Welcome to Ungated

Welcome to Ungated—a web log authored and published by CAI Chief Executive Officer Tom Skiba. This blog is provided to share observations and stimulate discussion on issues, trends, and ideas for those interested in or working in the community association industry.

Read the latest entries and post your comments to the blog. Add it to your "favorites" or subscribe to the blog and receive new entries in your newsreader.

What is a blog?

A blog is a web log or journal. A person who updates a blog is called a "blogger," and the act of updating a blog is "blogging."

More importantly, it is an informal dialogue on issues relevant to you, coming directly from the CEO.

Replying to the blog

Post your comments to the blog by using the "Leave Comment" option at the bottom of each article. All comments will be reviewed for appropriateness before posting to the blog. Comments cannot be edited once they are posted. We can and will delete postings that do not comply with three basic rules:

1. Stay on topic—Please ensure that your comments have at least some relevance to the particular blog entry you are commenting on.
2. Be civil—I am interested in different ideas and perspectives, regardless of the source, but comments that contain personal attacks, threats, and uncivil language will be deleted out of hand.
3. Be responsible for your words—If you have something to say then you should be willing to stand behind it. If you want to engage in a reasonable conversation please do so here.

Subscribe to the blog using the RSS newsfeed

RSS stands for "Rich Site Summary" or "Really Simple Syndication."  RSS allows you to receive the latest entries from this blog without having to visit the site..  You can subscribe to our RSS newsfeed and then use software, called an "RSS reader" or "news aggregator," to read the news.  Many RSS readers are free to download.

How do I subscribe?

You will need to download an RSS reader if you do not have one.

Once you've got an RSS reader, you can receive news from other news sources too!  Many major news and information sites provide their content via feeds.  Just look for the RSS icon () when browsing your favorite sites.

The features of RSS readers vary, so you may wish to do some comparison shopping.  Bloglines (free, works with any browser), Newsgator (integrates with Microsoft Outlook), and Pluck (free, integrates with Internet Explorer), are just some examples of what's available.  We do not endorse a particular product.

Once you have an RSS reader, you can add our feed to it.  Here's the general procedure (instructions may vary; check your RSS reader's documentation):

1. Copy our feed's URL with your mouse: http://cai.blogware.com/blog/index.xml.
2. Paste the URL into the appropriate place in your RSS reader.
3. View the news!

Visit Ungated today! For additional sources of information on community associations, please visit CAI's Bookstore, Reading Room or Press Room. In addition, CAI members have access to the extensive online Research Library, e-newsletters and message board.