Commentator Web Site Approaches 150,000 Hits

One-and-a-half years since its inception, The Commentator's web site, www.yucommentator.com, has garnered nearly 150,000 hits. Created by webmasters Ben Sandler and Josh Yuter, the web site has steadily increased in popularity among its readers, attracting hundreds of new subscribers to its instant update list. The site also provides a connection to readers around the world, including many from Israel, Canada, Australia, Great Britain, France, Germany, and the former Republic of Macedonia.

In addition to providing an Internet version of The Commentator, yucommentator.com offers a unique forum for students to discuss relevant issues online. Through the web site, students have had the opportunity to freely and anonymously express their views regarding professors and the controversial "mesorah" concern. Furthermore, numerous students have utilized this site to send letters to the editors online for subsequent publication in the print issue.

Commentator Editor-in-Chief Adam Moses was not surprised by the numbers. "While we are not inclined to gauge our success on the basis of numerical criteria alone, this is a satisfying, albeit expected, affirmation of The Commentator's quality. That this venerable publication, the grand dame of collegiate publications, is popular to readers the world over, is a testament to the breadth of our appeal and the universality of our content."

Mordechai Fishman, Moses' Co-Editor-in Chief, was equally excited about the success of the web site. "The Commie in cyberspace has been enthusiastically acclaimed from the moment of its inception. The creativity and diligence of Josh, Ben and their staff has resulted in a site that is both aesthetically pleasing and informative. And by allowing alumni and the broader Jewish community access to The Commentator, the web site has provided a medium for non-students to gauge the pulse of Yeshiva University, enabling student voices to be heard throughout the world." Fishman also stressed the site's message boards and postings as invaluable resources for students wishing to discuss issues of pertinence to themselves and YU, saying "The fact that students can anonymously post their opinions about professors and other topics is something the administration may not be happy about, but it makes us a lot more interesting than the official YU web site."

The most popular article in terms of the number of hits was the "South Park Minyan Divides Student Body," which received 525 hits within a couple of hours. The Purim edition's "Semikha-o-Matic" was a close second, with hundreds logging on to receive their rabbinic ordination online.

Ben Sandler, co-creator of the site, commented, "the site has gained a loyal following both on and off campus. We hope it will become an even more integral part of the paper in the years to come."