What do you think?

The result is not aimed at being an opinion poll or a gauge of support for the Yes or No camps ... simply a random selection of reactions to the publication of the White Paper.

Karen Boyd, Glasgow:

I haven't seen the White Paper yet. I'm still definitely for the Yes vote, but I have The Herald newspaper at home from the day after it came out - I haven't read it all yet, but I'm going to - and I watched Nicola Sturgeon on television last night and I was very impressed.

Gordon Reilly, Glasgow: I've actually not had a chance to get stuck into it - been working solidly last few days - but I'm intending to do so today. I'm already a shoo-in for a Yes vote, but I still have a lot of concerns about how the Yes argument is being presented so as to win over the undecided voters.

Liz Anderson: I don't have time to read all of it and I've not looked at the highlights yet but I probably will. I don't know which way I'm voting yet - every other day it changes. I don't know if the White Paper will influence me or not. I did hear someone - an expert in something or other - say about a month ago that the debate was going to come down to an emotional vote when it comes to it, so I think if someone in Westminster says something that pushes our buttons, we'll probably vote Yes. I think we will. I think people will just think, "I'm not being treated like this."

Anne Walker, Glasgow:

I haven't seen the White Paper yet but I've read about. It's not swayed how I feel in any way - I think it's a load of rubbish. I absolutely want us to stay together. Alex Salmond is like an inflated balloon - full of hot air, with nothing left to say - he really is. We never hear anything about the other parliamentary candidates - they don't say anything. It's just Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon. I want to hear more from the Better Together campaign. Alistair Darling needs to get his finger out and do something.

Anne Marie Smith, East Kilbride:

I went to my local library and asked them if they had a copy and they said they were having five copies made, but not until the weekend. They did say they had downloaded it on their computers if I wanted to read it, but I wanted to page through it. I do intend going at the weekend and having a look. But I've looked at the highlights and my feeling before it came out was definitely No and I haven't changed. I don't expect to be persuaded but I still want to read the propositions they are making. What really put me off was Alex Salmond giving the vote to 16 and 17-year-olds. I thought to myself: "He must be really desperate." I remember when I was 16 and 17, I was saying "freedom for Scotland" -but what about the consequences. That finished me with Alex Salmond and the SNP. I expect to remain a No vote.

Bill Hunter, Glasgow: I've only very briefly looked at the White Paper. I haven't had a good look at it yet, although I'm reasonably interested in it. I'm a No vote. I want to keep the Union. When I read the initial parts of the White Paper I was tempted to look more favourably on the SNP and the Yes vote, but when I read one of the newspapers that was saying what they [SNP] were claiming and what was actually true, a lot of it seemed to me not quite so accurate, so I'll probably still vote No to independence.

Ruth McColgan, Glasgow: I think it poses more questions than answers from what I've heard so far. I need to be persuaded Yes. I'm going to look at the White Paper in more detail, but right now I'd be voting No. It's for them to persuade me otherwise at the moment.

Stewart Bremner, graphic designer:

I'm already sold on why independence needs to happen for Scotland. In the White Paper, I'm glad to see a vision for how independence could work: commitments covering things like inclusive social protection policies, including a plan to halt the bedroom tax which will, I think, help a lot of people to make up their minds.

Personally, I am glad to see plans to address Westminster's unfair immigration controls. My girlfriend is a US citizen and at present we're just not rich enough to ever be able to live together in the UK. I'm also very excited, as a visual artist, to see the importance placed on culture for its own sake and not just as a way to make money.

Lucy Ross, mother and musician:

I've not read the White Paper, but I will do, and I just hope that people see sense: that they don't want an independent Scotland. I have followed the news and I understand it says we would be £600 better off. To me £600 is not enough money to justify breaking away from Britain. I'm a mum, with a pre-school child, and I don't even think 30 hours' free childcare they talked about for that age should be allowed. I wouldn't put my child in childcare for that long.

Lisa Stewart, mother of small children:

I think I will read it because I want to know what they're all about. But I know already I'm going vote Yes. A lot more people should read it. I've always felt I wanted independence. People should read it before they decide though, because they're not going to know unless they do. Is free childcare not a good thing for everyone? It would be a good thing for me. I think the SNP are going to do a lot more than all the rest of them are going to do.

