Dave Aiello continued:

We Have Gotten Some Great Letters that Nobody Knows About

Since September, we have come a long way in terms of getting the word out about what the Rensselaer Club of New Jersey does as an organization. But, there is a great deal of information that we have never published, primarily due to the limited amount of time I have to devote to this effort.

I know this sounds ridiculous because I have obviously spent a tremendous amount of time building this site. But, the advantage of our new Web Publishing system is that it frees me to focus on writing for the site, rather than making sure that hyperlinks between Web Pages are accurate.

Anyway, I want to share a couple of comments that the Site has received recently that have not been published in other stories:

Thanks to Dave Aiello for creating, updating and maintaining the Rensselaer Club of New Jersey web site. An amazing amount of work has gone into this effort. Sorry it took me this long to acknowledge this
great site and Dave's enthusiastic work.

-- Howard Deutsch, hdeutsch@quantisoft.com, November 6, 2000

Thanks for writing, Howard. It took longer for me to post your comment than it did for you to make it in the first place. I want to start off by saying that credit for the content on this site should also go to John Cloninger who has worked with me as an administrator of rcnj.org, and to Ken DeGhetto who has been the largest contributor of information for publication, other than John and me.

Comments on the Web Site may be submitted using the Submit Story feature of the Site, which is what Howard used. However, a more effective way to submit comments is to add a comment to an individual story. If you want to add information to what we have posted, if you want to dispute the conclusions we have made or the article we are pointing to makes, please attach a comment to the story itself. Your comments are automatically published after only a brief delay, and we will only edit them after the fact if they contain inappropriate language, illegal, or unethical statements.

Comments are submitted by clicking on the link that says either Read More... or Add a Comment.... Your browser will display the story page for the story that you selected. Near the bottom of the page, click the link that says Submit Comment and follow the instructions.

Here's another comment:

Just wanted to drop you a complimentary e-mail on your website-- I even gave it a favorable review at the NYC Chapter Committee mtg. last night (my last one since I recently moved to NJ-- and will be joining a law firm in Woodbridge in a few weeks. Keep up the informative good work.

-- Steven Nudelman, Esq., nudels@sprynet.com, November 14, 2000

Steve, I appreciate your kind words about Our Web Site, and I am not just saying that because the first words out of your mouth when I saw you at the Princeton Hockey Game was, "Why didn't you respond to my email complimenting you on the Web Site?" Do you have any idea how many email messages I get each day?

But, seriously folks, I read my email. But, what can I say to such praise other than... Thanks a lot!

Identifying the Need for More Member Participation

There is no doubt in my mind that the Rensselaer Club of New Jersey Web Site performs a vital service to our alumni, to our peers in Downstate New York, Eastern Pennsylvania, and Delaware, and to the public which generally knows less about RPI than it should. But, in my mind, we are not making as much progress as we should in one key area: user participation.

We need to make clear to you, our club membership, that this Web Site is a vehicle to tell your fellow alumni about the public events that go on in your life: weddings, births and deaths in your family, new jobs, and personal and professional achievements. You know that the feedback loop is much faster here than in Rensselaer Magazine.

Announcing the Alumni News Section of rcnj.org

This is why we are beginning a new section of the RCNJ Web Site called Alumni News. We hope that this section will be populated primarily by member submissions, rather than information that John Cloninger and I dig up in our travels around the Web.

We also intend to use it, as the FAQ entry states, "to point our Rensselaer alumni in the news on a regional, national, or international level.
This includes business, politics, community service, and professional sports participation."

Happy New Year to You and Your Family

On behalf of the members of the Rensselaer Club of New Jersey executive committee, Happy Holidays and Happy New Year to you and your family. Please let us know if you have any comments, questions, or suggestions about what appears on this Web Site, or what we do as an organization.

I encourage you to submit your comments about this site in one of the manners discussed in this article. For issues not directly related to this Web Site, please send me an email.

Best regards,

Dave Aiello, '89

President

Rensselaer Club of New Jersey

dave_aiello@ctdata.com