Shedding Light On Halachaic Gierut?

Someone pointed me towards this article by Rabbi Marc Angel in regards to what really constitutes a conversion to Judaism al pi halacha, and what is deemed as...well..."excessive" (my terminology, not his). In many ways, I agree with his feelings regarding what constitutes "acceptance of the mitzvot"; but on the other hand, I see where it can very easily be misconstrued. For example, if a woman undergoes a conversion through an Orthodox Beit Din; and then subsequently, you discover this woman doesn't cover her hair after marriage and feeds Hebrew National hot dogs to her family, that should not make her Jewishness "null and void"*. On the other hand if you have a woman who underwent a halachaic conversion, and it was discovered that they were engaged in a forbidden relationship with a Kohen, in total defiance of halacha, then yes, there is a problem.

Shortly after reading this article, I found out that the Rabbinical Council of America launched a new website about their initiatives to help set a standard for Orthodox Jewish conversion. After reading through the website, nothing major was revealed that I already did not know before. However, I did notice that the tone of the writing on the website was far less draconian than the bits and pieces of information supplied to others regarding this issue. Understand that within the last two years, the mentioning of "RCA" and "conversion" in one sentence was enough to make the hearts of most gerim (or gerim-to-be) skip a few beats. A major factor of this, no doubt, has been misconceptions.

The most interesting thing that I have picked up on [by reading these two things so close together] is that the picture that Rabbi Angel paints is quite a bit different than what the RCA presents. While this is not a surprise, it makes you wonder which side is closer to the reality? The RCA's conversion website has an FAQ section, but in my humble opinion, it's pretty meager. Also, there seem to be some inaccuracies. For example, in regards to costs, the application fee seems to be $250, not $100. Little details like this make me wonder if the information contained is truly current (although the website is brand new...).

IY"H, in about 3 weeks I will be meeting with the Beis Din in Pittsburgh (an RCA Beis Din) and will see first hand their approach towards conversion. How much will they lean towards the side of having rachmoness and consideration for individual situation and how much will they be "sticking to the rules". Rules that quite possibly have little to do with an individual's commitment to live a Torah directed life and cast their lot with the Jewish nation. I do applaud the efforts to establish some sort of national data clearinghouse of halachaic converts in the USA to help alleviate some of the issues that arise when trying to verify someone's Jewishness.

* - the RCA openly noted that they do not "nullify" conversions. However, they do have the option of not endorsing a conversion done outside their network of recognized Batei Din. This could (obviously) cause problems of acceptance by the Rabbinut in Eretz Yisrael.