Dick Barbor-Might, retired journalist:

I do intend to read most of the White Paper. I will also look at the pro-UK equivalent which is knocking copy, trying to refute the SNP's case. And I've got hold of Gavin McCrone's book, Scottish Independence: Weighing Up The Economics. I'm undecided still. I'm English. I've lived in Scotland now for 13 years, and I'll never be a Scot. But I don't have any liking for the political regime of the UK, let alone the current Government, which I think is appalling. The depressing aspect of it is that it seems that if the SNP is going to win, it won't win on identity grounds: it's going to be won in the middle ground by people who decide the SNP will be better for their pockets.

Martha Riddell, student:

I'm completely against independence. I don't know how they think they're going to be able to fund anything. I want to become a teacher and their approach to education makes me feel really worried. I've read articles online about it, and I would read the White Paper itself, but I don't think what I've heard Alex Salmond has said would persuade me to vote for independence. I've always wanted to be part of Britain. I'm half English, so I'm more inclined to that. But even if the practicalities had been right, I still would have felt some doubt. I don't know if the information they are giving is accurate. I think we need to either get a neutral source that will calculate what will happen to the economy or we need to stop hearing all the information because it's becoming too much.

John Preston, 63

I wanted to get a sense of the White Paper and I've read some of it online because I wanted to see actually not so much what the promises were but what the logic was - because I think it's rather short on logic. Mostly I looked at the broadcasting section, because I have an interest in that. Overall I thought the paper was incredibly short on vision. And actually, it's as near as dammit suggesting that a vote for independence is a vote for the SNP. They have an advantage in that they can, as they have done, present something that's like an election manifesto, which Better Together, which isn't a political party, can't do. However, their incredible weakness is that it's a kind of fantasy world. Their assumptions about the European Union, the debt, are all based on this notion that everyone wants the best for Scotland.

Jade Halbert, 29, Glasgow: I've not read it yet, but I'm planning to. I think the No campaign's reaction to it is revealing. They're panicking and have nothing to offer but threats. It makes me feel even more strongly that independence is the right thing for Scotland.

Chelsea Scott, 33, Paisley: I've not looked at it yet, though I fully intend to. I have read the highlights, as I was interested in what they would be. Reading them has not changed my overall view, although I'm not keen to share what that is.

Fraser Gilmour, 37, Cardenden:

Seeing the White Paper hasn't changed my voting intention, as I was already a Yes, but it has, I think, awakened a huge swathe of Scots to the possibilities of independence and the immediate changes. It made it clear that the only side of the debate with any credible plans to revitalise and reinvigorate Scotland is the Yes campaign.

John Anderson, 60, Glasgow:

I haven't read it but I'll have a look at it online. I've seen the highlights and I don't think Mr Salmond's figures stand up. I'll be voting to remain as we are so it's not influenced me in any way.

Anthony Smith, 21, Glasgow:

I've not looked at it. I don't know which way I'm going to vote so I probably will look at it at some point, as I don't have a clue and I'd rather know the facts and vote than not know and not vote at all.

Steven Mackintosh,

52, Glasgow:

I'm interested and I'll eventually get round to reading it - I've got a whole year to read it. But I don't need to read it to know which way I'm voting. I want the status quo, as it stands. It doesn't matter what it says in the White Paper. I know where my feet stand and my feet stand here as part of Great Britain.

Jean Muir, 51, Glasgow:

I haven't had time to look at it yet but I've been listening to all that's being said about it. I do feel that Scotland should've been independent many, many years ago, so now that it's happening I think we, as Scots, should get up and support it. It doesn't matter what it costs; it's your national pride. In my mind, it's nothing to do with politics. It's to do with culture and pride.

Michael Leslie, 44, Aberdeen:

I haven't looked at the White Paper yet or the highlights, but I bought a newspaper that has full coverage on it and I'll read it at home. I suppose I'll read about it because I suspect it will influence me in some way, although I intend to vote No. I don't expect it to change my mind but it could, I suppose. I'll need to read it properly - and I will, because it is a big decision and I need to be fully informed, up to my boredom threshold. I'm not going to read 640 pages, or whatever it is, but I am going to read the gist of it and then probably vote No as I first intended.

