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Sad Thing Happenedby Dave Pratt
Velocissima Editor
The sad event we’re referring to, of course, is the passing of Alfa mentor, AONE charter member, long-time Velocissima editor, and friend Fred DiMatteo. By now, you’ve all received and/or seen online the Velocissima special issue that was published in Fred’s honor. It was the least we could do to celebrate the life of this man who influenced our own lives so much, whether it be advice on the technical hotline, an Alfa rescue when needed, instilling enthusiasm in the club and its activities, or just plain personal friendship and camaraderie. We miss you, Fred.
Fred’s passing did cause us to roll out our new online AONE Forum a little earlier than planned, for the purpose of letting people express their thoughts, feelings, photos, and stories about the man. Now it’s time to let you know what it’s all about.
With the inspiration and invaluable guidance of AONE member John Paradiso, there is now a powerful new Forum section up and running on our web site (just click the Forum button on the left). Its features and ease of use run circles around the old forum. All postings are made within several broad categories (such as "Club Business and Events", "Giulietta and Giulia", "Convention 2004", etc.). Then, every posting has a topic, and users can reply with answers or follow-up information. This makes it incredibly easy to find the information you’re after. And when you post a message, you know it’ll be seen by people interested in the same topic.
There are many handy features to the Forum that make it even more useful. For example, you can post a query and ask that you be sent an email any time someone replies to it. You can send private messages to any of the other Forum members. You can include photos and other files along with your messages to help describe the subject better. You can search all of the Forum postings using keywords, or for postings by a particular member. It goes on and on.
The bottom line is that we now have a very convenient and powerful way to
communicate among our entire membership, requesting and sharing information and
photos in a way that’s fast, organized—and fun! We urge you to register as a
Forum member and give it a whirl. The more people who use it, the more valuable
a resource it will become. If you have any problems whatsoever getting started
or in using the Forum, send an email to
webmaster@velocissima.com for
assistance.
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