[Ponte Alto] Recruitment

[egeorges]

Greetings!

Ponte Alto has a terrific track record with newcomers, and the Barony has
grown by leaps and bounds over the past 5 years.  It's something we should
all be proud of. 

Bianca's comments have raised an issue that we should perhaps consider.  The
use of alias email addresses on the website is creating a problem in that
the Kingdom server IS dropping some of the emails periodically.  (I know
that this happens to my Kingdom alias from time to time as well.)  This
causes some emails to not be returned, and some people, most likely
newcomers, to have a negative impression of our Barony due to
unresponsiveness that is in fact no one's fault.

Perhaps what really needs to happen is a discussion regarding the pros and
cons of the aliases we currently use on our website.  I don't know what the
right answer is, what the appropriate balance between what we gain from
using the aliases and what we lose in terms of assuring that every person
who is interested in our group gets a prompt response.  What I do know is
that the use of the aliases is creating an unintended and undesirable
consequence.

Rather than treat the issue as some kind of unavoidable burden, perhaps what
we really need is to decide as a group (a) is this really a consequence we
are willing to live with, and (b) are there steps that we can take that
would deal with the issue?  What do we really get out of using aliases,
anyway, other than some comforting symmetry between our website and our
email addresses?  It may be a stupid question to ask, but maybe one worth
asking.  I'm not technologically savvy enough to know what all the options
are, but if the alias issue is unavoidable, perhaps we need some kind of
notice on the website that helps newcomers understand that they should try
more than once to contact us if they don't get a response within a certain
timeframe.  

Ponte Alto has a track record of excellence with newcomers.  But the true
mark of excellence is not the ability to maintain your current proficiency
-- it is the commitment to taking every opportunity to improve.  Yes, we're
good at making sure newcomers get prompt responses.  But is this a place
that perhaps we could improve?

Just askin'

Luce Antony Venus