Brian Patterson, 57, Glasgow: I haven't seen the White Paper yet although I listened to them talking about it on the TV and they said it would take until Easter of next year to get through it. But I've got the gist of it and I think the problem is it's a fundamental question: do I believe in nationalism? That's the nub of the thing. I love the personalities involved but there's too many undecided opinions still. I've still not heard the young voice yet - what they're going to do. And I think that's going to be the important thing and I may listen to them if I'm still undecided, which I am at the moment. The White Paper could influence me because they're saying now this is the definitive thing that will answer the questions that are being asked. Hopefully, once I see all the information, I'll know; but personally I think it will come down to the wishes of the new, young votes.

Kathryn Cooper, Stirling:

I've not read the White Paper yet. It's huge isn't it? My heart says Yes, but my head says I don't know and I'm keen to read it. Although I would like independence, the practicalities worry me. They have to persuade me that as an economy we can survive on our own long-term.

Steven Bothwell, cafe owner, Aberdeen:

It is a tentative approach to presenting the case for independence. There is little in the way of how the shopping list of pledges will be funded long-term, which is a huge concern, especially having a small business. It tells us what an SNP government "might" do if the country votes for independence, but provides little hard evidence on many issues, including European Union membership, pension provision and regulation and currency.

David Laing, 60, consultant for a law firm, Edinburgh:

"In a way a lot of what is stated in the White Paper is really assurances rather than facts.

To be fair to the writers of it, those assurances are the best they can give at the moment because they are based on informed aspiration. A lot of people really want certainty before they vote and I don't think we will get that certainty before 2014 and that's a problem. It's a problem for the SNP administration, it's also a problem for the other side.

Sarah Scott, 36, education officer, Aberdeen:

I'm still undecided on which way to vote. It's all very good making promises, but whether it gets carried through or not is the next problem. A lot of people will still be sceptical of the whole thing - people are going to be scared. It might be the best thing for us, it might be the worst. I'm a bit in between about whether we should go independent or not. I suppose it's a case of nothing ventured, nothing gained, really.

Nightclub owner Tony Cochrane, Aberdeen:

I do feel they are being a bit vague with their promises, I mean they are obviously shooting high. They are making claims about the currency and the EU and nothing is concrete.

And now Spain is saying they are going to veto Scotland if they try to get into Europe. Better the devil you know, that's what I say. It's obviously great in theory but I think it would be a big risk.

There's no guarantees, it's all promises and possibilities.

Aberdeen minister Rev Markus Auffermann:

I am a very cosmopolitan person, I've had the privilege of living in different countries, including America and Germany so I wouldn't consider myself a nationalist in that sense. That's why I'm a little bit reluctant to join in all this celebration of becoming independent and thinking that everything will be better. I'm not sure whether that will really be the case. I'm a little bit reluctant because of all the promises that have been made.

People like Alex Salmond are all very enthused but I wonder have they really done their homework or is the enthusiasm and the emotions behind it all blinding their rational judgement.

Stewart Spence, owner of the Marcliffe Hotel, Aberdeen:

As a supporter, I was very pleased with the White Paper. They said everything that they can do and say at the moment. There were very valid points about the currency and membership in Europe. When you read the report and you read afterwards about the analysis of the interpretation of it, I think it's been really good. I haven't spoken to anybody who wants to read 650 pages - they take out of it what they want, which I think is the important part. A lot of the fence sitters have made up their mind now, a lot more people after reading the White Paper have decided what way to go. We would have a tough 10-12 years maybe to get rid of the deficit that we have. Whereas if we stay with Westminster, my great-grandchildren will never see the end of the debt. If we take our share of it, I believe we can work our way out.

Farmer Charlie Adam, 59, who owns a farm in Aberdeenshire: I really want facts that are based on knowledge or a degree of certainty rather than wishful thinking and speculation on matters such as whether we will be members of the EU and what will happen to our markets. At the moment I feel there are a lot of bland statements being made. The other thing is the question of all the promises that have been made and whether there actually will be any money to pay for them, which is a major doubt Farmers here are very dependent on European subsidy support because we can't get enough from the market. A huge concern to farmers is what would happen in any interim period while the independent government found out whether it could or couldn't be a European member. About £600 million comes from Europe each year, that more or less equates to the income of Scottish farmers.