problematic.
When I reported on Monday that Mail Online had ripped off a Los Angeles freelancer's exclusive interview for the Daily Mirror it elicited several similar tales. Plagiarism aside, there is also controversy over the nature of the site's content which attracts the most hits - the so-called "sidebar of shame".
It is replete with under-dressed celebrities not doing much of interest and not saying anything worthwhile. But it is undeniably popular. Gossip and glamour sell.
So there is an obvious disconnect between the Mail print titles and Mail Online's most-read content. It is a bold strategy and, thus far, it has been very successful.
Critics of the Mail's journalism often overlook one important truth: whether in print or online, it is all accomplished with considerable journalistic style.
There are twin, interlinked reasons for that - the quality of experienced, talent leadership and the quantity of bodies available to carry out their leaders' orders.
